AN: One last, short bit of worldbuilding today, before we move onto the next part of the story, "Auld Lang Syne", which will cover the 1963 New Years Eve celebrations, both for The Avengers, and the rest of the U.S, which will be posted on my Patreon before anywhere else, so if you want to see it first, consider subscribing! It's been a tough year, and if certain forces, who for now will remain nameless, have their way, '64 is going to be even worse...
Anyway, on to the story!
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THE WASP - A SURPRISE MEMBER IN THE BOY'S CLUB!
You can hardly look at a magazine cover or turn on the TV without getting an eyeful of this years hottest trend - superheroes! Yes, those big, tough manly men in their colorful costumes have made a comeback in a big way, especially in this past year of 1963, after almost 15 years of absence. And foremost on everyone's minds right now are definetly The Avengers, that rag-tag group of superheroes that's been saving the day and making headlines ever since September. Already we here at Teen are getting buried in letters from girls with stars in their eyes, hearts doodled around the names of their new heroes. There's a bit of a contest going on here at the office about who will be picked as the biggest teen heartthrob of 1964, the dashing hero Captain America, or the rugged Thor? It's going to be a photo finish, that's for sure.
But even amongst these clashing personalities, there's one member who stands apart, and not just because of her stylish outfits. The Wasp, one of the few well-known female crimefighters, rivaled only by Sue Storm, the Invisible Girl of the Fantastic Four, has made a name for herself by carving a place for herself in a male-dominated world, assisting her male teammates with her size-changing antics and crackling Wasp stingers. While her membership in The Avengers have been criticized by some, claiming that her presence in such a dangerous field sets a bad example for young girls everywhere who look up to her as a rolemodel, the letters we've recieved about her have largely been supportive, both from our readers, and even some of their parents.
One writer, who asked to remain anonymous but revealed that she works as a high school teacher, had this to say:
"I think Wasp is doing a really good thing out there, both through her crimefighting work, and the kind of example she sets. I hear my students talk about her, you know, and it's so rare for them to have a strong role model to look up to, someone who shows them that women can be just as strong and fearless men, that they don't have to fade into the background and look pretty. So many of the girls out there, they see the kind of roles women are expected to play in society, a dutiful wife, a mother, a homemaker, maybe a secretary or a seamstress if they're lucky. And certainly, there's nothing wrong with those jobs, but they see someone like The Wasp, both strong and independent and treated like an equal by her teammates? It's not something they get a lot of."
Others, of course, are not quite as approving. We recieved another letter, signed by "A Concerned Mother", who wrote the following:
"It's bad enough that our children are exposed nearly daily to all these musicians using their awful music to push their perversions on the innocent, now us parents have to deal with these... costumed degenerates as well? And that Wasp woman is the worst of the lot, running around in her indecent outfits and fighting in the streets like a hoodlum. She's teaching young girls all over America that this kind of behavior is acceptable, flaunting her immoral and unnatural behavior, and the papers just eat it up! Really, I am so disappointed in Captain America, for allowing something like this to go on right under his nose, he if anyone should know that this kind of behavior simply isn't proper for a woman, especially an unmarried one. I'd have to assume she is, no right-thinking man could possibly accept a wife disgracing herself like this!"
These are just two of the letters we've recieved here at Teen, but they represent two sides with voices numbering in the hundreds; The Wasp has made it into the Boy's Club, where "No Girls Allowed" has been an unofficial rule for so long,, and not everyone likes how things are changing. Question is, is The Wasp ready for the job as a role model?
- Teen Magazine, January 1964
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HEROES IN HOLLYWOOD - STUDIOS SEARCH FOR THE NEXT BIG NAME IN THE METAHUMAN COMMUNITY!
With 1963 behind us, movie fans all over the world look back on the year that was. It was a rough year all around, and Hollywood was no exception, with the biggest hit of the year, Mankiewicz's epic Cleopatra, almost breaking 20th Century Fox because of it's record budget, despite both it's critical acclaim and popularity with the movie-going public. With a fortune spent on both the lavish sets and costumes, along with the marketing campaign almost bankrupting the studio, even being the biggest moneymaker of the year gave the modern classic a black mark in the eyes of many in the entertainment industry. When even winning puts you that close to ruin, where creating a masterpiece nearly destroys you, where do you go from there?
Well, if what we're hearing from business insiders is true, the answer may well lie with the superpowered parts of the country.
Rumor has it that several studio higher-ups are considering recruiting known metahuman individuals directly, as a possible cost-cutting measure for future projects. Though currently just theoretical, there's discussion that the growing amount of people with superhuman abilities of various kinds may provide previously unutilized advantages in the film industry, especially within the field of special effects and stagecraft, but also on-screen, as certain kinds of known superhuman mutations may eliminate the needs for expensive and time-consuming makeup and costumes.
"We simply can't replicate some of the things I've seen these people do in real life" special effects director and stop motion specialist Ray Harryhausen stated in a brief interview "Don't get me wrong, most of it is easy enough, relatively speaking, even if watching a man actually lift a car with his bare hands in person is nothing short of amazing. That's basic craft work, but if the actor himself can actually do it, why hire a whole team to make it look like he can on camera? And then there's the other stuff these folks can do. Like that Mr. Fantastic fellow, I could probably make a model that looks like him, but to have it MOVE like him? That's another matter. And then there's The Human Torch, or that Sunshine guy with the Avengers, honestly? I wouldn't even know where to start."
Other members of the industry have expressed similar concerns. Ronald Reagan, star of Knute Rockne and Bedtime For Bonzo, and the current President of the Screen Actors Guild, has been especially vocal about his opposition to the recruitment of metahumans by the film studios.
"It's simply unacceptable, acting is a masterful craft that takes years to perfect, we can't be giving preferential treatment to these... people, just because they happen to be born with some convenient extra limbs or funny ears or the ability to climb walls like a gosh-darned lizard, so the studios can save a few bucks on makeup or smoke and mirrors! The fine members of the SAG have worked their whole lives to get where they are, and we're certainly not going to be supporting these dangerous, radical ideas that might put our whole industry in jeapordy! There ought to be a law against these kinds of nonsense ideas!"
Mr. Reagan could not be reached for further comment. Sources close to the actor states that he is preparing for a possible move into politics.
- Modern Screen Magazine, January, 1964
AN: Yes, I'm aware Reagan's last term as president of the SAG ended in 1960, but let's assume for story purposes he got a third run before his move into politics.419