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Charlotte Fierro

Genderfluid Characters in Marvel Comics: Xavin, Loki, Sprite & the Eternals

May 23, 2021 by Charlotte Fierro Leave a Comment

Genderfluidity in Marvel Comics is a complicated subject. Historically, it constitutes most of, if not all, non-binary representation in Marvel’s comics. Yet all of Marvel’s genderfluid characters seem to have similar characteristics that have become clichés on the way genderfluidity is portrayed in superhero fiction. These characteristics are :

  • Shape-shifting, or at the very least a physical and/or biological change to express the change in gender
  • Some kind of story reason to explain why their gender changed
  • Portrayals where characters have one “main” gender, and another gender they only take on rarer, more specific occasions (whereas real-life genderfluid people often oscillate between more than the binary male/female genders)

Some characters like Mystique or Jacob Gavin have also been described as genderfluid by fans, and while I do not want to invalidate the way these characters have been interpreted by fans, their actual portrayal in-universe doesn’t match the definition of genderfluidity. Despite the changes their bodies go through, they seem to identify to one specific gender (Mystique only taking on other gender identities as a disguise, and Jacob Gavin actively seeking to go back to their initial body and the gender they were assigned at birth).

Check out Part 1 of Trans Representation in Marvel here: https://www.comicbookherald.com/a-guide-to-trans-representation-in-marvel-comics/

[Read more…] about Genderfluid Characters in Marvel Comics: Xavin, Loki, Sprite & the Eternals

Filed Under: Comics Guides Tagged With: eternals, genderfluid, Loki, runaways

The Leader Reading Order!

April 30, 2021 by Charlotte Fierro Leave a Comment

When it comes to Hulk villains, there is no greater match for the Jade Giant than the Leader. Like Bruce Banner, Sam Sterns got his powers after being bombarded with gamma rays, but instead of his muscles growing like the Hulk’s, Sterns gained incredible intelligence and a brain the size of a soccer ball.

As The Leader, Sterns matches the Hulk brains-for-brawn, but it doesn’t stop there. In many ways, Bruce Banner and Samuel Sterns are two faces of the same coin; one is a self-loathing and guilt-ridden man who wants to be left, while the other is a would-be Ruler of the World, reveling in the strength of his own grey (green?) matter. One man seeks isolation to protect the world from what his strength and rage might do; the other puts himself above other people because they’re not as smart as him. And while other the Hulk villains — from General Thunderbolt Ross to the Abomination — might have come to blows with the emerald enforcer more frequently, the Leader is the one who feels like his true nemesis.

With The Leader featuring in both the end phase of Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk and promotional material for the upcoming M.O.D.O.K. show (and perhaps in Disney+’s She-Hulk?), now is the perfect time to catch up on Samuel Sterns’ comic book history, from 1964 to today. [Read more…] about The Leader Reading Order!

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Characters Tagged With: Hulk, leader

Black Knight Reading Order!

April 26, 2021 by Charlotte Fierro 2 Comments

The Black Knight is “that guy” on the Avengers. He stands out in his bold choice of Tudor armor, leather jacket, and frequently wielding a lightsaber. And yet he’s never had an ongoing series, never led his own team. The Black Knight’s publishing history mostly consists of a handful of solo mini-series, appearances on various Avengers rosters, and a few random guest appearances sprinkled all over Marvel continuity for good measure. If that doesn’t seem complicated enough, the Black Knight is actually the name of three different characters in Marvel; and while one of them has definitely had more importance over time than the two others, they are all linked by the same lineage and armor.

The most famous Black Knight, named Dane Whitman, will appear in Chloé Zhao’s Eternals movie as played by Game of Thrones’ own Kit Harrington. And although he has had a romance with Sersi of the Eternals in the 90s, Dane is mostly linked to the British and Arthurian parts of the Marvel Universe, teaming up with characters such as Captain Britain, Excalibur, and even Merlin. [Read more…] about Black Knight Reading Order!

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Characters Tagged With: black knight

Thunderstrike Reading Order!

April 8, 2021 by Charlotte Fierro Leave a Comment

What do you get when you cross the Thor mythos with grunge aesthetics? You get Thunderstrike, a new Thor variant made by the 90s, for the 90s. A beefier hero who traded his classic hammer in for an Asgardian mace. It’s a classic epic of a leather jacket fighting other, larger leather jackets.

First introduced as a side character in the pages of Thor, Eric Masterson quickly became the Thunder God’s new human alter ego (yes, the title was still doing the secret identity thing by the late 80s if you can believe it), before forging himself a new identity as Thunderstrike.

Created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz in 1988, Eric Masterson is a rare example of a Marvel hero who not only has a clear beginning and end to his story, but has also maintained a pretty consistent creative team throughout his comic book history (with DeFalco writing virtually all of his comics, and Frenz drawing most of them). In 2011, more than a decade after Thunderstrike’s death, the duo even came back to continue Eric Masterson’s legacy in the form of his teenage son Kevin, who inherits his father’s mace and becomes the new Thunderstrike (still active today, as of his last cameo apparition in the pages of Annihilation Scourge: Omega). [Read more…] about Thunderstrike Reading Order!

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Characters Tagged With: Thor, thunderstrike

Ironheart (Riri Williams) Reading Order!

March 20, 2021 by Charlotte Fierro 2 Comments

Created by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Deodato in the lead-up to Civil War II, Riri Williams is a 15-year-old child genius from Chicago who builds her own Iron Man-type armor and soon finds herself taking over Tony Stark’s mantle.

In recent stories, particularly Eve Ewing’s solo series, Ironheart has started to step outside of Iron Man’s shadow and into a spotlight all her own, whether as a member of the teen hero group, the Champions, or on her own adventures taking her as far from Chicago as Latveria, and recently, Wakanda. [Read more…] about Ironheart (Riri Williams) Reading Order!

Filed Under: Featured, Marvel Characters Tagged With: Iron Man, ironheart

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  • 2010 Variant Cover E: Thunderbolts Review w/ Tiffany Babb
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