3/5 Male Batfamily members have been either raped (Bruce/Dick) or sexually assaulted (Tim) and it's generally not played for laughs.
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Rafael Albuquerque reveals controversial variant cover for Batgirl #41
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3/5 Male Batfamily members have been either raped (Bruce/Dick) or sexually assaulted (Tim) and it's generally not played for laughs.
Give it a rest
not_so_special
Banned
yes...that tell me that you dont want answers,you have your truth and nobody will change that
Crossing Eden
Hello, my name is Yves Guillemot, Vivendi S.A.'s Employee of the Month!
No, the exact same specific events did not happen to batman as they did to Barbara. Although I don't think that happens very often to multiple characters. As in, the exact same specific events.
Well, the three other question are kind of very specific.
Parallax
best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
i think the fact that he was raped kinda supercedes all that other shit
TheDarkKnight774
Member
I don't even know if they read Batgirl.
DonasaurusRex
Online Ho Champ
Mix Master
Member
welcome to the SIMPified world of today.
~Devil Trigger~
In favor of setting Muslim women on fire
I don't think anyone is disputing what the image is communicating or insinuating, we're rolling our eyes at the professional outragers on the internet.
Poodlestrike
Banned
When you mind control Superman, and your first instinct is to make him star in a porn movie, you really got to get your priorities straight.
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Hey man, they didn't go all the way
Coffee Dog
Banned
The point that needs to be explained is why when men superheroes are raped/victimized it's swept under the rug and forgotten, and why when it happens to female superheroes they become defining moments of the character, the trauma of which can't be forgotten from that day forward.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
What does this even mean? Do you come from any other world but this one? What was so cool about the other one, where people didn't put thought into the things they said or did?
not_so_special
Banned
i repeat...with this people its always the same,moving goalpost by the minute
because the internet dont give a fuck if a man is raped
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
This is so disingenuous. Basically his sexual assaults don't count because they weren't exactly the same? What sense does this make? Are they lesser because of the lack of photographs? Does having to raise his illegitimate son, from being drugged rape not carry as much weight as pictures being taken during the act? Is the constant reminder of the act (Damien), and how Talia basically forced Bruce to raise him, not focusing on Bruce as the victim? Come on now...
It sure isn't going to push them to.
I don't read DC comics stuffs, I would kinda be on the fence but if everytime they make the news it's about stuffs like this :/
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I don't know why this discussion has now become a competition of "which masked crimefighters get raped more"
I don't think you know what simping is.
Sometimes and Sometimes you are Speedball.
It's the sexist angle of portraying a woman as a victim purely used to inflict emotional damage on a man.
Anyway, as to the OP it's a good variant cover. Good callback to a classic storyline.
It's pretty easy to surmise what kind of problems people will have with it though as has been effectively pointed out multiple times. They'd never have someone like Batman being that terrified on the cover without some kind of unnatural outside influence being implied. It's kind of why I like this Batgirl cover... it's very humanizing and doesn't feel like a forced reaction. It feels like a legitimate human reaction while effectively and simply conveying the Joker's derangement.
It's pretty easy to surmise what kind of problems people will have with it though as has been effectively pointed out multiple times. They'd never have someone like Batman being that terrified on the cover without some kind of unnatural outside influence being implied. It's kind of why I like this Batgirl cover... it's very humanizing and doesn't feel like a forced reaction. It feels like a legitimate human reaction while effectively and simply conveying the Joker's derangement.
Poodlestrike
Banned
The thing is, at least in the case of Babs, it's not the assault that people keep coming back to, it's the whole "shot in the spine" thing. The shooting and the paralysis are what's referenced, generally.
Tho maybe I just haven't read the right stuff.
But that's really not the tack they've taken at all. In the original story, it was the familial bond that was being preyed on, and in the subsequent references (that I've read), it's mostly been about Babs dealing with the trauma from the spinal damage. Her pain, not her dad's.
For me, what makes the reference uncomfortable is knowing how gross DC's reaction to the comic was, not just how much of a non-character Barbara got to be in the story. But that stuff was actually dealt with pretty well in the past (like Oracle's "origin story") so it's not beyond a writer's ability to reference TKJ and do it in a way that doesn't make it super shitty.
I can't really imagine Babs as Oracle reacting like this, but a younger Batgirl, sure. Same for any of the other Robins. I can totally see a similar cover with Jason instead.
As others have noted because Barbara Batgirl has been marketed toward females now. They've moved past her recovery, ptsd and survivors guilt (mirrorman) toward whatever she is now.
cutmeamango
Banned
Has Batman ever been touched behind his left knee, while jumping through a pool of fire, humming a song, while remembering what a bad time he had last time he visited his parents tombstones yet concerned with what Robin might be doing alone at the Wayne mansion?
