Metafiction

Metafiction is a tricky beast.  Any form of meta-artwork is supposed to draw attention to itself as art while using the styles of that art.

Spider-man making a joke about superheroes isn't meta.  Deadpool is meta because he knows he's fiction and takes every chance to break the fourth wall using comic book narration boxes and even grabbing the frames on the page.

But moving on; yes, it's Friday.  And that means a short story!  Last week the challenge over at Terribleminds was to write the last line of a story.  This week Chuck took ten of those lines and challenged his auidence to use them as the opening to a story.

It ended up being extremely short, but I kinda like how it flows.  As always, I hope you enjoy.

MetaQuest

            Once upon a time, there was a story so short, it was only a single line.
            This is not that story.
            This is not the story where the strapping young Hero saves the girl and wins the kingdom, and it’s not the story where he saves the kingdom and wins the girl.
            This is the story of the Hero who does not know he is.
            In this story the Hero still goes on his Quest.  In this story the Hero’s family dies in front of him, forcing him out of his humble beginnings and into a Legend beyond his comprehension.
            But in this story there is no Loyal Companion, no Wise Mentor to advise our Hero and instruct him in the old ways.
            The Hero is left to fend for himself, to find his own way in a world that he was never prepared to experience.
            Somehow, against the odds, the Hero still finds himself allies.  The Rouge, the Rival, the Redeemed.  He finds these allies and learns to rely on them for support, to help find his way as their skills complement his own.
            They make their way together in the Hero’s adventure, sometimes managing to resolve their own stories along the way, sometimes not.  The Hero trusts them with his life, with his hope.
            Only to eventually lose his allies, his friends.
            The Rival is first to fall, taking a blow meant to slay the Hero, using his sacrifice to prove himself the better of the two.
            The Redeemed soon gives his life as well, facing his own past and falling as he slays the demons of his own creation.
            The Rouge, if only by virtue of his skill, stays with the Hero the longest.  Finally leaving this world in the dead of night, the true cause of his death as mysterious as he was.
            The Hero blames himself each time.  “If only I was stronger.  If only I was better.”
            “If only I was a Hero.”
            The Hero grows in skill and stature, in myth and legend.  Eventually coming to understand his destiny, driving himself ever forward.  Shouldering his losses, embracing his burdens, accepting his fate.
            The Hero faces foes and fiends, men and monsters.  Pressing onward he begins to see the end of his journey.
           The path of his life, beginning to end, is laid before him.  The Hero sees the truth of this, and steps forward to face the end.
            Because this is not the story of the glory of the Hero.
            This is the story where the Villain wins.
            This is my story.
            Let’s begin.

The Death of Amanda Waller

So DC recently started a full continuity reboot of essentially their entire franchise.  For the most part, this has been a good thing.  We get to see some old characters come back, so long term characters like Batman or Superman in new situations.  Basically a change up of the status quo.  But that's not what I want to talk about. 

Since the start of the reboot there have been some accusations of sexism, I've mentioned this back on the livejournal I no longer use, (here http://schwarztkd.livejournal.com/13650.html and here http://schwarztkd.livejournal.com/14080.html if you're interested).  Those links lead to posts where I talk mostly about the changes made the Starfire and to a lesser degree Catwoman.  But again, not what I want to talk about today.

You'll notice the title of this post mentions a character named Amanda Waller.  Waller is not a heroine, she has no superpowers, she doesn't pull people out of burning buildings or shut down death rays.  Waller runs a shadow branch of the U.S. Government set up to deal with the issues created by super-powered individuals.  And yes, that includes preparing not for the possibility but for the eventuality of heroes going rouge.

Amanda Waller doesn't shut down death rays, on many occasions she has built them in case Superman decides to take over the world.

Waller has worked both with and against superheros and supervillains.  She has frequently stared down Batman (and knows who he is).  She once ran the Suicide Squad, a group of villains tasked to hunt down other villains and only kept in line because she had the trigger for the bombs implanted in their skulls.  Oh, and she once shot Luthor with a laser cannon.

This is what she looks like.

Not someone I want to piss off.

That's Amanda Waller.  In every one of her appearances; comic, cartoon or otherwise that's what she looked like.  And quite honestly, I cannot think of a better design for the character.  A business woman, a forceful personality, a no-bullshit (forget no-nonsense) attitude.  This is a woman who has more important things to do than conform to the mold that all female comic characters are required to uphold.

Or rather, that was the case.  Because thanks to the reboot, this is what she looks like now.

This is as she's sending the Suicide Squad off on a mission.  Yeah, bombs or not I wouldn't want to show that much cleavage to psychotic supervillains.

I cannot begin to say how disappointed I am by this.  All the strength and individuality she had as a character is now gone.  And it's gone forever.  Other changes made by the reboot can be undone.  Characters can go back to their old ways, costumes can change.  But Waller will forevermore be the same heightened sexual fantasy that's she's been turned into.  Because every time an artist or a writer tries to change her back some executive will say, "No, she's more marketable this way."

BULL!  FUCKING!  SHIT!

Being eye candy does not equate to being sexy.  It's sexism.  Of all the claims of sexism occurring in the DC reboot, this is the one I most agree with.  This is a travesty.  This is the death of a character, nothing more and nothing less.  Whoever this new character is, she is NOT Amanda Waller.

So with that said, goodbye Amanda.  It was nice knowing you.