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Verbal·Information and Ideas·Command of Evidence
hard
If Spider-Man’s mother figure, Aunt May, was often cast as the damsel in distress, she was ultimately an ordinary woman and thus could hardly be expected to vie with superheroes. The 1960s saw superpowered female characters emerge, yet scholars have observed that the portrayal of female superheroes in the 1960s was constrained by the era’s narrow expectations about femininity, including an emphasis on nurturing or romantic qualities and ineptitude in battle, with exceptions to such portrayals typically framed as aberrant and originating outside the characters’ autonomy. Even characters such as the Invisible Girl and the Wasp—powerful founding members of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, respectively—followed this tendency.
Which scenario, if included in a comic book, would best illustrate the scholars’ observation about the portrayal of female superheroes in the 1960s?
A
Frustrated by her male teammates’ expectations that she handle domestic duties, the Wasp demands that the entire team distribute the work of maintaining the Avengers’ living quarters more equitably.
B
The Invisible Girl temporarily becomes a much more formidable combatant than any of her male teammates as a result of a mysterious influence that wholly alters her personality.
C
After the Wasp masters her power to shrink and fly, she acquires a new ability to fire bioelectric blasts, dubbed her “wasp’s sting,” which greatly enhances her offensive potential.
D
When a supervillain briefly steals the Invisible Girl’s powers, her male teammates work to defeat the supervillain and restore her powers while she remains at the team’s headquarters.