Being Geek Chic is a blog about one woman navigating the male-dominated industries of production and tech. It's written by Elizabeth Giorgi, Founder, CEO and Director of Mighteor - one of the world's first internet video production companies. Learn more about Mighteor here.
It would be futile for me to list a bunch of reasons for you to go see Age of Ultron if you haven’t already. You already have all the reasons you need and it’s clearly the blockbuster movie of 2015 so far. It would, however, be irresponsible of me not to point out the most important part of the entire film.
Here’s the basic description: Early in the film, Thor and Tony Stark are standing at the bar when Maria asks: “Where’s Pepper?” Simple question. Simple response: She has a company to run. Could be the end of the conversation and move along, but critically it is not. Joss Whedon instead uses it as a moment to establish that these men have chosen REMARKABLE women as partners. Thor goes on to brag about Jane’s consideration for a Nobel Peace Prize and Tony postures additionally about Pepper’s girl boss status.
These men are not intimidated by brilliant, powerful and successful women. These men didn’t choose damsels in distress. These men chose women who were so badass, they were probably too busy to hang out with their boyfriends at some random party anyway.
Why is this important? Imagine the millions of little boys who want to be Iron Man or Captain America or Thor. There are plenty of non-realistic, totally fantastical reasons to aspire to superheroics: flying, fighting bad guys, awesome outfits and powers from beyond human understanding. But then there are qualities that are real. Qualities that are actually translatable to the futures they are envisioning and actively creating. Imagine planting the idea that men should strive for not the hottest woman, but the most brilliant. The CEO status-caliber woman. The Nobel Prize-winning woman. The Feminist Anarchist Federal Agent woman.
The scene is used to establish that it’s not just Hawkeye and Bruce and Natasha who have relationships in their interpersonal lives. But more than that, it also serves to display the constant sense of competition amongst each of our respective heroes. This could be done in a lot of ways: see the “let’s watch everyone try to pick up Thor’s hammer” scene, for example. We’ve all seen movies and media that show men competing with their respective partners for the appreciation of their male friends. Most media literally shows off two women alongside each other in a scene without listing her accomplishments or even mentioning a single thing about her. In fact, at best, it’s a bikini scene where she gets one small line of dialogue.
The Marvel universe may not always get women right. And they certainly don’t deserve credit for being feminist friendly, but they do deserve credit for this. Specifically, I would guess that Joss Whedon deserves credit for this moment in the film.
If more little boys growing up thinking: I want to be seen with/connected to/married to a bad ass woman, then maybe we will have achieved a certain kind of global peace after all.
About a month ago, I told you why you should start reading comics. Perhaps that was just what you needed to get started and to jump into the fold. But maybe you’re still feeling a bit hesitant, and you could use some additional direction. Or better yet, a list of recommendations.
If that’s you, here are a handful of comics that you should start reading today, conveniently organized based on some things that you might be digging these days:
Ink and Thunder
This series is made up of a couple of critically acclaimed, self-published short stories, The Mire and Wolves. They won’t take you long to read, but they’re definitely worth checking out. The backdrop is fantasy-inspired, but the real draw of these stories is the human journey at their core.
Princeless, Volume 1
Many recent animated films have tested or expanded the conventions of the typical prince and princess relationship – Tangled, Brave, and more. Princeless feels just like one of those great animated films in comic form, but goes even further to break the old convention of the princess as a helpless damsel to be saved and won. The early issues do a great job building the world and setting a tone that matches those timeless adventures we’ve all seen on the screen so many times.
Superman Adventures, Issues #1, #21 and #41
There are many classic Superman stories you’d be well served to check out prior to Clark Kent’s next film outing, including many that I’m still working through myself. Might I recommend starting with a trio of issues from the Superman Adventures series, which is grounded in the universe and stylings of the Superman Animated Series of the late ‘90s? The issues above offer colorful and fun introductions to Superman, Supergirl, their home planets Krypton and Argo, and many iconic baddies too.
Atomic Robo Series
Atomic Robo stars a butt-kicking robot (built by Nikola Tesla) whose adventures take place in numerous different time periods and feature Nazis, monsters, dinosaurs and more. Can you see the parallels to your favorite Time Lord already? In any case, each Atomic Robo story arc tells a standalone story within a handful of issues, so it’s a great place to dive in for some swashbuckling sci-fi action.
Iron Man: Extremis
Invincible Iron Man Annual #1.1, #1.2 and #1.3
So why not check out a couple original comics stories that laid the groundwork for Tony Stark’s latest silver screen antics? Iron Man: Extremis is the Iron Man story with the most direct relationship to the latest film. Along with that, we’ve got a three-issue Iron Man arc that doesn’t actually feature Iron Man at all, instead putting the spotlight on the Mandarin. While diehard comics fans have been split on the portrayal of Mandarin in Iron Man 3, this story strikes a nice balance between the two versions of the character, presenting a man who not only masters great power, but manipulation, subterfuge and theatrics too.
Got additional recommendations of your own? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
Guest post by Adam Giorgi, who also happens to be my brother. He’s a writer, gamer, reader and Potter head. He also makes cool comics from time to time. Check out his blog: Geek-Attack. Follow him on twitter: @adamgiorgi
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve been going through Marvel withdrawal since last summer. So much so that on my last trip, I loaded up my iPad with The Avengers and settled into a chair at the Orlando airport to watch it for probably the hundredth time.
Well, Avenger Geeks, our wait is over. Last week Marvel dazzled us with our first major glimpse at Thor: The Dark World, which hits theaters in November (two words: Loki’s. Hair.) This week, the third installment of Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man lands.
Hopefully, the film will answer the question we’ve all been wondering: if the Mandarin (which, if I’ve gleaned correctly, is the villain facing off with Iron Man this bout) is really such a Big Bad, then why, why, why wouldn’t the Avengers reassemble to handle it?
These cookies may not be strong enough to fuel Tony Stark’s heart or suit of voice-activated robotics, but they should be good enough to get you through a pre-premiere Iron Man marathon or a midnight showing.
Let’s make some Iron Man Arc Reactor Cookies!
I had never heard of ScreenFunk before… And then this awesome bromance celebration by Marie Bergeron crossed my Google Reader. Love that Bruce Banner/Tony Stark bromance so hard. Yeah, I SHIP THEM. I know, I know. Everyone is supposed to be a Stark/Rogers - but whatevs.
Other beautiful designs for your iPhone/tablet/Android loving sort, below.
Poison Ivi in a simple style.
Smart LEGO man.
