Read here, here and especially here to understand the following.
From the Uncanny X-Men 80-Page Giant:
Armor: I never pictured you doing laundry. Aren't you a British Aristocrat?
Psylocke: Nobody else knows how to get the zombie ninja bits out of my costume.
Armor: I guess it is hard to clean a purple uniform made of unstable molecules that somehow always gets at least three large holes in it. What do you do about the oddly strategically placed holes?
Psylocke: They're called large cuts, you don't have to wash them. Look, don't you start with that. I'm trying to be nice here.
Armor: Oh, crap. No- I meant, the cuts from ninja throwing stars, kitanas and whatever. I would never joke about your costume. I love your costume.
Psylocke: Most women don't react quite that way.
Armor: Really? Because from a fighting point of view, it's perfect for who you are and what you do. It's all about contradictions.
Psylocke: Why, thank you, Armor! I've always-
Armor: See, the thong draws the eye precisely where everyone knows they're not supposed to look - putting anyone you're dealing with off-balance.
Psylocke: Ah. Yes, well, I just spent days fighting undead ninjas, so the, er, 'thong' didn't- you know, it's more of a bikini bottom, really-
Armor: See, the name says 'Psylocke', but the purple thong says 'Ninja Stripper'.
Psylocke: . . . excuse me, you cheeky little-
Armor: And not just "Ninja Stripper"! I mean it says "I'm tough enough to handle everything I am . . . including being an exhibitionist who's likely to die of exposure. Or maybe just from getting stabbed in an exposed thigh artery. Are you?"
Psylocke: . . . right. Emma Frost put you up to this, didn't she?
Armor: She gave me twenty dollars.
Psylocke: That bloody hypocrite.
Armor: Heh. Yeah . . . but seriously, what is up with that thong?
NEXT WEEK!
An Excerpt from the Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose 80-Page Giant
Tarot: . . . what is "Laundry"?
Raven Hex: I don't know. I think it's something you do when you actually wear clothes.
2 comments:
Many female superheroes have objectionable costumes, but I've never thought Psylocke's one of them. Ignoring the artist's conceit of unstable molecules, what she wears is essentially a combination of male and female gymnastics leotards. Leotards made for males ensure freedom of movement for the arms (upper-body events dominate men's gymnastics), those made for females the legs (lower-body-drive events dominate women's). Psylocke's costume ensures freedom of both.
Like Wonder Woman's outfit (which is very modest by Ancient Greek Standards, and was originally a patriotically-colored womens' exercise outfit of the period - complete with shorts!), Psylocke's isn't bizarre when drawn correctly. It should never, of course, be drawn as a thong, or without support in the chest.
Powergirl's, Supergirl's, and many other female superheroes' costumes, though, are certainly reproachable.
Fair enough. My Sister and I always used to joke in the '90s that the thong was specifically designed to allow her better high kicks, so kudos. And I suppose, Land aside, people have drawn Psylocke's costume more believably as of late.
When the costume is actually drawn like a leotard, I agree that it's not the worst outfit out there. I was, however, satirically referencing the unfortunate tendency for artists to draw Psylocke's outfit as a thong for humorous effect (i.e. a "thong" vs. a "boob window"). Perhaps my satire muscles need a workout.
And they actually gave Supergirl red biker shorts recently, FWIW.
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