Obscurity of DC and Doom Patrol Club Present: Coagula Read-A-Long, Week 1 (April 16-April 22) - A Tribute to Rachel Pollack

[Jurisdiction]

Hey @ObscurityofDCClub, @DoomPatrolClub, and everyone else on this amazing community! As some of you may know, a legend has recently fallen. The amazing Rachel Pollack has recently passed away from hodgkins lymphoma, a cancer in the immune system. Pollack has had an immense impact on several people both within and outside of the comic industry. She advocated for the rights of the trans community, women’s rights, and Jewish awareness. Pollack created the first-ever mainstream character to be openly transgender. That is who we will be focusing on for the next few weeks…

COAGULA!
AGE SUGGESTION: 17+

Number of Issues: 6 (Please only read issues 70-75)

Description from wikipedia.com: Coagula is a transgender lesbian, former prostitute and programmer. After having sex with former Doom Patrol member Rebis (“an alchemical hermaphrodite”), Coagula gained “alchemical powers the power to dissolve things on the one hand and coagulate them on the other hand.” She tried to join the Justice League, but “it’s implied that she was rejected in part for being an out transgender lesbian activist”; she instead joined the Doom Patrol. Coagula first appears in issue 70—“The Laughing Game”—defeating The Codpiece, a spurned man-turned-villain with a multifunctional, mechanical codpiece. After her introduction in the next few issues, Coagula takes center stage in “The Teiresias Wars”, a five-part story combining “Greek mythology with [Pollack’s] twisted retelling of the Tower of Babel”.

Onto the discussion questions:

1. Coagulation is the transformation of an object or liquid into a semi-solid state. How do you think Kate’s powers of coagulating objects reflects her physical transformation from male to female?
2. Why do you think Kate was so insistent that Niles call her Coagula instead of Kate?
3. Why do you think Kate and Niles got on each others’ nerves so much?
4. Throughout the series, we see Kate and Cliff form a strong bond with one another. Why do you think Kate was so drawn to Cliff as opposed to a different member of the team?
5. In Kate’s first appearance she mentions she’s good with computers. Do you think that has anything to do with her newfound computer powers? Explain.

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[BatMike-ThePunisher]

@Juriken

• Coagulation is the transformation of an object or liquid into a semi-solid state. How do you think Kate’s powers of coagulating objects reflects her physical transformation from male to female?
• Why do you think Kate was so insistent that Niles call her Coagula instead of Kate?
• Why do you think Kate and Niles got on each others’ nerves so much?
• Throughout the series, we see Kate and Cliff form a strong bond with one another. Why do you think Kate was so drawn to Cliff as opposed to a different member of the team?
• In Kate’s first appearance she mentions she’s good with computers. Do you think that has anything to do with her newfound computer powers? Explain.

1: Coagulation is a form of transition, which fits a transgender character.
2: Kate wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of Doctor Niles Evelyn Caulder, so it makes sense that she would prefer that Chief uses her codename.
3: I can only guess, since Kate is a trans lesbian and Chief is a old straight white man.
4: From what I know, Cliff developed romantic feelings for Kate… can’t see that ending well. Though it is part of why Cliff treats her better then the other members of the team, along with Cliff just being cool.
5: It depends. Superpowers and abilities tend to fit the person who has them. For example, John Constantine has a love for the strange and unusual, so it makes sense he’d have magic and Barry Allen always wanted to be able to quickly save people, so it makes sense he has super speed.

@Juriken

She tried to join the Justice League, but “it’s implied that she was rejected in part for being an out transgender lesbian activist”;

I don’t get it, since Wonder Woman is gay. Specifically bisexual. Makes sense, with the whole from-an-island-of-all-woman thing. My point is, if Kate can’t be in the League because of her sexuality, then neither should Wonder Woman.
That would teach the League an important lesson about not judging a person because of their sexuality.

[BatMike-ThePunisher]

@Juriken

The Codpiece, a spurned man-turned-villain with a multifunctional, mechanical codpiece.

Also, this is real? Like, really real?

[Jurisdiction]

@BatMike-ThePunisher

I don’t get it, since Wonder Woman is gay. Specifically bisexual. Makes sense, with the whole from-an-island-of-all-woman thing. My point is, if Kate can’t be in the League because of her sexuality, then neither should Wonder Woman.
That would teach the League an important lesson about not judging a person because of their sexuality.

You should remember, though, that this was made 30 years ago. Trans people are in the minority now, but they were even less known and accepted back then.

[Jurisdiction]

Oh yeah. You should read the first issue in the list linked in the post

[BatMike-ThePunisher]

Doom Patrol is strange.

Understatement of the year, I know.

[biff_pow]

my brain doesn’t work right now but i just want to say i am finally catching up with this, and that the Codpiece issue was the first Doom Patrol i ever read, when i got it in a comic grab bag, as a young teen. i was not ready for Doom Patrol.

and Kate doesn’t get along with the Chief because the Chief is a PRUCK. a PRACK. a huuuuuuge PRECK.

