Morgan Britt submitted:
Can we spare a moment to talk about Metal Gear Rising and Raiden’s Battle Heels? All at once, I’m both amazed and disappointed.
I’m amazed because it finally presents a viable excuse for wearing heels into battle. They are literal combat heels. Raiden uses them to hold his sword from time to time, allowing him to make long, cutting attacks as he kicks. This is something he does in game as you fight- making the reasoning an actual character feature instead of just an off-hand excuse to put the character in heels. The only other character I can think of that has such useful heels would be Bayonetta, but being the personification of fetishism I feel that she is a much less credible example despite working her shoes 1000x harder than Raiden ever could.
Now for the disappointment. I am disappointed because it took a male character to give us a creative and “believable” design for a practical-impractical shoe. I am disappointed that Raiden- while still being a bishy pretty boy- does not have to don a ridiculous costume to go with his fancy heels the way female characters do; and his heels are only slightly higher than a standard boot, nothing like the 5 inch atrocities featured here. And most of all I am incredibly disappointed that they are still GODDAMNED BATTLE HEELS. Yes, yes, he’s a cyborg so they wouldn’t hurt, etc. etc. But really, what is the point? Why after so long and the ridiculous amounts of ridiculousness that went into Revengeance do battle heels still have to be a thing?
I have lost track of how many times we’ve had people insist that we just don’t understand – this one example of a man in battle heels* proves men are treated exactly the same.
Take a look at his cyborg feet which happen to look like high heels (so they can help him grab stuff) and look at Bayonetta’s stylish but far from practical footwear.
Take a look at the overall comparison:
I mean… at least give the guy a splash of pink and some glitter!
* As a side note: I am quietly confident if Raiden were a female and bingo’ed or otherwise featured we would be bombarded with statements that because they’re robot feet and not “armor” they shouldn’t count.
– wincenworks
The only other male hero in (considerably) high heels that comes to my mind is Batman in Batman Beyond, who’s ultimately justified with those being jet boots (ones that, while not “realistic” by any account, still make infinitely more sense than that atrocity Samus is forced to wear)
[x]
Funny how apparently the only time male characters, particularly action-based ones, get to unironically wear high-heeled shoes is when those heels actually serve some utilitarian purpose.
Female heroes, on the other hand, seem to be put in battle stilettos just because why the hell not.
~Ozzie