The goddamn Batma'am is tired of your crap

July 29, 2011 11:17 AM

The Gender Bent Justice League descended on Comic-Con this year, complete with Superma'am, Wonder Man and the Martian Maneater.

As it says on the tin, the GBJL is a group of cosplayers who sex-swap the roles in the DC universe's pre-eminent supergroup, while maintaining similar costume styles - the women end up fully clad, while the men... Well, let's just say that Power Guy has a lot of self-confidence. Sadly, Black Canary couldn't make it, so we're forced to imagine whether he rocks the fishnets.

posted by Etrigan (73 comments total)

I cannot even handle how unbelievably beautiful these people are.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 11:22 AM on July 29, 2011 [9 favorites]

These are the scary people, who inadvertently point out how ridiculous superhero costumes are.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:24 AM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

1. This is an excellent way to highlight the ridiculousness of sexual objectification in comics
2. fully-clothed super heroines are still very, very sexy

I'm actually pretty angry about the extent to which sexualization of female characters happens in comics, because really, this is where kids start to discover things about their sexuality. Or at least where I did.
posted by Jon_Evil at 11:27 AM on July 29, 2011 [11 favorites]

(Doing everything in my power not to make some pedantic nerdy comment about how Power Girl (Guy) is actually a member of the Justice Society OHGODDAMNIT I just went and did it)

I think the yellow Kanye West Venetian blind glasses really make the gender bent Flash costume work.
posted by EatTheWeak at 11:27 AM on July 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

But there's already a Wonder Man.
posted by Rangeboy at 11:28 AM on July 29, 2011

Power Guy looks considerably better than Power Girl just sayin'
posted by The Whelk at 11:30 AM on July 29, 2011 [5 favorites]

I wasn't interested in this much at all until I saw Power Guy.

Objectification is totally evil. Really. He's very cute, though.
posted by xingcat at 11:30 AM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

This is really neat. Power Guy (why not Power Boy) is very hot. I would read that comic.
posted by nooneyouknow at 11:31 AM on July 29, 2011

I would wear that Plastic Lass outfit on a regular basis. Awesome.

Although I think the line between skin tight and not covered doesn't really take care of the whole "sexualization" thing.
posted by Gucky at 11:32 AM on July 29, 2011

As mildly as possible let me just say that I am a fan of Lady Flash.
posted by 2bucksplus at 11:33 AM on July 29, 2011

Love it.
posted by arcticwoman at 11:37 AM on July 29, 2011

Maneater? So Hall and Oates is a gender now?
posted by arto at 11:37 AM on July 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

Objectification is totally evil. Really. He's very cute, though.

Well I think it's better cause Power Girl has this ridiculous boob window going on whereas Power Guy is just dropping the pretense and flashing bare chest. It almost makes it less sexual. Anyway, overthinking this plate of beefcake. Super Woman does have Perfect Curl.
posted by The Whelk at 11:37 AM on July 29, 2011

I'll be in my super evil island flying volcano lair planning an act of villainy so evil that they'll have no choice but to show up and deal with me, fairly but justly. With lots of spanking.

Err, soon as I can find the eyeballs that popped out of my head. They're on the floor here somewhere. Hey, can you lift your foot? Oh, great, what is that!? You stepped on it and squished it like a grape! I bet it's the left one, too! That was my favorite eye, you oaf!
posted by loquacious at 11:37 AM on July 29, 2011 [8 favorites]

Have to say, that Power Dude is pretty easy on the eyes.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 11:39 AM on July 29, 2011

And yet they still wear heels which always make great sense whilst crimefighting.
posted by tittergrrl at 11:39 AM on July 29, 2011

But there's already a Wonder Man.
posted by Rangeboy at 2:28 PM on July 29 [+] [!]

Not to be confused with Wonder Wart Hog
posted by SPUTNIK at 11:39 AM on July 29, 2011

Maneater? So Hall and Oates is a gender now?

Like, duh.
posted by loquacious at 11:39 AM on July 29, 2011

These are great! I want to join! (Also, I think I actually like the Green Arrow more as a lady!)
posted by troublewithwolves at 11:46 AM on July 29, 2011

Yeah, Power Guy is making me reconsider some things.
posted by penduluum at 11:47 AM on July 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

...whereas Power Guy is just dropping the pretense and flashing bare chest. It almost makes it less sexual.

