Fictional Role Models, Part Six: ETTA CANDY

She's under 5' tall, overweight, and addicted to sugar. She's in college, lives in a sorority house, and has no super-powers. It's not exactly a recipe for a hero, is it? Yet in many ways, Etta Candy was one of the most heroic "sidekicks" in comics history.

Her best friend was Wonder Woman, and together they fought villains, Nazis, crooks and criminals in every size, shape and gender. As Wonder Woman's trusted companion, Etta could communicate with Wonder Woman via "mental radio", an Amazon invention that translated thoughts into a picture and sound on a mechanical viewscreen. It was a convenient way to call on each other for help. And although Etta often used it to get herself out of a jam, Wonder Woman was just as likely to call on Etta for help!

William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman, introduced Etta Candy in issue 2 of Sensation Comics. Wonder Woman, disguised as nurse Diana Prince, had Etta as a patient. Later, when the Amazing Amazon needed help in her battle with Dr. Poison, she traveled to Holliday College in Washington, D. C., and tracked down Etta Candy.

Etta was very different than Diana remembered her. The college student had gained quite a bit of weight after her operation. (In this first appearance, Etta is rather tall -- the same height as the other Holliday girls. Over the course of the next year, she gradually loses height, most likely to appear smaller next to the resident Amazon, Wonder Woman).

Wonder Woman recruited Etta and her friends, saying, "...we need a hundred pretty girls, brave enough to capture dangerous men!" There was nothing Etta liked more than roughing up a bunch of dangerous men, so with her characteristic "Woo Woo!" she ran off to find more volunteers.

From this beginning, Wonder Woman and Etta become immediate friends, and the sidekick appeared in almost every adventure for nearly a decade. Etta was usually accompanied by "the Holliday Girls" -- a group of sorority sisters that rarely had names, and changed with every adventure. Sometimes there were a lot, sometimes just a few. Once in awhile a girl would be spotlighted (usually as a catalyst for an adventure) but they were primarily around as back-up for Etta, who was their trusted leader.

When we got glimpses of Etta at college, she was usually with her sorority sisters (who appeared to be interchangeable as the Holliday Girls). Etta was the leader of the Beeta Lamda sorority and took almost too much delight in controlling the other members. In Sensation Comics #4, she made them dress as babies, punishing those who didn't carry a baby bottle around campus.

Punishment played a large role in Etta's life, whether she was punishing bad guys with her pal, Wonder Woman, or disciplining her sorority sisters. In Wonder Woman #22, one of the girls was accused of jealousy, so she was forced to wear a cat costume and was beaten with a wooden paddle, while Etta looked on. The girl addressed Etta, saying "Please, Grand Mistress of Spanks and Slams, let me eat -- I'm very hungry!" She is told she must lap up her food like the 'jealous cat' she is.

Bondage, punishment and obedience played a large role in all of Marston's Wonder Woman stories, so behavior like this in Etta was encouraged by her famous friend. Perhaps that's why they got along so well together.

As close as they were, it was rare for Wonder Woman and Etta to have time for a leisurely chat. Occasionally we are treated to a conversation that isn't about danger, crooks, bondage, or needing help.

In Wonder Woman #1 (which debuted in the Summer of 1942 -- several months after her introduction in All Star Comics #8 and Sensation Comics #1) Diana Prince and Etta Candy take the train to visit Etta's father, Hard Candy, and brother, Mint Candy, on their ranch. During the trip, a porter brings Etta her suitcase, which is quite heavy. Diana guesses that it's filled with candy, and Etta offers her some.

After turning down the offer, the following dialogue is exchanged between the two friends.

Diana: You know, Etta, you ought to cut down on the candy. It will ruin your constitution.
Etta: Nuts, deary! My constitution has room for lots of amendments.
Diana: But Etta, if you get too fat you can't catch a man--
Etta: Who wants to? When you've got a man, there's nothing you can do with him -- but candy you can eat!
Diana: But don't you like to be admired?
Etta: Sure, men always say I'm beautiful -- if they didn't, I'd knock 'em for a loop!
Diana: Taking off weight will make you feel better and besides, it's unpatriotic to hoard even fat!
Etta: Okay, I'll take off ten pounds. If I like it, I'll take off 50 more. If I don't, well--

At that point, the train arrives and Mint Candy is there to meet her. No more mention is made of dieting until the end of the story. Etta tells Diana that she's lost 10 pounds and doesn't like it. "...gimme my candy!"

