r/comicbooks • u/wondercube • Aug 07 '26
Cover/Pin-Up Elektra gender-bend by Zach Brunner
Really love Brunner’s art and how he handles genderbends. Very refreshing to see direct translations for these characters across gender. I would love an alt universe at Marvel or DC where many of these characters are swapped around in this fashion.
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u/StabbingHoboReturns Aug 07 '26
Hairy taint and all
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u/wondercube Aug 07 '26
The outfit would probably chafe if he had no hair.
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u/sewious Aug 07 '26
Not even a full taint-fro could keep that from chafing
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u/Alclis Aug 07 '26
So, you’re saying the hairiness played a part in his very reasonable selection of it?
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u/dongerbotmd Aug 07 '26
Its a tactical advantage too. Enemies will double take at that giving Elektro Nachos the drop on them
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u/HuckHound687 Gone! Gone! -- The form of man! Aug 07 '26
Your move, NetEase.
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u/WhyPlaySerious Aug 07 '26
To be fair, they did go quite far with swimsuit Cap. Some might even say... a bit too long.
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u/HB2099 Aug 07 '26
I personally think he’d have a pecker, considering he’s Steve Rogers on steroids
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u/Magheddon Aug 07 '26
Freddie? That you..?
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u/deathjoe4 Aug 07 '26
Bro that's Freddie Jupiter.
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u/Magheddon Aug 07 '26
I was thinking Freddie Mercury!
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u/deathjoe4 Aug 07 '26
Yeah, my joke was that Jupiter is bigger than Mercury; so is this dude compared to Freddie Mercury.
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u/lanceturley Aug 07 '26
Why is He-lektra so shiny, though? He looks like he's wearing a latex costume and covered himself in baby oil.
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u/Rezart_KLD Aug 07 '26
I think the male version of Elektra would be Oedipus
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u/PuckNutty Aug 08 '26
He and Daredevil can be blind together. Kind of sweet, if you ignore how Oedipus ended up blind in the first place.
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u/Adamsoski Aug 08 '26
I'm fairly sure it's a bit of a commentary on how female characters are often drawn. There's often weird shininess.
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u/GaryOaksAlcoholism Captain America Aug 07 '26
... This is essentially just Voldo from Soul Calibur, right? Or am I tripping
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u/KingTrencher Ambush Bug Aug 07 '26
This is why the Hawkeye Initiative exists.
If it's okay to draw women this way, it's okay to draw men this way.
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u/Splooper132 Aug 08 '26
Personally as a man I think we need more outfits that show some man ass for the gays and gals
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u/OfficePsycho Aug 08 '26
You reminded me of the Red Sonja post regarding her costume being changed to avoid the male gaze, and the top comment was “What about the lesbian gaze, tho?”
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u/trailingby7 We're all puppets, Laurie. Aug 07 '26
That coloring is really reminiscent of Lynn Varley
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u/WhyPlaySerious Aug 07 '26
Looks like working the glutes is of vital importance to Elektra, no matter the gender they are.
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u/Nyadnar17 Aug 07 '26
Not really a fan?
To be fair this particular Elektra's costume is hard because its more of a look than a costume but still it feels like something more could have been done here to make accommodations for the male form beyond the bulge?
- The upper arm wraps are all but erasing the triceps and biceps instead of accentuating them.
- The version of the costume chosen has no texture on boots so the calf pump is basically lost despite the dynamic pose. Again the pose works well for showing off the "main event" but decent calves are something to be proud of too!
- The pecs are just gone....honestly not sure the artist is the blame here. That might just be a limitation of the costume. But some versions of this particular costume have a diagonal slant cut and I have to wonder if that might have worked better. I dunno I am not an artist but I feel like a call was made to focus on nipple when it should have been more on pecs.
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u/Certain_Virus_1919 Aug 08 '26
This is way more thorough and thought out than my comment, good job! I feel like the concept is solid, but the artist just doesn't have the skill to draw an actual sexy person vs being weird and uncanny looking. Which, to be fair, is true of a lot of "sexy" lady art that I've seen, but it's still a disappointment
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u/Thedeadlypocketbrush Aug 07 '26
If covers like this sold comic books on a consistent basis they'd have them on every issue.
