Surprisingly DC Television Seems To Be Doing Women Justice

So I watch comic book movies and television because watching movies and television is like second nature to me and comic book adaptations seem to be all there is right now. We have the powerhouse that is Marvel that takes over your local Vues, Odeons and Cineworlds for what feels like all year. The films are filled with so much testosterone that I wouldn't be surprised if I discovered I had another leg when leaving the cinema. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) is the only significant female character in the universe that doesn't serve as a love interest, and she could easily head up her own solo movie but that is not likely to happen anytime soon. Or ever. Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) should be just as important in the franchise because she is essentially Nick Fury's second in command yet we rarely see her in the two films she has been featured in, if you blink you really do miss her. It pains me because Joss Whedon is heading it up the universe in name but sometimes it doesn't really feel like it, I'd expect a few more kick ass women from him. Who knows, maybe the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) might change matters in The Age Of Ultron but I think it takes more than a couple of scenes in one movie.

We also have Marvels Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. but I gave up on that after a couple of episodes, one of the main reasons being the female lead was so damn annoying. Yes, it may have changed a lot since episode two and I would like to try it out again at some point but it will probably be in the distant future. Marvels women may be sucking but a lot of the DC television adaptations seem to be doing them a lot more justice. Let's forget about Constantine because I've already aired my views on their women and I don't really want to get into that again because it will only annoy me even further. Other than Constantine we currently have Arrow, The Flash and Gotham currently on air which all feature and array of women that make me proud of my gender.



In Arrow my champion is Felicity Smoak (Emily Bett Rickards), she isn't a super spy like Romanoff but what she lacks in brawn she makes up for in her intelligence. Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) relies on her greatly, more than anyone else in his circle, and if it wasn't for her I doubt Oliver would even be alive. In the show the Arrow isn't just a lone hero, Arrow is a team and Felicity is arguably the most important component. Even Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) and Thea Queen (Willa Holland) have begun to become women that we can all look up to, they started out as weak and ridiculously annoying, the damsels that always need to be saved but we are seeing them evolve into strong independent women to be proud of. Even a lot of team Arrows foes have been females, like Nyssa al Ghul (Katrina Law), and usually they are the ones the gang have the most trouble defeating.

The Flash doesn't have an abundance of females like Arrow does but they are only a few episodes in so their is still time for the cast to grow. Currently we have Dr. Caitlin Snow (Danielle Panabaker) who seems to serve as team Flash's Felicity, again she is ridiculously intelligent and also someone that Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) can confide in. The other female we have on the show is Iris West (Candice Patton), she hasn't really served much purpose other than a love interest that Barry is longing after but I get the feeling that she will be like Lois Lane (Erica Durance) in Smallville, she may be the love interest but she is a strong personality. Like I said, we're only a few episodes in so only time will tell with The Flash but I want to praise The CW because before I was embarrassed when watching their programming, the females in them were vapid, superficial and uninteresting, the network has come a long way.

Lastly we have Gotham, I'm just going to start off by saying Barbara is useless. She may be brave because she attempted to defend Jim against gangsters but that was also really really stupid. The less we see of her the better. Barbara previously had a relationship with Renee Montoya who ends up going after Jim because she feels that he is corrupt, and also probably because she is jealous. I'll admit that that doesn't paint a great picture of her but in the most recent episode when it became clear that she was incorrect about Gordon she admits it and helps him. She is a tough high ranking officer who hasn't been sucked into the corruption of Gotham so she should get applauded for that alone, I can't wait to see more of her. Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett-Smith) is the other significant female in the show but she isn't on the side of the Angels, she's a gangster and as corrupt as they come. She has proven to be tough physically and incredibly intelligent which is seen in her calculating nature, and while she's not someone I want little girls to look up to I have to admit she's a pretty awesome woman.

So there we have it, I'm lucky I've passed the age where I need a female role model to look up to, I'm also lucky I'm not idiotic enough to spend all my time watching E! and fawning over the likes of Kim Kardashian (I understand that she isn't related to the comic book world, I just wanted to insult her). It does make me fearful of have a daughter or niece one day because they won't really have many heroines in the mainstream media even though it is 2014, I guess I'll just have to raise them on DC television.

Live Long and Blog!

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