Marvel Heroines Ever Adapting: Hellcat and Mockingbird
Man, Marvel is missing out on a few of their characters. Sure would like to see the Agents of Atlas again. Makes me wonder what direction Jessica Jones is going after its old director leaves; maybe have someone do a show on Trish. I sure would like to see more Bobbi Morse; even if she won't be on Agents of SHIELD for the foreseeable future. Makes me wonder how these Marvel Heroines get proper treatment... Oh my god!
Welcome to Comic Comparisons, where a couple of characters and concepts are brought together to highlight their strengths and growth. Today we'll be comparing Agents of Atlas to Agents of SHIELD... Just kidding! But man that would be fun. Instead we'll be comparing two leading ladies from some of Marvel's earliest series: Patricia "Patsy (Trish)" Walker and Barbara "Bobbi" Morse. And the stars of two comics that were tragically cut short
How Far the Marvel Heroines Have Come
Most people probably know Trish Walker, the former child star, turned radio host, turned adrenaline junky from Marvel Netflix series Jessica Jones. But most probably don't know about Patsy Walker. In the golden age of comics; Patsy is the star of a teen romantic-comedy comic to compete with the Archie series. She has a good run in those series for the better part of twenty years; even having a cameo in a Fantastic Four annual. In the seventies, Patsy comes back and by 1976 follows the trends in superhero comics, becoming Hellcat. Fun fact, the Patsy Walker comics within Marvel Universe are written and published by Patsy's mom.
Bobbi Morse is originally a spy version of Jane to Ka-Zar's Tarzan. After that relationship ends, she keeps appearing time and again as a SHIELD agent. Pretty soon she is so popular, Bobbi becomes the superhero Mockingbird. She even gets a costume and partnership with the hotshot Hawkeye too. After that, a lot of craziness ensues.
These are in the spotlight a couple of times, often as extensions of organizations, teams, and partnerships. The next few decades for these characters are full of break-ups, supernatural forces, and going to Hell and back (literally for Patsy). Eventually these two headline in their own series (especially Mockingbird).
General Bios
Patsy is an ascended superhero fan who wants to step out of her earliest years due to her mother's demeaning ways and capitalizing on Patsy's childhood. The struggle with her past yet needing to finance herself through it are a reoccurring theme with Patsy. Despite how sour Patsy's relationship with her mother, ex-husbands, and friends go; she's willing to accept her past and the relationships she has to become a better person and hero. I especially like how Trish is someone less determined and more obsessed with this theme; it shows a part of her character that needs to be brought up to complete her arc.
Bobbi is both strong and willing to do whatever it takes to make the best and most ethical decisions. Her time as a SHIELD agent along with her status as a biologist gives Bobbi a lot of crazy adventures. These include partnerships with people she hooks up with at certain points including Ka-Zar, Hawkeye, and Spider-Man. However not everything is smooth. Bobbi makes a few drastic decisions in her time; this includes cutting herself off from her family as well as an obsession to rid the Phantom Rider after an encounter the Old West version. Most recently, there's the controversy over her status as a feminist.
Hope for the Future of the Marvel Heroines
So many possibilities to display a character, maybe even as part of a team while highlighting characters that bounce off each other. Sigh... no one's taking the time.
Might as well have put a target with a Twitter account on that t-shirt. These are characters who when written well can help make Marvel flourish, just as long as their status as females aren't shoved. Recently characters like America Chavez and Gwenpool appear in West Coast Avengers. And America's run had it worse when it came to toxic fan reception. If those two characters can make it; why not these two? Maybe Marvel could even create an awkward scene around the fact Hellcat once fought side by side with Bobbi's Skrull doppelganger (like I said crazy adventures).
I wonder if that Skrull took more than just Bobbi's looks. But remember the ink's not dry yet. Thanks for coming to the end remember to like, comment, share, and look between the panels.