• To be honest will never really know how Gwen died. It's been suggested that what's described in the article happened, but it's also implied that she was already dead before the goblin threw her from the bridge.

• And in the Ultimate universe Wasp was eaten by the Blob. Mind you, Wolverine was obliterated by Magneto, Cyclops was shot... heck, no one can deny that the Ultimate universe has an incredibly high mortality rate.

• thanks for you post!The removal of Psylocke's eyes can be deemed as a sort of death and resurrection. In the comics, her older self may have "died", but she became resurrected into a very kick ass character. Hell, she totally owned her sexual powers and wasn't afraid to flaunt her stuff.

• yeah, you are right. Comics are just the reflection of the real world. Not only in comics but also in real life the violence against women is more and they were always the victim

• Nice post, just gone thru the comments by the readers and noticed one thing. There are more males who comment on this topic. I just go 100% with backlinks who said Comparatively to men the violence against women in comics is more. I too just feel pity girls.

• thanks!how is this any different than films, plays, art and even music? These things are not UNIQUE to bloody comic books, you literally find it everywhere. Shakespeare's best works feature some amazingly violent and heartbreaking content concerning women... as do countless films, books (yes, especially the "classics"), lyrics and poetry. They are common themes because violence against women is a real problem in this world, but the fact that it appears often enough in comics doesn't surprise me.

• Funny you bring in Psylocke into the mix. If you bother reading ancient books of mythology, you'd realized death and resurrection are recurring themes. The removal of Psylocke's eyes can be deemed as a sort of death and resurrection. In the comics, her older self may have "died", but she became resurrected into a very kick ass character. Hell, she totally owned her sexual powers and wasn't afraid to flaunt her stuff. And when she died, she died on HER OWN terms. I can't think of a more empowered woman than her.

• "Funny you bring in Psylocke into the mix. If you bother reading ancient books of mythology, you'd realized death and resurrection are recurring themes. The removal of Psylocke's eyes can be deemed as a sort of death and resurrection. In the comics, her older self may have "died", but she became resurrected into a very kick ass character. Hell, she totally owned her sexual powers and wasn't afraid to flaunt her stuff. And when she died, she died on HER OWN terms. I can't think of a more empowered woman than her."

• thank

• thanks,dreambox nice.

• yes, that's right

• Basically said everything I was thinking. It's frustrating when a "Super bro" gets on here to talk about how un-sexist the violence against women in comics is when he's never had to be represented by a token few that get raped, depowered, and used as secondary motivators for primary characters. Well put.

• Actually, there's a distinctly feminine Robin costume on display in the Batcave in "Batman R.I.P. It can be seen when Bruce and Jezebel Jet are walking up some stairs in the Cave.

• It was a whiplash effect-snagging her by the ankle created a "whip-cracking" motion on her body, ultimately breaking her neck. If he'd caught her further up, it wouldn't have happened.

• Didn't Dick Grayson get raped once?

• How do you can watch these comics? Far better books or movies!

• Alright... I WAS going to work myself into a towering rage at some of the truly remarkable ignorance displayed by some posters here regarding "comic books", but I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'll cut to the chase. Women in comic books have suffered some awful fates - the recurring key words are "beaten", "raped", "humiliated", "demeaned", "debased" and "sexualized". So... how is this any different than films, plays, art and even music? These things are not UNIQUE to bloody comic books, you literally find it everywhere. Shakespeare's best works feature some amazingly violent and heartbreaking content concerning women... as do countless films, books (yes, especially the "classics"), lyrics and poetry. They are common themes because violence against women is a real problem in this world, but the fact that it appears often enough in comics doesn't surprise me. And why should it? Die-Soldaten features countless rape scenes, yet it is regarded as one of the most important pieces of art ever rendered by a wordsmith. Titus features one of the most tragic rape scenes in all of human history, but that doesn't mean it's something to avoid. More often than not, violence against women provokes a primal reaction, an emotional frenzy, in anyone who actually "cares" for other people, and that's what art IS. A provocation of an emotion through imagery.

• Nice post, just gone thru the comments by the readers and noticed one thing. There are more males who comment on this topic. I just go 100% with backlinks who said Comparatively to men the violence against women in comics is more. I too just feel pity girls. <a href="http://www.crobike.de/dsl/fernsehen/kabel/">Kabelfernsehen</a>

• "matt d said: uhh actually psylocke DID appear in x-men 3 as a villain Posted 07/01/2008 at 03:07:43 PM" I took it as a joke about how a character named Psylocke is in the movie, but doesn't really do anything Psylocke-like.

• They deserved it

• This is the updated link to the Women in Refrigerators page: http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/ Seems the old domain was allowed to lapse and was taken over by a porn site.

• Oh, the link doesn't work. Just to let ya' know. This is very upsetting to hear about.

• I've seen the "but violence happens to guys too" argument. Hell, I even made that argument, but the fact is that it's different. Guys like Superman and Batman? They get crippled, die, come back, and forget about it by next issue. Strangely, increadibly enough, they never get raped. Green Arrow you say? Yeeeeah, nobody was "taking his temperature" that I remember. Supergirl and Batgirl? Well, let's not even go into all the craziness that everyone ever wearing the Supergirl mantle has been through, and we all know what happened to Babs. It's not the same. It feels different. Women get completely crapped on in comics, and not just by Dr Light, but unimaginative writers and editors who have no concept of women as anything but a disposable plot device.

