Where Do I Fit In?

In life as in literature, females are supposed to be not too tall but not too short. They are supposed to have long hair. Now a day’s men in society prefer theory women to be not too fat but not too skinny. With all these classifications that females are being placed in by the people within society, it is difficult for women to be comfortable with their self-much less their body especially when they are judged based on their physical features. In the novel Soon I Will Be Invincible Fatale is a woman that was transformed into a cyborg after a freaked accident in Brazil. Throughout the novel, the author was able to capture how she perceived her body both as a cyborg and woman into the superhero world and the psychological effects it had on who she becomes. Therefore in the novel, Fatale’s body is perceived differently than that of the body of other female superheroes which can lead to negative psychological impacts on who she becomes as a superhero.

The Erikson Stages of Psychosocial Development is a psychological lens that can be used to analysis Fatale’s and other female superwomen actions. According to Notes from psychology headquarters, “Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development emphasizes the sociocultural determinants of development and presents them as eight stages of psychosocial conflicts that all individuals must overcome or resolve successfully in order to adjust well to the environment” (HQ, 2017). The eight stages of this theory are Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Stagnation, and Ego Integrity vs. Despair. In addition, when an individual face one of these psychosocial conflicts, those within their environment influences whether they achieve the virtue of the stage they are stationed.

In the novel Soon I Will Be Impossible, chapter two “Welcome to the Team” was written in the perspective of the female superheroine. Fatale acquired her powers in São Paulo, Brazil when she was accidentally bulldozed by a dumper truck and was then dragged forty feet against a building. As a female with most of the left part of her body reconstructed using metals, she is disgusted with how she looks. For instance, whenever she sees herself, “… in the curvy metal walls of the Crisis Room, a patchwork woman of skin chrome, souvenirs of a bad day in Sao Paulo. I lost a lot of skin and gained four inches of height and a metal skeleton,” (22). This description that Fatale gave of her body proves that she does not like what she sees in the mirror. This was very evident when she used the word patchwork to describe how she views herself. The word ‘patchwork is defined as needlework in which small pieces of cloth in different designs, colors, or textures are sewn together. In Fatale’s case, she is a patchwork of various metal alloys and silicones that covers nearly half of her body. This word has a negative connotation because Fatale does not find herself to be attractive or beautiful. As result, Fatale may face psychosocial conflict such as Intimacy vs. Isolation.

Furthermore, due to Fatale’s inability to see herself as appealing this may cause her to isolate herself from others. Pertaining to the Erikson’s Psychological of Development Fatale would not attain the virtue of love. In chapter seven, Fatale realized that her rendezvous with Blackwolf would never mount out to anything because if he had to choose between her and Damsel, he would choose the latter. She believes that by being a twenty-something half human, half cyborg she will never be able to be intimate with another because by society’s standard she is not categorized as beautiful, (213). Since the stages within Erikson’s Theory are age-based being able to determine the psychosocial that Fatale would face became apparent when she revealed that her human half was around twenty-something. With that said according to the theory individual’s between ages eighteen through thirty-five would either face the positive aspect of the psychosocial, intimacy or the negative aspect, isolation. For Fatale it is the negative aspect, it can be inferred that with her being a female cyborg especially one that weighs four hundred and seventy-four pounds and super strength she defies society’s standard of a female superhero. Hence, she feels secludes from everyone else and believes that she will never able to find or be with someone that accepts her for who she is.

Moreover, Fatale’s anatomy defies society’s norm of a female super-heroine. If Fatale was to be compared to other female counterparts such as Wonder Woman or Black Widow one would notice that their body projection is significantly different. According to a research paper by Ingrid Fretheim, Fantastic Feminism: Female Characters in Superhero Comic Books it states, “Female superheroes, as a rule, have slim, feminine bodies and big breasts” (12). As a female superhero Wonder Woman was designed with features that society considers to be desirable especially when the audience is said to be white hormonal males who view female superheroes as their ultimate romantic interest. Even though Wonder Women does not wear a swimsuit like the other female heroes she displays a generous amount of leg and cleavage to let the males know that she is still a woman. Another example is Black Widow. With her custom being a leotard, she attracts the male audience because it “fits very tightly to her body and reveals where there are muscles and where there are none” (66). Compare to these women Fatale would never be labeled as beautiful in society, especially when she must endure the stares of people when they realized that she is made of metals. Additionally, compared to her counterparts Fatale does not have an alter ego. Thus, she is not able to reveal just one side of herself because she is unable to separate between her alter ego and superhero persona which cause her to become an outcast.

