The Male Gaze in Superman Annual #11

On the second page of “For the Man Who Has Everything…” a grown man warns a teenage boy to “think clean thoughts” in the presence of an Amazon. Though simple enough on the surface, there’s a complex history of comics gazes that can be approached here. #Superman 1/9

In Richard Reynolds’ seminal work of comics scholarship, “Superheroes: A Modern Mythology,” the author discusses the complex nature of the sex and sexuality within superhero comics of the era and the unique nature of the erotic fantasy they construct. 2/9

Reynolds argues that superheroine sexuality is “presented blatantly the more firmly to deny it: the frisson of fetishistic sexuality is adduced with one hand only to be dismissed with the other.” For Reynolds this is the paradox of superheroine sexuality: 3/9

It is represented blatantly, but also openly ignored. Superheroines of the 80s will wear revealing outfits and nobody within the diegetic scene will say a word about it. They will simply act like it’s perfectly normal to fight crime in a bathing suit and high heels. 4/9

For Reynolds, the reasons for this approach are actually quite simple (though also based in paradox): He believes that sexuality is the thing that is most coveted by a heterosexual male teen audience (the target demo) but also the thing they fear most, so show it but deny it. 5/9

And that’s the interesting aspect of the gaze presented in FTMWHE – Moore acknowledges the gaze and labels the elephant in the room, whilst having a superheroic audience-surrogate character (Robin) struggle to control his hormonal drive in WW’s presence. 6/9

Now, the deviation from Reynolds’ identified norm here is notable, but its productivity can be debated. Batman and Robin still exclude Wonder Woman from this discussion, rendering her liminal in a discussion about HER body and HER sexuality. 7/9

And while Batman could be said to assert Wonder Woman’s right to freedom from the gaze & to her own sexual agency by chastising Robin, he can also be seen to participate in the gaze (or at least in the knowledge thereof) through his smirk, visible to neither Jason nor Diana. 8/9

If nothing else, this casual disruption of an established trope showcases Moore & Gibbons’ famous capacity to deviate from the norm. Though we might also question whether signposting a trope is enough to critique it. 9/9