Yes. Yes, she can.
Rey “Skywalker,” for you non-Star Wars fans out there, is the central protagonist from the most recent three films in the Star Wars saga, produced by Lucasfilm under Disney. Her creation, journey, and eventual path to victory are the stuff of YouTube punditry legend.
I’m being generous when I say she had a bumpy start. Why? For the same reasons all characters have a bumpy start – poor writing, poor creative vision, poor execution, etc. The mainstream media explanations of “misogyny” are grossly overrated, which is no surprise in a “fake controversy for click” ecosystem.
However, I sit firmly in the camp that says any character can be salvaged, and I’m going to use a DC Comics character to prove it.
Introducing Mr. A.
Oh, you’ve never heard of Mr. A? He’s a creation of legendary comics creator Steve Ditko.
Mr. A debuted in 1967 in Wally Wood’s Witzend Magazine. He was a vigilante detective who wore a stoic (read: placid expression) facemask, and Mr. A’s approach to crimefighting reflected Steve Ditko’s philosophical alignment with Objectivism, made famous by the writings of Ayn Rand.
[Side note: Objectivism never spread beyond a niche following, but there are aspects within Objectivism that could benefit our feeling-obsessed climate right now.]
If you’ve never heard of Mr. A, that’s because he never stuck as a hero. Alan Moore even went so far as to write a song about Mr. A for his band, The Emperors of Ice Cream, to mock the character and his Objectivist ideology.
Mr. A was off to a bumpy start.
What happened next? Steve Ditko got hired by Charlton Comics, which would later be acquired by DC Comics with all of Charlton’s characters in tow.
Ditko decided there was value in Mr. A’s character, but he needed a rework to soften the Objectivist edges, which tended to give Mr. A a decidedly boring personality.
The result? Mr. A evolved into the character DC Comics readers now know as The Question.
The expressionless mask and suit remained, along with the fighting abilities and role as a detective, but the personality and origin received an overhaul.
The Question may not be as popular as Batman or Superman, but he (now she) has fans, and the character consistently appears in DC Comics since The Question’s debut in 1967.
What does any of this have to do with Rey “Skywalker”? Simple. It’s recognition that a character can have a very bumpy start (although rarely this expensive) and be mocked and laughed at by the general audience.
But, if you have a talented storyteller with the right vision, motivation, and willingness to change a character for the better, there’s always hope to turn a character around.
What do you think? If you had the magic Lucasfilm/Disney wand, how would you change Rey to make her better?
Leave a comment with your ideas below, and we’ll feature some of your ideas in the next newsletter.
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