Fan-Comic and Review: Red Hood and the Outlaws issue#1.....in a nutshell

[brendala]

A friend of mine insisted that I give “Red Hood and the Outlaws” (or, as I like to call it, “The Adventures of Douchebag & Dudebro”) a chance because Scott Lobdell is a totally awesome writer and he MUST have a good reason for screwing over Starfire’s character (both literally and figuratively) in the New 52 reboot. I tried the first issue. And this comic is basically the impression it left on me regarding Jason Todd and Roy Harper’s, er, “partnership” with Starfire.

==



REVIEW/SUMMARY

Basically, Roy Harper is surprised that Starfire doesn’t remember the names of people like Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Dick Grayson (implying that Starfire USED to have a normally functioning brain/memory back when Roy last saw her). And, instead of being upset, curious, and/or concerned about Starfire’s brain being broken, Roy has sex with her. Because intense nymphomania just happens to be a side effect of Starfire’s brain-injury. And I guess the nymphomania is a new development because Roy used to hang with her and this is the first he’s hearing of her desire to screw every human male she gets close to despite not being particularly attracted to them.

Jason Todd’s dialogue in the beginning of the book tells the reader that he uses her as a sex toy, too. Neither of them care that Starfire’s brain has apparently degraded to the point where she can’t do anything aside from throwing star bolts, posing erotically, and humping any phallic object that comes within 10 feet of her. Neither of them think to, say, contact the Justice League and see if any of them have info on how to treat brain trauma in Tamaranians. Or contact Dick Grayson and/or the other Titan members to find out if they have any idea what caused her mental dysfunction to begin with. NOPE! They just take advantage of a mentally compromised female comrade because they want to get their rocks off!
I guess Lobdell believes that boys should never say “no” to sex even if the woman in question is clearly mentally compromised. Because stopping to make sure that the woman is 100% capable of giving consent would just kill the mood.


FUCK! THIS! BOOK!


I don’t care if Starfire’s dysfunction gets explained later. I don’t care what kind of bullshit revelations Lobdell pulls out of his ass to justify turning a previously loving and EMOTIONAL character into a brain-dead piece of fan-service for sleazy “Comic Book Guys”. Issue #1 of “The Adventures of Douchebag & Dudebro” was supposed to pique my interest and get me interested in where the story is going (and the New 52 universe as a whole). But all it did was disgust and repel me. The rapey treatment of Starfire made me feel EXTREMELY uncomfortable. And Lobdell’s writing made it clear that this book is NOT made for me (or any other female). It is made for basement dwelling man-children whose idea of female “empowerment” is wearing bikinis 24/7 and having multitudes of loveless, commitment-free hookups with any loser willing to drop his pants.


Also, while this doesn’t have anything to do with the book’s content per se, I just want to say that it does not surprise me that Lobdell has been revealed to be hella creepy in real life.
And, btw, that part at the end of my comic where Roy says that Scott Lobdell told him that Starfire being used as the Team Bicycle by her two asshole comrades is a sign of "female sexual empowerment"...I did NOT make that up. Scott Lobdell actually believes that his version of Starfire is a shining example of a woman owning her bodily autonomy and refusing to be slut-shamed.

Comments

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

That strip comic neatly put a very accurate slant on this idea. Well done. I mean comics are fantasy, but there's too far.

Nor does Lobdell think, that like myself, it wouldn't be sexually attractive to be with a mental midget or a woman who has no intention/ability of monogamy.

People used to say (some, not all) that Longshot took advantage of Dazzler in X-men and I used to see it the other way around (if pressed) for similar reasons as you state here (he's childlike), but really it was a marketing gimmick and writers not knowing what to do with either character at a certain point, so you write them off screen.

And you're right, in light of his recent public behavior, this casts an accurate shadow (he can't even feign ignorance) of his true intent; sexual submission and fantasy. Dude, take that shit to Heavy Metal, not KID'S comics (is anything for kids anymore??)

[brendala.livejournal.com]

I don't mind the fact that mindless, sleazy comics that pander to the basement dwellers exist. There's a market for it and the capitalist in me can't blame DC for tapping that market.
HOWEVER, what I do take issue with is the fact that DC stripped a popular existing female character of EVERYTHING she was (in the original Teen Titans comics, Starfire's emotions were tied into her powers) so that they could turn her into a ludicrous male fantasy. It would be like if 52-Batman's parents were alive and well and Bruce only became a superhero because he thought it looked cool. That would be a horrible idea for a Batman reboot because that tragic backstory is a big part of what DEFINES him. And the same goes for Starfire and her emotions.


New 52 is an epic failure because, instead of simplifying the comic continuity to make it appealing to new readers, they made it MORE confusing by randomly throwing out some stuff (like the Teen Titans and Roy Harper's daughter) but leaving a few things in canon (like Barbara Gordon being fridged/shot by the Joker). If they couldn't commit to a full blown reboot, they shouldn't have bothered at all.

Also, taking cues from the DC cartoons that everyone loves would have been a smart thing to do. But I guess the heads of DC rejected that idea because those cartoons didn't give them boners or whatever.



Nor does Lobdell think, that like myself, it wouldn't be sexually attractive to be with a mental midget or a woman who has no intention/ability of monogamy.

The worst thing Lobdell has done is accuse his critics of "slut-shaming". And then say that Starfire is just "exercising her sexual liberation".
Either he's reaching at straws to avoid admitting he fucked up, or that asshole believes that any woman who dresses modestly and doesn't straddle every penis that comes near her is a repressed, slut-shaming prude. And I guess the same goes for any dude who isn't turned on at the thought of screwing a woman who lacks the cognitive function to remember his name (or even consent to sex at all).

[theidolhands.livejournal.com]

That is one of many reasons why I dislike the term "slut shaming", it is too easy to use as a weapon in the wrong hands. "Victim blaming" was a perfectly good term, that did not insult or assume gender, to explain a vast problem in society and particularly in violence against women.

that any woman who dresses modestly and doesn't straddle every penis that comes near her is a repressed, slut-shaming prude.

I believe this is a game at this point, and it's like a self-inflicted brain-washing aimed at society. Promoting ideas like this in the hands of very impressionable minors is absolutely something I can blame them for. If you want "adult" titles, lacking in substance, then make new titles and characters for it. Alternate universe it if you absolutely must, but warping characters in a specifically and exclusively sexist manner isn't marketing...it's not even just bad taste...at a certain point it's social engineering.