“Scribbly and the Red Tornado” by Sheldon Mayer, July 1941, All-American comics, issue 28, 1.
On Mother’ Day we celebrate the mothers or mother figures who are the heroines in our lives. In recent years a lot of attention has been paid to Wonder Woman who first appeared October 1941 as a seminal superheroine, but she is not the first in the history of comic books. She is preceded by other female crime fighters in costumes who activate their natural powers,[1] such as superheroines Miss Victory and The Black Cat who both first appeared August 1941 and the Red Tornado who first appeared November 1940 (“the first DC costumed heroine before Wonder Woman”).[2]
The Red Tornado is a mother and a working homemaker, a big healthy strong woman, and her sidekicks are two children, one her daughter, the other a neighbor boy, the “two youngest crime fighters in the world,”[3] the Cyclone Kids. As author Sheldon Mayer describes her: “In a short space of time, the Red Tornado’s name has become a household word! There is no criminal from international bank-robber to petty thief, who does not fear the vengeance of this masked marauder!!! The entire nation is burning with a vast curiosity to know what man’s face lies beneath that metal mask. And no one knows that that face belongs to a woman!...None other than good old Ma Hunkle!!!”[4] How many superheroines fight crime together with their children? The Red Tornado ironically hides her humble identity under a metal cooking pot.
These costumed heroines remind us of our own mothers on Mother’s Day. We remember Bill’s mother, Helen, who for many years won the top prize as outstanding salesperson for Macy’s in Springfield, New Jersey, and who encouraged Bill in many of his life’s ventures. When Bill’s dad was hurt in an industrial accident, his mother singlehandedly supported the family financially during three years of his father’s recovery.
We also remember Aída’s mother, Aída, short for Adelaida, who was the only sibling out of seven (two were men), who worked with her father in his metal and bag business. She was quite a business entrepreneur and helped pay for Aida’s college education through various endeavors, including raising and selling French poodles. (Aida’s job was to sheer the poodles and ensure the puppies were safely born.)
God who created mothers (and fathers) used the imagery of mothers to describe aspects of God’s character even though God is a Spirit and has no gender.[5] For example, God as a mother carries the nation of Israel “from the womb,” lifts it, and supports it from youth “until old age,” “I myself am the One…I myself will bear, I myself have made and I myself will lift up, and I myself will bear and I will deliver” (Isa. 46:3-4).[6] God is like a Super-Mother! God never forgets us (Isa. 49:15). God is also like a lioness and a mother bear. A lioness will roar and protect its young as the Lord protects Israel (Isa 31:4).
So, too, all of us can rely on God to care for us and protect us and enable us to care for and protect others, as God did through the great women of the Bible, like Deborah, who led the Israelite army to fight the enemy, Jael who defeated the enemy’s leader, the wise woman who saved a city, the midwives who rescued the Hebrew children from extinction, Hulda, whom a king and his council consulted for her God-given wisdom superior to theirs, Phoebe who was Paul’s mentor, Prisca, who worked side by side with Paul as an expert teacher, Mary, who was the chosen vessel to bring our Savior into the world and serve as a humble and loving model, and many other women.[7]
God bless you to flourish and follow the lead of these women as you minister to those whom God has entrusted to your care.
Aída and Bill
[1] The definition of “superhero or superheroine” differs somewhat. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines a superhero or superheroine as “a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also : an exceptionally skillful or successful person” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superhero). Dictionary.com clarifies that a superhero must be “a morally righteous hero in a fictional work who possesses extraordinary abilities or supernatural powers and uses them to fight evil” (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/superhero). The Red Tornado is not “superhuman.” She has developed her natural potentialities into “extraordinary” powers. Wikipedia adds: “A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses superpowers or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their powers to help the world become a better place, or dedicating themselves to protecting the public and fighting crime (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superhero). While Britannica appears to limit “superhero” to those “whose extraordinary or ‘superhuman’ powers are often displayed in the fight against crime and assorted villains, who in turn often display superhuman abilities as well. In many respects, superheroes are like the gods of classical mythology and other mythological traditions,” yet their examples of “superheroines” include costumed women who fight crime with extraordinary human abilities, such as the Woman in Red, Lady Luck, and the Black Cat. (Peter Sanderson and Gina Misiroglu, https://www.britannica.com/art/superhero).
[2] Robert M. Overstreet, The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, 26th ed. (New York: Avon, 1996), 24. Other than DC comics, earlier The Woman in Red (March 1940) in Thrilling Comics is costumed as she fights crime, but the Red Tornado is the first mother superheroine. Nishid Motwani, “10 Female Superheroes Who Were Created Before Wonder Woman,” Jan. 13, 2021, https://www.cbr.com/female-superheroes-created-before-wonder-woman/.
[3] The Red Tornado calls the children this title in “Scribbly and the Red Tornado, July 1941, All-American DC comics, issue 28, page 4.
[4] “Scribbly and the Red Tornado,” issue 28, 1.
[5] See a description of the images and analogies used for the Trinity in William David Spencer, Three in One: Analogies for the Trinity (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2022).
[6] See further Aída Besançon Spencer, “The Full Vision: Feminine Images for God for Ministry,” ch. 5, in Beyond the Curse: Women Called to Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985). The Hebrew is translated by Aída.
[7] See further ch. 4, “First Apostles, Second Prophets, Third Teachers: Examples of Women in Authority in the New Testament,” Beyond the Curse.
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