What about that feminist agenda? Review of Mockingbird #8

Mockingbird #8
Language: English
Authors: Chelsea Cain (writer), Kate Niemczyk (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (colourist)
Publisher: Marvel
Publication Date: October 2016
Pages: 20
Price: $ 3.99
Website: http://marvel.com/comics/series/21245/mockingbird_2016_-_present

I don’t usually review single comic book issues, but Mockingbird #8 merits an exception for two reasons:

1. This eighth issue is already the last one of this series, and when it came out, writer Chelsea Cain tweeted: “Please buy Mockingbird #8 this Wed. Send a message to @marvel that there’s room in comics for super hero stories about grown-up women.”
   Furthermore, there was some scandal about Cain being harassed on twitter, leading to more pleas for solidarity with Cain. So far, this campaign hasn’t had any effect on the sales of Mockingbird #8, but sales figures are based on retailers’ purchase decisions made months ago, so who knows, maybe this solidarity campaign will make an impact after all. Plus, many people seem to buy the first trade paperback instead.
2. And then there’s the cover. Comic book covers are always made to be eye-catchers, but this one stands out as one of the most iconic covers of at least this year. In contrast to many other covers, it even reflects the contents of the comic, as Mockingbird is shown wearing this t-shirt on 5 panels on the penultimate page.

“ASK ME ABOUT MY FEMINIST AGENDA”? That’s just what we’re going to do now: does Bobbi Morse a.k.a. Mockingbird have a feminist agenda? The short answer is, there would be no reason to wear that t-shirt if she didn’t. For the long answer, there are four key scenes with regard to feminism that merit a closer look:

• p. 5: “I’m the law on this boat, Slade”, Mockingbird says to the Phantom Rider when he comes to haunt her on a boat cruise. Superheroes often take the law into their own hands and act as ad hoc commanders of civilian groups (as in this case, the cruise passengers). Here, a woman assumes leadership over a group of both women and men. The fundamental possibility to do so is a classic feminist claim. On the other hand, this gender perspective is not made explicit.
• p. 16: “He divorced me because I cheated on him. He told himself that you had drugged me, taken advantage of me, but he never truly believed it. It’s too ridiculous. He knows that I’ve always made my own decisions. And that I’ll live with the consequences.” Divorce is a traditional feminist device for sexual self-determination, but here it’s Bobbi’s husband who divorced her, not the other way round. However, there is also a discussion (at least from what I gather online – not sure about serious feminist theory) whether cheating can be considered a feminist practice to achieve sexual self-determination. In this case, though, it looks as if Mockingbird regrets her extramarital affair. (For more information on this piece of backstory, see e.g. this review on xmenxpert.)
• p. 19: “This doesn’t count as a rescue”, Bobbi says to Hunter when he comes in a helicopter to rescue her from some beach to which she was swept after she had gone overboard the cruise ship. What could have easily turned into a ‘damsel in distress’ scene is put into perspective by Bobbi’s lines of dialogue and the beach resort setting: she clearly didn’t suffer hardship alone on that beach. Then again, the action in this scene remains the same: when the man comes to take her away from the lonely island / family resort, she lets him. Or is this just an instance of the controversial opinion that feminism and male ‘chivalry’ are reconcilable?
• p. 20: “We’re here because I need a foot rub.” The comic ends with a scene that Chelsea Cain describes in the epilogue as an “alpine threesome”. A male-male-female threesome in which the woman is clearly dominant? That surely is a feminist sexual practice if there ever was one.

In that same epilogue text, Cain describes Bobbi as “separate from the male gaze, but still not afraid to bask in it” – and there is indeed some basking going on in this comic, though not as much as in others. All things considered, while Bobbi may not have an explicit, discernible feminist agenda in Mockingbird #8, there are much more subtle and not-so-subtle feminist undertones in this comic than in most other mainstream superhero comics.

That alone makes Mockingbird #8 an outstanding comic book, but it’s also beautifully drawn (and coloured), has some genuinely funny moments, and many fresh and wacky ideas. Ultimately Mockingbird proved too over-the-top for either the readers or the editorial management of Marvel, but I hope this won’t be the last we get to see of Cain and Niemczyk.

No rating today because the reviewed item is so short, but here are two other reviews I found interesting: Major Spoilers Podcast #702 and The Marvel Report.