I’m sure that Warner Bros. and DC were very happy to announce the name of their Batman and Superman film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice yesterday. I’m also pretty sure their happiness was little dampened when Batman v Superman and Justice League writer David Goyer and fellow writer Craig Mazin went on a sexist and insulting tirade about Marvel’s She-Hulk on the most recent episode of the Scriptnotes Podcast. Their statements have generated a universally negative reaction. Read below to find out why.
Craig Mazin: The real name for She-Hulk was Slut-Hulk. That was the whole point. Let’s just make this green chick with enormous boobs. And she’s Hulk strong but not Hulk massive, right? … She’s real lean, stringy…
David S. Goyer: She’s still pretty chunky. She was like Chyna from the WWE.
Mazin: The whole point of She-Hulk was just to appeal sexistly to ten-year-old boys. Worked on me.
Goyer: I have a theory about She-Hulk. Which was created by a man, right? And at the time in particular I think 95% of comic book readers were men and certainly almost all of the comic book writers were men. So the Hulk was this classic male power fantasy. It’s like, most of the people reading comic books were these people like me who were just these little kids getting the shit kicked out of them every day… And so then they created She-Hulk, right? Who was still smart… I think She-Hulk is the chick that you could fuck if you were Hulk, you know what I’m saying? … She-Hulk was the extension of the male power fantasy. So it’s like if I’m going to be this geek who becomes the Hulk then let’s create a giant green porn star that only the Hulk could fuck.
Wow. Okay, there’s a lot to analyze here. I’m going to do my best to sift through these “eloquent” statements.
Even though I wouldn’t call myself an expert on She-Hulk, I’m very aware that Mazin and Goyer are both wrong about the character’s personality and history.
She-Hulk, known as Jennifer Walters in her civilian life, was exposed to gamma radiation through a blood transfusion from her cousin, Bruce Banner. That’s right, her cousin. I can’t say what goes on at the Mazin and Goyer family reunions, but I’m pretty sure She-Hulk creators Stan Lee and John Buscema didn’t create the character so the Hulk could fuck his cousin.
Yes, female characters in comics are sexualized. There’s no question about that. Is it possible that Mazin and Goyer were talking about how She-Hulk was a sexist character when she was initially conceived in 1980? Maybe, but the language they use says otherwise. Goyer refers to She-Hulk as “chunky,” a statement that I’m having trouble understanding.
What does She-Hulk’s being “chunky” have to do with anything? Is Goyer so intimidated by women with curves that he feels need to describe them as chunky? I don’t know, but that statement really irks me.
It’s also notable to point out that Walters embraced her gamma irritated condition and moved forward in her life. She eventually opened her own law firm and worked as a lawyer to represent many Marvel superheroes. She didn’t sink into a pit of sorrow or self-loathing. She embraced her body and mind in order to be the person she is today in Marvel comics.
If all this wonderful sexism isn’t enough for you, Goyer had a few choice words to say to fellow comic book readers. Goyer asked the audience “How many people in the audience have heard of Martian Manhunter?” With their replies, Goyer treated them to an ever-so mature response. “How many people that raised their hands have ever been laid?”
Read his further comments about J’onn J’onzz and you’ll be shaking your head in sadness by the time you’re done.
“He can’t be fucking called the Martian Manhunter because that’s goofy. He can be called Manhunter… The whole deal with Martian Manhunter is he’s an alien living amongst us… So he comes down to Earth and decides, unlike Superman who already exists in the world now, that he’s just going to be a homicide detective… So instead of using super-powers and mind-reading and like, oh, I could figure out if the President’s lying or whatever, he just decides to disguise himself as a human homicide detective. Dare to dream!”
“I would set it up like The Day After Tomorrow. We discover one of those Earth-like planets… So maybe like… we get the DNA code from that planet and then grow him in a petri dish here… He’s like in Area 51 or something and we’re just basically… doing biopsies on him.”
Goyer seems to have a hand in every DC film adaptation at the moment. Remember fellow readers, this is the guy who has conceived the story for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the screenplay for Justice League, both of which will feature the Amazonian warrior princess, Wonder Woman. Based on his recent comments, I’m very concerned of his potential portrayal of Diana Prince. Wonder Woman is one of comics’ strongest female characters and has recently received much acclaim thanks to writer Brian Azzarello’s current run on the character. To put her cinematic debut in the hands of someone who has used sexist language so casually makes me more than worried.
Well, at least Zack Snyder’s involved. It’s not like Snyder has directed a film that’s completely misogynistic and sexist, right? Oh yeah, I completely forgot about his misogynistic and sexist film, Sucker Punch.
What about you reader? Are you offended by Goyer’s remarks? Think people are overreacting? Concerned about the future of Wonder Woman in film? Let us all know in the comments below.
