The story was about a plot to stir xenophobia on Earth by claiming Superman was a human who hated aliens. Naturally the bad guys expressed prejudice and the good guys didn't.
With one small exception, that is. When the villains attack in ACTION #860, Dawnstar and Timber Wolf each grab Superman's arms (because the sun has turned red and he's powerless). The following exchange occurs:
TIMBER WOLF: Hogging all the fun, Chief Wha-hoo.
TIMBER WOLF: You need to get your gang and get Superman out of here.
Moreover, how would someone in the year 3008 know about Chief Wahoo (even with the variant spelling)? Are we to believe this "nickname" has endured a thousand-plus years? That's about as likely as the average person in 2008 knowing the insults used in 1008.
Curiously, Dawnstar has now appeared three times in a less-revealing costume. But if you search online, every picture is of her old costume. This alone proves what I said before: that the old Dawnstar was nothing but a sex object. A 30th-century Indian princess.
For more on the subject, see Dawnstar in LEGION OF 3 WORLDS and The New, Improved Dawnstar.
P.S. I believe the first ACTION comic I read was #350. That was more than 500 issues ago, which shows you how old I am. <g>
Below: Dawnstar the male fantasy figure.
It's comics. All the females have to be young (even the ones pushing 60) and have large breasts (even the Asian ones). And they all wear clothes to reveal their bodies. It's artistic convention, but it is still somewhat objectifying women.
ReplyDeleteSo comics creators use artistic license to portray women and minorities stereotypically? If that's your point, I agree. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou talk about her changed look, so you should have offered a link to an example of it.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that you haven't mentioned Dawnstar's even more prominent role in the Final Crisis: Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries, including her appearance in this redesigned look on the cover of its fifth and final installment (art by George Pérez).
(Though this miniseries was quite protracted in its release, and to be fair, you've never said that you're a frequent Legion reader.)
I admit to missing that comment in Action 860. Johns's lapse is, naturally, not at all proper. He has shown consistent respect in every other way I can recall, however, for this character.
Certainly far more than was shown for her and through her from 1989 to 2006 ... a separate, lengthy, and sad story.
I posted a separate comment on LEGION of 3 WORLDS, Greybird, and linked to it above.
ReplyDeleteI'm not impressed with Dawnstar's revised costume, and it wasn't the main point of this posting. But thanks for saving readers the effort of Googling it.