2014-07-02
Explanation
The Joke
Two men in a spy/action movie planning scene discuss how to infiltrate Pyongyang without being detected. Before they can finish, a woman interrupts, introducing herself as "the superfluous female protagonist."
She rattles off an absurdly over-qualified resume: top of her class at the CIA, degrees in rocket science, physical chemistry, and kung fu. She then explains that her role in the story will be to appear when the men make dangerous or dumb choices, offer the most conservative and sensible strategy, get ignored, and eventually fall for one of the men. She will be created by a man, not defined by her own agency.
When asked her opinion on the attack strategy, she suggests the most conservative, most likely to succeed, most undramatic option. The man counters: "Or we could parachute from space disguised as asteroids." She calls him a madman, and of course that is the plan they go with. In the final panel, they are shown streaking toward Earth as flaming asteroids, with the woman sighing.
The Humor
The comic is a meta-commentary on the trope of the "strong female character" in action movies who is technically hyper-competent but exists only to be overruled by the male heroes and serve as a love interest. By having the character explicitly announce her narrative function -- including the fact that she was written by a man and will inevitably be sidelined -- the comic exposes how transparent and formulaic this trope is. The punchline reinforces the critique: despite her objectively superior strategy, the men choose the most ridiculous option possible (space parachuting as fake asteroids), and she is dragged along for the ride. The comic satirizes Hollywood's superficial approach to female representation.
References
- The "superfluous female protagonist" trope is common in action and spy films, where a highly capable woman is introduced only to be overshadowed by the male lead's reckless heroism.
- Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea, a common setting for spy movie scenarios.