DC Super Hero Girls

...Sometimes I wonder if I should start tallying how many times TTG is brought up just to be compared unfavorably to whatever's being discussed.

This idea sounds too much like DC trying to muscle in on properties like Monster High and Ever After High. I'm not going to completely disregard it (after all, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed TTG when it premiered, and other girl-centric properties like the aforementioned Monster High), but I don't know that the idea will work out well for DC. I feel like it'd work better if it were somewhat like DC Universe Online, where a school for super heroes was necessary for its setting, and that the characters were new characters who were adopting the personae of well-known supers in the DC universe.

That said, I can't fault them for trying something new, so I'll wait and see how it goes.

edited 2nd Oct '15 5:06:00 PM by Customer

I don't know. If they give the characters good identities they'll have an advantage over using OCs. It all comes back to the writing. If they're all just girl-show pastiches, then they would have been better off not tarnishing the characters.

I knew about the two Batman Unlimited movies, but I had no idea there were shorts!

You can see them on DC Kids Youtube channel.

They're weird, because they pretty much just actions scenes, with no dialog except for grunting and screaming and there are only 2 characters that didn't show up in movies (Mr Freeze and Bane). And yet some movie characters like Cyborg don't show up.

The funniest thing is that that channel also has all these episodes in different languages...for some reason.

edited 3rd Oct '15 1:13:08 AM by Sunchet

This does not surprise me at all. With the popularity of Equestria Girls and other Fantasy Doll lines, of course DC would jump into the fad at some point.

The part that does bother me is that this makes no sense. ALL superheroes are going to the same school (shouldn't the Green Lanterns have their own academy, for example) to say nothing of SUPER-VILLAINS also going there! This definitely looks like it will be written for very small children. Which isn't *bad*, mind you, after all you gotta have a gateway for them to learn about these characters. But there are better ways to do that- Super Best Friends Forever, for example, was easy to understand, harmless, and fun!

But CN and WB at the time were like "No girls allowed. Ew, cooties." also, I think they didn't know how to market to girls yet back then.

Well the villans will probably be the schools 'problem children' with their villainous sides downplayed. Catwoman's always bordered on Anti hero anyway and Harley has team up with hero's when she felt like it (in the comics anyway).

edited 3rd Oct '15 11:51:32 AM by DeanCole

That is the thing that bugs me about this show. Wouldn't it make more sense if the heroes going to this school is made up of all the young DC heroes including sidekicks, Titans, and other young spin-off of characters? I mean, Wonder Woman is a teen in this and yet her contemporaries Superman and Batman are established veterans? If they wanted to use Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn in their line up, why not use Wonder Girl and Duela Dent since they are already established as teen super heroes that are spin off of establish characters. Also, why Hal instead of Kyle? Kyle's whole thing is being the younger new GL replacing the likes of the older ones (Hal, Guy, John).

On a better improvement on this concept of a school for rising heroes, why not set it up as a Legion of Superheroes series? That would be a good way to introduce obscure heroes to a new generation and capitalize on the Monster High/Ever After High popularity. I can totally see my little sister playing with an actio-er I mean doll version of Saturn Girl or Dawnstar.

Probably to easier cash in on popular gals. Poison Ivy or Cheeetah don't have teen counterparts. Besides young kids won't link Harley and Duela. They will go "Dent.... Wasn't that Two-Face?"

The point of picking characters is to sell a shitton of dolls, first of all, and who is going to sell better; Diana, or Donna?

I'm not sure the average consumer would really be able to tell the difference between the two...

Well, the art is definitely a step above some of the stuff you see for these dolls.

edited 4th Oct '15 8:32:43 AM by edvedd

Somewhere, Lauren faust is pissed about this.

I wouldn't say pissed, but she is probably in a vindictive mood right about now.

Now Gail Simone, the comic book equivalent to Lauren Faust, is more likely pissed about this.

edited 4th Oct '15 6:00:15 PM by BigK1337

Well, apparently DC and WB were supportive of her show, but no network wanted to take it. This isn't quite that.

