The Franchise not-so-delicately tackles superhero movies’ “girl problem”

The hierarchy of power in the Maximum Universe is about to change, and, naturally, everybody is mad about it. As the tumultuous production of Tecto: Eye Of The Storm continues, its prospects become more dubious. If opportunities to disrupt an already rocky shoot keep popping up like so many unnecessary superhero cameos, then Tecto is primed to become Maximum Studios’ very own version of The Flash.

Of course, considering the well-documented shortsightedness of real-life superhero tentpoles, it’s likely that The Franchise has an episode in the pipeline lampooning the sweaty need for last-minute reshoots and flashy cameos. This week, however, focuses on a different hot-button issue, one responsible for much of the criticisms that have been lobbed at Marvel Studios over the years: the clumsy (re: sexist) handling of female characters. In “Scene 54: The Lilac Ghost,” directed by Liza Johnson and written by Rachel Axler, the production of Tecto comes to yet another screeching halt courtesy of the latest edict from the studios’ top brass, who feel compelled to address its lack of powerful women on the macho set of Tecto. This week, Maximum tackles feminism, and the results are predictably grim. 

Our road to box-office calamity begins with a 4 a.m. pick-up with Quinn (Katherine Waterston), who co-stars in Tecto as the Lilac Ghost, a cosmic being who, as comic lore has it, doesn’t boast any superpowers of note. Quinn’s last day onset is already emotional—not for any positive reasons, but due to an anxious desire to exit Tecto as soon as possible. And who’s there to make her final makeup session even more awkward than Dag (Lolly Adefope), who cheerfully notes that the last time she watched one of Quinn’s films was on her phone. Also, it was an illegal streaming situation. She feels really bad about it (oh, Dag).  

While Daniel, Tecto’s visibly exhausted 1st AD (Hamish Patel), preps Quinn for her final day, we spot Anita (Aya Cash) sprinting to a 5 a.m. meet-up with Maximum producer/slab of prime chuck Pat (Darren Goldstein). This is supposed to be a quick chat over a shitty cup of studio coffee, but Anita, ever the arbiter of taste, dumps it, asking how anyone could drink the crap. Not missing a beat, The Franchise has Pat chug the joe down happily, stating quite plainly that he, in fact, literally has no taste (as in, tastebuds). “I know what they say: ‘Pat the Philistine has no taste!’ Yeah, guess what? I don’t! Jokes on you, pal!” As fumbling metaphors about art versus commerce go, The Franchise has done better. 

So what brings Anita, Pat, and, to a degree, Bryson (Isaac Powell) together this fine, frantic morning? An old critique has resurfaced online due to last week‘s scrapping of The Sisters Squad: Maximum has a problem with “girl characters.” The studio’s original plan, reactionary and unimaginative in its design and doomed to fail, was appropriately simple: silo all their female characters into one movie, thus silencing social-media debate amongst the fans and simultaneously empowering the women—two birds, one bazooka. No Sisters Squad means online fan blogs (referred to disparagingly as “the culture”) are saying Maximum isn’t feminist, an accusation they’re desperate to counter. (Sidebar: There’s something obnoxiously Boys-ian about Maximum’s title choices, stretching The Franchise’s satire further into full-on lampoon, which is all good fun until you notice how abrasively this Cracked ridiculousness clashes with the series’ flirtations with drama.)

It’s no surprise that The Franchise handles the treatment of women in the superhero industry with brick-fist subtlety. It’s an obvious dig at the bad old days of Ike Perlmutter’s reign at Marvel, where plans to produce female-centric films like Captain Marvel were dismissed out of hand, and Black Widow was given second-fiddle status despite her founding Avenger status. When Pat closes out this odious morning meet by calling Anita “sugar tits”—a joke he feels he can make, considering he “would never actually say that”—you begin to get a clearer picture of how much of a clusterfuck the rest of Day 51 (of 117) will be.

One of The Franchise’s more darkly amusing aspects is how it finds galling new ways to dig a deeper hole for Tecto on a scene-to-scene basis. Following Anita’s demoralizing meeting, the first thing we see is director par excellence Eric (Daniel Brühl) selecting a single extra from a row of brunettes in black leotards to play the “dead wife” of the film’s hero. Of course, none of them will do and are dismissed accordingly. “Rest in peace,” Dag says to the group as they shuffle back to obscurity. Brutal.

I’m struggling to figure out if Dag’s attitude is a put-on or if she actually gives a rip about art. Her mindset concerning this superhero picture suggests she feels it’s beneath her, so why has Dag jumped onto this sinking ship? Will it be good for her career? (Is Tetco going to be good for anybody’s career?) One minute, she’s copping to streaming movies from torrent sites, and the next, she’s calling Quinn “one of the great actors of her generation” and lamenting that Tecto has her dressed up like “a Mormon in space.” I keep going back to that “Blood on our hands” line from last week. Is Dag’s character meant to point out the pathetic vibes coming off this diminishing movie genre, criticize it as lesser art destroying the cinematic medium, or simply contribute to a caustic workplace like everyone else? All three?    

At least Dag’s snark is pertinent this week. As Anita soon illustrates to Eric, the Lilac Ghost has no discernible human qualities to remark upon other than the usual boilerplate pap: She’s described as “strong, independent,” and (my favorite) a “female ghost.” She has no powers to make her stand out among this sausage fest, but, as script supervisor Steph (Jessica Hynes) helpfully reminds everyone, she is clumsy. Well, now!