• You know, it goes BOTH ways. Murder, rape, torture, etc., it happens to women AND men! I just hate the fact that these crimes, ESPECIALLY rape is classified as a 'woman' issue. That's far from it! It happens to men, children(forgive me)...EVERYONE! I don't care what GENDER, race, cultural background, or whatever walks of life you're from! It can happen to you! And evil, sinful, disgusting people are the monsters that are responsible! We have A LOT of cruel, treacherous people in this world! Sorry fellas. I have to include y'all. Look, I know that some of these stories in the comics are trying to prove some points and get good morals out for the readers. Yes, it's part of reality. Though, sometimes, these events can be taken too far. Some of these female characters didn't deserve the horrid fates that befallen them. Same goes for the men who'd probably been through worse. And I know there are rare occasions of where a male character or superhero in the comic are those victims. Hell, they get tortured and beaten unimaginably! Matter of fact, someone here said that Green Arrow was also a victim of rape. So, apparantly, his girlfriend isn't the only one who has to cope with it. I know he had to, too. When I heard that, it broke my heart that it happened to him as well. It depends but I wish there are more positive stories where the heroes and their loved ones won't have to suffer badly. And we all know that the villains all get their asses handed to them worsely in the end! Karma's a mutha. ;)

• The death of Gwen Stacy shocked the American comic book community. Previously, it had been unthinkable to kill off such an important character - the girlfriend of the main character and a character with a large fan base. But nothing to do, she is a female and never forget, it's a comic. <a href="http://champignonsmagiques.fr">Champignon Magique</a>

• The male comic book fan suffers under the stereotype of being a regressed adolescent with absolutely no understanding of women. Personally I feel pity girls… I am bit confused in finding the root cause of this problem. <a href="http://www.shayanashop.com/Magic_Mushrooms-14-hc.aspx">Shrooms</a>

• YOU IS SUCK THE DICK!

• What about Mockingbird? She has /far-sightedness/ as a power (worst power evar), she gets kidnapped, drugged and raped, brainwashed, goes crazy, gets arrested, is killed, she turns into a zombie, is banished to hell, is reborn and replaced with a Skrull. And apparently somewhere in there she has a MISCARRIAGE too. Talk about character abuse.

• I think that "Dr. Light's rolling eyeballs and wagging tongue" are all in YOUR mind and your mind alone..

• Comparatively to men the violence against women in comics is more. Besides, the men-folk bounce back without a scratch on them. The female characters are never that lucky. I just feel pity girls.

• Well said, galexxiegrrl. Nat said: "But men simply aren't used as pawns like women are in comics, at least the vast majority of the time." Yes, you got it. Some posters here have really missed the point. And this claim to 'realism' is weird. In real life 50% of people are women, yes, and they do have violence directed at them, yes. But we're talking about a fantasy world here. Written mostly BY men, these fantasy worlds feature mostly male superbeings. In such a fantasy world constructed as such, I think it reasonable that most of the violence - especially the extreme examples - is directed at men. A writer thinking "I want to up the anti and make my story more grim and gritty, more dark and 'realistic', and give my hero new motivation, so I'll introduce a female character to be raped and violated and ultimately murdered by a villain - yeah, that's it!" as a generalization is bad writing and sexist.

• That has got to be the stupidiest post i've ever seen. It has nothing that would attract people. Is this supposed t obe discrimination?

• Im reminded mostly of the first issue of Ambush Bug Year None, that and the Stephanie Brown drill playset. Giffen is such a genius.

• The writers are supposed to be Creative..create some new devices to move the plot along. We need some strong female characters who can throw a punch as well as they can take one.

• Great read thanks, this was verry entertaining. Even to read all the comments lol.

• Actually, the panel from Savage Dragon (where the girl gets shot) comes off as comical, thanks to the pitiful drawing "skills" of Eric Larson. Let's see, hole in head, red splat, eyes crossed - yep! Comic gold! But then Savage Dragon is shit anyway, and so is Larson, putting Barack Obama on the cover of his book so often. It's one thing to be a fan of a President, but another to be a total fawning sycophant. Embarrassing doesn't begin to describe it.

• why the women in comics is more safer than men..Men are getting hurt more

• I'm totally agree with nat. WIR list is not discriminating. But in comics all the men are got hurt than girls.