[Jay_Kay]

1. Coagulation is the transformation of an object or liquid into a semi-solid state. How do you think Kate’s powers of coagulating objects reflects her physical transformation from male to female?

Well, the idea that comes to mind is that when you have a cut or wound, the blood eventually coagulates to stop the bleeding and promote healing. I guess you could say that her transitioning as a woman is the act of coagulation to promote her healing?

I dunno, maybe not the best metaphor.

2. Why do you think Kate was so insistent that Niles call her Coagula instead of Kate?

I guess it’s because he’s treating her (and most of the people there) as a superhero at best, a lab rat at worst, so I guess in her mind, if he’s going to dehumanize her, he’ll at least do so on her terms?

3. Why do you think Kate and Niles got on each others’ nerves so much?

Well, to get the obvious out of the way: Niles is kind of a douche, so that explains a good…60-70% of the tension.

Outside of that, Niles is in a strange place in this point in the run, having almost no body of his own and is just a head riding around in some cart thing. I think an interesting wrinkle to it that we see in Nile’s strange nightmares is that he was very self-conscious about his body as a child, so he tries to combat that by doing this whole “the body is meaningless, the mind is all that matters.” I think when you compare that to Kate/Coagula, someone who put a lot of time and effort to making her body into something she is confident in, they naturally kind of bristle at each other. I would honestly wonder if maybe Niles is low-key jealous of that confidence.

4. Throughout the series, we see Kate and Cliff form a strong bond with one another. Why do you think Kate was so drawn to Cliff as opposed to a different member of the team?

Well, with this iteration of the team, it feels like her and Cliff are basically the sanest adults on the team. Niles is a crazy talking head who’s constantly grilling them. Dorathy, while having her head on straight, is a child with limited experiences. I have no idea what the deal is with the Negative Couple, but they don’t seem to have their elevators all the way up most of the time, if you know what I mean.

One thing of note is that I think in a sense Cliff has also had his own bit of transition, albeit a forced one that he’s learned to live with, even if he has his moments of struggle and doubt, as we saw in the little arc with the fox and crow people.

5. In Kate’s first appearance she mentions she’s good with computers. Do you think that has anything to do with her newfound computer powers? Explain.

I guess? Not a lot of that is explained – at least in the issues read for this installment. Thinking about it, though, I just had a horrible realization that her computer power is sort of the same as Richard Pryor’s character’s power in Superman III.

[Jay_Kay]

@Juriken

You should remember, though, that this was made 30 years ago. Trans people are in the minority now, but they were even less known and accepted back then.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this is the 1993 era of Justice League, which at the time was probably still ran by Maxwell Lord who probably would have been like “too controversial.”

That said, Coagula confronting someone like Guy Gardner would have been…interesting.

[Jurisdiction]

@Jay_Kay

Thinking about it, though, I just had a horrible realization that her computer power is sort of the same as Richard Pryor’s character’s power in Superman III.

[Jurisdiction]

@Jay_Kay

That said, Coagula confronting someone like Guy Gardner would have been…interesting.

I need this comic! Garth Ennis and Scot Eaton need to team up and make this happen!

[EDT]

-Her powers are a reflection of her own journey and exploration in regards to her sexuality, orientation and identity. It is also just a power you should expect someone from DP to have considering the various other ways characters have gone through mind bending and self reflective journeys.
-I’m going to combine the two Niles related questions. Following the end of Morrison’s run, it became clear that Niles just didn’t really see the DP as people. More so just experiments and tools for his own research and projects. It’s a type of coldness that I don’t doubt eas experienced by Kate by many people in her life. And to now have to follow someone like that at this stage in her life? With a group made up of outcasts and other fellow “freaks”? I don’t think this was a place where she felt like she had to continue with that BS.
-While people have tried to upgrade or improve his body, Cliff is stuck in an unchanging form that in some ways he hates but in other eays depressingly reflects how he views himself. It has taken a mental and emotional toll on him that I think Kate recognizes and can connect with. And for Cliff to form a close and unique connection helps him feel truly human. Also, Cliff was forced to have to change his form and interacting with Kate might have helped him come to grips with it and maybe even embrace it to an extent.
-The computer powers don’t really seem that connected to Kate at the time they were written. Looking back on it today? Being online allows everyone to take on some kind of alternate identity. And it can be a useful tool explore aspects or interests of one’s self. There is something to be explored there. Otherwise, I don’t think there is too much to be said.

[Jurisdiction]

Some more on Coagula:

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[Jurisdiction]

Just thought I should leave this here:

Pride Profile: Coagula

[image] Pride Profile: Coagula. Created by transgender writer Rachel Pollack and given the name Kate Godwin after two of Pollacks transgender friends, Coagula is arguably the first true transgender superhero published by DC Comics. Coagula gained her ability to turn solids into liquids, and the reverse, after sleeping with Doom Patrol member Rebis (who you could argue is non-binary). She eventually joins the Patrol and adds a relationsh…

[EDT]

Hey! I just replied to that thread earlier today

[Jurisdiction]

Just found it 5 mins ago lol