Sounds Like DC Comics and I Have Different Notions of What Makes a “Hero”
While Calico is more of a sci-fi fan that a comic book girl, she’s not above settling in on the couch to enjoy an Avengers flick, or binge a Netflix series about a crime fighting super-monk, or take in an animated series filled with caped heroes and nefarious supervillains.
As a girl who likes for there to be a bit of sex mixed in with her drama, Calico’s favorite of the recent (and not so recent) superhero shows is Marvel’s Jessica Jones, which features a delightfully unashamed heroine who knows what she wants sexually — and doesn’t hesitate to pursue it.
It’s a more recent series, HBO’s animated series Harley Quinn, which has caught Calico’s attention today though, despite the fact that she hasn’t watched a single frame of it. It seems that DC Comics takes a slightly different view of what constitutes acceptable behavior on the part of its heroes. DC takes such a different view, in fact, that they demanded a sex scene be deleted from the series!
What did Harley Quinn do that the bigwigs at DC couldn’t allow to be seen? For that matter, was it something Harley did, or something done to her? Why is it OK for a hero to kick someone’s lungs into outer space, but not lick someone’s clitoris? Does Bruce Wayne have to be sexually selfish too, or is he permitted to make like a proper lover right up to the point he puts on that stupid fucking mask?
These and other super-heroic questions are explored in Calico’s new post “Sounds Like DC and I Have Different Notions of What Makes a ‘Hero'”
by Calico Rudasill, Sssh.com, Super Porn For Adventurous Adults!
Read On…
Everybody has heroes – people they look up to, admire, emulate (or wish they could emulate) and venerate. There are many different notions of what makes a hero, of course – and many different opinions as to what sort of words and deeds might disqualify a person from being considered a hero.
“A good hero can be hard to find,” notes one media report on the question of what makes a hero. “A hero is selfless, a genuinely good person… Someone willing to risk their own life to save another.”
“When I think of a hero, I think of somebody like Batman,” says one person interviewed for that report.
But what happens if – shudder – Batman is depicted performing oral sex on a woman?
Plenty of “DC Wham!” Lots of “Pow!” But No “Slurp!”
Evidently, what happens when Batman performs oral sex on a woman is that DC Entertainment steps in and demands that the scene be cut from the production.
Most of the adults I know who are open to watching superhero cartoons aren’t likely to recategorize Batman as a non-hero just for eating a little pussy.
In a recent interview with Variety, Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker, two of the co-creators and executive producers of the HBO Max adult animated series Harley Quinn, revealed that there was a scene in the show in which Batman “went down” on Harley – and the folks at DC freaked out about it.
“DC was like, ‘You can’t do that. You absolutely cannot do that,’” Halpern said. “They’re like, ‘Heroes don’t do that.’”
Granted, it sounds like DC’s concern was more about selling Batman toys to kids than whether eating pussy is outside the bounds of heroic behavior, but I still recoil at hearing “heroes don’t do that” applied to my favorite (by far) sex act.
Part of my objection is that Batman can throw people off buildings, kick the living shit out of them, run over them in the fucking Batmobile, or commit just about any other act of violence he sees fit, and so long as the character in question is someone the audience is supposed to consider a “bad guy,” all that is A-OK for a hero to do.
But planting his face between a woman’s legs and doing something useful with his tongue for a change? That’s hero-disqualifying stuff, evidently.
I’m Not Buying the “Think of the Children!” Stuff in This Context, Either
If we were talking about the Batman comic book, I could understand DC’s position in this. But as NPR’s Glen Weldon points out, Harley Quinn is no kids’ show.
“The Harley Quinn show is decidedly aimed at adults,” Weldon notes. “It’s filled with cartoon gore and explicit language, but also some very funny jokes that’d go over kids’ heads.”
Like Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) – which was rated R – the HBO series sounds less like the old-school Batman comic books and more like the Dark Knight graphic novels, which were rated “teen” but filled with things that would make a lot of parents cringe, if they were ever to crack open one of kid’s graphic novels – like, say, people getting knocked into massive vats of acid.
It would be one thing if Harley Quinn were a kid-friendly show (or a kid-friendly character to begin with, for that matter) that the producers just oddly decided to toss an oral sex scene into, but this is clearly a cartoon aimed at adults – and most of the adults I know who are open to watching superhero cartoons aren’t likely to recategorize Batman as a non-hero just for eating a little pussy.
Just Like Men Who Refuse to Perform Oral Sex, DC is Missing Out
I also think that by toning down their adult animation series, DC is missing an opportunity – one that has not been missed by their biggest competitor, Marvel Comics.
Part of what I loved most about Jessica Jones – an underrated series, in my view – was the titular character’s openness about her desires and her unashamed promiscuity. In the series, Jessica is confused about almost everything else in life, but when it comes to sex (and booze), she knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go get it – quite aggressively, if necessary.
I wasn’t the only one who appreciated the series being “remarkably frank about sexuality,” as Vulture puts it. Many viewers found it refreshing, in large part because it was such a departure from what comic book companies seem to believe heroes “don’t do.”
Look, I’m not saying comic books, cartoons and live action series about superheroes all need to be chockfull of sex scenes in order to be good, or that they should ever have sex scenes if the work is directed at a very young audience.
All I’m saying is that if watching a cartoon aimed at adults, the fastest way to disqualify Batman as a hero is to have him refuse to perform cunnilingus on his partner – especially if he’s expecting Harley to undo his utility belt and drop to her knees, herself. That kind of selfishness really would disqualify the Dark Knight from being considered a hero, at least in my book.
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