• Yes, there is a (too) long literary tradition of portraying women as helpless victims who are raped, abused, tortured, and killed for the sole purpose of causing pain to the men who love (possess?) them--take The Iliad or just about any other Greek tragedy you can think of. And, yes, it does happen in real life--think rape camps during the war in Bosnia. However, "it's always been that way" and "it happens in real life" are no excuses for continuing to perpetuate the victimization of women. Slavery and genocide are also "traditional" but most of us are willing to step up and say that those are BAD traditions that need to come to an end. Citing tradition and real life as excuses to continue to use this trite "plot device" is a cop out for having too little imagination to come up with something new. "Should superhero comics never show violence against women? That wouldn't be realistic."--Realistic? We're talking about comic books, aren't we? What's realistic about bat men and spider men and purple men? I don't know where you live but I think I can pretty safely say that in my neighborhood I'm not likely to run into any mutant, irradiated, shape-shifting, magical aliens from alternate universes at the grocery store. thought_criminal101 says, "As fucked up as violence against women is, it's natural. It happens in real life and it should happen in comics."-- There's nothing "natural" about rape and abuse. They may be common but they're not natural. And I don't see you advocating having any male characters kidnapped as children by child molesters and held as sex slaves for decades or murdered by serial killers and then cannibalized or buried in the backyard. That happens in real life as well. WTF says, "If you were truly evil and really wanted to hurt someone would you not attack their loved ones? I know I would, but that is just my way of 'breaking them'." Bernie Madoff and the executives at AIG are "truly evil" but I don't think that anyone's accused them of torturing anyone's girlfriend. Wiping out people's life savings, putting them out of work, and forcing them onto the streets are pretty effective ways of "breaking" them but they're not quite in the same category as rape and torture. WTF also says that "Most of you readers already know WHY and aren't upset by the outcome." Not upset by the outcome?! I understand why "real" rapists and con-artists and thieves and murderers behave the way they do (greed, power, hatred, revenge, pscyhopathy) but I'm sure as hell upset about the outcomes of their crimes. Even someone who argues that comic book violence against women is integral to character and plot development should be UPSET by it--unless that someone is a sociopath. Maybe WTF needs to spend less time in comic book stores and more time in the therapist's office. No one's promoting "violence only happening to men." The point of the WiR list is the TYPE of violence against women--violence where women are passive, helpless, defenseless, and/or used as a means to an end. The point was made that Elektra's death was NOT included on the list because Elektra CHOSE to go into battle with her eyes wide open. The women on the list were minding their own business when violence was visited upon them. Jim Hoopernannyvill listed many acts of violence against men. But how many of those men were the non-superhero significant others of a superheroine and were abused for the sole purpose of causing the superheroine pain? It is NOT a "simple fact [that] in dramatic terms the death of a female character is more affecting than that of a male character" or that because "[w]omen are traditionally seen as non-combatants" that "portraying them as victimized hits the reader more in the gut." I've read plenty of books and seen plenty of movies and TV shows where the death of a male character "hit me in the gut." And I've read/seen plenty where I wished a female character wouldn't make it 'til the end of the story. Kingping laments that it's "Too bad we don't live in a culture where disrespect is enough of a reason to motivate great revenge stories." Plenty of young men (and some women) have died violent deaths on street corners because they "dissed" someone. I've seen people and known people who have gotten into confrontations with someone over something as petty as being cut off in traffic. GOOD writers "who see the world as it is and wish to incorporate that into their story" have plenty of options besides "kill or abuse women in hero's life to give him legitimate reason to beat the crap out of bad guys." Don't you think readers would like to see a hero "beating the crap" out of one of the modern-day Wall Street robber barons who have contributed to our current economic mess? Or how about a superhero actually finding Osama Bin Laden? Yes, "Killing off, harming, or threatening a love interest has been a genre staple since before the genre existed" and the rape/assault/abuse of women as a plot device extends far beyond comic books--just look at any soap opera, prime-time dramatic TV series, or the entire Lifetime network. There must be two or three stock scripts in which a female lead gets raped/assaulted (so that a male lead can a)avenge his partner/love interest by killing her attacker or b)teach the female lead to love/trust again or so that the attacker can continue to terrorize the female lead) that are sent around to all of the networks and studios with blank spaces to insert the appropriate characters' names. Even if one doesn't believe that female victimization("women who are harmed...for no other reason than to motivate a man") is sexist/misogynistic, one has to admit that it's BEEN DONE TO DEATH. It is NOT "really unavoidable." Creative writers are supposed to be CREATIVE--create some new devices to move the plot along. Show us some strong female characters who can throw a punch as well as they can take one. (Long live Lara Croft!) Dare to be different, blaze new trails in comic book (and TV and movie) land. Women, start writing comic books. Men have been doing women wrong since Homer in the 7th or 8th century BC; maybe it's time women took over the reins--er--pen.

• Putting Gwen on this list is pretty silly.

• "Bad things happen to women in comics!" THATS SEEEEEXIIIIIIISSSTT This has to be the stupidest article I've ever read.

• WiR is sick and twisted. It's just another reason why we read the genre that we do. It rips the emotion right out of us and leaves us wondering, "Why." This dark evil that is out there makes one wonder how the super hero keeps it together against all odds when we as mortals are appalled. It is the very good vs the very evil times 2. When GL's (KR)girlfriend and Savage Dragon's girlfriend met their demises I was totally taken aback but it didn't stop me from reading on. These were moments that I'll never forget or the emotion that hit me. We choose what we read and if you can't take it or just get fed up there is always the lighter fare.

