Too Many Blondes?
Are there too many blond female sidekicks? It occurred to me yesterday that the female sidekicks of the “Big Three” are all currently blond: Supergirl, Wonder Girl, and Batgirl.
That’s sort of odd. The previous Batgirl and Wonder Girl were both raven-haired, while the Batgirl before that was a redhead. Supergirl has pretty much always been blond, so she gets a pass. How did they all end up blond nowadays? In an era where Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears are two of the most recognizable young blondes, what does that say about the image these characters are reinforcing?
Heck, even Green Arrow’s female sidekick Speedy is a blond. I guess you could point out that Miss Martian is a redhead and Aquagirl is a brunette, but neither of these are really prominent characters right now.
While I like all of these characters, I feel DC did a better job previously covering all the major hair colors. They need the Betty, Veronica, and Cheryl Blossom hair differential plan!
Agree on the blondeness being odd (guess they decided the costumes were enough to tell them apart), but sort of disagree on them being sidekicks. Dunno about Wonder Girl or Speedy, as I haven’t encountered the new ones, but Batgirl and Supergirl are and always have been independent operators.
Agreed. Good post.
How about we take it a step further, and add some real diversity. Different races and ethnicities. I mean I guess Cass Cain was bi-racial? But, she’s gone.
Ooh! Let’s kill Wonder Girl, and replace her with a Polynesian chick!
@Shig – Good point about the word “sidekick”. Really I used the term because I was lacking a better descriptor. Maybe I should have said “female teenage proteges”. Thanks for the comment!
@Vanessa – Why you gotta hate on Cassie? 🙂 Back when they were in Young Justice, I really liked Cassie (Wonder Girl) and Cissie (Arrowette) together. Again, two blondes, but entertaining. Agreed about races and ethnicity. The new Aqualad is black and the new Aquagirl is Hispanic. They seem to have their diversity handled underwater, but on land they are lacking.
Random thought – Why hasn’t Green Lantern ever had a teenage protege (male or female)? And for your old school fans, I don’t count Charlie Vickers.
Shag
Does Arisia count as a teenaged Green Lantern protege?
@Shig – I considered Arisia, however, she was only a teenager for a short while. Also, she only ever appeared in the Green Lantern book, and then she started dating Hal. Creepy!
You’re right — GL never did have a teen sidekick and Arisia dating Hal was creepy. But I loved with Jon Stewart was the main GL in the book and Katma Tui was alongside him. That was always a fun dynamic.
But honestly, blonde, brunette, or redhead, I just wish the artists would tone it down a touch. Nobody’s butt sticks out that much that often.
Since when was Wonder Woman blonde?
Clearly, the carpet doesn’t match the curtains…
I want to see a female sidekick with a gigantic, curly afro like my daughter’s. That would make me happy.