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PowerGirl

Respecting the characters

Here’s what Sara Lima had to say about Power Girl: “There’s nothing wrong with Power Girl’s old costume. I really felt it was okay for PG to show cleavage with the hole in her suit if it meant that in her comic she would be treated with a certain level of dignity; which is what we had in Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray’s self-titled POWER GIRL series. I would argue that Power Girl is more “cheesecake” now than ever before, and it’s getting ridiculous. The fact that her suit is torn to shreds in every issue seems to be some kind of running joke—and it’s getting really tired. It feels like the writer doesn’t have respect for the character. What other purpose does her character serve aside from being there to get naked? It feels tawdry. For whatever reason, rather than giving PG her old costume back, someone feels it’s more interesting to tear up her new one” (“What’s Wrong with the Huntress and Power Girl in the ‘New 52’?” Sara Lima, October 18, 2012, www.comicvine.com).

What we like in this tirade is the use of the word “dignity.” We must in fact grant our characters a form of respect, not only to avoid running gags about them but also to respect their actions, especially their most objectionable ones. This doesn’t mean that the writer approves of these actions but simply, that if they can’t be avoided, these actions must be consistent with the character’s nature.

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