• Emerson, the difference between violence inflicted upon men vs women in comics is that often violence against women is used as an inciting, emotional incident to spurn the man (hero) into action. If, say, Green Arrow is badly wounded in a fight, he knew the risks ahead of time, weighed his options and decided to continue. When his partner Black Canary was brutally tortured (and depowered), Green Arrow decided to use deadly force- the first time he had ever done so, and a major development in his character. Black Canary's torture, then, was not because she fought and was wounded in her own right, but because the writer(s) needed an excuse for Green Arrow to kill. Were the genders reversed, the outcry *should* (and I believe would be) the same. But men simply aren't used as pawns like women are in comics, at least the vast majority of the time. Like I said before, I am a huge comic book fan, and I think there are a lot of really interesting and well rounded representations of women characters coming out. But this isn't about taking things "out of context"- it's about recognizing that there in a history in literature (and in real life!) of women becoming collateral damage, as tools to justify revenge. And a lot of us are pretty tired of it.

• I think it's a bit odd that it's misogyny to have a storyline about women who are the recipient of violence, but it's apparently perfectly normal for men to be the recipient of it. The entire thing seems to be taking events out of context to fit into a previously decided conclusion.

• <BLOCKQUOTE>Women are traditionally seen as non-combatants and portraying them as victimized hits the reader more in the gut. That is NOT mysogeny, it's the complete opposite.</BLOCKQUOTE> Portraying women as passive victims rather than active participants, or combatants, using them just as a plot device to crudely wring an emotion from the reader and exploit the reader's "traditional" inclination that women are helpless and need to be protected <I>isn't</I> misogyny? I think you have a different definition than I.

• While I agree that the WIR list isn't discriminating enough, I think it's downright deplorable to state that violence happens, why not show it? Why should women get special treatment? LOTS of men get hurt in comics! Of course they do, they comprise the majority of comic book characters! What's more, the nature of the violence committed against men vs against women holds completely different meaning. Women are systematically brutalized, undermined, and exploited simply because we're considered inferior as a gender. Yes, still. And if you look at an ad for jeans, or a billboard for perfume, or any other number of media representations of men and women interacting, there is a strong undercurrent of violence- sexual violence. Our culture is obsessed with rape, we fetishize it. Just because rape happens (and happens, 98% of the time, to women), does not make it an acceptable plot device, nor does violence for the sake of emotionally damaging their lover. It's one thing if the character is well-developed, established, strong, and has to overcome a traumatizing experience- but usually this is not the case. In the case of Barbara Gordon, her injury led to the creation of a fascinating persona AND Birds of Prey, in which scores of women kick ass and don't take crap from anyone-male or female. BUT, her subsequent sexual humiliation at the hands of the joker was exploitive and unnecessary. Don't get me wrong- I love comics. And I think shows like B:TAS and Jusice League do wondeful jobs depicting strong, sexy, capable women that don't get reduced to half-naked damsels in distress. But as a feminist (there, I said it), I refuse to accept plot lines that reduce characters to emotional stimuli. As fans, and as women, we deserve better.

• I have such a huge problem with the WIR lists because they are over inclusive. The simple fact is in dramatic terms the death of a female character is more affecting than that of a male character. Women are traditionally seen as non-combatants and portraying them as victimized hits the reader more in the gut. That is NOT mysogeny, it's the complete opposite. That isn't to say that many of those listed are not examples of really, really bad writing. The Sue Dibny story was vile. I have far more problems with these things happening to a character and then never being dealt with again, such as the Invisible Woman's miscarriage. Byrne didn't want to dwell on it so after a couple of issues she got over it. It's been 40 years and my mother STILL isn't over a miscarriage she had. And if intent is important than Psylocke should not be included on this list. The story was how a character was deliberatley put in a situation they wouldn't be able to handle, it was about manipulation and well written. As was Betsy's appearances in the Captain Britain book after that. It should also be noted that one of the motivations for her taking that role was the torture and murder of her boyfriend.

• Totally agree with Zach, by the way, regarding the Spider-Man "One More Day" retcon. Tones of mysogyny AND an anti-marriage message AND Spider-Man, the hero, making a deal with the Devil to boot. Sorry if it's off-topic.

• I'd like to add Shelley from James O'Barr's "The Crow." her repeated rape, death, and continued rape AFTER death was both graphic and heartbreaking.

• Captain Jean DeWolfe's death in Spider-Man has to be the most gruesome and sad comic book female death of all time. She was a good cop and was murdered pretty graphically (the McFarland era). She should be on this list.

