The creator of DC Comics’ Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville has spoken about the two Justice League members dealing with sexism in a contemporary world.
Writer Joanne Starer talked to DC about the dynamic duo of Fire and Ice and the problems its characters face. The series deals with real life issues, including sexism. “I think the problems women face never change, but how we deal with them — that changes. Over time, we may develop better tools or feel more emboldened to call out injustice,” Starer said. In the Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville comics, these issues play out opposite Smallville’s most famous citizen, Superman. “In the book, Fire kind of sees Superman as the Patriarchy, right? She believes she and Ice should be equal to him, but instead he keeps swooping in to ‘save’ them from themselves. And she’s like, ‘Who appointed this guy? I don’t need a man’s help.'”
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FIRE & ICE: WELCOME TO SMALLVILLE #2
Written by JOANNE STARER Art by NATACHA BUSTOS Cover by TERRY DODSON On sale Oct. 3
Starer said that Fire and Ice arriving in Smallville helps further the conflict in the story. “The magic of Smallville is that it’s never contemporary. It’s like a town stuck in time, and that’s why they’re there — to slow down. Which makes Fire miserable!” Starer explained. “There’s no crime in Smallville, and all Fire wants is someone she can fight so she can prove to the world that she’s a great hero. Meanwhile, Ice is looking around and seeing that a life without constant danger is maybe kind of nice. It’s pretty great to spend more than a few days in one place and make friends who don’t have secret identities.”
While Fire finds problems with Smallville’s patriarchal society, Ice has to deal with issues of her own. “Ice is struggling with the lie that women have been told for centuries — you can’t have it all,” Starer revealed. “She sees life in Smallville and the possibility of a family. She thinks she has to give up being a hero to have that. At no point does she consider that she could do both, because who is there to model that for her?”
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Starer also took the time to applaud her artists and the entire team behind the comic. “Natacha Bustos’s art is absolutely incredible, and Tamra Bonvillain’s colors just bring everything to life. It’s been an amazing experience for me to work with an all-female team on a book about female superheroes,” she said.
Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #2 is available now from DC Comics.
Source: DC
DC Comics writer Joanne Starer says Fire & Ice Welcome to Smallville uses the dynamic duo as well as Superman to point out issues with the patriarchy. Read More