In a Panel, Darkley: Reflections and Refractions of Gendered Trauma in Marvel's Alias and DC Comics' Batwoman: Elegy
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University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2015-11-03 In a Panel, Darkley: Reflections and Refractions of Gendered Trauma in Marvel's Alias and DC Comics' Batwoman: Elegy Beatty, Garrett Beatty, G. (2015). In a Panel, Darkley: Reflections and Refractions of Gendered Trauma in Marvel's Alias and DC Comics' Batwoman: Elegy (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26498 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2627 master thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY In a Panel, Darkly: Reflections and Refractions of Gendered Trauma in Marvel's Alias and DC Comics' Batwoman: Elegy by Garrett Beatty A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH CALGARY, ALBERTA OCTOBER, 2015 © Garrett Beatty 2015 ii Abstract This thesis seeks to address a crucial gap in Academic criticism that overlooks the depiction of violence and trauma against female characters who populate the predominantly male space of the superhero genre. Guided through the trauma theory lens of Cathy Caruth, my analysis will consider how the female superheroic identity forms after a traumatic event. I examine two case studies, Marvel's Alias (2001) and DC Comics' Batwoman: Elegy (2010), which emerge out of a trend in contemporary comics culture that resists the depiction of female characters as either victim or supporting player in their own traumatic narrative. I connect this contemporary trend to fan culture, which in recent years has demanded greater creative responsibility in the treatment of female characters. Through these case studies, this thesis therefore examines the evolution of the female superhero as well as the ethical relationship between creator, character, and fan. iii Acknowledgements I offer my sincerest gratitude to the following people and organizations, without whom this thesis would not have come to be: 1. My supervisor Dr. B. Beaty, as well my committee members, Dr. A. Srivastava, and Prof. R. Harrison. 2. The University of Calgary’s Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Department of English for providing generous scholarship support 3. Bridget Moynihan, Rachel Braeuer, and Pippa Ruddy, for being my support system all through grad school. I would not be here if not for the Calgary 4 4. To my family, for always supporting me iv Dedication In dedication to: The wonder women in my life. To my nanny and to my grandma. I lost you both before I had a chance to say this, but thank you for always believing in me. To my mom. You taught me what it means to be strong. I wrote this for each of you. v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Introduction: Secret Origins and the Traumatized Superhero ............................................ 1 The Growing-up of Superhero Comics ............................................................................... 3 Female Superheroes and Dark Origins ............................................................................ 10 Comic Books and the Search for Cultural Legitimacy ..................................................... 15 Chapter 1: Don't Underestimate the Importance of Body Language: Unknowability, Witnessing, and the Traumatized Body ............................................................................ 23 Cathy Caruth, Unknowability, and the Traumatized Body .............................................. 23 Allen Meek, 9/11, and the Witnessing of Trauma ............................................................. 36 Chapter 2: Violence, Gender, and Awakening in Marvel's Alias ..................................... 45 The Freedom of Marvel MAX ........................................................................................... 47 Jessica Jones and the Death Drive ................................................................................... 56 All Good Things... After Alias .......................................................................................... 66 Chapter 3: How We Ended Up in Southern Misunderstandistan: Trauma, Sexuality, and 9/11 in DC Comics' Batwoman: Elegy ............................................................................. 70 Superheroes, During and After 9/11 ................................................................................ 74 Flashbacks: Visualizing Recollection and Memory ......................................................... 80 The Queering of Batwoman .............................................................................................. 85 Reflections, Forward and Back: Concluding Remarks ..................................................... 96 Works Cited and Consulted ............................................................................................ 102 vi List of Figures Fig. 1: Page 13 from Batman: The Killing Joke.. ................................................................5 Fig. 2: Page 25 of Batman: The Killing Joke, comparison between published version (L) and unpublished version (R).. ..............................................................................................6 Fig. 3: Fig 3: Joker variant cover for Batgirl #41 ..............................................................20 Fig. 4: Page 88 from Alias vol. 4.. .....................................................................................55 Fig. 5: Page 122 from Alias vol. 4.. ...................................................................................62 Fig. 6: Page 110 from Batwoman: Elegy.. .........................................................................79 Fig. 7: Pages 40-1 from Batwoman: Elegy.. ......................................................................83 Fig. 8: Page 125 from Batwoman: Elegy.. .........................................................................87 Fig. 9: Page 119 from Batwoman: Elegy.. .........................................................................89 1 Introduction: Secret Origins and the Traumatized Superhero Since the early 2000's, there has been a marked rise in interest in the comic book genre, both within popular culture, as blockbuster movies such as The Dark Knight (2008), Marvel's The Avengers (2012), and The Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) continue to generate millions in revenue and increasingly spawn comic book-related media, but also within academic circles, which have started to pay more attention to features, such as the unique interplay between text and image inherent to the comic book format that make the comic book a complex visual and literary form. While most academic discussion in the comics field has centered on graphic novels, including works such as Art Speigelman's Maus (1980-91), Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (2000), and Alison Bechdel's Fun Home (2006), many works within the superhero genre continue to be overlooked, and even denigrated as the most juvenile offering in the comic book genre1. I will elaborate further on the importance of studying the comics genre later in my introduction, but for now I wish to address why I believe it is important that more critical attention be paid to superhero comics in particular. More specifically, I will discuss my decision to focus my attention in this thesis on several female superheroes who populate the predominantly male space of both Marvel and DC Comics. My thesis seeks to address a crucial gap in criticism that overlooks the depiction of violence and trauma against female characters in superhero narratives. In particular, my analysis will consider how the female superheroic identity forms after a traumatic 1 The obvious exception to this claim is Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon's Watchmen (1986), which has been the subject of a lot of scholarly attention to date (Blake 2010; Berlatsky 2013); however, this scholarship tends to focus on the meta-structure of the text or on Watchmen as a deconstruction of the superhero genre. 2 event and thus how these superheroes exist in a post-traumatic state. As Susan J. Brison observes, "survivors of trauma frequently remark that they are not the same people they were before they were traumatized" (38). While certainly not her intention, Brison is speaking directly of a cardinal trope in the superhero genre, that of the individual, changed through circumstance, and who then adopts a new (often secret) identity so that they may try to re-enter the world. While some work has been done in the field of trauma