• Super-hero comics are about crime-fighting and action. Action and crime often involve the pain, torture and death of human beings. FIFTY PER CENT of human beings are FEMALE. For reference: Batman : Broken Back Spider-Man : Buried Alive Captain America : Assassinated Thor : Slain during Ragnarok, cloned by Tony Stark and programmed like a machine into supporting him during civil war. Pretty sick. Superman : "Killed" by Doomsday Hawkeye : Killed in Battle Amazing-Man : Turned to glass and shattered by the Mist Maxwell Lord : Neck broken in cold blood by Wonder Woman Mr Fantastic : Tortured / injured in some pretty imaginative ways over the years because of his elasticity Jason Todd : Blown Up Marvel Secret Wars heroes : Blown up and resurrected by an omnipotent Dr Doom Matt Murdock : Blinded by radioactive waste. Yeah,so it gave him his powers, and your point is? Ben Grimm : Permanently and horribly disfigured Logan / Wolverine : Experimented upon, routinely maimed and tortured. Alright he heals, but it still hurts, y'know. Jose Delgado / Gangbuster : Crippled Aquaman : killed by his son Blue beetle : Shot through the head by Maxwell Lord. Flash / Bart Allen : Beaten to death Jonathan Kent : induced heart attack Rainbow Raider : Painting embedded in his chest Superman (Earth-Two) : beaten to death Terra-Man : torn in half Ant-Man : Murdered by Scarlet Witch Black Goliath : murdered by clone thor Captain George Stacy : Crushed by falling debris Captain Marvel : cancer Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell): Torn apart by Baron Zemo Clay Quartermain : Killed by Red Hulk Guardian / James MacDonald Hudson : Killed (again) by The Collective. Glenn Talbot : electrocuted Jim Wilson : died of aids Mister Sinister : Killed after Mystique presses his face against Rogue. Puck : Killed Puck (Zuzha Yu) : Killed Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly/2nd Spiderman) : killed 'NUFF SAID?

• i dont get it... is this just a "Death of women in comics" thing? are chicks just not allowed to die in mainstream comics? 'but it's just a plot device!' dude every death is a plot device. Uncle Ben's death is a plot device, Robin's death is a plot device. i'll never understand why superhero readers take this stuff the way they do. i mean, you like the books and the stories being told or you dont, why have this teeth-gritting loyalty to a character? i really think Gail Simone is reading a little too much into the whole violence against women in comics thing... it's not like Green Lantern is slapping around Wonderwoman with a giant green hand while Superman pinches her ass and whistles. Superheroes are chiefly men, and if that's an issue, well, whatever, but the fact is they are, and the deaths of the women in these comics are chiefly due to the fact that the protaganist has a strong emotional attachment to them. so sure, is the whole "girlfriend gets killed by supervillian" deal a little played out? VERY. but calling it sexism is a little overdramatic.

• Where the devil is Selena Kyle's sister from Catwoman: Relentless? The woman tortured nearly to death, and forced to watch her fiance murdered, and then force fed pieces of him? Makes the Gordon shindig from The Killing Joke look like Sesame Street?

• Regarding the earlier comment regarding men being raped in comics, Both Starman and Green Arrow have children from forced sexual encounters, and if I recall correctly, Nightwing was taken advantage of by the Tarantula. That being said, the ratio is still way off.

• its not like things never happen to men in comics? things are always taken out of context or only part of the story is shown when it comes to things like this.

• As fucked up as violence against women is, it's natural. It happens in real life and it should happen in comics. Violence against men happens in comics all the time. Sure it's usually men instigating the violence in the first place, but it's real. I don't see why there should be a group that promotes violence only happening to men. It's not like it's Gor which actually depicts it as a good thing.

• The line is simple, and is defined by the editorial motivation behind the incident. Sue Dibney was raped not not to tell a story but to titillate the reader. The guy in charge, without any concern for story or characterization said "we need a rape" and no one had the guts to tell him that he was a moron, and a perverse one at that. When you have a beloved female character raped, tortured, and\or murdered because you think that a significant number of teenage boys will masturbate to it, you've crossed a line. Other than this, the big question is how it is handled and executed. If it is treated with apparent casualness or callousness, there are going to be problems. That's one of the reasons The Night Gwen Stacy Died really doesn't belong on this list, it was treated as a real tragedy with lasting consequences. Gwen was always a person, not just a victim, and it showed. Killing off, harming, or threatening a love interest has been a genre staple since before the genre existed. The fact that most superheroes are heterosexual males means that this is going to happen to females more often than not, unfortunately. That is really unavoidable. The key is to do it right, with less focus on titillation, gore, and shock value and more focus on the emotional impact of the loss on everyone. Giving gratuitous tragic backstories to characters who don't need a tragic backstory (or already have one) is nothing new and does happen to males, but it is still jarring when a male writer decides retcon a strong female character as being a rape victim in the past and it is very difficult to do right. The Black Cat's rape retcon rubs many people the wrong way because it was simply unnecessary. The Ultimate Wasp example was really more of mutual combat taken too far by one party, as is often the case in real domestic altercations, and it was treated with the gravity it deserved. It wasn't just an excuse for Captain America to Giant Man's kick butt and it was never presented as an excuse for Captain America to kick Giant Man's butt. It was real, and frankly good, development as an extremely violent and dysfunctional relationship. The Killing Joke is an interesting example because Barbra Gordon's injuries should not have been permanent, given the medical technology that she has access too, but actually healing her injuries would trivialize the attack and perhaps cause even more of a backlash.

• Where's the line here? Should superhero comics never show violence against women? That wouldn't be realistic. Most of these weren't gratuitous and served an important purpose in the story. I'm not a fan of most of these editorial decisions, but one can argue that in some cases they made for effective storytelling. Barbara Gordon, for instance, overcame her disability and forged ahead, becoming an even more important ally to Batman. I think you're stretching political correctness in this article. An article like this can't be funny like your normal stuff, so you're playing up controversy that, I think, is overblown.