Lilac Ghost’s shortcomings as a character have precedent, as Daniel is quick to stress. In the comics, she lost her powers in a “soul-swap with Immortus” (probably not that one), which, technically, bestows some gravitas on the character and will likely be a plot beat fans will expect to see. Not to be a nerd about it or anything, Daniel says, but that’s her comic-accurate arc. (“I’ll tell you who had an ‘arc,'” Dag chimes in. “Joan.”) Maximum doesn’t have time for such trivialities. They need the Lilac Ghost to be a badass by tomorrow.

So what’s it to be? New powers for a ghost character who, canonically, has none? Surely, the Culture will excuse some creative license if it means female empowerment, right? After all, is comic lore sacrosanct? On that last point, Dag feels that it’s not, but it’s interesting to see Daniel grapple with the issue. Something is lurking under those glassy, underslept eyes. Future episodes will tell. 

But we must now pivot to Adam’s (Billy Magnussen) trailer, where unfair body expectations rear their wooly behinds in the form of livestock supplements. Adam is showing the usual side effects of hormone abuse—paranoia and anxiety being his chief characteristics this week—and also a suggestively anthropomorphic one: Amid the swath of severe backne across his sculpted shoulders is a hair that either is or is not wool. Is Adam turning into a sheep? No. (I don’t think The Franchise is that kind of show—at least not yet.) But is Maximum’s blind eye to performance-enhancing drugs allowing the star of Tecto to descend into a frothing mess of self-hatred and insomnia? Clearly! 

Let’s return to the Lilac Ghost Dilemma. Eric’s nervous solution to Tetco’s “woman problem” is giving Lilac the powers of a man. Steph suggests she be able to talk to a horse. Taking from the comics (Comic Book Accuracy being a sticking point in this conversation), there’s an issue where Lilac learns a new language by kissing people on the mouth. No good. Dag has a suggestion: arm Quinn with “The Stick Of Maximum Potency,” a weapon of cosmic power that is the property of Professor Poton in the comics. A large stick with a name that may as well be “throbbing member,” put the hands of a woman? Is nothing sacred?

As the producer tasked with mitigating this looming PR disaster, Anita has to field Daniel’s concerns about the Lilac Ghost situation. But look at her eyes during their testy backroom row: She’d already checked out well before she admitted as much to Daniel. “I just need to land this plane, cash my check, and jetpack out of here. Boutique development house. Actual movies. Not this franchise bullshit.” Daniel takes this confession about as well as you’d think; his impassioned bid for comic accuracy suggests there’s still a fan somewhere deep inside his quiet place (probably on life support, but still) who lets him secretly love what he does while hating the mockery it’s become.

Anita’s attempt to imbue the Lilac Ghost with more female empowerment has somewhat deflated the star. Here’s another example of The Franchise’s deploying its impeccable casting to great effect. Waterston’s delivery of the line “I am mortified” after hearing Maximum’s plans to badass-ify the Lilac Ghost is appropriately sad and frustrating to watch. Her expression, a mask of doom and despair, cuts through the day’s comic chaos and pathetic grasps at political correctness to reach a sentiment that sums up The Franchise at its best: Something this rudderless needs to fail. In an earlier scene, we see Quinn leaning back in a chair so her steady stream of tears won’t ruin her superhero makeup. Waterston sells the bit, and for a fleeting moment, The Franchise strikes the nimble funny-and-bleak balance it thinks it’s pulling off 100-percent of the time. 

Stray observations

• • It is possible to sustain whiplash watching The Franchise work out its approach to sexism in the workplace. 
• • Aha! Skullsteppers: Skullcap Of Destiny. That was driving me crazy. Two more Maximum posters just out of view: Thunderon: Sound Of Rumble and Crimson Splash: Red Sea Vengeance: A New Cycle. (Note that the Crimson Splash poster is behind Anita as all these menstruation jokes go flying around. Subtle!) 
• • “The Lilac Ghost” could be a deeply embedded reference to DC’s Black Orchid character. For the sake of my sanity, I choose to believe at least one person working on The Franchise has actually read a comic book.   
• • “I may have done a sexism once, in a beer commercial, but I’ve always wanted to do a feminism!” 
• • I want all of Eric’s sweaters. You probably didn’t need to know that, but it’s true. Where does he get those?
• • “On behalf of little girls everywhere,” Bryson says to Anita, “thank you.” Is Bryson a secret agent of chaos here to dismantle the Maximum superhero-industrial complex from the inside?
• • One unintended result of Adam’s insecurities is an onset miscommunication between the Tecto star and his director. In The Franchise’s most labored joke yet, Adam believes Eric said “herd” instead of “heard,” which triggers thoughts of sheep in Adam’s sleep-deprived brain. 
• • Before we wrap up, we must touch on “the yawn.” Seven years after Anita’s joke concerning a sleepy Daniel during their mumblecore production of The Nevertheless-ness, Dan still can’t live it down. Anita made a producer laugh, which, Daniel feels, secured her promotion, while Dan fought off jokes about his perceived laziness.
• • So what’s on your mind, group? Is comic accuracy important? How do you feel The Franchise is doing in terms of tone? Is Lilac Ghost Dilemma a halfway decent band name, and if so, what genre are we talking about here?