Profile: Jubilee

Jubilee

First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #244, May 1989
Real name: Jubilation Lee
Creators: Chris Claremont, Marc Silvestri

History: Jubilee was a teenage girl of Chinese descent, daughter of wealthy immigrant parents who'd lived in Beverly Hills, California, who were both murdered by mafia hitmen, and lost her family fortune in the process. She wound up homeless after fleeing from an orphanage, and survived by hiding out an a shopping mall, where she even tried to make money panhandling, or more specifically, by using the mutant power she discovered she had (pyrotechnic light beams) to entertain the patrons, while simultaneously evading mall security that wanted to throw her out. Later, she wound up being teleported to Australia with the X-Men in the Siege Perilous affair, and befriended Wolverine, who made her into a team member and a protege of his. In 1994, she became a cast member of the Generation X spinoff series.

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: in the House of M crossover of 2005, already notorious enough for its "no more mutants" alterations that were laughable, she loses her powers along with a number of other characters. Then, in Marvel's 2010 crossover Curse of the Mutants, in X-Men's third volume, she was affected with vampirism, and reduced to the sidelines for a time. It was only around 2018 that she was written being cured of vampirism and her mutant powers restored.

What's wrong with how this was done? The slew of crossovers that began with Avengers: Disassembled and spiraled into shoddiness was some of the most inorganic productions that could've gone on under Joe Quesada, whose staff really seemed to go out of control with such stuff after Bill Jemas left the publisher. And Jubilee was clearly one of the biggest victims of the pointless directions taken, right down to the repellent path with turning her into a vampire, something which also happened to Looker from Outsiders at least a decade prior.

Was there anything good to come of this? Of course when the writers finally reversed the vampire theme in a 2nd volume of Generation X in the past decade, that was a good thing. But it was far too late to care what would come next, since artistic quality had been ruined even long before. So if Jubilee was boosted to a more adult age by that time, even that was late in coming.

Regarding her original outfit with a trechcoat and shorts, I did think that was silly, even if it was meant as an allusion to Robin's costume in Batman comics. But aside from that Marvel's artists did change some of it a few years later and draw her with longer hair, it was still the least of the problems to come, which creator Chris Claremont clearly doesn't care about today, seeing how he'd never taken issue with the mistakes made with the characters he created in the years after he stopped writing X-Men.

Profile: Vanessa Marianna Fisk

Vanessa Mariana Fisk

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #70, March 1969

Original creators: Stan Lee, John Romita Sr.

History: Vanessa Fisk (Marianna was her maiden name) was the wife of the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, and figured notably in a number of stories involving the ruthless, towering crimelord over the years in both Spider-Man and Daredevil's series. Though she was married to Kingpin, she did not approve of his criminal activities, and was later written trying to convince him to abandon his criminal career.

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: many years later, in the 2nd volume of Daredevil, around issue 31, she was depicted murdering her son Richard, because he'd tried to bump off his father Wilson. And that was just the beginning of storylines where she was portrayed as descending into contrived and forced madness. Later, in the 92nd issue, she tried to have Daredevil murdered, as she blamed him too for all the troubles she'd gone through with the Kingpin. Then, she was depicting dying.

What's wrong with how this was done? After being depicted as an imperfect but decent person years before, this 360 degree alteration was utterly atrocious, and another example of how characters developed by Stan the Man were being thrown under the bus long after he'd left Marvel management. It was also some of the worst writing Brian Michael Bendis had begun, and Ed Brubaker had concluded.

Was there anything good to come out of this? Nothing. Like practically all the rest of the Marvel universe, even Daredevil's storytelling collapsed after the original volume ended in 1998, and till this day, hasn't and won't recover under a corporate ownership. A character like Vanessa Fisk deserved much better.

Profile: Mariko Yashida

Mariko Yashida

First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #118, 1979

History: the first notable lover of Wolverine, she was the daughter of Shingen Yashida, the half-sister of the Silver Samurai, Kenuichio Harada, and the cousin of Sunfire. The two of them met when the X-Men traveled to Japan to stop the terrorist Moses Magnum from menacing the country. They were engaged to be married, but because of the usual complications seen in superhero adventures, it never went through.