• Grim Beefer asked "When is the last time a man was brutally raped in a comic book?" League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Pretty heinous scene, actually... disturbed the living hell out of me. And the one I found missing was Watchmen. The Comedian's brutal beating and rape of the first Silk Spectre, followed by the callow, insensitive admonishment from one of her 'colleagues' who interrupted the violation to clean herself up and get moving, leaving her broken and bloody on the floor, as though nothing had happened to her. THAT was the part that really disturbed me...the rape was brutal and painfully detailed to the point that I was genuinely shaking, but the capper... that complete disregard for a bleeding, beaten, freshly-raped woman lying on the ground, a woman who is supposed to be your friend and equal. It kinda pissed me off that Moore had them become voluntary lovers later... I don't know if he was going for the Stockholm Syndrome angle or just being an idiot for once.

• what the hell? i mean i know adults also read comics, but don't like 10 yr old kids read this stuff? its weird to have kids reading the comic book writers weird sex-male-domination fantasies lol

• Did anyone read the first issue of the Ambush Bug Year One that just came out? They do serious satire of the Women in Refrigerators to the point where there's dead women lying around in every few panels.

• Even though Dr Light was suspected of being the murderer of Sue Dibney, it turns out it was Jean Loring who was the Atom's wife ... or widow. She became crazy and thought that doing this would somehow bring her husband back. Well event though it's a woman that killed her, still deserves to be on here. Being a chick in comics is harsh. http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i1830185_RacerXCountdown43p25.jpg http://www.imagehosting.com/out.php/i1830184_RacerXCountdown43p24.jpg

• I had to comment about the Black Cat storyline. I was a huge fan of Black Cat, she was one of my favorites since I was a child. This is a very complex issue for women. Rape is shoved in our faces at every turn, its in the news, tv shows, women's magazines, there are classes and discussions from kindergarten through college, it is not a subject that is unknown to us. The optimist in me clings to a belief that if the storyline in someway somehow helped someone going through rape or at least made them pause to think about how they could try and protect themselves from it, it was worth it. For me it just hurt. I read comics for the fantasy, to be her. They were my escape and that story line was a smack in the face. It took any safe refuge and ripped me back to reality. It felt like a punishment, that someone was telling me that it didn't matter even if you have superpowers (I know she didn't but work with me here) or above average abilities, as a woman you a never going to be nothing more than some guys rape target. One day I may pick up a comic with her in it, but it will not be anytime soon. I actually haven't read any comic books since that storyline. As a woman my end question is, why can't we have our fantasies and heroes too?

• I almost think one of the worst things you've mentioned about Ultimate Wasp is that the whole WIR thing has happened multiple times to her within the title. And I'm thinking Bendis might have to come out and just say if Jones was physically raped or not. Heinberg dropped in YA that Jones was physically raped when talking to the YA Hawkeye about her rape (it's her origin and all).

• &#64; WTF? The fact that sexism and violence against women exists in the real world does not excuse it's typical portrayal in comics. It's degrading, and part of the reason I don't read comics. When is the last time a man was brutally raped in a comic book? By your rationale, I'd think one of worst things an evil villain could do to a superhero would be to hold him down and have him raped by some thugs, wouldn't you agree? Why doesn't that ever happen? Because men's sexual boundaries are treated with dignity and respect. So shove your Faust.

• Instead of focusing on WHAT was done, focus on WHY it was done. You may think that this was a direct attack against women for the sake of argument, but you would be wrong. These women were violated/killed/mutilated/etc. for one reason... to get back at the superhero that they could not harm through fisticuffs. If you were truly evil and really wanted to hurt someone would you not attack their loved ones? I know I would, but that is just my way of "breaking them". It would be no different that the Kingpin attacking Matt Murdock using his business as a leverage when he found out who he was. Should a paper be written on "The Icebox of Business Abuse in Common Media"? NO! And why? Because if you don't understand the motive behind WHY it was done than you will never, and I do mean never, understand the basic concepts of why they would do it to begin with. Granted these are all fictional characters, but so was Faust. These elements portayed by the writers are deplorable, but they do exist within society. They may even live next door to you. By limiting yourself into believing that "just because it is a comic book-we can control it" type of thinking only limits the amount of praise that we should be heaping upon those writers who see the world as it is and wish to incorporate that into their story. I'm not sure about you fine folks but I've always had the Superhero I could relate with. As a child it was Spiderman. Gwens death hurt. Spiderman struggled on. He had nothing, couldn't even afford a taxi ride in most cases, but he perservered. As I grew so did my reading. I moved to Dark Horse. Grendel. Death and mayhem.... Nothing new. Rape. Standard. But WHY someone did the things they did always held the focus. What is behind the mind? I feel like I'm preaching to the choir. Most of you readers already know WHY and aren't upset by the outcome. But sometimes.... people who don't read*sic* comic books may peruse this. This is the best we can offer? A batch of people getting hurt with barely a reason behind it? Turn to the news. You stare blank-eyed and delirious wondering WHY? BLECH! I am sickened. Not by the writing, but by the contextual basis within it was written.

