Calendar Girl is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

who debuted in ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Br ...

'' episode "Mean Seasons". Formerly a

supermodel A supermodel is a highly paid fashion model who has a worldwide reputation and background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term became popular in the 1990s. Supermodels usually work for prominent fashion designers and clothin ...

named Page Munroe, the character developed severe self-esteem issues and

body dysmorphic disorder Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), also known in some contexts as dysmorphophobia, is a mental disorder defined by an overwhelming preoccupation with a perceived flaw in one's physical appearance. In BDD's delusional variant, the flaw is imagined ...

after being fired by her agent when she turned 30 years old. Calendar Girl is portrayed as a physically-attractive woman with long black hair and a mask on her face; her motif is based in various annual

holidays A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

and combating

ageism Ageism, also called agism in American English, is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against Old age, elderly people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this ...

. She was voiced by

Sela Ward Sela Ann Ward (born July 11, 1956) is an American actress. Her breakthrough TV role was as Teddy Reed in the NBC drama series ''Sisters'' (1991–96), for which she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama ...

and created by

Paul Dini Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably ''Batman: The Animated Series' ...

. Calendar Girl was a one-time character who failed to appear in any other

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

content, and is based on the character

Calendar Man The Calendar Man (Julian Gregory Day) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, as an List of Batman family enemies, enemy of the superhero Batman, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up Batman's ...

. She uses mainly holiday-themed explosives and a scythe as her main weapons. She has no connection to Calendar Man besides her name.

Fictional character biography

Calendar Girl's first and only appearance occurs in ''The New Batman Adventures'' episode "Mean Seasons". She

kidnaps Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

a number of corporate figures who had previously hired her as supermodel Page Munroe. Her former agent reveals to

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

and Batgirl that she was fired rudely due to ageism when she turned 30 and was replaced by younger girls. Calendar Girl is stopped by Batman and

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

as she dresses up like the

Grim Reaper The Grim Reaper is a popular personification of death in Western culture in the form of a hooded skeletal figure wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe.Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

, attacking her hostages with a

scythe A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...

. Harvey Bullock tears her mask from her face, despite rumours that Page Munroe had botched plastic surgery and is physically hideous. Batgirl is shocked to see that Calendar Girl is still beautiful, but she desperately attempts to cover her face so nobody can see it.

Ageism commentary

Kyle Anderson of ''

Nerdist Nerdist Industries, LLC (also simply known as Nerdist) is part of the digital division of Legendary Entertainment. Nerdist Industries was founded as a sole podcast ( The Nerdist Podcast) created by Chris Hardwick but later spread to include a net ...

'' noted during a review of "Mean Seasons" that the Calendar Girl character serves as an example of

age discrimination Ageism, also called agism in American English, is a type of discrimination based on one's age, generally used to refer to age-based discrimination against elderly people. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe this discrim ...

and agism in fiction. Anderson stated, "the themes of aging not being a bad thing, and youth being overvalued, are constant in the episode. And this was very deliberate; actress

voiced Calendar Girl and, at the time, she was conducting a protest campaign against Hollywood’s ageism and its harmful effects on public perception. Monroe is even said to have been marginalized simply because she turned 30, and Ward taking this role seems directly in line with her cause."

References

{{DC Animated Universe Batman characters Characters created by Paul Dini DC Comics female supervillains Fiction about ageism Fiction about ageing Fictional kidnappers Fictional models Female characters in animated television series Female characters in animation Female characters in comics Fictional characters with obsessive–compulsive disorder Animated characters introduced in 1998 Television characters introduced in 1998