SUGAR, AND SPITE

In the current DC Anthology, Legends of Tomorrow, one of the series is Sugar & Spike, in which Sheldon Mayer’s loveable moppets of yesteryear have grown up into detectives and investigators for the supernatural community, who deal with situations too embarrassing for the heroes to handle.

Perpetrated by Keith Giffen (though he at least spares us his illustrations), this double-stuffed idiocy – (a) Sugar & Spike as adults, and (b) the conceit that there are situations the heroes, even the diluted, “Poo 52” versions thereof, can’t handle themselves – managed to escalate from merely stupid to dangerously ignorant with its third issue.

Spike wishes Sugar a Happy Birthday – for reasons as yet unknown to the reader, she objects to being reminded of this. And she objects, physically. The next panel is of Spike lying on the floor clutching his groin, clearly in great pain.

Question: If it had been Spike who had severely physically assaulted Sugar, for no other reason than that he didn’t like what she was saying, would it have been regarded as at all acceptable, let alone presented as a cutesy comedy moment?  (Rhetorical question, kids; the only possible answer is, “Hell, no!”)

So why, in a world where we teach our hypothetical sons that its not okay to hit women, are we apparently encouraging women to hit men? Unprovoked assault is unprovoked assault, folks, regardless of the gender of the perpetrator and the victim, and it’s not a laughing matter in either case…