• A few of these events I knew about, but there was one I thought for sure would make the list. In the Green Arrow graphic novel "The Longbow Hunters", by Mike Grell, Black Canary (GA's girlfriend) is captured and sadistically beaten and tortured by a gang of drug traffickers. This was the series that launched the gritty, mature arc of Green Arrow stories where he gave up the silly trick arrows for real, deadly broadhead arrows. The guy who is in the process of cutting her with a knife when GA arrives receives an arrow into his back and out through his chest.

• Doesn't anyone remember the brutalization of Dinah Lance/Black Canary in Grell's Green Arrow re-launch? Pretty gruesome, and cost her her powers, as well.

• What a bunch of sissies. It's a comic book.

• Those bitches got what they deserved.

• uhh actually psylocke DID appear in x-men 3 as a villain

• You should add into the bit on Sue that she was also pregnant at the time, to add just that extra pinch of tragedy to the event.

• your last comment "as he violates a minor character who never hurt anybody" was the most correct thing i've read in your entire article. what else is rape but meaningless? women get raped everyday by people they don't even know. i fail to see how that specific example supports your article. either way, i found it all interesting, there is plenty of violence towards men in comic books from female characters - it just occurs more now than it did twenty or so years ago.

• Some instances you mentioned are bad and exploitative, but the fact is violence does happen to women IRL. It would be "unrealistic" for comics not to deal with it at some point. Sure, it's a distasteful subject, but it happens. I do think a lot of examples you mention are pretty badly handled. Or pointless. But some are effective, like the Killing Joke, which made the Joker a much more disturbing villain as a result (though the end where Batman and the Joker share a laugh was pretty bad considering what came before).

• Dan, if you're searching for purpose on toplessrobot.com, you should probably keep looking. But yes, this was a list to comment on how common they are, and point out the worst ones to people who may not be as in-the-know as others. The Gwen Stacey one was very early, and not gratuitous, which is why it ranks pretty low. If I'd considered Spoiler's torture and non-death or Ms. Marvel's apparent rape, it wouldn't have been on the list at all. Tortue, it's definitely a trend, and the killing or assaulting of a female love interest to motivate the hero is different from a simple hero/villain conflict. I left Elektra's death off the list because Elektra got in a duel with Bullseye. Her choice, and a pretty even match-up. These characters were, for the most part, hapless victims.

• Isn't there a really old Spider-man comic where he consoles a kid by telling how he too has been molested as a kid? Inserting reference to that into a sexually abused Black Cat storyline would be seriously bold move. Too bad we don't live in a culture where disrespect is enough of a reason to motivate great revenge stories. Even seeking revenge for something done to us directly seems kind of wrong since religions/philosophies/etc. tend emphasize forgiveness over revenge. That just leaves writers with options to kill or abuse women in hero's life to give him legitimate reason to beat the crap out of bad guys.

• Like, they are "Comics", both genders get messed up, often, very often. Someone is pointing to a trend that doesn't really exist.

• While I think that the violence against women is often a lazy (and disturbing) crutch used by a lot of writers (comic book and otherwise, I'm not really sure what the purpose of this list is. Is it just to list a bunch of them, or to comment on how common it is? Are all of these examples of misogyny? One one end, I actually think the Gwen Stacy storyline was a great one, especially for the time in which it was written. Before then, I can't think of an instance where the superhero failed to save the person in distress. (Granted, most of them were "damsels".) Having it be the one he loved just added a huge dramatic arc to it. Since then, there have been countless other imitators, some of which have relied on a leering misogynist bent. But I don't think Stan Lee had that in his head when he was writing that story arc. I mean, he did kill off Uncle Ben before this. He was killing off loved ones of Spiderman, regardless of gender. I'm more bothered by the Daredevil storyline. I thought that Karen Page was a pretty rich character, and it was a total lazy, dumb way to get a shock by killing her off. (We haven't mentioned Elektra's first "death" BTW.) The Sue Dibney storyline too, I thought, was remarkably exploitative and leering.

• It's worth noting that the Women in Refrigerators phrase does not refer to all deplorable violence done to women in comics. It is both narrower and broader than that. Narrower, in that it refers to women who are harmed [i]for no other reason than to motivate a man[/i]; and broader in that while the original example was in comics (#2) it's now used in reference to use of the tactic in any media.

• I always thought Gwen died of a heart attack caused by the free-fall. Or so I did read in the spanish translation.

• I agree, Michael. I don't see why they need to make Spidey single, and not in a relatively happy marriage with its ups and downs, when they have two other books (<i>Ultimate</i> and <i>Adventures</i>) that feature a young, single Spidey. Okay, so <i>Ultimate Spidey</i> isn't for kids <i>per se</i>, but if your argument is that no one wants to read about a married dude, why aren't those other books' numbers higher? It's stupid, is what it is. Have them get a divorce if you want Peter to be single and swinging (no pun intended) -- don't just write her out of continuity. Or, better yet, have Peter make the decision that maybe his Aunt May has lived a rich full life, and his relationship with MJ is worth more to him than a few more years with May. Or DON'T HAVE HIM MAKE A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL. Sorry, getting off-topic.

