Birds of a Feather Dont get Written Well, Apparently
The more into this Batman villains blog thing (I'm not really sure what this is) I've gone, the more I realized there are so many evil dudes in this rogues gallery. There aren't very many women though. Aside from the big 3 (Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn), Batman's female adversaries appear to be next generation versions of older male villains (like Clayface, or the Ventriloquist), assassins from the League of Assassins (Talia, Cheshire, Lady Vic, Lady Shiva) or henchmen (henchwomen?) for male villains, which is how Harley Quinn started (Query and Echo, Dollhouse, Lark, Fright), or throwaway villains that either get killed off, or taken advantage of by other male villains.
Created in 1986 by John Byrne, Magpie debuted in Man of Steel #3, and was the first villain to be apprehended by the Superman/Batman team up. However, she continued to be a villain primarily for Batman, and the Birds of Prey. Magpie is a thief, much like Catwoman, obsessed with "shiny things". She doesn't just steal things, however, she replaces them with forgeries.
Right out of the gate, Magpie appears to be just a Catwoman clone, with a bird motif (like the Penguin). She also has a theme she commits crimes around, much like every 1960s Batman villain. Hers is shiny objects.
The deeper you get into Magpie's publication history, the more classically sexist her stories become. She is obsessed with material objects, possessions. Diagnosed as a kleptomaniac, in need of help. Prostitutes herself while in prison to get shiny trinkets. Possessed by a demon. Sucked into Deacon Blackfire's cult. and, of course, killed off, in multiple timelines. Basically, Magpie is every misogynist portrayal of women in fiction ever. She's either a shrew, or a whore, helpless, in need of saving, and easily dispatched.
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| she also dresses funny |
I find this to be cruel and a disservice to her namesake.
Actual magpies are considered to be one of the smartest non-primates on Earth. They are one of only a few non-primate species that recognize their own reflection (manta rays, dolphins, elephants), they can use simple tools, problem solve, work in groups. Even though magpies are known to hoard shiny things, this has been debunked as an urban myth, and they aren't actually attracted to shiny things any more than every other animal. You'd think a character named after these birds would be more compelling.
Magpie could be a great Batman criminal adversary. Since Catwoman has basically become an anti-hero and Batman ally, Magpie could step into that vacant femme fatale role. Given the nature of actual corvids, Magpie, like her namesake, could be a sophisticated thief, outsmarting the regular police force, and challenging the world's greatest detective.
In a line-up of villains that either A: become anti-heroes, or B: become obsessed with beating, humiliating, and breaking the Batman, Magpie could be a refreshing step back to when villains were criminals with selfish agendas independent of Batman. Why can't she be a master thief who steals and fences things for money, like a true-life criminal? Why can't she be the one to outsmart the Batman (temporarily)? The last thief to do that was the Monarch of Menace in 1966.
Actual magpies are considered to be one of the smartest non-primates on Earth. They are one of only a few non-primate species that recognize their own reflection (manta rays, dolphins, elephants), they can use simple tools, problem solve, work in groups. Even though magpies are known to hoard shiny things, this has been debunked as an urban myth, and they aren't actually attracted to shiny things any more than every other animal. You'd think a character named after these birds would be more compelling.
Magpie could be a great Batman criminal adversary. Since Catwoman has basically become an anti-hero and Batman ally, Magpie could step into that vacant femme fatale role. Given the nature of actual corvids, Magpie, like her namesake, could be a sophisticated thief, outsmarting the regular police force, and challenging the world's greatest detective.
In a line-up of villains that either A: become anti-heroes, or B: become obsessed with beating, humiliating, and breaking the Batman, Magpie could be a refreshing step back to when villains were criminals with selfish agendas independent of Batman. Why can't she be a master thief who steals and fences things for money, like a true-life criminal? Why can't she be the one to outsmart the Batman (temporarily)? The last thief to do that was the Monarch of Menace in 1966.