Spoiler Alert! About Fearless Defenders #6!
Attention, folks! Spoilers ahead! If you haven’t read FEARLESS DEFENDERS #6, which came out this week, you might want to stop reading this post right now, rush to your local comic book shop, buy the book, pre-order the book for the future, and then read the issue.
Then… and only then… come back and let’s talk.
Back yet? Pre-orders placed?
Good.
So… Here’s the dirty low down trick I pulled on the readers of FEARLESS DEFENDERS. Six issues ago, I introduced the character of Annabelle Riggs whose sole purpose was to set fans up for heartbreak and frustration. I created her, this “ordinary” person who had a voice and personality in a cast full of super heroic types… who had goals and interests… who decided to take an active role in the adventure that was unfolding around her… and I set her about her nefarious purpose.
Annabelle met her end in the sixth issue of the very series in which she was introduced.
Snickering like a mustache-twirling villain… I used Annabelle as bait. And just as readers grew close to her, I yanked the rug out from under their feet, plunging them into the abyss of regret and loss.
Pretty cruel, right?
Only, that’s not accurate at all.
Way back when I was writing FEAR ITSELF: THE FEARLESS, I had this notion of Valkyrie pulling together a new host of Shieldmaidens, not from the women of Asgard, but from the women of Midgard. One of the things that intrigued me most about this idea was that some of these women might not be mutant/mystic/cyborg powerhouses at all. Instead, they’d be ordinary people who were called on to do extraordinary things. This was the first inkling of the character who would become Annabelle Riggs.
I knew, as I started to write her earliest appearance in the series, that this was a character readers would quickly learn to love. She was our everywoman. In a world of goddesses, she was the character who would keep us grounded. She was a little awkward and very strong-willed. She didn’t take no for an answer and she held her own alongside the likes of Hippolyta and Valkyrie. She developed a crush on another member of the team—feelings that might not have been returned. She was an underdog who said that anyone—no matter how ordinary—could be a hero. Oh, yeah. And she “liked girls.”
Do you want to know the secret of my precognitive abilities? How did I know readers would love Annabelle?
Simple.
Because I loved her, too.
I’ve made no secret about it. Annabelle is my favorite character in the series. “Is,” not “was.” I’m speaking for Will and Ellie here, but I think they like her best, too. Keep in mind, I LOVE all the characters in the series—Valkyrie, Misty, Dani, Hippolyta, all of them—but Annabelle was my favorite by far. I’d almost go so far as to say this is her series even more than it is Valkyrie’s.
So why her? Why’d she have to die?
I’ve seen a lot of wildly inaccurate speculation on why Annabelle died. Some have suggested that I created her just so she could die. Some said she died because she was the only character in the book who had not been previously established. Some say I was just trying to take a cheap shot at the readers. Still others suggest that Annabelle died because she was gay.
Let me set the record straight.
Why did Annabelle die? Why not Hippolyta or Dani?
Annabelle died because in this story she was the only one who could die. She was the only person who could save Valkyrie from the danger she faced. Her feelings for Valkyrie… her faith in a fallen shieldmaiden… was the only thing that could pull her friend back from the brink. I’m a big believer that if you can take one character out of a scene and plug another character in without upsetting everything, you’ve created sparkplugs, not people.
Annabelle saves the day and she pays the ultimate price for it. She dies a good death.
A couple of years ago, in another issue 6, this time of THE SIXTH GUN, another character I loved died. Billjohn O’Henry went down in a blaze glory. Guess who my favorite character in THE SIXTH GUN is (not was). That’s right. Billjohn. Maybe I have a character flaw. My favorite characters suffer the most. They pay dearly for who they are.
With Annabelle, though, some interpreted her death as the destruction of a group that should have a place in the comic book world. Some felt that Annabelle was marginalized because of her sexuality. But the fact that she was a lesbian didn’t even enter the equation for me, except that it was part of what made her who she was—just one part of many. What mattered to me here was that Annabelle cared deeply for her friend and she was—gay, straight, black, white—a hero.
Readers are supposed to be hurt here. They’re supposed to be mad. If they aren’t, then the FEARLESS DEFENDERS creative team didn’t do their job. But if readers are only upset because a lesbian died… well, that’s a problem, too. Be upset that a character who meant something to you died. But if the only thing that means something is that the character is gay, then the character is a cardboard stand-in. I’m not above writing cardboard characters, but Annabelle wasn’t one of them.
I’m sure there will be those who take exception with what I’m about to say. Maybe you’ve been burned by comic books (or media in general) in the past. There’s not much I can do about that. In the end, though, if a character death is what is right for the story, then there’s very little that’s going to sway me from that course. I’m definitely not going to spare a character based solely on sexuality, gender, or race. That’s not fair to anyone. Not the writer, the reader, or the character. I respect my characters far too much to cut them any slack.
Just to touch on the idea of representation, since you took me there. (Oh, yes you did!) Just to be clear, death does not equal irrelevance. A character can have impact on a story long after they have passed on. And I’m not talking about a ghost or anything like that. I’m talking about the difference the character made in the story. I’m talking about the memories the other characters have. I’m talking about what the character meant to the readers.
And, lest there is any question, her death was not a fake-out or red herring. Death is a massive changing force. Annabelle’s moment of self-sacrifice will have long lasting ramifications on this book. That said, I want you to keep in mind that there are bigger wheels turning. There are important events and big changes on the horizon. Comic books are a very fluid thing. There are changes from issue to issue. The wait between issues might seem like a looooong time, but there is always the potential for everything to be turned on its ear. And it is just around the bend.
Like I said, this issue should have elicited a strong emotional reaction. This response means people care about what’s happening in the book. That means readers are engaged in the book, which is important to me. I’ll never promise that I’m not gonna make you angry. Sometimes, surprises hurt. But I appreciate you sticking with me. FEARLESS DEFENDERS is not a book that plays it safe. “Fearless” is right there in the title! I don’t think you’d enjoy reading it if it did.
I’d love to hear your thoughts, of course. You can reach out here, on Twitter, on Facebook, or on Tumblr.
Stay tuned.
Stay strong.
–CB
P.S. Ghostbusters 2 is a much-maligned movie, but I still say it’s a fun flick. One of my favorite bits is when the reflect on Vigo’s final words. “Death is but a door. Time is but a window. I’ll be back.” Pretty sweet, huh?
P.P.S. This week, I posted a picture on Tumblr. It was a Bill Willingham drawing from an old Dungeons and Dragons manual. A Valkyrie preparing to usher a fallen warrior to Valhalla. There was no hidden meaning in that post. I was just waxing nostalgic about some role-playing games I played when I was a kid. I repeat. There was no hidden message.
P.P.S. Did you guys see the cool teaser images from FEARLESS DEFENDERS issue 7? The one with Valkyrie and Clea in some unidentified otherworldly realm? That issue comes out in just a couple of weeks. But you won’t miss it because you already pre-ordered it, right?