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: in the years following hers and Logan's failed plans for marriage, she was poisoned with a toxin-laced blowfish by a hitman named Reiko, who was working for mobster Matsuo Tsurayaba, a rival of her family's, in Wolverine #57, July 1992. She wanted to avoid a painful death, and convinced Wolverine to finish her off faster, which he did, while swearing to take revenge on Tsurayaba.

What's wrong with how this was done? Fortunately, very little. It was a tastefully and plausibly handled passing of a character, at a time when Marvel writing was still coherent enough. And one of the better stories of its kind set in the Asian/far-eastern world.

It's still a pity though, that Wolverine couldn't be allowed the benefits of a better life, along with a lady like Mariko.

Profile: Valkyrie

Valkyrie

Real name: Brunnhilde

First appearance: Avengers #83, December 1970

History: initially, Valkyrie debuted as a disguise of the Enchantress, and later, made an appearance as the persona of a deity that was placed into the body of a mortal woman, Samantha Parrington, in the Incredible Hulk #142 in 1971. Then, in the 4th issue of The Defenders in 1973, Valkyrie's essence was placed in another mortal woman, Barbara Norris, and the 3rd iteration of the character joined up with the group for much of the rest of the run.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: she was originally killed in the last issue of Defenders, just so some cast members like Beast could then be used in X-Factor, though later resurrected in a Dr. Strange story 2 years afterwards. More recently in 2019, she was slaughtered again in the War of the Realms crossover by the dark elf Malekith, just so that Jane Foster could take her role, after being forced into the role of Thor himself a few years prior when Axel Alonso was Marvel's EIC.

What's wrong with how this was done? It was cheap and superfluous to kill her off in the Defenders finale from 1986, though in fairness, they did wisely reverse this shortly after in Dr. Strange's solo book. It was much worse when Valkyrie was put to death in War of the Realms, where she was either stabbed to death with a sword in the back, or worse, decapitated.

The worst thing is that this was coming some time after Marvel had taken up a social justice Orwellian anti-sex agenda, yet jarring violence was still left intact. That's what really makes their steps abominable, and it hasn't changed much under C.B. Cebulski either.

Profile: Sabra

Sabra
Real name: Ruth Bat-Seraph

First appearance: Incredible Hulk #250, February 1981

History: Sabra was an Israeli police officer and Mossad agent born in the Jerusalem area whose son was murdered in an Islamic terrorist attack (this may have happened after she'd originally met the Hulk). She became a minor protagonist in the Marvel universe, and subsequently worked on occasion with the X-Men, since she herself apparently had mutant powers. Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema were her co-creators.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: in Contest of Champions from 1982, after the original Arabian Knight was made to look bad by initially refusing to work with a Jewess (his characterization was that troubling alright), she was made to look ridiculous herself by refusing a helping hand by Arabian Knight after she fell off his flying carpet during a battle with She-Hulk and Captain Britain as opponents. After 2000, she was subject to similar embarrassments in the Union Jack miniseries from 2006, where she sustained a shot at her eye, and the moral equivalence involving her dislike for the second Arabian Knight as much as the first made it worse.

There was even a story published in New Warriors #58-59 where she was brainwashed into sabotaging peace talks between Israel and Syria, which included a nasty attack on a Syrian hero called Batal.

What's wrong with how this was done? The superficial depiction of her mistrusting, hostile feelings against Arabic/Islamic characters without establishing or explaining properly why is just what seriously undermines those stories (no willingness to acknowledge the Koran's contents is a serious flaw in development). The plotline from NW in particular was very sloppy, and was left dangling with nobody commenting on her mental condition.

I don't think she was ever featured in the anthology stories from Marvel Comics Presents (1988-95), whereas Arabian Knight appeared in at least one, and this left me wondering if TPTB had no courage to use her, even in short stories? What good is that? Though in fairness, she did continue to make appearances in X-Men related material as the 90s came about.

Sometimes, from what I've researched of Sabra in the past, it all but seems like they victimized her through cowardice combined with disinterested, ill-informed approach to politics surrounding Israel, the Islamic world by extension, and characterization. Such superficial approaches never do anyone any favors.

