Heroes and the Press
It has just occurred to me, that there seem to be a LOT of superheroes who have reporters for girl friends. I'm not sure exactly why that is.
There is Lois Lane of course. The UBER-girlfriend. The Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, and incidentally Superman's girlfriend, occasional stalker, and finally wife. Lois was a career girl when most women's careers consisted of getting married and having babies. Lots and lots of babies. So I've always been rather proud of Lois for being the trail-blazer. Granted, she got a little nuts there for a while in the Silver Age, but what the heck.
Iris West, the love of Barry Allen's life is also a reporter. Iris doesn't have quite the following that Lois does, but nevertheless, she is out there drinking lattes and keeping the public informed.
Linda Park was a television journalist. She is also married to Wally West. Flashes sure seem to like journalists.
Carol Ferris may not have been a reporter, but she DID run her own company, which was pretty unusual for the time. Power Girl has her own company, at least some of the time. Heck, even Black Canary owned her own Flower Shoppe. Barbara Gordon was a librarian, and now she's basically running the world. Lady Blackhawk is a pilot. Heck, Huntress being a teacher is actually one of the more traditional workplace roles for women. I wouldn't misbehave in her class,I can tell you that.
I have to say that I'm proud of a heck of a lot of DC women, when it comes to supporting themselves. And I'm proud of the heroes who love them. And, as usual, I've wandered away from the original theory of my post, concerning why is it that so many superhero girlfriends seem to be into journalism. Are there any more that I've missed?
posted by SallyP @ 6:39 AM
12 Comments:
Liberty Belle (the original) was a journalist herself.
I'd guess writers think journalists are good P.O.V. characters, since they'd have good reason to show up where superpeople are doing stuff, and once they're around a lot, why not set up a relationship?
Hank McCoy dated Trish Tilby, who was a TV reporter.
Betty Brant was Peter Parker's first girlfriend (she didn't become a reporter until long after the relationship ended, she may not count).
Matt Murdock/Glorianna O'Brien (photo-journalist). They may not have actually dated, but she did get killed which tends to happen to Matt's girlfriends.
Irene Merriweather was attracted to Cable, but I don't think it went anywhere before Domino showed up again.
Oh, Batman and Vicki Vale!
AHaH! I knew that there were more. I did not know that about Liberty Belle, but it's kind've cool.
And I do remember in Starman, that the Spider's mother was a reporter. Granted, that's an incredibly obscure character.
Heck, I have a journalism degree, but I didn't end up with a Hal Jordan -- I ended up with a JIM Jordan instead. And I'm keeping 'im! ;-)
Barbara Gordon was also once a senator, but DC seems to have conveniently forgotten about that. Too much power? :-(
It's sort of unrelated, but Diane Meade (J'onn J'onzz's Silver Age partner) was a "lady cop!" That's pretty good for the 1950's. (She was the Commissioner's daughter, but still.)
It seems between Clark Kent and Peter Parker, a fair share of superheroes are reporters, too. I guess so they can get the news faster.
I think it comes down to Lois Lane was a reporter, and as the girlfriend of the original comic book superhero, became the blueprint, or icon for those that followed.
Well, superheroes are like most celebrities: the people they meet most frequently are other celebrities and reporters.
Well, superheroes are like most celebrities: the people they meet most frequently are other celebrities and reporters.
And rehab clinic staff.
*snerk*
Seriously, I think one of the very first writers to treat super-heroes as "celebrities" in their own world, and ecplore the ramifications of that, was Steve Englehart, in his Justice League stories where Snapper Carr had difficulty being taken seriously in the "real world".
Well...it IS Snapper Carr after all. I have trouble taking him seriously no matter what.
Point taken.
(verification word: PALINGIV. Creepy.....)
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