sooperhero.com is another one of the early pioneers and trailblazer who had the courage and vision to take this genre to an entirely new level.
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of sharing some thoughts with Brian, the owner, and the result was a character named Ultra Girl who was somewhat different than the regular characters at sooperhero.com.
Here's a little background:
By definition, the superheroine-in-distress genre is about superheoines getting their butts kicked in one manner or another. I am, obviously, all for that, but there was a certain element that was missing for me. It was the build up. The showing of the superheroine as an all-powerful & formidable character. Sure, it was implied in every story, but we wouldn't SEE it. This, of course, does not only apply to sooperhero.com but to practically every producer of this genre. Furthermore, it also makes perfect sense. After all, people like me tune in to see the heroine get destroyed. That's what the market demands, so all too often, the heroine is already in trouble several frames into the story.
I wanted to see a long running storyline where the heroine is built up to epic proportions; where she is made to appear so powerful that she the thought of her losing was inconceivable.
This is one of the things I liked about the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman tv show. Actually, let me correct that. This is one of the things I HATED about the tv show, but also liked. I know, I am confusing you, but bear with me.
Sure, I wanted to see Wonder Woman get taken down all the time, but the fact that it didn't always happen is what kept me on the edge of my seat. The fact that it didn't always happen made it all the more exciting when it actually DID happen.
With this in mind, Brian & I came up with a concept for a long running storyline that would be an addition to the normal weekly fare. It would feature a heroine so powerful that she would even win every week on a site dedicated to heroines being destroyed. Her name was Ultra Girl and she was played by mega superheroine superstar Wren Andrews.
The logic behind this was to let her prevail against all odds over and over again. She was to be built up to be this incredibly powerful heroine that could not be defeated no matter what. And so, week after week she would kick ass, in some cases taking out mega evildoers (like the legendary "bones"), who had a proven track record of taking out powerful heroines.
I wanted this to run for a really long time, but Brian began coming under pressure from subscribers to have Ultra Girl taken out. Still, Brian ran this for nearly 3 months if I recall, before finally taking her out.
As far as I was concerned, this storyline was a MASSIVE success and when Ultra Girl was finally defeated, I found it more exciting than anything else I had seen previously.
Not everyone seemed to share my opinion, however, at least not the ones who would write in. As mentioned, Brian would receive emails complaining about the fact that she would never lose.
Several years ago, I had the pleasure of sharing some thoughts with Brian, the owner, and the result was a character named Ultra Girl who was somewhat different than the regular characters at sooperhero.com.
Here's a little background:
By definition, the superheroine-in-distress genre is about superheoines getting their butts kicked in one manner or another. I am, obviously, all for that, but there was a certain element that was missing for me. It was the build up. The showing of the superheroine as an all-powerful & formidable character. Sure, it was implied in every story, but we wouldn't SEE it. This, of course, does not only apply to sooperhero.com but to practically every producer of this genre. Furthermore, it also makes perfect sense. After all, people like me tune in to see the heroine get destroyed. That's what the market demands, so all too often, the heroine is already in trouble several frames into the story.
I wanted to see a long running storyline where the heroine is built up to epic proportions; where she is made to appear so powerful that she the thought of her losing was inconceivable.
This is one of the things I liked about the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman tv show. Actually, let me correct that. This is one of the things I HATED about the tv show, but also liked. I know, I am confusing you, but bear with me.
Sure, I wanted to see Wonder Woman get taken down all the time, but the fact that it didn't always happen is what kept me on the edge of my seat. The fact that it didn't always happen made it all the more exciting when it actually DID happen.
With this in mind, Brian & I came up with a concept for a long running storyline that would be an addition to the normal weekly fare. It would feature a heroine so powerful that she would even win every week on a site dedicated to heroines being destroyed. Her name was Ultra Girl and she was played by mega superheroine superstar Wren Andrews.
The logic behind this was to let her prevail against all odds over and over again. She was to be built up to be this incredibly powerful heroine that could not be defeated no matter what. And so, week after week she would kick ass, in some cases taking out mega evildoers (like the legendary "bones"), who had a proven track record of taking out powerful heroines.
I wanted this to run for a really long time, but Brian began coming under pressure from subscribers to have Ultra Girl taken out. Still, Brian ran this for nearly 3 months if I recall, before finally taking her out.
As far as I was concerned, this storyline was a MASSIVE success and when Ultra Girl was finally defeated, I found it more exciting than anything else I had seen previously.
Not everyone seemed to share my opinion, however, at least not the ones who would write in. As mentioned, Brian would receive emails complaining about the fact that she would never lose.
The concept of a long running character that never loses until the very end can also be applied in the women's wrestling world. If I had the chance to do this, I would have a wrestler win over and over again. At first, it would be an upset when she defeats a seemingly more powerful and better qualified opponent. As time goes on and she racks up win after impressive win, the tension would build. I would then put her up against another seemingly invincible woman and have her totally squash her. Eventually, she would get finally lose in an astonishing fashion.
This is similar to things I have written about in this blog in the past, specifically regarding Magnificent Mimi and Misty Blue Simmes, and you can check the archives of this blog and read up on it as well.
If you REALLY like the concept, check out the story links to your right. There are 3 pro wrestling fiction stories written more than 11 years ago that totally follow this pattern.
Ultra Girl remains one of my favorite storylines of all time, and I thank Brian for following through with it despite the many complaints ("when is she going to lose?") he had to endure.
For more on Ultra Girl and an immense archive of superheroines in distress stories, check out Superheroine's demise over at sooperhero.com
1 comment:
“when it actually DID happen”
That took quite a while, but here’s the scene in which WW is decisively defeated by the little insect lady:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtlWB5eOvSU
Catch her expression at the end. I wish Steve Trevor had shown up and WW had to explain that Formicida was just too much woman for her. Better yet if he had been there the whole time to watch her humiliation.
Unfortunately the show started out with great promise (for us) but then fizzled. The first four shows all had some form of FF. The Cathie Lee Crosby pilot had a stick fight with a hot brunette. There was also a great bondage scene in that one in which WW is trapped in that glass booth with clay pouring in. Nice look of fear on her face. The Lynda Carter pilot had the classic catfight with Stella Stevens that WW won but not without taking some good shots. And then the first two regular Carter episodes had brief tussles with Christine Belford and Lynda Day George, a heroine in her own right from MI. Then nothing. Formicida came in a later season and I believe after a network change. So much potential.
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