Profile: Betty Brant

Betty Brant

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #4, September 1963

History: a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she worked as J. Jonah Jameson's secretary at the Daily Bugle, later becoming a reporter herself, first dating Peter Parker and later marrying fellow journalist Ned Leeds for a time.

Was subject to the following acts of discrimination: after Brand New Day came about in 2008, some of the best character developments were drastically erased, and she was belittled in a story from #583 in 2009 where Peter Parker makes it sound like she's having an affair with Marlon Brando, just to make her look more like a gossip writer. And when she holds a birthday party later, nobody even comes around, because they resent the job she gets at the Bugle. She's basically alienated.

What's wrong with how this was done? Writers like Mark Waid went out of their way to marginalize a once decently written character in almost the same way Mary Jane Watson was. It's but one of many grievous errors made for the sake of One More Day, long viewed as one of the worst stories in modern Marvel history.

That particular story may have been quietly dropped, but the damage has remained for a long time after, and does nothing to salvage Spider-Man. Certainly not so long as Joe Quesada remains in charge.

Profile: Ned Leeds

Ned Leeds

First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #18, November 1964

History: a young reporter for the Daily Bugle, he dated and later married secretary/reporter Betty Brant. He was co-created by none other than Stan Lee and the late Steve Ditko.

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: in the mid-80s, at the time of the Hobgoblin tale, Ned, while trying to bring down the Kingpin, fell victim to brainwashing by the Hobgoblin (which damaged his relations with Betty), Rod Kingsley, and was framed as being the Hobgoblin (much like Flash Thompson was around that time). Ned was murdered by the Foreigner at the behest of Jason Macendale in the 1986 Spider-Man vs Wolverine special, and for a time afterwards, it was thought Ned was the Hobgoblin.

What's wrong with how this was done? This story turn was the result of machinations by Jim Owsley (Christopher Priest), whose work as both writer and editor have been very hit-or-miss. It was controversial at the time, with Peter David, Tom deFalco and Ron Frenz taking offense, mainly because Owsley kept it secret until the last minute. It wasn't considered very plausible either; just a cheap excuse to kill off an established co-star.

Was there any good to come out of this? A decade later, in the 1997 Hobgoblin Lives miniseries, an effort was made to exonerate Ned by retconning in-story that Rod Kingsley/Hobgoblin was the culprit all along, and had brainwashed Ned.

This year, in ASM Annual #42, Ned was revealed to be alive (it seems he was resurrected by the Jackal in Clone Conspiracy), or a clone of him turned up. I'd like to think that's good news, but coming at a time when Mary Jane Watson was still thrown out by Joe Quesada's editorial mandates, it decidedly wasn't. (With terrible scribes like Dan Slott taking charge, how could it be?) The takeaway from this is that Ned was sadly a victim of frivolous obsessions with garnering attention at all costs, no matter how poor the artistic merit could've been to start with.

To date, there's only been a few male characters I've added to this database, but I think Ned Leeds certainly qualifies, and I realize there can be advantages in keeping track of some of the men in comics too.

Profile: Heather Glenn

Heather Glenn
First appearance: Daredevil #126 Vol 1, 1975
Death: Daredevil #220 Vol 1, 1985

History: She was the daughter of a rich industrialist factory manager. She helped Matt Murdock and Foggy Nelson open up a new law firm called Storefront Clinic, and subsequently learned Matt's secret identity as Daredevil. She was co-created by Marv Wolfman and Bob Brown. She even guest-starred at least once in Iron Man, and similar to Tony Stark, suffered from alcoholism.

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: she committed suicide after believing her relationship with Matt had fallen apart by hanging herself in her apartment.

What's wrong with how this was done? Fortunately, very little, maybe because her death was by suicide, rather than coming to a more grisly end via murder, as happened with Karen Page during Kevin Smith's run in 1998 on the 2nd volume.

I'll have to admit though, that it's a shame Marvel's staff at the time thought the only good way to give Glenn a sendoff was by sending her into the afterlife. If that's the only way they can think of dropping a character they no longer want to use, how can they call themselves creative?

