Do the Female Furies defeat Darkseid’s sexism in the final issue?

Female Furies No. 6 (Credit: DC Comics)

Final Thoughts

Despite being revelatory in its concept, Female Furies, has been hamfisted and felt out of sync with itself. Aurelie’s arc was abrupt and gave way to Barda’s romance, which was never developed within the series. The series didn’t broaden its perspective on women’s lived experiences, which is almost understandable since the creators only had six issues to work with.

The art – though exquisite in its own right – didn’t support the message the story was trying to convey. Throughout, the story suggests that only women who look a certain way are preyed on; yet almost all the Furies are conventionally attractive women, and most are dressed in impractical comic book costumes. How would Darkseid and his council treat these characters if they were differently abled, genderqueer, plus size and people of color? These are all aspects that should be examined by DC, but aren’t across their many titles.

The arc of the series is outside continuity, which means most of the people picking this book up will be interested in the premise or the creators’ message. Considering the amount of controversy the comics industry constantly fields with regard to women in the industry, as well as the portrayal of women on page, it’s unlikely, then, that Female Furies is reaching its intended audience.

It’s hard to fault the ambition of the creators of Female Furies ­– they’ve engaged with an uncomfortable topic, and that makes the book uncomfortable reading. But the subject matter is so layered that six issues cannot do it justice, especially when those issues are part of an out-of-continuity miniseries. Whatever this series lacked, there is no doubt that as a trade paperback it will likely garner more fans than the single issues did.