Look a little lower.
posted by DU at 11:48 AM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

What, no Robin, the Wonder if it's A Boy?
posted by jonmc at 11:49 AM on July 29, 2011

I'm going to become a nervy reporter, snoop around too much and get kidnapped so Super Ma'am can come rescue me.
posted by Scoo at 11:50 AM on July 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

I like this photo of them on Flickr.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 11:54 AM on July 29, 2011 [6 favorites]

Does Power Guy have a sidekick? Because I'd love to interview for the position...
posted by Starmie at 11:56 AM on July 29, 2011

I like that Power Guy is total eye candy because it provides a nice symmetry to the role that Power Girl seems to fill for DC.

The rest of the costumes were a bit meh in the 60s Batman TV show way but I guess not everyone has a ton of money for costumes and visual effects.
posted by vuron at 11:56 AM on July 29, 2011

What, I wonder, is Vixen's (in 1970s Antihero's link) male name. Donder?
posted by Joey Michaels at 11:57 AM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

This is the best Wonder Man though.
posted by nooneyouknow at 11:57 AM on July 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

Look a little lower.

You know, an equivalent crotch-window would have been very hilarious.
posted by The Whelk at 11:57 AM on July 29, 2011 [7 favorites]

I hate myself for wondering if the two Hunters are Earth-1 Helena Wayne and Earth-2 Helena Bertinelli equivalents, when everyone else is very sensibly just perving.
posted by running order squabble fest at 11:58 AM on July 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

Although I think the line between skin tight and not covered doesn't really take care of the whole "sexualization" thing.

I see what you mean but it seems to me like an improvement. Some of these costumes would actually be really practical for a superhero because you could move around without anything falling off or swinging around. I think that part of the problem with previous costumes is not just that they're sexual, it's that they're sexual AND a hindrance to performing effectively as a super-hero.

I also think there's a big difference between covered and uncovered. I agree that skintight still highlights one's form in a way that might be uncomfortable and sexualizing, but skintight is pretty far from naked in a way that some of the other costumes aren't. Also I just really like the way these look, I think they're super awesome.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:00 PM on July 29, 2011 [4 favorites]

I think they're super awesome.

Oh shit oh shit that was a pun it was not intentional I am so sorry.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:01 PM on July 29, 2011 [2 favorites]

You know, an equivalent crotch-window would have been very hilarious.

This. He should have worn the exact same costume as Power Girl, but with the window moved quite a bit south.
posted by mrgoat at 12:01 PM on July 29, 2011

Doing everything in my power not to make some pedantic nerdy comment about how Power Girl (Guy) is actually a member of the Justice Society

Besides her JSA affiliation, Power Girl was in the JLE (Justice League Europe) and JLI (International) OHGODDAMNIT I just corrected a pedantic nerdy comment.
posted by Zed at 12:06 PM on July 29, 2011

WONDERMAN!
posted by Uther Bentrazor at 12:10 PM on July 29, 2011

Equivalent Crotch-Window is an anagram for "Vertical Downtown Quiche," which is just the worst euphemysm ever.
posted by griphus at 12:11 PM on July 29, 2011 [26 favorites]

Must... loosen... collar...
posted by entropone at 12:23 PM on July 29, 2011

What, I wonder, is Vixen's (in 1970s Antihero's link) male name. Donder?

Fox. And I bet he's a stone cold one, too, based on the rest of that group. The costumes are, as a group, well done but they're also very flattering to their wearers, which is something of a pleasant surprise for a group that large and heavily-themed.
posted by immlass at 12:34 PM on July 29, 2011

I agree that skintight still highlights one's form in a way that might be uncomfortable and sexualizing, but skintight is pretty far from naked in a way that some of the other costumes aren't.

A costume like that is designed to emphasize the body, but not in a sexy way. Keep in mind that superhero costumes were originally modeled after those worn by circus strongmen. A circus strongman's skintight suit was meant to display how powerful his body is. Just look at those rippling muscles!

Superma'am's costume advertises strength. She's showing off her muscles. It's a look that complements the confidence you can see written all over her face.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:45 PM on July 29, 2011 [6 favorites]

Some of these costumes would actually be really practical for a superhero because you could move around without anything falling off or swinging around.

That's definitely not true for Power Guy's costume.
posted by PlusDistance at 12:45 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

A costume like that is designed to emphasize the body, but not in a sexy way.

That's a really good way of putting it, I wish I had phrased it that way. Thanks!

Some of these costumes would actually be really practical for a superhero because you could move around without anything falling off or swinging around.