Profile: Jane Foster

Jane Foster

First appearance: Journey Into Mystery #84, September 1962

History: Foster, a nurse when she first debuted, was assistant to and the first mortal love of Marvel's take on the Norse God of Thunder, Thor, in his mortal guise of Dr. Donald Blake at the time he'd originally had a secret identity. An interesting bit of trivia: at least twice she was referred to as Jane Nelson rather than Foster, as per a handful of early Stan Lee works where some accidental typos remained in place, but the family name Foster ultimately came to be the one solidified for naming her character. She may not have begun as the toughest lady cast member (admittedly, not many of the female co-stars in Stan Lee's first 2 Silver Age years did), but as time went by, she became a much more braver, determined character who wasn't afraid to put up a fight when facing danger.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: when she first found out Thor and Blake were one and the same, she tried to persuade Odin to make her a deity to live alongside Thor. But she failed the needed tests and Odin returned her to Midgard (Earth) with her brief powers and memories of Thor erased, though the latter returned some time later. In Thor #231 from 1975, an entity called Fear tried to manipulate her into committing suicide, and while Sif aided her by merging their life forces temporarily, she later wound up stuck in a pocket dimension the following year in issue #249. Fortunately, Thor and Sif rescued her, and in 1983, in issue #336, she married Dr. Keith Kincaid, the medic whom Thor's Blake identity was meant to resemble.

When the Civil War crossover was published, Jane was shoved into the mess as well. In the third Thor volume, after learning Donald Blake was around again, she divorced Kincaid and lost custody of the child she had at that time. In 2015, she was depicted contracting cancer and was turned into a female Thor, complete with same name as the male protagonist who bears that very name.

What's wrong with how this was done? The stories from early times were done plausibly and respectably (including a What If? anthology tale from the late 70s), without trying to turn Foster into a tool. But forcing her into the Civil War crossover was bad, and it was disrespectful how J. Michael Straczynski and company had her divorce her husband, as though nothing mattered anymore, ditto the child custody loss.

And then, there's that little matter of turning Jane into "Thor" for the sake of publicity stunts and catering to SJWs and "diversity" advocates in 2015, as though such steps alone equal talented writing. Not so at all. Jason Aaron's notions of how to go about were laughable in the extreme, and despite the attempts by leftist apologists to claim otherwise, sales did not hold up, and certainly didn't sell over 100,000 copies (and don't be surprised if plenty of those copies are gathering dust on the shelves and in bargain bins now). It was a decidedly terrible misuse of a character who deserved far better, just like the equally abused Mary Jane Watson.

Profile: Shanna the She-Devil

Shanna the She-Devil

Real name: Shanna O'Hara
First appearance: Shanna the She-Devil #1, December 1972

History: a variation on Will Eisner and Jerry Eiger's earlier Sheena, Queen of the Jungle tales from the Golden Age, adventuress Shanna was an early example of a heroine co-created by a woman, writer Carole Seuling, with artist George Tuska, and Steve Gerber provided some extra backup assistance on the scripting. The heroine, also known as Lady Plunder, was the daughter of Gerald and Patricia O'Hara, the former a diamond miner who accidentally shot his wife dead while searching for a rogue leopard that belonged to the mother, and this led the outraged Shanna to take a negative stance on firearms with few exceptions. (As seen in the panel I posted, which is from the 2nd issue, only for tasks like blasting heavy doors open did she see fit to use guns.)

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: both she and paramour Ka-Zar were dragged into the mess known as Secret Invasion, and she killed a Skrull named Pit'o Nilli. I don't think she was ever depicted killing before. Yet that's probably nothing compared to the idiocy of the Marvel NOW event of the early 2010s, where she was killed by a neanderthal on a mysterious island within the vicinity of Savage Land, and though she was resurrected, she was now filled with supernatural powers, all for the sake of it.

What's wrong with how this was done? The biggest problem is that it wasn't organic. Another is the sensationalized approach to storytelling by awful writers like Brian Bendis. And the supernatural powers were unnecessary. This wouldn't have worked with the Black Canary or Lady Shiva over at DC either.

