Marvell
Daredevil Called Out Spider-Man’s Girlfriend Problem With One Villain
The Marvel Comics debut of the Daredevil villain Typhoid Mary dramatically called into question the ways that female villains like Black Cat from Spider-Man had been deemed «villains» in the first place. Contrasting the female villains of her day, Typhoid Mary literally weaponized her own sex appeal by wielding swords and wearing a costume with razor blade-like shoulder pads. Sent on a mission by Kingpin to seduce and eventually destroy Daredevil, Typhoid Mary's introduction in the Marvel Universe shattered the fantasy of the male-gaze that dominated the characterizations of female villains for decades. In doing so Typhoid Mary remains not only one of Marvel's best villains, but also one of its most important in deconstructing the problematic dynamic at the heart of Spider-Man's love life.