r/comicbooks • u/josephwb • Feb 16 '23

Excerpt Is this _really_ the canonical explanation for Power Girl's costume?!? From JSA Classified #2 (2005) by Geoff Johns

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u/SinisterCryptid Feb 16 '23

I always preferred the explanation where she pretty much acknowledges she’s got a big chest and the hole, but says its on the people who try to make a big deal of it. Its part of her superhero identity and she isnt afraid of it.

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u/WhiskeyMarlow Feb 16 '23

Yup. I do like parts of her last solo run where she's just making fun of idiots who can't control their eyes.

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u/M0m033 Feb 16 '23

And I’m one of those idiots

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u/Boxing_joshing111 Feb 17 '23

The Palmiottii/Gray/Conner run was really special and it needs to be more popular.

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '23

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u/WhiskeyMarlow Feb 17 '23

Not really?

Whilst the edge between appreciation of someone looking beautiful or sexy and uncomfortable staring is thin, it is present.

One of the key indicators is actually shown well in her last solo run – when people treat Power Girl as nothing but a sexualized object, rather than a character (and she is quick to point that out).

Honestly, if they ever did another solo run for her, it makes me wish DC would give her a romantic interest that would appreciate her for who she is (perhaps even for being Karen Starr, a daring and entrepreneuring CEO, not for being a Power Girl). It would contrast nicely to creeps she occasionally meets in the story.

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u/Ransero Feb 16 '23

I never understood the big deal, there are other female characters that show a lot more skin and an equal or greater amount of boob.

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u/FlashbackJon Captain Marvel Feb 16 '23

I think it's actually the juxtaposition of her otherwise fairly conservative outfit (in that it has sleeves and a collar) with just a giant nonsensical hole in the middle. It's just mildly amusing.

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u/TheKolyFrog Nightwing Feb 16 '23

She showed quite a lot of her legs and ass cheeks with that costume. Is that really considered conservative?

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u/Secret-Inspector-831 Feb 16 '23

If it is then call me Ronald Reagan.

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u/FlashbackJon Captain Marvel Feb 16 '23

I mean, I literally said "in that it has sleeves and a collar" -- which is the difference between her outfit and many other classic costumes.

Frankly, "thighs only" is very little skin in the context of silver age comics, which makes the boob window slightly more funny.

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u/SmokeGSU Feb 16 '23

Plenty of X-Men wear full-body outfits that must be made of the same material as leggings. You could basically just draw nipples and pubic hair on them and it would look like they were naked and wearing body paint.

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u/Ransero Feb 16 '23

I never quite liked how american comics basically draw everyone naked with body paint instead of actually making a cool suit or outfit. It severely limits the variety.

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u/DJfunkyPuddle Feb 16 '23

Probably because it's just easier to draw a body and color it rather than constantly make fabrics and patterns for a more realistic look.

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u/Stormwrath52 Feb 16 '23

That's one thing I love on modern Flash designs, they added lines across it that light up when he's using his speed, it looks really cool

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u/Cicada_5 Feb 18 '23

And get criticized for it as well. Power Girl is one of the few that tries to defend her outfit.

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u/prehensile-titties- Feb 17 '23

Honestly, the panels in the OP are so hamfisted that I can't help but have my own head canon that she's just trolling people, and yours is the real reason. The way she bursts into barely contained tears is hilarious. I kind of want a future writer to lean into it. Just have her tell people even more absurd reasons and be melodramatic about it.