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Saturday, January 2, 2021

Chaotic Neutral: Hedy Wolfe

The alignment system popularized by Dungeons & Dragons is worth revisiting, as each of the nine alignments can encapsulate a variety of characters. Often represented as a grid (with Lawful versus Chaotic, with Good versus Evil, and with Neutral tendencies in-between), the alignments describe competing values and potential sources of conflict among characters.

  Lawful Good    Neutral Good    Chaotic Good  
  Lawful Neutral    True Neutral    Chaotic Neutral  
  Lawful Evil    Neutral Evil    Chaotic Evil  

Before she became Hellcat, Patsy Walker appeared in teen romance comics, often sharing the spotlight with classmate Hedy Wolfe. In these stories, Hedy could be spontaneous and abrasive, while envious of Patsy's popularity. Balancing between friend and rival, Hedy's up-and-down disposition would seem Chaotic Neutral.

This take on Hedy Wolfe held true with grown-up depictions of the character, including Marvel Fanfare #59, when Patsy Walker returned to her hometown of Centerville to reunite with old acquaintances. Patsy, like many of the Defenders, would lean toward Chaotic Good.

Patsy and Hedy starred together in a series that spanned most of the 1950s and 1960s.

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