E-Friend @sailorsctaustin posted a while back praising #HarleyQuinn , and how she’s now the 4th pillar of #dccomics . I’ve reflected on this, and am now convinced that Harley might be the icon for the new 4th age of comics (a 🧵) 1/
2/ first age was the golden age. Heroes were a. Perfect Paragons of virtue who b. Made the world a better place. These were often stories written by underdogs for underdogs, giving hope; Ex. Superman punching wife beaters and slum lords, fighting the status quo 
3/ tone of the silver age started with Dc Sci fi heroes, but It ended with Marvel stealing the show. A. Heroes became flawed: hulk’s rage, Tony stark’s drinking. However, they b. Still make the world better
4/ the Bronze Age began with adding gritty tones for grit’s sake, but peaked when authors like Alan Moore deconstructed super hero’s dark core; how their stories have unintentional (or even intentional) fascist themes.
5/ of course, any who’s read any decently written Superman comic will know that the character isn’t a fascist; quite the opposite. However, it’s so his story (and others like him) to be co-opted by fascists; the idea that one superior person can solve all problems
6/ worse still, some stories describe heroes acting in fascist ways as if it were a good thing; case in point, Nolan’s Batman, whose super powers were “using torture and invasion of privacy”
7/ so unlike the fun hopeful comics of the past, Bronze Age stories were filled with grimdark tales of “fascist heroes making the world worse,” or worse still “fascist heroes make world better,” either way, you’re reading a story about fascists, which ain’t fun
8/ there have been attempts to bring about a new renaissance (chief example being @KurtBusiek’s amazing Astro City). But while these use hero trappings to tell personal, human stories, these don’t seem to address the underlying problem
9/ namely that, any world in which super powered heroes are the status quo, they are no longer the under dogs but those in control of their world; the Comic book code accelerated this (forcing heroes to not question authority), but it was inevitable for any serial
10/ which finally brings us to Harley Quinn. At the surface, she’s a lot like a other Bronze Age anti-heroes. Violent, dark humor character that steals the audience’s heart.
11/ but she’s more than that; she’s a former absolute villain, but is partly redeemed; not through a hero saving her, but her own will and conviction. She walks the path between dark and light, but still brings a ray of hope and redemption. No absolute “right and wrongs”
12/ but she ushers in the fourth age because her story is entirely anti-fascist. She’s ranges from chaotic good to chaotic evil, but refuses to let any authority tell her what to do.
13/ Sometimes she agrees with heroes and does good. Sometimes she fights heroes and makes bad choices. Sometimes she fights and SHE’s in the right. But she refuses to accept others are right on principle, making her own decisions (good or bad) every time
14/ her and antiheroes like her could only exist in a world of heroes and villains ; people who believe in absolute truths; but she does more than deconstruct the hero story. She exposes the cracks while simultaneously filling them in, creating a rich varied world
15/ and that’s what I think the 4th age could be; one in which heroes try for a better world, but are kept honest and humble through dissenters. Where doubt can coexist with hope. Where heroes are flawed, but communities and groups overcome together
Btw, if you know more stories like that, please share. I immediately think of Secret Six by @GailSimone (more anti authoritarian anti heroes), @hopelarson’s Batgirl (lots of looking at superheroes as mbrs of community) and aforementioned Astro City
Tangent/ Harley’s grey morality, makes Poison Ivy is a perfect match. When debuted, she was a straight up villain. However, the closer we get to a climate change Armageddon, the more show seems like a hero. Proof that heroes don’t have monopoly on right on and wrong
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