Oh, dear. This was bound to happen eventually. Marvel has released a line of Halloween costumes featuring the women of Marvel. Congrats, Spider-Girl. You've now joined the ranks of "sexy" Halloween costumes; a proud tradition that includes cats, nurses, and pretty much every type of service industry job. Here's the description from the company's website:

"Inspired by some of the most well known Marvel super heroes we have created a line of fashion forward costumes for women and girls who have the desire to be fun and playful for Halloween. Who says comic books are only for boys because with great power comes great style."

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Indeed, who does say comic books are only for boys? That's not a question, Disguise website. Also, you might want to drop "girls" from your marketing pitch, because these costumes are clearly not appropriate for children. In fact, they're not even appropriate for comic book fans, considering how inaccurate they are to the source material. (Okay, fine, the Emma Frost outfit is pretty spot-on.)

Look, we get that Marvel wants some of that sweet, sweet adult Halloween costume money. And we're sure these will sell to lazy costumers and/or anyone going to a "pimps and hos" party. But shouldn't a "Women of Marvel" costume line actually, you know, represent the women of Marvel? Outside of Black Cat and White Queen, these costumes are just downright lazy. You can't just create a slutty version of the Captain America costume and name it after American Dream, the female version of Cap from the MC2 universe, when the outfit looks nothing like what the character wears in the comics.

And wouldn't it make sense to offer a Spider-Girl costume that doesn't make us embarrassed to be Spider-Girl fans? (What, Spider-Woman's costume isn't tight enough costume for you, Disguise?) And what about actual Marvel heroines, like Ms. Marvel or Storm? If they're just doing female versions of big name Marvel characters, where's She-Hulk?

We're all for Marvel Halloween costumes that aren't just a plastic mask and a cheap pair of Wolverine claws. And we don't expect Marvel to license a Jessica Jones costume. (Though that would be awesome.) But it's a sad, sad day when the Black Cat becomes yet another "sexy" cat costume.



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