“Alias” and Representions of Female Fandom
Girls & women are often neglected within discussions of superhero fandom. Alternatively, they’re demeaned as “fake geek girls.” But in a story running across issues #11-14, “Alias” offers a thoughtful portrait of female fandom as a form of self-making and community building. 1/9
“Underlying all these analyses,” writes Busse, “is a gender binary that identifies certain behaviors as masculine or feminine, with the former usually connoting active, intellectual, aggressive, and objective, and the latter, passive, emotional, sensitive, and subjective.” 6/9
In Alias #14, Jessica finds Rebecca reciting a deeply emotional poem about Daredevil. Though Rebecca’s favorite superhero is a man, her fandom further nurtures a connection to Jessica, who is also fond of ol’ hornhead (she sometimes works as Matt Murdock’s bodyguard). 7/9
In addition, the presentation of Rebecca’s fandom emphasizes the complexity of fannish desire. Rebecca’s passion for Daredevil is erotic, but not straightforwardly sexual. Through her Daredevil poems, Rebecca meets her first romantic girlfriend. 8/9
The story’s ending isn’t happy; Rebecca reluctantly returns home to confront family tragedy. But it also finds hope in tragedy, and Jessica’s ability to connect with Rebecca through fandom is crucial to that hopefulness. 9/9