But maybe the worst thing that could happen to Shanna from a real life perspective is that one of the later scriptwriters penning a story where she made an appearance turned out to be a scumbag: Gerard Jones, who wrote a 10-part story for Shanna in Marvel Comics Presents 68-77 in 1991, was arrested at the end of 2016 for child porn trafficking. Now, what might've been one of the better stories starring such a fine creation is going to be tainted for quite a while with the stench of Jones' actions behind the scenes. It's absolutely terrible when something awful like that happens.

Profile: Lionheart

Lionheart

Real name: Kelsey Leigh
First appearance: Avengers #77 vol. 3, March 2004

History: this character, created by Chuck Austen, a onetime hack writer for Marvel, and artist Oliver Copiel, debuted as a third Captain Britain. She was a divorced mother with 2 children from southern England whose house had been invaded by thieving gang rapists who left her scarred across the face with broken glass when she tried to fight back against them. Her husband Richard was too terrified to help, and this led to their divorce.

Later, she found herself stuck in the middle of a battle between the Avengers and the Wrecking Crew. After Captain America and the Wasp were downed, Kelsey came to their help by holding up Cap's shield to guard them from a blast, but suffered injuries that led to her temporary death. She was resurrected by Brian Braddock, the original Captain Britain, and given a choice between the Sword of Might or the Amulet of Right to become a replacement for Brian in the CB role. She chose the former artifact, and discovered that if she were ever to reveal to her children who she really was, it would lead to their deaths.

What's wrong with how this was done? Not only was Brian depicted failing to warn Leigh of the consequences coming from the wrong choice of artifacts/weapons, the story setup was unbearably cruel, separating a mother from her children, as though the gang-rape and cowardly husband premise weren't bad enough. Adding insult to injury was how all this practically made it seem as though Leigh was paying for resisting her rapists by getting slashed; as though it were wrong for her to fight back. It's practically an example of writers who hate their own creations.

And they added insult to injury by depicting Leigh joining forces with a villain called Albion because she was angry at Braddock for what happened to her.

Was there anything good to come out of this? Fortunately, I think Chris Claremont, still working for Marvel at the time, fixed everything in a short series he wrote called New Excalibur; sort of a sequel to the old 1988-98 series. After Albion tried to assault the UK with his own dark forces and Excalibur fights back, she finally recognizes the mistakes she made, turns back to good and helps Excalibur defeat Albion. Brian then decides to set things right by reuniting her with her children and mother, thus putting an end to a very misguided storyline.

So in a modern era where you have Marvel's modern staff turning out some of the worst ever tales you could find, there was a silver lining with this case.

Profile: Sif

Sif
First appearance: Journey into Mystery #102, March 1964

History: the sister of Heimdall and childhood friend of Thor and Balder the Brave, she had been born with golden hair like many other Asgardians, but due to a nasty trick played by Loki, and an attempt he made to fix it, she developed black hair instead. Thor thought she looked even lovelier as a brunette, and thus, Loki's attempt to ruin their happiness failed.

Current status: on Earth with a few other Asgardians, Thor included, in Oklahoma.

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: during 2007-2008, when J. Michael Stracynski was writing Thor, and the Asgardians were reborn on Earth in the bodies of humans, he had Sif reborn in the body of an old woman suffering from cancer, with only a special mirror to help show her real image.

What's wrong with how this was done? Knowing Stracynski's modus operandi since the turn of the century, it doesn't take much to figure for starters that anything he does will be like turning gold into straw instead of lovely brunette hair - and his subversion of Sif to the sidelines during that weak story was, for lack of a better word, insulting.

Thankfully, as the storyline ended, her whereabouts were figured out, and she was taken out of the old woman's body and restored to normal. And we can only hope Stracynski never gets his mitts on Thor and the other Asgardians ever again, nor Spider-Man, for that matter.

Profile: Mirage

Danielle Moonstar, Mirage
First appearance: Marvel Graphic Novel #4: The New Mutants, 1982

History: an American Indian girl from Colorado, she has the ability to create illusions that could be based on her opponents' fears or wishes. She even acquired magical powers after an adventure in Asgard. She is of Cheyenne background, and was a leading member of the New Mutants and X-Force for many years.

