Earlier this year speculation arose that Man of Steel might be genderswapping Jimmy Olsen. There’s no Jimmy in the movie, the theory goes, but there is a Jenny Olsen, and she’s seen in the trailer running away from an explosion with Perry White, which would seem to suggest that she has something to do with the Daily Planet. After that initial rush of “OMG they might genderswap Jimmy Olsen, that would be so cool!,” the whole thing kind of died down.

Until now. If this new detail we’ve seen is true, you can count that rumor as…

[possible spoilers behind the cut, unmarked]

Fantasy author Jim C. Hines has been waging war against poorly photoshopped, exploitative fantasy and sci-fi novel covers for some time now, in the best way he can think of: by taking pictures of himself attempting to emulate the poses on them, and thus highlight and contrast the inherent sexuality that images of women are frequently imbued with against the power that images of men are. This time, however, he’s pulled out all the stops: enlisting three other male science fiction and fantasy authors, and one female one to recreate a cover in its entire.

If you’re interested in owning a high quality signed print of the image on the right for, as Hines says: “your living room, your bathroom, or maybe on your bedroom ceiling. We won’t judge you!” two exist… and they’re both being auctioned off for charity. Check here for updates on both auctions.

Previously in Genderswap

Something special happened on Tumblr this weekend, as many of you reached out to tell us. To those of you who did, I want to say I already follow all of these people so relax we got this thank you. HoursAgo, whose fanart for Hawkeye, Sherlock, Supernatural, Community, and Good Omens you should really check out, posted this drawing (based on the cover to an All Ages Marvel comic featuring Hawkeye and Black Widow) where the two superheroes have swapped positions and poses. Which you might not think initially, since one might assume that the serious Natasha would be more likely to charge pragmatically feet first, while the more cavalier, showboating Hawkeye would be the one taking a trick shot just for the heck of it.

Cosplay is fun no matter what but when you’ve been doing it a few years, you start to think outside the box and see how you can mix things up a bit. There’s also those first-timers out there who want to start with something a little less complicated (what am I saying, cosplay is always complicated!) that’s more of an outfit than a costume yet still portrays their favorite character. In the last few years, genderswap and alternative versions of costumes have gotten popular in the cosplay world. Here’s a collection of just those kinds of cosplays from Comic-Con International 2012.

A bit skinnier than I remember Venus, but I hear those skintight catsuits aren’t exactly roomy. (So Geek Chic)

If there’s one thing I’ve noticed about genderswap cosplay, it’s the major differences in the tone of a cosplay depending on the gender of the cosplayer. Most of the pictures I see of women dressing as male characters are played perfectly seriously: their cosplay is intended as translation. As much of the character’s original personality, costume, and badassness (the stuff that would make you want to be that character in the first place) is preserved as possible. When I see male to female genderswap cosplay pictures trending, however, the cosplay is usual one of parody (with some notable outliers such as the male cosplayers in the Genderswap Justice League and other similar endeavors). A group of dudes who rented some Disney princess outfits and wigs, or a heavily bearded guy in a Chun-li costume are the ones most prominent in my mind. In these cosplays, the fact that it’s genderswap seems to be used as a joke, a self effacing one to be sure (ha ha, I’m such a hairy/muscley/paunchy guy, isn’t it a weird juxtaposition to see me dressed like a lady character?), but still one that enforces the idea: a woman dressing as a man is taking a stronger archetype and making it her own, a man dressing as a woman must be having a laugh at his own expense because he certainly isn’t gaining any confidence from pretending to be a female character.

Which is why I love this father/daughter cosplay. Look at that guy. His little girl likes Wonder Woman, and dammit, that makes Wonder Woman awesome. He’s not dressed as Wonder Man, he’s Wonder freakin’ Woman, and it’s not a joke. How could he joke about his little girl’s favorite superhero? Why wouldn’t he want to be her hero? Not a different version of her hero, but her hero. Ahg. They’re even standing in front of a giant Wonder Woman #1 banner. It’s just too awesome.

(Amy Ratcliffe via DC Women Kicking Ass.)

You’ve read all seven books. You’ve seen all eight movies. You know the characters of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter inside and out. Or do you? Take a look at what happens when DeviantArtist maaria decided to tweak your memories just a bit by laying good ‘ol Rule 63 on the cast of the books. 

There is still time to plan for your Pi Day Pie! Check out the how-to for this apple pie by Sharon from A Periodic Table. (via The Laughing Squid)

Artist Yasmin Liang was so inspired by the gender-bent Justice League cosplayers who appeared at San Diego Comic Con last spring that she drew them up a comic book version of themselves. (via io9)

If there’s anything we’ve enjoyed a lot this year, it’s fan art. And I have a soft spot in my heart for Mickey, so this is really kind of making my day. By John T. Quinn at Blog Is Dead. (via Popped Culture)