Daredevil's Karen Page & Mistreatment of Women in Comics

Throughout the years, numerous female ing characters in comics have been either killed off or subjected to traumatic harm in order to provide drama. A prime example of this practice can be found in the character Karen Page from Daredevil, who was basically used as a punching bag by writers before killing her off in the late ’90s.

While this tends not to happen as much in modern comics, it’s sad to say that a lot of iconic moments were the result of female characters being used as a source of drama. The term “fridged” or “fridging” refers to when a female ing character is killed or harmed only to heighten the stakes. This term was created by comic writer Gail Simone and originates from a moment in Green Lantern where his love interest at the time, Alexandra DeWitt, was brutally murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator. Considering this, many beloved characters such as Gwen Stacy, Elektra, and Jean Grey have faced similar fates at the hand of writers. However, Karen Page may be the best example of how willing writers are to subject female characters to horrific situations just to serve the story.

The abuse of Karen Page really began during the story Daredevil: Born Again by Frank Miller, where, after being addicted to heroin for quite some time, she sells Matt Murdock’s Identity for another hit. Though one could argue this might be a decent depiction of what addiction can lead to, it’s unfortunate that the story just opens with this, and readers don’t even get a chance to see how she got to this point. It’s also revealed that she worked in pornography after failing to become an actor, which ends up being a source of humiliation for Karen. Though Miller put Karen through hell to push Daredevil to his limits, it just seems cruel when looking at with modern sensibilities.

Karen’s troubles would continue in the story Guardian Devil by Bullseye. Despite her death being heroic, saving the man she loves, she was used as a plot device to drive Daredevil to save the day. This is even more damning, considering this story was published in 1999, which still feels recent when reading marvel comics.

Without a doubt, Karen Page was “fridged” in order to the narrative, which is becoming a more divisive practice as the industry progresses. Though it is strange that Karen remains dead, keeping in mind how often characters are resurrected in Marvel Comics. She’s been gone for too long and should be redeemed, considering how cruel her life was before death. If any character deserves to be resurrected in Marvel comics, it’s Daredevil's Karen Page.

More: Frank Miller's DAREDEVIL Made History (Because Marvel Didn't Care)