Hell Hath No Furies: Female Furies Appreciation

[Robotman]

I always liked the Female Furies and I enjoyed them in the Wonder Girl mini from a few years ago. I just want them to be treated as a greater threat within the DCU. I feel like they get jobbed or get treated like fodder way too often.

I agree. They should be way more powerful since they’re Darkseid’s elite warriors. I hate when a regular human without powers is shown to give them problems or even beat them.

They had a good showing in the Superman/Batman animated movie. They were going giving Wonder Woman and Barda all they could handle. The Furies should be on that level all the time.

[Nyssane]

Found this interesting take on the Furies by Karl Kesel:

I’ve always loved Kirby’s “bad girl” characters, the Female Furies, with the original five each clearly reflecting a different stereotype/archetype of woman—

Barda = Amazon,
Lashina = Dominatrix,
Stompa = Butch D***(this was the late 60s, after all),
Mad Harriet = Hag,
Bernadeth = Spinster.

But the Furies are an entire battalion— there are a LOT more where those came from! So in 1991’s Hawk & Dove #21, I came up with a few more. Again, I tried to make each represent a type of woman—

Gilotina = Girl Next Door,
Speed Queen = Rebellious Teen,
Bloody Mary = Seductress,
Malice Vundabarr = Brat.

(Gilotina first appeared and was named in a few Kirby Mister Miracle panels— but I gave her her personality and outlook.) Bloody Mary never quite jelled as a character (odd, because she seems to be the strongest, high-concept-wise) but I’ve always really liked the others. I actually stranded Gilotina in Project Cadmus for a while, and started a romance between her and Tommy (the typical boy-next-door). Of course, I’d revisit the Furies again when Tom Grummett and I introduced Superboy to a lady named Knockout a few years later. Side Note: Malice’s pet “Cheshire” was renamed “Chessure” in the printed comic, combining “cheshire” with “pressure.” It seemed more “Kirby” to me.

[Agent Z]

Youtuber, the 4th snake, offers his idea for how the Female Furies should have been handled in Final Crisis.

[MosSuperman]

https://www.polygon.com/comics/2018/...i-adriana-melo

[WonderScott]

Found this interesting take on the Furies by Karl Kesel:

Ooooo, that is interesting.

I really, really wish we could flesh out the FF ranks with a lot more characters and redesigns. Some of these characters, and Wunda, have all sadly been forgotten.

[WonderScott]

https://www.polygon.com/comics/2018/...i-adriana-melo

I’m intrigued (and posted this response in a FB group I’m in)...

Interesting... I’m down for this, because out of all the Fourth World characters, they are some of my favorites, but their personalities, motivations, and displays of power are mercurial at best when interacting with the DCU.

If this can remedy that and retcon them, I’m all for it and for DC doing better by the Apokoliptans, outside of Darkseid.

I didn’t read Shade: The Changing Girl, but the premise and questions Castellucci posits here are interesting and solid. I’ve always enjoyed Melo and her beautiful, sexy-fied art. (I hold a certain place in my heart for her and Ed Benes and their Brasilian, sexy-fun-times depictions of all the characters in the series the draw.)

[Nyssane]

AHHHH. I am so excited for it!

[Robotman]

https://www.polygon.com/comics/2018/...i-adriana-melo

Sounds great! It’s about damn time The Furies get their own comic, even if it’s just a 6 issue mini.

[Frontier]

https://www.polygon.com/comics/2018/...i-adriana-melo

Kind of surprised this is the first time the Furies have had their own mini. Pretty cool though .

I assume this is post-Darkseid War which is why Barda is with the Furies again. It'll be interesting to see how a Barda who found love and peace in New Genesis handles being in charge of the Furies again (and I doubt the other Furies are happy to have her back anyways).

I'm not sure I buy the premise that the Furies are unhappy with being left behind while the men go off and fight. I mean, Parademons are kind of genderless by this point, aren't they? And I doubt Darkseid would hold his elite in reserve like that.

[Nyssane]

I assume this is post-Darkseid War which is why Barda is with the Furies again. It'll be interesting to see how a Barda who found love and peace in New Genesis handles being in charge of the Furies again (and I doubt the other Furies are happy to have her back anyways).

I'm not sure I buy the premise that the Furies are unhappy with being left behind while the men go off and fight. I mean, Parademons are kind of genderless by this point, aren't they? And I doubt Darkseid would hold his elite in reserve like that.

I dunno about it being Post-Darkseid War. We've already seen the Furies post-Rebirth and sans Barda. The writer also said that their appearances in King's Mister Miracle series has been an inspiration for it, and she's certainly not a member there. And if you read that series, you should remember the Furies might hate Barda, but they still see her as a sister, which to me is a very interesting dynamic. And the Mister Miracle series has done a great job showing the torture that Barda and Scott (and by extension, the rest of the Furies) have experienced, which I guess in a twisted way sorta bonds them together?

I did find the line about men going to fight kind of strange. The Furies have always been Darkseid's elite strike force. They might not rank as high as Kalibak or Desaad, but they're certainly up there in terms of social rank.

And one thing that bothers me is the inclusion of a completely new, unrelated character, Aurelie. I really can't stand when writers come in and shoehorn their own pet characters into already established teams. If they needed a "younger" character, use Gilotina. Or one of the junior Furies like Bloody Mary or Malice. Aurelei is completely redundant based on first impressions, though maybe she'll have some relevance to the plot.

[WonderScott]

I dunno about it being Post-Darkseid War. We've already seen the Furies post-Rebirth and sans Barda. The writer also said that their appearances in King's Mister Miracle series has been an inspiration for it, and she's certainly not a member there. And if you read that series, you should remember the Furies might hate Barda, but they still see her as a sister, which to me is a very interesting dynamic. And the Mister Miracle series has done a great job showing the torture that Barda and Scott (and by extension, the rest of the Furies) have experienced, which I guess in a twisted way sorta bonds them together?

I did find the line about men going to fight kind of strange. The Furies have always been Darkseid's elite strike force. They might not rank as high as Kalibak or Desaad, but they're certainly up there in terms of social rank.

And one thing that bothers me is the inclusion of a completely new, unrelated character, Aurelie. I really can't stand when writers come in and shoehorn their own pet characters into already established teams. If they needed a "younger" character, use Gilotina. Or one of the junior Furies like Bloody Mary or Malice. Aurelei is completely redundant based on first impressions, though maybe she'll have some relevance to the plot.

My take is that this is before Barda defected from the Furies, but maybe I read the info in the article incorrectly.

Aurelei is interesting, in that she's a wildcard. I'm not opposed to writers creating and adding new characters to a story as an element of surprise and/or mystery...not that I wouldn't love a FF series that includes updated takes on Bloody Mary, Gilotina, Wunda, Malice & Chessure, Speed Queen, etc. too. I look at it less as pet characters and more as writers doing what they do: create. Although I'm intrigued if this character will have a horrible fate are get transformed into another ominous state of Fury-dom.

Regardless, I'm onboard and hope this is a revitalization and power-up for the Furies.

[titanfan]

Yeah, it sounds like a "prequel", before Barda defects. So Aurelie could be there, but they need to explain why we don't see her later.

[Nyssane]

FF2.jpg

Female Furies #2 cover!