I can't imagine she's pleased anyway.

I find it slightly hilarious that so many shows for preteen girls are set in high school. As if young boys all fantasise about being in outer space or underground caves or the distant future, but the wildest dreams of little girls is going to the magical land of Catty Cheerleaders and Crying Over Boys.

What I'm liking so far:

• Superhero creators finally thinking about this demographic
• They said a line of action figures will be created for the show, in addition to more traditional dolls. Also Lego sets, it seems.
• Bit of racial diversity (could be better)
• Inclusion of villains/antiheroes among the protagonists could help break out of the generic "bland nice girls" archetype.
• Several characters with STEM skills and hobbies.

Not so great:

• No creativity for body types, outfits a little bland.
• The "Big Three" (Supergirl, Wonderwoman and Batgirl, aka the ones with the most brand recognition) are all white- even WW, who doesn't really need to be.
• Teaser didn't really do anything for me other than show off the sheer size of the extended cast. Needs to show a bit more humour, heart and maybe action to get me on board.

Is it weird that I think making them primary/elementary school age might have been more fun? Then again, that's probably just the JL 8 influence talking...

I don't remember Diana not being white.

Isn't Wondy Greek?

"Big Three" follow Blonde, Brunette, Redhead rule. Sure you could change them into three skin colors instead but I no one wants to fix what's not broken.

She is often drawn as looking Caucasian, but my point is that she doesn't strictly speaking have to be in the same way that Supergirl and Batgirl kinda do. And, yeah, those two don't "have to" be, either, it's just that a traditionally dark-haired character from a made-up race based in Greek Mythology has a bit more wiggle room as far as race portrayals go than the blonde and the redhead do.

Wonder Girl in SBFF, for instance, is olive skinned that could be interpreted as a variety of things, but was probably intended to look Mediterranean.

It's not really whitewashing, I suppose, but at the moment it just feels like the women of colour are very much in the "sidekick" role. In many of the promo pictures, for example, the big three get a variety of poses, but Bumblebee is just the same picture slapped onto different backgrounds, which is kinda lazy.

Hmm, if anyone's interested, some more shorts and info have been released:

All About Super Hero High (the most reference heavy short so far)

Roomies [1]

New York Comic Con Behind-The-Scenes Video: [2]

Also:

*Lex Luthor will still be a villian and the antagonist in the first graphic novel (release date TBA) and the story involves "the young heroes attempt to escape form his clutches in time to make it to their semester finals."

*Big Barda will be tallest in school

• Classes include Flyers Ed and Junior Detective Society of Metropolis

• Harley Quinn will be Wonder Woman's messy roommate.

edited 10th Oct '15 6:47:41 PM by XMenMutant22

I suppose it's too much asking for Lena Luthor, despite even Robot Chicken being able to remember her.

I like what i see so far. Not great, but far from bad. Beast Boy kept the same voice from his Teen Titans incarnation? Seems confusing... I wonder if Hynden Walch will still be Starfire then?

—> Complaints about the white devil.
—> Re: Wonder Woman, who has always been white.
—> Re: Not Katana, who clearly has the same skin tone as the rest despite being Asian.

Logic.

edited 11th Oct '15 1:54:44 AM by Eagal

Why would Gail Simons be upset over this?

Actually, these little teaser clips are starting to win me over. Bumblebee has a prominent role right off the bat, which is more than I was expecting, and there's plenty of energy and humour so far.

And yeah, okay, WW being white is probably more or less canon. I suppose I'm really just parroting the same arguments used around Dr Strange: to make the character white is not whitewashing, but there are other options that maybe could be considered without drastically altering the look or feel of the character. It'd be amazing if they'd done that, but it's not awful that they didn't.

Also like that Batgirl isn't Batgirl yet- she lacks powers,so it makes sense that she wouldn't go to the school (How'd Harley get in, though?) And the passcode thing had "Oracle" on it! Tell you what, if Barbara ever loses the use of her legs and becomes Oracle in this show, it'd probably be one of the gutsiest things ever done in a Merchandise-Driven "girls'" show...