Current status: unclear.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: during House of M, she was among many mutants who lost their powers. And Emma Frost threw her out of the Xavier school because she thought that without powers, she didn't belong.

What's wrong with how this was done? It's pretty obvious by now that House of M was not worth the paper it was printed on. But the story in New X-Men #22 in 2006 where Frost gave her an eviction notice only adds insult to injury. When Storm lost her powers for almost 2 years back in the 1980s, Prof. Xavier didn't tell her to scram, and recognized that even without superpowers, she could still be quite effective. What was done 4 years ago with Moonstar and Frost is just one more stupid example of writing that makes the latter look like a cad, which is not a good idea even for an anti-heroine.

And what's really sad is that one of the best characters who graduated from the New Mutants years ago has now been reduced to a state of mediocrity.

Profile: White Queen

Emma Frost, White Queen

First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #129, January 1980

History: she began as a member of the Hellfire Club, a gathering of mutants, and later became the leader of the Hellions, a kind of rival group to the New Mutants. After the Hellions were later slain by another gang of enemies, she talked the X-Men into accepting her as a member, became one of their closest allies, becoming one of the leaders of Generation X alongside Banshee. Her power is usually telepathy.

Current status: may still be hooked up with Cyclops.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: her personality depiction has been rather scattershot. She's been depicted as a vixen, a nutcase (and it was told at one time in GenX that she'd been in a mental institution), and even manipulative/exploitive. The writers/artists have sometimes even gone into the theater of the absurd with how she's depicted wearing almost slutty outfits.

What's wrong with how this is done? It seems like Marvel's powers are hell-bent on "normalizing" her very exploitive personality that she's been depicted with since the turn of the century. It's certainly not very appealing. She's even been made into Cyclops' paramour at Jean Grey's expense (and as of this writing, Jean may still be dead). Big problem is that she seems to be manipulating him, implying it's not a very authentic relationship.

In 2004, there was a miniseries telling (or rewriting) her background, and one of the problems with that was the covers, which were not only drawn by Greg Horn, a photo-realist artist with very stagnant talents, but also depicted her several times in that very questionable costume, making it a very discouraging and embarrassing product.

On top of all that, I'm not very impressed with how they've "developed" Frost in this decade gone by, and think it could use a very serious improvement.

Profile: Sha-Shan

Sha-Shan
First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #108, May 1972

History: the daughter of a Buddhist community leader in Vietnam, she had first met Flash Thompson while he was serving in the army there, and had been lost in the jungle during a battle with the Vietnamese commies. She helped save Flash's life after he was unfairly targeted by a gang of worshipers of her father's for supposedly causing him a coma after an air raid. She was pushed into an arranged marriage with a crook named Achmed Korba, later seen as Brother Power (and she as Sister Sun) as a supposed balance to his evil nature, but it backfired when Korba decided to attack Spider-Man, much to her displeasure, in Spectacular Spider-Man #3, February 1977. Korba was killed in an explosion, and Sha-Shan was then free to rekindle her relationship with Flash.

Current status: limbo (depending on your viewpoint, that is. I'll explain below why).

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: some of her appearances were fairly stereotypical in their depiction of an Asian. In 1986, apparently because the Vietnam background details were becoming outdated, she broke up with Flash and was dropped from the cast in Spidey's world, and was not mentioned again for many years.

What's wrong with how this was done? In honesty, there wasn't much done wrong with her departure, except for how they almost completely wrote her out, all because of how the Vietnam war background itself was becoming dated. Could they not have possibly retconned the story so that her country was a fictionalized one instead, which could've helped make the story more durable?

I guess this also highlights a notable problem with some of Marvel's early approaches circa the Silver/Bronze Age: they built stories based on real life countries and their problems of the times, rather than come up with fictionalized ones. Later on though, when characters like Silver Sable came along, the Marvel staff did use fictional countries like Symkaria as a home base.

That Sha was depicted in a stereotypical manner as an Asian woman who was all but submissive was certainly an unfortunate detractor.