In the comic world, Fatale was not the only female cyborg. “Ghost in the Shell” is a Japanese manga series franchise that was written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. This superhero comic features Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg that was given a full prosthetic body as a result of a life-threatening accident as a child. Which is like how Fatale came about being a cyborg, she was approached by Protheon, corporate doctors who offered her proposal about partaking in the super-soldier program, (21). The Major is a part of a secret organization known as Section 9. This organization within the Japanese government “…consists of a smaller, covert black operations division with military-trained personnel, former police detectives, and various skilled specialists within its ranks,” (Lanham). Has a cyborg Major Motoko and Fatale share identical powers such as superhuman strength, speed, coordination, and advanced computer hacking skills. Also, these two female cyborgs suffered from memory loss which prevented them from remembering who they were before their accident. Even though Major and Fatale are similar in many ways, there are two crucial factors that separate the two. One is that when Fatale was an operative, she would work alone because she was technically a nobody, (53) since her creators disappeared leaving “her feeling a trifle reject,” (36). While Major had a partner, name Batou who was equally cyberized. Secondly, Major was said to be known for her alluring attire or lack of attire. This indirectly implies that the doctors who created Major’s prosthetic shell molded her body to perfection so that it would be easier for her to seduce her targets, especially the males. However, the same does not go for Fatale because when she went into Galatea’s room in chapter four “Superfriends” she stated, “Everybody loved Galatea, and even I can see why those wide green eyes, the perfect figure, the melting soft voice. She looked designed to be adored … Looking in the mirror, it’s clear that whoever designed me had other things in minds” (55). By her saying this it proves that she does not think that she is beautiful. This further proves that Fatale was not designed for beauty like Galatea was, she was solely built for the government exploitations. In short, although Fatale and Major have more similarities than differences Major’s body image is viewed positively while Fatale’s is not.

On the contrary, others may argue that Fatale’s body is not perceived differently than the body of other female superheroes. This was demonstrated in the novel when Fatale received a jumpsuit from Damsel as a way of welcoming her to the team. Fatale stated that “I stop and look at myself in the full-length mirror, a machine woman hybrid in a leotard” (112). This statement by Fatale contains a trope. This trope is called Leotard of Power and it is when a character fights in a skintight leotard or swimsuit. This form of trope was used in comics to convey the portrayal of a sexy or bold female character. For Fatale, this leotard signifies her being recognized as a female superhero just like Damsel who also wears a form of a leotard. Being given such a garment should prove to Fatale that she is just like any other female superhero. Also, when she tried the leotard, she was happy with how her body looked because the garment was designed to complement the cyborg half of her body. As a result, it displayed the best parts of her body. Hence, Fatale feels proud to show off her body just like any other female comic superheroes. Despite others thinking that this argument is correct, it is not because Fatale features are similar to that of a male superhero. According to his article “He’s Gotta Be Strong, and He’s Gotta Be Fast, and He’s Gotta Be Larger Than Life: Investigating the Engendered Superhero Body” Aaron Taylor examines the body ideal of a superheroine by claiming that a woman’s voluptuousness is how she is evaluated and that masculine features must be avoided at all cost to prevent being compared to a male superhero, (353). On multiple occasions, Fatale would describe her body to be different from another female superhero. Once Fatale implied that she was not slender like the other females, which suggests that she is not fit. Additionally, standing at a height of six feet four inches is an unusual height for females, she even stated that she was taller than an average man, (112). She also stated that she has broad shoulders and long thighs which are features that are associated with men and possessing powers such as enhanced strength and having the ability to hack systems, (112). Also, she would be addressed as “Tin Man” by her enemies because of having such pronounced masculine features, (35). In the end, having all these masculine features and skills has negatively impacted the way Fatale lives her life as a superhero as well as her mental health.

All in all, being a female superhero that has a body that is different from other female superheroes have negatively impacted Fatale perception of her body which affected her psychological state. Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development aide to confirm that Fatale suffered psychologically and is facing the crisis Intimacy vs. Isolation. Fatale believed that her body was mutilated and destroyed by being a cyborg. Went she saw her reflection she would often feel disgusted and ashamed of herself. Coupled with the fact that she would be sent on solo missions played a huge role on her mental health because she was isolated from the rest of the world. More importantly, society standards made sure Fatale knew that she was an outcast because she was not beautiful and voluptuous like the other superheroines, even though she and Major Motoko were very similar to each other. Others may not believe that she is viewed differently but she is and for that same reason she faces psychological problems.

 

Works Cited

Fretheim, Ingrid M., and Rebecca Scherr. “Fantastic Feminism: Female Characters in Superhero Comic Books.” University of Oslo, 2017.

Grossman, Austin. Soon I Will Be Invincible. Vintage Books, 2008.

Lanham, Colby. “Cyborgs & Cyber Brains: A User’s Guide to Ghost in the Shell.” CBR, 2000AD, 19 Nov. 2016, www.cbr.com/cyborgs-cyber-brains-a-users-guide-to-ghost-in-the-shell/.

“Leotard of Power.” TV Tropes, 2018, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LeotardOfPower.

“Motoko Kusanagi (Character).” Comic Vine, Comic Vine, 2018, comicvine.gamespot.com/motoko-kusanagi/4005-48989/.

Notes HQ, Psychology. “Erik Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development.” The Psychology Notes Headquarters, 17 May 2018, www.psychologynoteshq.com/erikerikson/.

Taylor, Aaron. “‘He’s Gotta Be Strong, and He’s Gotta Be Fast, and He’s Gotta Be Larger Than

Life’: Investigating the Engendered Superhero Body.” The Journal of Popular Culture,

vol. 40, no. 2, 7 Mar. 2007, pp. 344–354., doi:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2007.00382. X.