"How can we have a meaningful dialogue with adolescent girls when we live in a culture that still can't talk about tampons?"
'Mockingbird, Vol. 1: I Can Explain' is one of the most intellectually challenging superhero comic books I've ever read, starring an incredibly intelligent female lead.
I knew nothing about the Marvel character Mockingbird before purchasing and reading her first solo volume. After reading it, and studying it some more, I have come to the conclusion that Barbara "Bobbi" Morse, aka Mockingbird, aka Agent 19, is one hell of a smart woman. She is a biochemist, a former Avenger (who isn't in the Marvel universe nowadays?), a secret agent working for S.H.I.E.L.D., an inventor, a coroner, an aspiring superhero, a martial artist, a feminist, a dominatrix, a subject infected with deadly mutant cells and a virus, a mental health patient, a faux psychic, a friend of the Queen of England, a badass, and a borderline sociopath.
Mockingbird is more versatile than Barbie. Science and discovery are her life. She treats her male partners, including her ex-husband, Hawkeye, more like experiments, lab rats and sex toys than equal human beings. Clint Barton and Lance Hunter are mostly shirtless and in compromising positions in this comic (not limited to explicit BDSM imagery that's outright comedic) - yes it is manservice in favour of the female gaze; an unapologetically blunt subversion.
Bobbi is so undeniably complex that I can overlook her faults - her hand-waved instabilities - and I no longer think, "Oh, just what we need: another pretty blonde bombshell in comics", when I see an image of her. (That 'Hawkeye: Avenging Archer' cover, though. Urgh! With all the costumes Mockingbird wears in 'I Can Explain', I like her standard superhero outfit the best, the one where she is wearing pants).
Bobbi Morse is a strong-willed, fascinating person. Despite everything that's happening around her, and inside of her, she has it all under her control. She is a scientist, and you believe it in the very clever writing. Agency is Bobbi's middle name; she makes her own decisions and she is usually right, remaining disturbingly calm even in life-and-death situations. Her snarky sense of humour is spot-on solid.
Like Mockingbird herself, the plot is also, as is described by the author Chelsea Cain and the Marvel publishers, a puzzle box. The story - the individual issues - are not told in linear order, and the reader does need to pay particular attention to details. Bobbi is obsessed with patterns, microbes, genetics, human evolution, and finding pieces that fit where they should and start making sense. The story and artwork reflect this (the art is one of the absolute best I've ever seen in comics, BTW). It can get a little confusing, but it comes together towards the end, and the brilliantly-human characters keep us willing to go along the ride. The last issue indicates more puzzles - going back from the first issue - to be solved, with pieces to be clicked into perfect place.
Even the title of the volume, 'I Can Explain', has a double meaning. It explains the convoluted layering of the plot and how its structured, and Mockingbird's own questionable psychosis on top of it.
Other heroes make cameo appearances, notably in S.H.I.E.L.D. itself, including Miles Morales as Spider-Man, and Howard the Duck, who is growing back in popularity.
'Mockingbird, Vol. 1: I Can Explain' is proof that Marvel can and should be brilliant. The boys-club company can do better, and it must never shy away from being progressive and expanding on its target audience (DC isn't much better at this either, but that only shows how far the comic book industry still has to go). By hiring more female writers and artists it has already achieved a lot. Enjoyable? Depends on the reader. Respecting the reader's intelligence? Oh yes.
So clever, and so feminist. Ask Bobbi (and Chelsea Cain) about her feminist agenda? How about asking why that's a problem? And why more creative media aren't following this example?
Final Score: 3.5/5
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