Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

One thing I’ve always appreciated about Joss Whedon’s work is that he usually portrays women positively (or, at least, more positively than most television shows). His female characters tend to be strong and smart, but I feel as though he missed the boat with Penny in Dr. Horrible. While she is certainly intelligent and unafraid of doing her own thing, she becomes a pawn in a power play between two men, both presented as romantic interests, and neither a good match.

One of my favorite lines from Buffy the Vampire Slayer comes from the series finale. Over the course of the program, Buffy has grown into a strong and capable woman. She knows herself and she’s realized something.

BUFFY: I’m well aware of my stellar history with guys… And, no, I don’t see fat grandchildren in the offing with Spike, but I don’t think that really matters right now. You know, in the midst of all this insanity, a couple things are actually starting to make sense. And the guy thing— I always feared there was something wrong with me, you know, because I couldn’t make it work. But maybe I’m not supposed to.

ANGEL: Because you’re the slayer?

BUFFY: Because—OK, I’m cookie dough. I’m not done baking. I’m not finished becoming whoever the hell it is I’m gonna turn out to be. I make it through this, and the next thing, and the next thing, and maybe one day I turn around and realize I’m ready. I’m cookies. And then, you know, if I want someone to eat—or enjoy warm, delicious cookie me, then…that’s fine. That’ll be then. When I’m done.

ANGEL: Any thoughts on who might enjoy— Do I have to go with the cookie analogy?

BUFFY: I’m not really thinking that far ahead. That’s kind of the point.

I love that she’s not forced to choose between Angel and Spike, though she’s pressured to do so. Often, female characters in TV and movies are given two options and forced to choose between them. But what the characters, and usually the audience, fail to recognize is there’s a third option: choose neither. This is the trap into which Penny falls.

She’s introduced in the first act as a woman on whom Billy (Dr. Horrible’s alter ego) has a crush. He first sees her in the Laundromat, but he’s too shy to approach her so he admires her from a distance. He accidentally introduces her to his arch nemesis, Captain Hammer, through an unfortunate series of events involving a heist he pulls off in an attempt to join the Evil League of Evil (ELE). Of course, Penny falls for Captain Hammer immediately because he’s dashing and handsome and a super hero and he actually shows an interest in her, something that Billy utterly failed to do. She doesn’t realize until later that Captain Hammer is a shallow, narcissistic bully. When these flaws become apparent, it’s clear that Penny has no intention of staying with him. When she walks off the stage to avoid being associated with him (too late as he’s already called her his “serious long-term girlfriend” and told the press that they “totally had sex”), the audience naturally assumes that Billy’s going to get his chance to be with her.

One of the things I love about Dr. Horrible is that the protagonist is a villain and the villain is a super-hero. It’s fun to change the point of view and empathize a bit with the bad guy. And Billy is easy to empathize with. He’s a sort of everyman who just happens to be trying to become a super villain and join the ELE. He’s intelligent (he invents a freeze ray and can steal gold bars by teleport), he’s kind (he doesn’t complain when his roommate, Moist, dampens his mail), and he’s shy.

But why would Penny ever want to date Billy?

Billy doesn’t like how society is running, so he wants to do it himself.

Dr. Horrible: It’s not about making money. It’s about taking money: destroying the status-quo, because the “status” is not “quo.” The world is a mess and I just need to rule it.

He sees problems in society and he doesn’t feel as though the people in power are fit to fix it. So he wants to do it instead. Of course, cash and fame are nice, too.

Dr. Horrible: Then I win, then I get everything I ever… All the cash, all the fame, and social change.

He likes Penny, but is afraid to talk to her.

Dr. Horrible: I’m just a few weeks away from a real, audible, connection.

He’s more interested in his work than in her.

Penny: I’m Penny. What are you doing?

Dr. Horrible: I’m texting. It’s very important or I would stop.

He pretends to be her friend, when he actually wants to be her lover.

Dr. Horrible: Hey, this is weird. I ordered one frozen yogurt and they gave me two. You don’t happen to like frozen yogurt do you?

Penny: I love it.

Dr. Horrible: You’re kidding! What a crazy, random happenstance. Here. (hands her the yogurt he clearly bought for her)

He completely and intentionally disregards her feelings about his plan.

Dr. Horrible: And Penny will see the evil me, not a joke, not a dork not a failure, and she may cry but her tears will dry when I hand her the keys to a shiny new Australia.

In other words, Billy is a “Nice Guy.” I can see Penny going to him after dumping Captain Hammer, but the relationship would never be healthy, and it would never last after Penny finds out that he even aspires to be in the ELE.

Dr. Horrible: I wanna do great things, you know? I wanna be an achiever. Like Bad Horse…

Penny: (shocked) The Thoroughbred of Sin?

Dr. Horrible: I meant Ghandi.

Of course, Penny never gets the chance to do any these things. Her choices are removed and while it would be easy to blame Captain Hammer, the fault lies entirely with Dr. Horrible. He knew that Bad Horse wanted to see a murder when he listed the ways Dr. Horrible would be considered for admission, “A heinous crime, a show of force, a murder would be nice, of course.” He could have backed off then, but thought he could get in with his crime at the Superhero Memorial Bridge (the show never specifies what he was actually trying to do). When that plan goes to pot, his only option is murder.

Bad Horse Singers: He saw the operation you tried to pull today, but your humiliation means he still votes nay, and now assassination is just the only way. There will be blood and it might be yours so go kill someone. Signed, Bad Horse

However, he still seems unwilling to go through with it until Captain Hammer discovers his secret identity and taunts him about Penny.

Captain Hammer: You got a little crush, don’t you Doc? Well that’s gonna make this hard to hear. See, later I’m gonna take little Penny back to my place. Show her the Command Center, Hammer Cycle, maybe even the Ham-Jet. You think she likes me now? I’m gonna give Penny the night of her life just because you want her, and I get what you want. See, Penny’s giving it up. She’s giving it up hard, cause she’s with Captain Hammer.

This makes him so angry that he resolves to murder Captain Hammer. He doesn’t spare a thought for Penny until he’s standing in front of a frozen Captain Hammer willing himself to pull the trigger on his Death Ray. He built the Death Ray, he sneaked into the new homeless shelter where he knew Penny would be, he froze Captain Hammer and terrorized the civilians in attendance. He may not have pulled the trigger on the gun, but if he had been honest with Penny about what he wanted, if he had avoided the ELE, Penny would not have been killed.

His reaction to Penny’s death reminds me of Steven King’s “Needful Things.” The reader becomes aware that the things the townspeople have traded their souls for are useless junk, but the characters cling to their possessions because the price they paid was too high to let them go. Dr. Horrible clings to his admission into the ELE, and is left with the empty reality of what he always thought he wanted. He experiences no joy and no satisfaction.

Still, he got off easier than poor Penny whose only mistake was enjoying doing laundry.