Move Along, Nothing To See Here

The other thing that post got me thinking about was Power Girl's costume. Now me, I like the costume. I like the boots, especially with the heavy tread Amanda Conner gives them. Those will leave an impression in the villainous backside she kicks*. I like the cape, probably because it's kind of unusual. Most super-hero capes reach the knees or father, hers stops at the waist. It's only attached at one shoulder, and the way it does reminds me of either a matador, or a 19th Century cavalry officer, which is definitely cool**.

Of course, there is the window to consider. Easiest alteration would be to just remove it. Don't have to add a logo, just more white fabric, but I imagine there'd be caterwauling from certain sectors of the fandom. So, see if you get artists to draw it smaller. Use Jerry Ordway as your example. He draws the window at least half the size of most of the other artists. That way, it strains credulity a little less.

The real key would be to not have characters comment on it. There's no need to. If Power Girl works with the JSA in an issue drawn by Amanda Conner one month, and Jerry Ordway the next, the writers don't have, Hawkgirl, mention that the window is smaller this month. That just draws attention to the fact it's a different artist, which draws people out of the story. Commenting on it seems to make writers feel they have to explain or justify it, and that never ends well. Probably the best explanation is (as others suggested) that for whatever reason she used to wear it, she wears it now because she's used to it, or comfortable with it. Trying to turn it into some big deal about why people shouldn't be bothered by it doesn't work. The explanations ring hollow.

All of that lead to this.

Got to let sleeping dogs lie, you know? For a long time there, the Spider-writers didn't reference the Clone Saga, because they knew fans tended to have a bad reacton to it. So no Ben Reilly, no Kaine, no talking about how Doc Ock died and was later revived by the Hand, no mention of MJ's pregnancy***. The writers figured there wasn't much of anything they could do with it that wouldn't get a negative reaction, so they left it alone. It was still there, if one wanted to think about it, but creative teams didn't rub one's nose in it.

I think that might have been the way for Adam Beechen to go with that Batgirl mini-series. Don't try and explain precisely the sequence of druggings, killings, relapses, etc., just establish that she's back fighting crime, has a few more things to atone for, and go from there. If the goal is to give fans what they want, it's better to get to it, and move beyond the past swiftly****.

* Which got me thinking about Deadpool. Reilly Brown drew Deadpool as having his logo on all his grenades and guns, and his name on his gloves. Maybe Power Girl could put "Power Girl" on the soles of her boots, so the villain would an even starker reminder of who stopped them.

** I imagine the shoulder pad Amanda Conner draws as being the attachment for the cape is more practical (and sturdy), but I'm partial to that circular buckle that Jerry Ordway and Adam Hughes draw myself. With the way they draw her belt as hanging loose, you can have it's buckle resting on the right hip, balancing the cape buckle on the left shoulder. A symmetry thing.

*** Outside Spider-Girl, but that universe wasn't imposing itself upon those who wished to forget.

**** Of course, we could have a discussion about how wise an idea it is to worry about appeasing the fans with the stories, but I'm not up for it.