Oddly enough, Sha-Shan has apparently resurfaced, but the problem is that it's post One More/Brand New Day, and if the Joe Quesada regime is going to ruin the Spider-Marriage, to say nothing of Peter Parker and company's own characterization, that's why it's invalid...and coming much too late.

Profile: She-Hulk

Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk
First appearance: The Savage She-Hulk #1, February 1980. She was one of the last superhero-type protagonists created by Stan Lee, with John Buscema the co-creating artist. Her initial adventures, which were scripted mainly by David Anthony Kraft, were played mostly straight, but it was decided early on to make her into more of a tongue-in-cheek character who could have comedic potential, and 7 years after the first series ended, during which time she was an Avengers and Fantastic Four co-star, that potential was realized in The Sensational She-Hulk, which ran 1989-93.

Current status: continuing with her job as an attorney that she began in Los Angeles.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: while there were a good amount of stories in Fantastic Four where Jennifer shone, there were still a few cases where she got knocked down far too easily (on the cover of Fantastic Four #284, she was shown being kicked in the head). In West Coast Avengers, she certainly took a much too easy blow from the Mole Man when he zapped her with his cane. In the Red Zone storyline in the Avengers circa 2003, Jack of Hearts’ powers interfered with hers, initially all-but draining her own powers but then sending her berserk, later leading to a fight between her and her male cousin, the Hulk in a town called Bone in Idaho. In Avengers: Disassembled, she was sent berserk by the Scarlet Witch’s powers when her fellow Avenger was depicted out-of-character. And in Civil War, she leaned in the very direction that Tony Stark was, in support of the Superhero Registration Act.

What’s wrong with how this was done? Sometimes, when she took a tumble in Fantastic Four, it seemed way too easy – and biased. But the battle with the Mole Man in West Coast Avengers, where she can’t even take as much as her male counterparts can when facing him, that was really ludicrous and awful, one of John Byrne’s definite nadirs in writing.

As for “The Search for She-Hulk” that followed on the heels of Red Zone, aside from how that was a terrible story to begin with, the fight between her and the Hulk was one of the silliest and weakest clashes between even anti-heroes I’ve ever seen, or read about in dialogue (is writing dialogue like “I was here first!” the best that Geoff Johns could do?). Pretty anemic and lethargic. And the storyline featured in Disassembled was throughly egregious.

As of now, we can sure say that the way Jennifer was written in Civil War was definitely uncalled for. I think there was even a story that she was going to file suit on behalf of J. Jonah Jameson against Peter Parker for fraud, something that for now has been forgotten following what happened in the execrable One More Day. I don’t think Jenn would ever go against Spider-Man, and Civil War, and the storylines that it led to, were absolutely uncalled for.

Profile: Meggan

Meggan
First appearance: Mighty World of Marvel #7, 1983. As a mutant human, she was born during a blizzard, and adapted to the weather by growing special fur. She fell in love with Brian Braddock, the former Capt. Britain, and they were married for a time.

Current status: unknown since House of M.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: she had a rather strange upbringing as a child, being naïve and detached from reality. Because her parents were scared that she’d be persecuted (she was born near the site of an ancient British castle where dark magic was said to dwell), they hid her in their trailer where she watched a lot of television, and thought that Gerry Anderson’s world on television was real. Later on, during House of M, to stem a tidal wave of multiple realities coming from the Omniverse, she sacrificed herself to stop a lot of the chaotic energies coming from it.

What’s wrong with how this was done? House of M, which was an extension of Avengers: Disassembled, is just as awful as the previous miniseries and crossovers connected with it. By tossing away Meggan, that’s one of the ways in which Marvel has paralyzed character development, and, just like the One More Day story in Spider-Man, they threw out some good potential for really exploring the relationship of a married couple.

Brian Braddock as well as his sister Betsy, are now, for all I know, stuck in the paralell realities seen in Exiles, and I doubt that much could come from that.

Profile: Marvel Girl 2

Rachel Summers, Marvel Girl 2
First appearance: Uncanny X-Men #141, January 1981. She was the daughter of Jean Grey from what turned out to be an alternate future (going by what Alan Moore once established, that would be Earth 811), and was a member of both X-Men and Excalibur for many years.

