I reached the final page of Avengers Academy #31, a title I like reading, and saw the team gearing for battle against the Phoenix Force-led X-Men. That page looks like this. (Click for bigger.)

It’s a fairly typical “we’re going to fight you!” superhero team pose, drawn by Timothy Green II, inked by Jeff Huet. However, the way the White Tiger was standing struck me as remarkably silly. Look, here’s a closeup:

First, it doesn’t appear that she’s actually putting any weight on her feet, especially that one extending off the page. Weirder, though, is how she’s pulled her arms back. No one prepares for a punch by forcing their elbow behind their back. That pushes your fist out to the side, not drawn back to hit. The other arm’s just kind of hanging there in space, as though she’s showing you she has a bicep. This is a “I’ve got boobies!” pose, not an “I’m going to kick your ass” stance.

It shouldn’t surprise me that this was considered a reasonable drawing, given the usual state of superhero comic art, even that used in books with a really good balanced and diverse cast of characters. I think I was struck by the pose because it was the last thing I saw in the book as my eyes tracked down the final page of the story.