• It's not really a WiR situation, but I felt there was a strong undercurrent of misogyny in the Dallas-ing of Spider-Man's marriage. Apparently, the idea of Peter having a woman in his life who is a partner, an equal, and an emotional anchor is damaging to the character, and instead a round robin of cookie-cutter females for him to break dates with and angst over the possibility of them being the latest supervillain is the way to go.

• &#64;Dc just pulled a bit of retcon and brought Spoiler back saying that she never actually died and Dr. Leslie Thompson faked Stephanie's death to teach Batman a lesson...Bats figured it out and THAT is the real reason why he never put her costume up for display in his museum of sacrificial lambs..I mean sidekicks I am totaly agree with you.

• Re: BlindSquirrel A thing called "physics". Ex: If i grabbed you by the ankle and, assuming I had the strength, cracked your body like a whip, I'm pretty sure your neck would snap.... (Maybe that's why it's called "whiplash"?) It works for snakes and chickens...why not people?

• The Walking Dead scene was brutal, but not a superhero book. R. Crumb shoving Devil Girl's head into her chest and having sex with the body would definitely have been on here if it was all comics. Not that all superhero comics should necessarily be held to a different standard, but a mainstream Marvel or DC comic is going to be read by a lot more people than a specialty comic whose audience needs to seek it out.

• You might also want to bring up the recent scenes in Kirkman's The Walking Dead where Michonne is raped and beaten by the Governor. Granted, she's not exactly helpless or innocent, but it certainly raised a large amount of discussion over race and violence as it was a scene involving a white man and a black woman.

• Dc just pulled a bit of retcon and brought Spoiler back saying that she never actually died and Dr. Leslie Thompson faked Stephanie's death to teach Batman a lesson...Bats figured it out and THAT is the real reason why he never put her costume up for display in his museum of sacrificial lambs..I mean sidekicks

• THis list goes a long way to show the problems with the psyche of the average comic writer--and fan. For some of these writers, and many readers, women are a total unknown, and therefore very hard to write, and relate to. So as writers fumble for gravitas, they continually go to the same buttons they always do--harming women in order to hurt the men related to them. A lot of the customers that come into my stores have huge problems relating to women, and these kinds of stories don't help. I strongly disagree that Kevin Smith's revelation of a previous Black Cat rape was "bold" in any way. It's been done to death, as we've seen on this list, and not particularly convincingly handled in that particular story (being nearly a year late didn't help either). So long as this is the kind of storytelling comics writers create, and comics readers buy, the only girls coming into a comic store are going to be the socially awkward ones buying manga.

• Sad, scary stuff. Harper's did a similar list in their index a few years back listing all of the terrible things that have happened to female superheroes. It's amazing how many variations on rape, murder, brutality, and depowerment male comic book writers can come up with.

• I suppose the literal definition of "physical" rape may not necessarily apply. He mentally raped her into believing she wanted to sex him up, which she would never have done without the mental nudge. He DID force her to watch him murder people as well.

• My understanding in reading the Purple Man story arc is that while he controlled her mind, the Purple Man didn't physically rape Jessica Jones, only made her watch as he raped others. I don't remember why, but I believe she offered a hypothesis. It may have been my misunderstanding, and my distinction here between physical and mental violation is purely arbitrary. Also, Ms. Marvel was apparently mind-controlled into bearing a man's son, who then turned out to be the man himself, reborn. I haven't read that story beginning to end, so I'm a little hazy on the causality, and whether that was a retcon or what.

• Chiroptera, I have to agree. Stephanie's death was really painful to suffer through reading. To add further insult to her death, it happened for no reason at all. DC wouldn't even acknowledge that Stephanie had been Robin by giving her a memorial in the Batcave. I'm glad DC allowed Chuck Dixon to set things right by bringing the character back, but it seems that he's no longer even at DC anymore...so who knows what's going to happen to Stephanie now.

• How about the Purple Man repeatedly mind raping, then PHYSICALLY raping Jessica Jones for months on end?

• I'm kind of surprised that Stephanie Brown (Spoiler and, for a while, Robin) isn't on this list. Her seemingly unending torture by Black Mask and death at the hands of the one person who abhors killing more than Batman, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, during the <i>War Games</i> arc, to me, ranks right up there with <i>The Killing Joke</i> and the death of Jason Todd.

• At first I was going to say that being tortured, murdered, and dismembered over a BOYfriend is worse than what happened to Sue Dibny, but then I thought about it a little more and now I want DC to stop hiring novelists to come up with the plots for major events.

• I had always assumed DC was the worst offender with these types of incidents, but it looks like Marvel was pretty much snapped-neck-in-neck with them. When I was 8, I remember the "western Ghost Rider rapes Mockingbird" story in West Coast Avengers messing with my head. But at least she dropped him off a cliff.

• I always wondered how Gwen neck snapped when she was caught on the ankle by Spider-man's stretchy webbing. Where does the neck trauma come into it?

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