InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Have mercy!"

espanolbot (espanolbot) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-07-29 20:33:00

Entry tags:

char: wonder woman/diana of themyscira, creator: darwyn cooke, publisher: dc comics, title: new frontier

New Frontier: Diana vs. Eisenhower, guest starring Richard Nixon!

In which Diana's opinions of the war in South East Asian War come to bite her in the ass.

Eisenhower wins via the power of patronising sexism!

The above scene was missing from the movie adaption of this series, and instead was covered with just a throw away sentence. I think that it's meant to be Diana is causing an embarassment to the government, so the honorary citizenship is a bribe to discretely leave the country.

It kind of shows that the idealist view of America Diana gained whilst she was fighting in the Second World War unfortunately doesn't measure up to the reality of the mid- to late Fifties and Sixties.

It's possible that her decision to arm those women in the other segment I posted may have come from her experience with resistance fighters in Occupied Europe or something, except in a cruel piece of dramatic irony those men she taught those women to fight off won't be overthrown like the Nazis were, and they're pretty much stuck there for the long haul.

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	jarodrussell 2009-07-29 08:19 pm UTC (link)
	Eisenhower wins via the power of patronising sexism! How is that sexism? I can see the patronizing, but how is this seen played out any different than if that were, say, Superman? (Reply to this) (Thread)

	espanolbot 2009-07-29 08:35 pm UTC (link)
	Well they probably wouldn't have used terms of endearment like "My Dear...", but yeah, I might be reading too much into it in that respect. Though it's probably more how people acted back then as opposed to being overly sexist. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	khamelea 2009-07-29 08:38 pm UTC (link)
	I'm pretty sure the General wouldn't have adopted that pose while sending Superman on a vacation. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jarodrussell 2009-07-29 08:51 pm UTC (link)
	With the hand on her cheek? Hmm. If he was being patronizing, I could almost see him put his hand on Superman's shoulder, but if that's what rang the sexism bell, then that's my answer. Thanks. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlbarnett 2009-07-29 09:41 pm UTC (link)
	yep, for Superman it would be hand on the shoulder and "my boy" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	proteus_lives 2009-07-29 09:52 pm UTC (link)
	Literally about to type the same sentence when I saw you had already done it. Kudos! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	unknownscribler 2009-07-30 01:47 pm UTC (link)
	Look at he way he's touching her. That's very much "Don't worry your pretty head over this and just do what Daddy says" (Reply to this) (Parent)

	greenmask 2009-07-29 09:00 pm UTC (link)
	I really like this art! It's nostalgic but not overpoweringly so. (Reply to this)

dr_hermes
2009-07-29 09:33 pm UTC (link)

Doesn't anyone see how sad and regretful Eisenhower is? Wonder Woman reminds him of WW II when everything was clear and easy to figure out. He has gotten older and tired but she hasn't aged an day. That's why he touches her hair for a second. It's a wistful wish that things could be as simple for the world as they had been. I mean, look at his quote in that final panel. The mood's not "sexist," it's melancholy.

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	halloweenjack 2009-07-29 09:42 pm UTC (link)
	Agreed. (Reply to this) (Parent)

Take two, NOW WITH ACTUAL QUOTE

jarodrussell
2009-07-29 09:47 pm UTC (link)

See, that's the impression I got(1) based on his statement about "Good vs. evil." The stuff going on in Asia, while just as despicable as what the Nazi's did, was no where as easily handled, tactically or politically, as the Axis-versus-Allies in WW2. Those pages...and, I admit, my own small fanboying of Eisenhower...make me think he wasn't trying to brush her off because he didn't think what she was saying was important, just that he didn't have an answer she'd want to hear and he didn't want their last words to be an argument.

(1. My impression is not everyone's impression, hence my earlier inquiry and acceptance of an answer.)

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	halloweenjack 2009-07-29 09:41 pm UTC (link)
	The way that Diana is looking at Nixon's hand on her back, I was expecting him to lose that arm. (Reply to this) (Thread)

crinosg
2009-07-29 09:45 pm UTC (link)

Eh, knowing Tricky Dick, he'd probably grow two in its place. Just to spite Diana.

Eh, now I'm having a vision of Diana vs. President Nixon from Futurama. With Nixon giving her his big villain speech.

"...And when I'm swept into office, I'll sell our children to zoos for meat, and I'll go into peoples houses at night and wreck up the place! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Supes: Well, he lost my vote.

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bradygirl_12
2009-07-30 01:07 am UTC (link)

Supes: Well, he lost my vote.

A lot of people comment on Superman becoming a shill for the Government in this story, but to me it's explained pretty neatly: when he meets Batman in secret (also meeting Robin for the first time in a fantastic scene), they discuss how Clark's on the inside and Bruce is on the outside while working together despite their big staged battle of hostility. Clark helped the 'Mystery Men' from the inside and continues to do so. I remember a scene in which he is called by Faraday and isn't happy about it all and lets him know it, and I think it's a role he almost had to play. How could someone with his powers just fade away and not use them? He had to find a way, and he and Bruce cooked this up.

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	ashtoreth 2009-07-31 05:44 am UTC (link)
	I want Rampaging Giant Robot Body Nixon in canon so bad I can taste it. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	dr_hermes 2009-07-29 10:37 pm UTC (link)
	More like surprise on her face than murderous rage, I'd say. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	espanolbot 2009-07-30 12:20 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, I thought that too. Like, "Why is he physically pushing me out of the way mid-speech?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	404glitch 2009-07-30 12:33 am UTC (link)
	Complete with Superman looking the other way. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	cmdr_zoom 2009-07-30 12:42 am UTC (link)
	SO MUCH LOVE for Darwyn Cooke, and to this community (or its predecessor) for introducing this to me. (Reply to this)

	jeyl 2009-07-30 02:03 am UTC (link)
	So some high end official wants Wonder Woman to fade away? Oh, that's a switch. Heck, that pretty much sums up Wonder Woman in general I'm afraid. Compare what Batman and Superman have had, Wonder Woman is a freaking throw away. (Reply to this)