Image via Complex Original
In just about every way, the dominant pop culture style of the ‘90s was a direct response to what society went through in the ‘80s. Punk rock and new wave records were replaced by 'N Sync and Backstreet Boys albums, and testosterone-fueled cinema like Commando and Aliens soon made way for lighter fare like Can’t Hardly Wait and 10 Things I Hate About You. But the most jarring change of direction happened in the comic book industry.
During the ‘80s, sophisticated books like Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, and 2000 AD gave readers mature characters, complex themes, and, yes, uncomfortable violence that appealed to an older audience. When the ‘90s came along, though, the industry switched gears and placed sex and bombast over storytelling and creativity. Tellingly, the biggest changes came in the form of outrageous misogyny and sexism. Realism gave way to an oversexualized look for female characters that included skimpy costumes, micro waists, and gigantic breasts, much to the delight of sweaty-palmed, under-developed fanboys everywhere.
An entire generation of readers grew up adrift in boobs as imagined by guys who have never talked to women before. No one knows what kind of psychological damage this did in the long run, but we can tell you What We Learned About Women From Reading ‘90s Comics.
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Subtlety doesn’t sell.
While writers went to great lengths to develop all the characters, women and men alike, during the ‘80s, a new crop of writers and artists warped that by reducing the vast majority of female characters into irrational ass kickers during the '90s. Characters like Storm, Zatanna, and Kitty Pryde, who got by with charm and intelligence, were pushed aside for a more Schwarzenegger-esque brand of fighters, including the likes of Domino of the X-Force and Witchblade.
Of course this is what all men want in a female character, according to the comic book industry. Too much talking and emotion got in the way of women behaving violently in the previous decades, and apparently male fans had had enough. Thankfully the ‘90s came along and stripped women of lame shit like personalities and gave us what we really came for: sex and guns.
Killing a woman always makes for a better story.
It’s hard to give a superhero motivation to keep fighting the good fight, you know? It's like, you need something bad to happen to keep the hero heroic. What's the easiest thing to do? Kill a girlfriend, of course. During the ‘90s there were numerous instances where writers killed off or depowered a female superhero or created a girlfriend for a popular superhero, only to kill her off to escalate the drama.
Remember when the Green Lantern’s girlfriend, Alex DeWitt, was killed by Major Force and shoved into a refrigerator just six issues after her debut? Now that was a tearjerker. The key is that you don’t have to actually spend time giving superhero love interests a personality or a purpose. The only reason they exist is so they can be killed in brutal fashion. Now let's go and find a girlfriend to put in a household appliance.
Anatomy is a matter of opinion.
Look at that spine! Is there anything sexier than a woman who can slink into positions known only to pipe cleaners? Thankfully, in the world of comics, artists don’t have to adhere to human anatomy in order to make the impossible possible. No era defined this deformed look better than the ‘90s, where the top industry talent would shape the human body to their choosing.
Legs were long, hips were wide, and the waist was just a rumor. Artists like Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld, and Todd McFarlane took the female form and pushed it into a place of parody. Only, they weren't joking. Severe scoliosis and hip dysplasia never looked so hot.
Swords = Sexy
Nothing gets red-blooded males more revved up than a busty woman holding a cartoonishly large sword (you know, it's like playing with phallic imagery, bro, very Freudian, very sexy), and artist Rob Liefeld had the market cornered for this look in the ‘90s. Nearly every woman this man ever put to paper wielded a sword so large it dwarfed her and every other living soul in the comic.
It seemed like Liefeld created characters solely to continue recycling this look, including heroines like Re-Gex, Avengelyne, and Glory. Rarely has comic book art ever been more perfect to be pinned up to the dingy walls of an auto-body shop than these beauties.
The less clothing wear, the better.
Who knows more about fashion than the comic book industry? In the ‘90s readers saw comic book artists redesign nearly every female character's costume to make them fit in with the sensibilities of the time. This meant tight leather, bare asses, and just enough material to keep comics from being classified as pornography. Even more reserved characters like Jean Grey and the Invisible Woman got design overhauls that put the emphasis and boobs and butts.
Artists didn’t have to worry about the logistics of such costumes because audiences will eat up anything that shows a little skin. Just look at Psylocke’s purple skivvies, for example; they defy good taste and physics, but they look great plastered on the cover of an X-Men book. And after all, isn’t that why people read comics in the first place?
All women must have at least double-D measurements to be taken seriously.
What better way to sell comics than to endow every woman with the bustline of a Swedish wet nurse? Flipping through ‘90s comics like Gen13 and Youngbloods, you’ll notice a considerable jump in cleavage size compared to the ‘80s when artists tried to keep thing more *shudder* real. Even classic characters like Sue Storm and Wonder Woman had their boobs augmented during this time.
In real life, the only time you see measurements like this are at monster truck rallies or Wrestlemania, so it only makes sense that comic books should reflect these respected forms of entertainment. Sure, this direction probably alienated countless comic book readers throughout the decade, but it also brought in a new generation of perverts with deep pockets. And in the end, their money is just as good as anyone’s. Applause, everyone. This worked out really well.