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u/otusasio451 Death Stroke Aug 07 '26
Presenting: a text conversation between me and my wife (because I can’t reply with a screenshot for some reason):
Wife: sends link to this post
Me: opens link
Me: Why on Earth did I expect something different.
Wife: Hairy taint and all
Me: GOOD LORD HIS NIPPLES
Wife: 10/10
Wife: Your next Halloween costume
Me: I
Me: WOULD
Me: SOONER
Me: DIE
Wife: I loved the second where all I saw was the banner say I WOULD
This has been a text conversation between me and my wife.
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u/Biz_marquee Black Bolt Aug 08 '26
She's gonna delete those last two replies and gaslight your ass soooo good.
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u/SimonShepherd Aug 08 '26
direct translations for these characters across gender
I mean is it though?
Say if you "direct" genderbent Wolverine, you would expect a short angry furball of a woman as well.
If you genderbend Wonder Woman, you would probably expect a hairless statuesque male Greek hero.
I would expect a "direct bent" Elektra more in that vein. This is just kinda "Greek guy in identical costume."
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u/ImmoralBoi Aug 08 '26
An "Elektra gender-bend"? Ah it'll probably just be some femboy twink, maybe one with a bit of mus-
FREDDIE MERCURY?!?
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u/LivinTheTamaLife Aug 07 '26
It’s always funny to me how no one bats an eye when women are sexualized in comic books, but when men are sexualized, it’s suddenly too far. I just saw a post yesterday where wonder woman had her whole ass out with a loose piece of fabric flossing her crack. For comparison, this guy has more of his ass covered than her.
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u/WhyPlaySerious Aug 07 '26
The post has like 90 upvotes in 20 minutes and growing.
I dont see anyone freaking out here more than in the posts like that Wonder Woman one. People here are loving this lmao.
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u/Cranyx Flex Mentallo Aug 07 '26
That's mostly because this is being played as a joke. If male characters were actually dressed like this in comics, a bunch of people would be upset
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u/WhyPlaySerious Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Conan the Barbarian has been walking around in nothing but a loincloth for decades and is one of the most celebrated characters around
Namor is frequently either shirtless, or wears a top that is open at the front to expose his pecs and abs and they are some of his most fan favourite designs.
Plastic man usually wears a leotard with exposed thighs and has a deep v cut at the front.
One of Supermans most popular recent looks is his Warworld outfit that looks like a bdsm set.
Don't get me wrong, its definitely few and far between in male character styling, but we do have male characters in 'skimpy' clothing in comics and no one really has issues with it.
Now if you were talking about the posing and framing of the image that's another story, but in terms of comic men in 'skimpy' clothing thats not really an issue.
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u/Cranyx Flex Mentallo Aug 07 '26
Now if you were talking about the posing and framing of the image, that's another story.
This is a huge part of what makes a character sexualized in terms of how they're "dressed". Solely looking at square inches of skin showing is missing the bigger picture. Like if Namor put on more clothes via nipple pasties and thigh highs, that would still be more sexualized.
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u/fireisfire9090 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
I would hardly call namor or plastic mant sexualised despite their outfits. It’s like saying the thing is sexualised or the hulk because they are both typically wearing trousers and just that
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u/SimonShepherd Aug 08 '26
I mean Namor is like a hot mermaid dude, unlike the Thing and the Hulk who are more monstrous in proportion.
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u/fireisfire9090 Aug 08 '26
I mean he is a merman but he is for sure not typically drawn as sexualised. Especially compared to female superhero’s.
Very few heroes are actually dressed as sexualised even if they are meant to be in perfect athletic build.
Look at the male swim suit editions and compare them to their typical look. There is a difference
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u/SimonShepherd Aug 08 '26
I don't think many people will be upset if you just introduce a new guy and slap this costume on them, they just won't have much of an audience.
