This was magical.
If you ever needed a reason to follow @TheDailyShow, this is it.
Here’s the original segment, in case you missed it.
Hmm…I wonder where Marvel got Cyclop’s costume idea from….
Oh dear. At least Nightwing has better hair? And and!! AND! Cyclops has a red arrow pointing to his crotch. Nightwing doesn’t have THAT.
The following companies also support gay rights:
Allstate
Amazon
American Airlines
Apple
Applebee’s
Best Buy
Clorox
Coca-Cola (which manufactures Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, Fanta, Vitamin Water, and Dasani)
Costco
Delta Airlines
Ford
Gap (which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy)
General Motors
Gerber Baby Products
Hilton Hotels
Home Depot
IMB
Levi’s
Marriot International
McDonald’s
Microsoft
Nationwide
Nike
Olive Garden
Pepsico (which manufactures Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist, Sobe Life Water, Lipton Iced Tea, Amp energy drinks, and Aquafina)
Procter and Gamble (which manufactures literally almost all home/bath products you buy at the grocery store)
Red Lobster
Rite Aid
Sears
Southwest Airlines
Starbucks
State Farm
Target
United Airlines
UPS
Walgreens
Walt Disney CompanyLooks like you have a lot to boycott.
Two things:
- I love this quote, Joss Whedon, and all the characters in this picture (with the possible exception of Illyria). They are all “strong female characters,” they all kick ass, and they are all well-written.
- This photo only depicts one kind of “strong female character” in the works of Joss Whedon: The kind that comes heavily armed with firearms/magic/battle axes/stakes/ass-kicking skills, etc.
So I’d like to take a moment to mention the other “strong female characters” of the Whedonverse, those whose strength does not necessarily come in the form of ass-kicking abilities, but who are without a doubt strong.
- Joyce Summers, Buffy’s wonderfully human, flawed, protective, and supportive mother.
- Kaylee Frye, the genius mechanic who delights in girly dresses, her own sexuality, good food, and getting her hair done.
- Sierra/Priya, the victim of abuse who is at her core a compassionate, loving pacifist.
- Winifred Burkle, who survived five years in a hell dimension and can solve any problem with science, optimism, and her enormous brain.
- Tara MaClay, who was the only one of Buffy’s friends to provide her with support and understanding in her darkest hour, and who stood up to her abusive girlfriend even when it hurt her.
- Cordelia fucking Chase, who went from privileged brat to loyal friend to self-sacrificing hero.
- Adele DeWitt, the woman in a position of power who never forgot that her first duty was to protect the Actives under her charge.
- Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Enterprises and the only person who can get the best of Iron Man.
- Inara Serra, the sex-positive and confident courtesan who was more therapist than “whore” and never once let misogynist insults prevent her from being who she is.
- Anya Jenkins, who spoke her mind. Every. Damn. Time.
- Even Dawn Summers, who wasn’t special, but extraordinary (we all whined at age 15, deal with it).
One of my favorite things about Whedonverse projects is that they always include a broad spectrum of “strong female characters.” The women of the Whedonverse represent a diverse collection of ways to be strong as a woman, as a person. The ass-kickers were just as strong as the nurturers, and sometimes they even overlapped. Y’know… like real people.
This concludes my blatant fangirling over Whedonverse women.
Well said. :) Although I want to correct one small point in this picture (and part of the above) - Black Widow, Agent Hill, and Pepper Potts are not Whedon characters. Whedon did, however, do a good job portraying some of their strongest aspects. In the comics, Hill is actually much stronger than she is in even Whedon’s hands - she takes over all of SHIELD when Fury disappears and leads the agency through Civil War, one of the worst periods in super hero history.
But that misses the point somewhat, I know. I just couldn’t keep my inner comic book fanboy quiet on that point. The characters Whedon HAS designed are amazing. He has a weird fetish for the waifish girl who kicks more ass than seems realistic, but he has a lot of others that aren’t that archetype that are awesome. I love that Kaylee is mentioned above - I adored her!