That's definitely not true for Power Guy's costume.

Yeah, sorry, I meant the women's costumes. The men's (formerly women's) not so much.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 12:49 PM on July 29, 2011

I was looking for a "Power Pack" joke, but then I remembered that they were a kid superhero team, so maybe not. Although they did all, commendably, fight crime in the same genderless, moon-booted onesies.
posted by running order squabble fest at 1:23 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Maneater? So Hall and Oates is a gender now?

Only on Mars.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 1:30 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Since DC pretty much already has gender-swapped versions of all these characters, I think it would be more pointed to have a woman in Superman's costume (without lower-cut shirt) and a man in Supergirl's costume, female Flash paired with a dude in Jesse Quick's cleavage costume or or her thong-cut bathing suit, Green Arrow swapped with Arrowette, etc.

Also, DC already has a chest-windowed Power Boy. And DC's existing Miss Martian is, surprisingly, less pervy than GBJL's "Martian Maneater."
posted by straight at 1:47 PM on July 29, 2011

Yeah, Powerboy is really popular with a lot of the nerd-girls in my life. I think it's the gloves... Yeah, the shorts, yeah the bod, but the gloves tweak the "OMG Superhero yum!" center in ways plain old beefcake doesn't.
posted by Slap*Happy at 2:25 PM on July 29, 2011

I my reboot, I've swapped around Captain Atom and Deadman so far.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 2:34 PM on July 29, 2011

Besides her JSA affiliation, Power Girl was in the JLE (Justice League Europe) and JLI (International) OHGODDAMNIT I just corrected a pedantic nerdy comment.

I've just figured out I'm irked by the Martian Maneater, purely on the basis of back story. J'onn J'onzz saw his entire race wiped out, and is a seriously sober/level headed character. Maneater just sits wrong with that.

Yes, I'm criticizing a Cosplayer's character name choice. I'll be at the door with the coat with the "nerd" badge on.
posted by MattWPBS at 2:43 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

In brightest day, in blackest night
This girl is making my pants tight.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 3:48 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, Mr. Bad Example, that's no way for people to -- oh, never mind, I see what you did there.

To be fair, though, Green Lantern is really adorable, and well.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:06 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

and well.

Okay, that Robin is adorable, I love the Death Star outfit¹, and the only way that Galactus costume could be improved is if she also carried around a globe on a plate.


¹I'd like to fire my proton torpedo down her reactor shaft, if you know what I mean.

Disclaimer: I am not actually sure what I mean.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 4:27 PM on July 29, 2011

Who is "Hunter" among the guys? That costume has a weird abdominal cutout that makes no sense for man nor woman. And my googling is failing me.
posted by GuyZero at 4:28 PM on July 29, 2011

Yup, that's the one - a male version of the Huntress who sometimes wears one of the shittiest most needlessly exploitative costumes ever conceived - "Fighting crime in Gotham? BETTER SHOW MY MIDRIFF OFF"
posted by EatTheWeak at 4:35 PM on July 29, 2011

That's The Huntress - a Gotham city hero/antihero, briefly in the Justice League of America. She's the scion of a Gotham mob family who deals with her guilt by fighting crime with a crossbow - a weapon the essential pointiness of which often causes problems for her relationship with Batman. And, no, the midriff cutout makes no sense, but at least it makes slightly more sense than Dagger. I mean, really?
posted by running order squabble fest at 4:41 PM on July 29, 2011

And, no, the midriff cutout makes no sense, but at least it makes slightly more sense than Dagger. I mean, really?

Dagger is cool. Her cutout is in the shape of a dagger. That's cool. Is it at all practical? No. But it is cool. (Cloak and Dagger are both just great character designs.)

The Huntress has just plain had a lot of character designs. I just found a whole thread about them over here. I really like this one, which I believe is the original (more or less).
posted by kittens for breakfast at 4:54 PM on July 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

Dagger is only justifiable because Cloak & Dagger are an awesome team and Cloak is bad-ass. I think I still have some copies from the 80's.
posted by GuyZero at 5:02 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, sure - Cloak and Dagger are awesome. It's just the least practical design ever. I think it must have had to have been glued to her skin - otherwise there's no way it could stay on. Unless... was it part of her? Like Cloak's cloak? It wasn't was it?

Kittens for Breakfast: I think the one you like is the Silver Age Huntress - Helena Wayne, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman on Earth-1, before the Earths got combined in Crisis on Infinite Earths, during which she died.