Isn't Batman victimized by the death of his parents? Sure, it wasn't physical harm directly to him, but that stuff sure traumatized him.
And it's also something the cover barely references. The Joker isn't carrying a camera or handing out pictures, this is about him paralyzing her.
not_so_special
Banned
DonasaurusRex
Online Ho Champ
this would be a good time for the NeoGAF.gif
BeatResetsTheWorld
Banned
ah your MRA colors are showing
I think there are two camps that are upset by this.
The first are the people who don't really appreciate the callback to the storyline this cover pays homage to. Yes the Joker may be a psychopath, but he isn't real. All of his actions are determined by writers and they could easily have gone in a different direction than to take advantage of a helpless Batgirl.
The second are the people who don't know the storyline and simply object to portraying a female superhero as terrified and helpless considering that male superheroes are never, or almost never portrayed so vulnerable on covers. Considering that women are one of the intended audiences with the Batgirl books, I can absolutely understand why they're unhappy.
All that said. It's a variant cover and more often than not they are meant to be controversial or sensationalist.
The first are the people who don't really appreciate the callback to the storyline this cover pays homage to. Yes the Joker may be a psychopath, but he isn't real. All of his actions are determined by writers and they could easily have gone in a different direction than to take advantage of a helpless Batgirl.
The second are the people who don't know the storyline and simply object to portraying a female superhero as terrified and helpless considering that male superheroes are never, or almost never portrayed so vulnerable on covers. Considering that women are one of the intended audiences with the Batgirl books, I can absolutely understand why they're unhappy.
All that said. It's a variant cover and more often than not they are meant to be controversial or sensationalist.
EightBitNate
Member
It's not offensive, and some people are even afraid to admit it's not offensive.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
Also, because it might have gotten missed in my edit earlier: I know that "it's a variant" does apply, as variants are basically "Be cool for cool's sake" opportunities for artists. But can anyone pull up images of another similarly lighthearted (ish) book that has variants using the character's imagery and transforming it into something dead serious and fucked up? I honestly want to see them to compare them against this one. Usually variants are either subverting the book's tone, or being cool for cool's sake.
(or sexy for sex's sake)
(or sexy for sex's sake)
Liu Kang Baking A Pie
Member
I mean, there are definitely people who go all out on the Internet when they see things they don't like, but generally these sorts of situations are just prompts for serious conversations that a lot of people who appear to be far angrier at everything like to fit into a binary war so they can kneejerk dismiss one side as crazy so they don't have to think about it. Why not just have the genuine conversation and debate?
Parallax
best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
its not an argument of who gets raped more, but whether or not the sexual assualt from character A carries the same weight as the assault from character B
TheDarkKnight774
Member
Target demos of readers, the events didn't really resonate with the readers, the character didn't have much going for them so it became an easy attachment, etc.
It's not like every domestic assault in comics is treated or remembered like Hank Pym. There's images of Reed, Peter, beating their wife and it's never brought up or used against them. I think some is because these characters had more good will and defining history and so they're just forgotten and moved on.
Then you have the stupid origin of Kate (other hawkeye) who was probably raped and they never bring it up again that she's a victim these days
not_so_special
Banned
oh...i think if anyone is showing the colors here are you...and please this is not the first time i see you use the "you are mra" angle with a poster who is having a argument with you
way to ignore other posters who are calling you in your obvious contradictions
It's certainly an evocative image, with some fantastic art at that.
And also certainly if you look at the greater context of the comic book industry, it does seem like this is something they would never do with a male superhero cover-wise, even if a similar scenario happened before. Few artists would even think of it, I imagine.
But I think people really need to pick their battles if they want to be taken seriously. This a variant cover recalling a defining scene in a character's arc. At worst it's a little stereotypical. There are bigger problems to deal with than poking at a variant cover that's really only mildly offensive.
That said, there's probably way, WAY more people outraged at the "outrage" than actual people offended by this cover.
And also certainly if you look at the greater context of the comic book industry, it does seem like this is something they would never do with a male superhero cover-wise, even if a similar scenario happened before. Few artists would even think of it, I imagine.
But I think people really need to pick their battles if they want to be taken seriously. This a variant cover recalling a defining scene in a character's arc. At worst it's a little stereotypical. There are bigger problems to deal with than poking at a variant cover that's really only mildly offensive.
That said, there's probably way, WAY more people outraged at the "outrage" than actual people offended by this cover.
Ganzlinger
Member
That's a great cover. Need to talk to my dudes at my LCS about getting one. This is nothing to get riled up about if you have ever really read a batman comic in your life. Unless you like to get mad about awesome things which this seems to be the case.
LiquidMetal14
hide your water-based mammals
That is a good cover.
So basically her assault matters more because of the motivation behind the attack? Also, I don't see how gender is relevant when the man in question was her father.
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