10 Things From DC Comics That REALLY Haven't Aged Well

The Women in Refrigerators term - coined by writer Gail Simone in the late nineties - refers to the common trope in comics to kill a female character as a plot device for the journey of a male character. Simone, along with many others, had recorded the names of female characters who had been used in this manner, and it gathered traction.

Some examples of characters include Lois Lane, Barbara Gordon, and Alex De Witt (whose death inspired the name of this trope).

Out of all of them, however, Sue Dibny is perhaps one of the most disturbing examples of this phenomenon. In Identity Crisis, Sue's murder would be the central conflict, and it would be her husband, Elongated Man, who would lead the charge to find her murderer.

Worst yet, however, was how Sue being raped is treated more as a consequence for villains knowing a hero's secret identity, than as a personal traumatic event.

The story neglects the female perspective, overall, in favor of creating a plot that comes at the cost of a female character’s expense, even though the story could have been told much differently.