Current status: last time I checked, she’d taken up the title of Marvel Girl.

Was subjected to the following act of discrimination: Rachel once tried to settle a grudge with Selene Gallio, a member and Black Queen of the Hellfire Club who’d either committed some murders or tried to (Uncanny X-Men #207). But before Rachel could finish off Selene after besting her in a clash, Wolverine arrived on the scene and stopped her by stabbing her in the chest. Later, suffering from grave injuries, she was lured into Mojoworld where she ended up at the mercy of Spiral.

What’s wrong with how this was done? Many know that Logan, aka Wolverine, didn’t have a problem with killing criminals himself, right? So what’s the whole point of his stopping Rachel from giving Gallio a ticket to the morgue for her crimes, other than trying to stop her from claiming his title as the best at what he does? I see none. It was pure theater of the absurd, and made Wolverine look like a hypocrite.

And as if that weren’t bad enough, she’d been tortured by Spiral when trapped in Mojoworld, and was fortunate enough to escape there later on. (That she had possesion of the Phoenix Force for a time may have been tacky though.) She later took up the title once held by her mother, as Marvel Girl.

Profile: Arachne

Julia Carpenter, Spider-Woman 2/Arachne
First appearance: Secret Wars 1, issue #6, October 1984. She became a supporting cast member of West Coast Avengers and Force Works.

Current status: member of a new Omega Flight team following Civil War.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: she was attacked and had her powers stolen, just like the first Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew, by the villainess Charlotte Witter, after which she retired from the superheroing business to raise the daughter she had as a regular mother. In Civil War, following her stint as a double agent, she’s arrested and her daughter taken from her. She had to agree to be a member of the new Omega Flight to sort things out.

What’s wrong with how this was done? She was thrown away as a character when she first had her powers robbed by Witter years earlier, and the Civil War storyline that led to her being a member of an Omega Flight team that, unlike the original crooks gang, is a heroic team, was badly done too.

So many things done wrong in the wake of Civil War, and she too is a victim.

Profile: May Parker

Aunt May Parker
First appearance: Amazing Fantasy #15, 1962

Current status: last time I looked, she’d been sent into a coma in Amazing Spider-Man #544, September 2007.

Was subjected to the following acts of discrimination: less than four years after she’d passed away in Amazing Spider-Man #400 during 1994, in what was meant to be a moving swan song at the time and could’ve been a perfect way for her to end her role in Spider-Man’s world, Bob Harras, then EIC at Marvel, decided to have her brought back from the dead by rewriting her “death” at the time as really being a DNA-duplicated actress hired by the Green Goblin to pretend she was Aunt May, while the real one was kidnapped and put in suspended animation, for what true purpose I have no idea. And, at the end of ASM’s Civil War tie-in, she took a horrendous gunshot wound that was meant for Mary Jane. The result was that she ended up in a coma.

What’s wrong with how this was done? In the case of her death by natural causes being undone, that was uncalled for, and was incredibly stupid. Especially when, in the ill-conceived “Final Chapter” (and we all know where that got us, eh?) told that she had a noxious implant inside her head that could kill her, even through detonation (don’t ask). Considering that, like I said, she died by natural causes (until that was contradicted, of course) that’s what made it by far the most tastefully done demise in years. She had served her purpose, and now, Spidey and Mary Jane could move on to other things (unless we talk about the horrid writing that followed, and marked the beginning of the end for Spidey in terms of quality writing to date). But alas, Harras had to ruin everything for a character who could’ve gotten the best send-off of all (it was J.M. DeMatties who’d written it with assistance from Stan Lee), leading to little more than what’s happened now in Civil War, a total disaster.

And now, the most irritating thing going on is aunt May’s coma situation caused by her injury. I really didn’t like J. Michael Stracynski’s characterization of Aunt May when he was writing the book, and the storyline in ASM #544, which he’s also written, is not going to bring me back to reading it, no matter what Aunt May’s fate turns out to be. And until Joe Quesada leaves office, ditto.

Thanks a lot, Bob Harras. You just had to bring poor May back for this gruesome ordeal.