In all fairness, her weight rarely poses a problem, and is generally ignored after that conversation. What shines through is Etta's grit and determination, her courage and intelligence, and her willingness to enter any situation, regardless of danger, if asked to by Wonder Woman.

Etta disappeared after an appearance in Wonder Woman #44 (Nov/Dec 1950) and didn't surface again until October of 1960. After that she had a couple of sporadic appearances until Wonder Woman #127 (Aug 1965), which was her final pre-crisis adventure.

When George Perez rebooted the series in 1987, he brought back Etta Candy as a somewhat plump army lieutenant who had a secret crush on her boss, Steve Trevor. Gone was the outlandish short, round Holliday girl who was addicted to candy. In fact, this Etta dieted down to average weight and, under William Messner-Loebs, had a bout with anexoria. Although Etta was still thrust into danger on occasion, she was no longer Wonder Woman's right-hand companion, and had only a ghost of the pluck, courage and determination of that first Etta Candy -- a truly original character, the likes of whom we'll probably never see again.

Fictional Role Models, Part One: NANCY DREW

This is the first in a series of entries about some of the wonderful fictional characters who serve as role models for young women. Sure, I could talk about real women who fill that role, but as someone who fell in love with fiction at an early age and who has continued that love affair throughout her life, there's a lot to be said for the enduring, wonderful characters whose exploits and self-assurance show girls everywhere that goals and dreams can be achieved.

At 18 years old, the titian-haired, brainy beauty named Nancy Drew wore pumps, drove a roadster, solved mysteries, outwitted evil, and did it all with such courage and aplomb she was impossible to resist. As a child, I adored Nancy Drew and wanted to grow up just like her. I voraciously read my collection of books, used to dream about finding a tree that grew Nancy Drew books (such a weird kid, was I) and saved my 25¢ allowance for weeks in order to buy a missing title.

Nancy Drew had almost everything. She had her own car, two loyal friends who'd drop everything to help her out, a father who was a famous lawyer, a dreamy boyfriend in college, and the respect of everyone who heard her name. The only thing she didn't have was a mother. Thank goodness housekeeper Hannah Gruen was there as a surrogate.

When I was young, the world was filled with strong role models for boys. Things were much more segregated then when it came to what was appropriate. Girls were supposed to care only about Barbie Dolls, cute boys at school, helping their mother with household chores, and dreaming of someday marrying and having children. I was lucky in that I had a mother who constantly repeated, "Joanna, you can do anything you put your mind to. You can be whatever you want when you grow up. If you choose it, you'll be able to do it." There's no substitute for a real role model, like Mom, but in fiction, Nancy Drew appeared to be the grown up version of the Joanna I wanted to be.

It wasn't just that she could solve mysteries. She was incredibly brave – always getting into things and going places that would frighten me to death, like slipping through trap doors in haunted houses, or facing up to bad men with plucky courage. There was never any violence in Nancy Drew. She did most of her work with her clever and cunning mind. But there was always the threat of harm just around the corner. And, man, those cliffhanger chapter endings got me every time!

She was also tolerant of people's differences. Her two best friends were Bess and George. Bess was always described as "pleasantly plump" and George was "a tomboy." George even had a guy's name (I thought that was weirdly cool when I was a kid, though I was happy my parents had given me a girl's name). Nancy cared about the people she helped, always volunteered her services at the drop of a hat, and was like a pit bull when chasing a mystery. She never quit until she'd solved it. Of course, had she quit it would've been a terrible book, but as a kid you don't think that way. You fret when she's in danger, worry that she won't find the answers, and wonder why someone would wear pumps on her feet (my only experience of a pump was the sump pump in the basement. Not practical for footwear).

Nancy Drew inspired generations of young girls into believing we were just as good as any boy when it came to all the sterling qualities she embodied. She's part of American mythology, an enduring character who still entertains today after more than 75 years.

Recently, some of her books have been reissued in their original form. I've been having a blast reading the re-issues – they're full of old-fashioned language, some unpleasant social situations (let's just say they're not "pc" – the 1930s were a different America), and filled to the brim with the adventures of Nancy Drew, Girl Sleuth.

Now, if only I could find that book-growing tree...