I kind of like this one , maybe because it's the one from Grant Morrison's exemplary JLA run (I think) - here. It just seems quite... sensible. Barring the cape, but rules are rules...
posted by running order squabble fest at 5:22 PM on July 29, 2011

This is cool and they've done a great job except:
the green lady (Martian Maneater?) has a normal pointlessly-revealing costume; maybe there was a missed memo along the way?

where are Wonder Man's golden bracelets? Yeesh.
posted by LobsterMitten at 5:23 PM on July 29, 2011

These are great fun. I'm looking forward to Atlanta's DragonCon in a few weeks and my favorite costumes are always those that are classics that have a fun twist *- including the gender swapped ones. One year a group of gals went as Batman's enemies - and although they were all pretty "sexy" in style they were done with such style, they (to me) really stood out from the 10,000 scantily clad chicks.

* favorite ever was not gender bent but culturally so: AA man dressed in robes like Obi-Wan, with a floppy hat and a lightsaber with a shotgun's handle: Jedi Clampett
posted by pointystick at 5:40 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

the green lady (Martian Maneater?) has a normal pointlessly-revealing costume; maybe there was a missed memo along the way?

It's as reflective of its gender-unbent source as the others.
posted by Etrigan at 5:42 PM on July 29, 2011

(Helena Wayne was Huntress on Earth-2, not Earth-1.)
posted by Bigfoot Mandala at 5:44 PM on July 29, 2011

Right you are - I always think it's Earth-1 because the Golden Age happened before the Silver Age, so logically the world where the Golden Age heroes was should be Earth-1. But I know that there are plenty of reasons why this is not the case.
posted by running order squabble fest at 5:46 PM on July 29, 2011

This is the best!
posted by two or three cars parked under the stars at 6:06 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

It's as reflective of its gender-unbent source as the others.

Wow, I stand corrected.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:25 PM on July 29, 2011

Kit and Steve (Superma'am and Power Guy) were also the winning group at the Venture Bros. Costue Contest this year, so I'd say they had a pretty successful weekend.
posted by ShutterBun at 8:18 PM on July 29, 2011

In speaking with the Nerd Girls, the problem with the Hunter is that the equivalent of the midriff for a guy is the part where the abdominal muscles bulge over the hips in a "V" shape down to the, well, you know. So it should be side-scallops beginning at the bellybutton and ending mid-thigh. I think. One of them was going on and on about how you could unzip and then zip up again Wonderboy's gloves, I couldn't really get her to take the question seriously.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:50 PM on July 29, 2011

Huntress the kickass heroine. Huntress the hooker-nun cosplayer.

I really liked the way they recreated her in the late '80s as a vigilante heroine and flip side of Batman, but over the years they completely changed her personality. The original Helena Bertinelli wouldn't have been caught dead in that midriff-flashing, hotpants-wearing ensemble, nor would she have gotten into petty boy drama of the kind that happened in Birds of Prey. Those crazy broads can never be friends without romantic rivalries getting in the way, can they?

The GBJL is pretty awesome. I like how it's not just about the costume changes, but also the body language, especially for the women. They're not posing like sex kittens. They're posing like strong, competent crime-fighters, which they are.
posted by Georgina at 9:05 PM on July 29, 2011 [1 favorite]

> the green lady (Martian Maneater?) has a normal pointlessly-revealing costume; maybe there was a missed memo along the way?

Besides shaving her head, it's actually pretty much the same costume as the Martian Manhunter. But he could be fully naked because he was a weird martian whose ways are not known to us humans.
posted by mrzarquon at 11:18 PM on July 29, 2011

If I was built like Power Guy I would totally wear that every day. Especially at job interviews.
posted by marmaduke_yaverland at 2:53 AM on July 30, 2011 [3 favorites]

Not as gender bent as I expected
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 10:02 AM on July 30, 2011

I love this. I wish I had the sartorial skill or the physique to pull this off.
posted by runcibleshaw at 6:23 PM on July 30, 2011

Not as gender bent as I expected

F'real? What were you expecting?
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 9:04 AM on July 31, 2011

No one's mentioned Rule 63 yet? OK, here you go. [NSFW]
posted by Halloween Jack at 3:27 PM on July 31, 2011

F'real? What were you expecting?

Actually giving it half a thought, I can come up with a whole bunch more angles on the idea. Point taken.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 4:21 PM on July 31, 2011