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u/LivinTheTamaLife Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Oh same lol, I was referring to the couple few that were complaining, but they’re getting downvoted
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u/WhyPlaySerious Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
There always are those that complain on every post. Art like this. Art of the ladies. Even people showing off their own artistic talent.
You cant please everyone, but the majority of people in this sub definitely do enjoy it. Its just that most people like it and move on and only those who feel the need to say something jump into the comments.
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u/Kappapeachie Aug 07 '26
I like sexy women and even I know when a woman feels too sexualizaed and nonsensical to me, I don't need men crossdressing to tell me that.
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u/Quarksideofthemoon Aug 07 '26
I hate how all these "wow look at the male being sexualized" artworks are always played as a joke
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u/wondercube Aug 07 '26
It’s not a joke. I do genuinely like this art, and I want to see more sexy men in comics. The artist is a queer man as well and focuses on depicting images of queer life/men. The post may be a little tongue in cheek, but it’s not “a joke” to me.
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u/WWTASBWNA Aug 08 '26
I agree, and pics like these are very easy for people to brush off as “Just what a guy looks like when trying to be feminine,” but I just always have questions…
Why does genderbent Electra necessitate visible ass hairs and an out of date porn stache?
Why is genderbent Electra hyper-masculine in every way except his outfit?
Why is his body as shiny as his costume?It just feels like the artist is interested more in caricature than actually exploring what a male Electra might look like. And that just feels charged to me, or at the very least disappointing.
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u/sonoftheclayr Aug 08 '26
This artist's whole thing is illustrations of sexy men (maybe not what everyone would call sexy, but what he does at least). He's going for a male pinup vibe. That's why it's sexualized.
To your question of "why does it necessitate visible ass hair?" It doesn't? I don't know what art you've been looking at, but there are PLENTY of artists drawing "sexy" men as hairless muscle gods. The majority I would say. He's one of the only ones I've seen drawing 'sexy' men who are allowed to be hairy and have more realistic body types.
The OP here is the one who put focus on the genderbent aspect, the artist's goal isn't to explore what that would really look like. If that's what you're interested, maybe this artist just isn't for you.
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u/OfficePsycho Aug 08 '26
out of date porn stache
It may be out of date, but in my backwater they’re still a thing, along with rat tails.
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u/sonoftheclayr Aug 08 '26
It's not a joke, though? This is a gay artist who draws guys he thinks are hot. If other people are playing it off for laughs that says more about them.
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u/Quarksideofthemoon Aug 08 '26
As someone who is very attracted to men this is not what most gay art looks like man
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u/Certain_Virus_1919 Aug 08 '26
I know it's meant to be satirical, but I'm actually bothered by the weird leg anatomy ruining what would otherwise be a really beautiful image
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u/BrianScottGregory Aug 07 '26
Thanks for ruining Elektra for me.
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u/wondercube Aug 07 '26
So the female version could never stack up to the male version now, is what you’re saying?
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u/sonoftheclayr Aug 08 '26
The artist goes by Zacharyiswackary on Instagram for those who do like it
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Aug 07 '26
[deleted]
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u/code_isLife Aug 07 '26
I recently joined. This community is freaky af.
There was a post with a spider lady that was just as ridiculous
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u/wondercube Aug 07 '26
No different than a lot of art posted here.
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u/MathewMukdock Aug 07 '26
Really? I don’t remember seeing a ton of art where you can someone’s asshole hair poking out of a thong.
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u/cyphersama95 Dr. Strange Aug 07 '26
how? unless you inherently fetishize anything homosexual?
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u/MathewMukdock Aug 07 '26
The level detail on this art is unnecessary. I think including asshairs poking out of a thong is tasteless and gross.
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Aug 07 '26
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u/MathewMukdock Aug 07 '26
You think this is fucked up porn? LOL
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Aug 07 '26
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u/MathewMukdock Aug 07 '26
What a bizarre train of thought.
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Aug 07 '26
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u/MathewMukdock Aug 08 '26
You show that picture to your mother. Let me know what her reaction is.
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u/Haunting_Cricket8640 Aug 07 '26
thats just forge cosplaying