assistantdarcy:

Okay, so it’s no surprise to anyone that knows me that I’m a complete fanatic when it comes to Kat Dennings’ character Darcy Lewis in Thor. I’ve been role playing and writing her for almost two years now, and it’s been a bumpy ride. It’s tough having so little character material, but from what we have, we can make a lot of inductions and assumptions. 

I’ve learned a lot since I started, and I’ve come to investigate just where I was pulling my head canons from, why she acted a certain way, and so on. Gifs can be dangerous territory for roleplayers. Kat is in so many films, and while most of her characters have an overarching characteristic, their personalities are drastically different. Don’t let Kat’s other characters influence your Darcy portrayal. It’s a slippery slope. Second, fan canon is fun– but it too can spiral far from the original source. Make sure you first rely on original sources. Let (and control) inspiration from fan sources come second. 

Some of this is directly from the source material, other is speculation but backed up with other evidence.

So who is Darcy Lewis?

Age: in Thor 1, we can safely assume she is a college junior. In the U.S., most students don’t declare their major until their third year (junior). Each semester, a full time student is 12 credits. 6 credits is the exact length of recommended credits during the summer for most colleges. That makes her around 20 years old. With the two year gap between Thor 1 and Thor 2, we can safely assume she is just over 21 to 22 years old. 

School: Darcy is from Culver University, located in North Carolina. Culver is a very prestigious school. Not only is Jane Foster a student there, but Erik Selvig, Bruce Banner, and Betty Ross have all taught there. Some of the most brilliant people in the entire marvel universe are Culver alumni. Darcy is from a school with very high standards.

Education: She’s a political science major. But what does this mean? I have a degree in a very similar field. You’re exposed to humanities (explains the vikings comment), literature, social theory, basic research, and basic data analysis. Most universities require two years (two semesters) of a foreign language. Darcy knows basic Farsi, as shown from the original Thor 2 script, so it’s possible she took that from school.

But we know she is also an intermediate hacker. In Thor 1, it’s heavily implied that she hacks into the New Mexico DMV to plant a photoshopped ID of Thor so SHIELD could pick it up. In Thor 2, she busts Erik Selvig from the institution by claiming that Ian Boothby is his grandson. It’s highly likely that he would have to show some form of ID, leaving me to believe that Darcy would once again use her photoshopping skills. That’s impressive. In the Thor prelude comics, Darcy hacks out of SHIELD’s firewalls from the inside. It’s important to note that this was the Tromso base in Sweden, so it’s very likely that the outpost had lesser security. But it was also during the time of Loki’s attack. So maybe not. It’s also important to note that hacking in and hacking out aren’t the same thing. Darcy isn’t Skye. She’s not Tony Stark. It’s just likely she can navigate and employ programs. 

Being a political science major does NOT prepare you for any sort of ambassador-work. Becoming a political liaison straight out of undergraduate doesn’t happen. You get political theory and global/international studies and policy theory thrown at you. Not much real world experience. Most political science majors end up 1) going to graduate school because they can’t find a job or 2) intern or work with local government or grassroots organizations.

But we do know Darcy has stuck around with Jane. During the Asgard attack, Darcy was still with Jane. And Darcy is still with Jane for Thor 2. We’re not given much information on why Darcy is still at Culver for an internship. Maybe she graduated and still calls herself an intern or maybe she has taken a break, or merely switched to online classes while staying with Jane. We do know, however, that Jane and Darcy are flat broke in the preludes. Leading me to believe: Darcy likely attended Culver on a scholarship. She’s a damn smart girl.

Additionally, despite that I think she attended Culver on a scholarship, it’s likely that Darcy comes from a middle income home. If her family had money, I’m sure she would have rallied it for Jane, but if Darcy is out with Jane and the school has stripped their funding, Darcy is getting money from somewhere. Now it’s possible she uses her technology proficiency for side jobs, but based on how she dresses, she has money for weather-appropriate jackets and clothes, and the computer necessary to run her programs, an iPod, and the money to get so many songs off iTunes.

On Darcy representing her generation: 

I have a theory that Darcy is the characterization of a Millennial (someone born between 1980-2000). Millennials are characterized by diversity,  somewhat apathy, labeled “digital natives”, adapt to technology, ready to try new things, socially liberal, and sensitive (as a result of coming of age during 9/11). Sounds like Darcy, doesn’t it? Most millennials are boomerang children, meaning when they wander off, they come back home, or to someone considered family. I think this reflects Darcy’s connection to Jane. Additionally, millennials do care, because they are sensitive folks, they just need to decide what is worth their care, because they live in an age of mass-communication, with bombarding and conflicting messages of consumerism and war. Millennials are selective. 

Consider Darcy’s comment. “The what?” The Einstein Rosen Bridge. It’s a worm hole. “Hm. *shrug*”. Right. She wants to be in the know, and now that she has the info, she’s content. She doesn’t need to delve further into wormholes, because it doesn’t concern her. But she’s smart. She’ll save that knowledge for later.

On appearance: 

In both settings of Thor 1, 2, and the comics, it has shown Darcy in fairly conservative clothing. Expect lots of layers with earthy tones, like purple, brown, tan, and navy. From the films and comics, she’s worn: Petticoats, leggings, scarves, hats, boots, sweaters, vests, jeans, and skirts. In Thor 1, she wore very minimal makeup to none at all, which changed significantly in the comics to the second film. She wears visible eyeliner with wings and in the comics, red lipstick. Now, in no way does “nerdy” clash with fashionable, but when Kat was considered for Darcy, the director said she wasn’t nerdy enough. Kat comes off as very curvaceous and sexy, which is no fault to her, and is an incredibly beautiful woman, but given the clothes they attribute to Darcy, I would make sure to not conflate the two looks as being the same. Besides, I think Darcy considers herself sexy the way she is. I imagine Darcy has dressed up very little in professional or elegant attire, seeing as Jane hates that sort of thing, and prior to college, most people get very few attempts at being conventionally sexy. For the most part, it’s important to remember that Darcy dresses weather-appropriate in modest clothing, with a lot of layers. Also, hats. She really likes hats. 

Characteristics:

Sharp/Present/Inquisitive: We know that Darcy has a good eye, and in nearly every case, she’s the first to question events. She wants to know. She’s curious. But more than that, she’s aware and present. Darcy is not slow and things do not go over her head. I see this a lot in fan interpretation, and I think it’s an affront to one of her best qualities.

Somewhat trusting, but ready: Consider when the Destroyer first lands. “Is somebody else coming?”. There is no “Oh, shit!”, slew of profanities, or “Figures”. Unlike Max Black of 2 Broke Girls, Darcy has very little disillusionment. (This changes slightly in Thor 2, which I will address in part 2, later). BUT, we know she has tased Thor when he frightened her. It was only when her safety as a woman at night was compromised, do we know she acted. The movie makes it seem rash, but most women will tell you that drunk men at night are terrifying. It was a sound move, and she didn’t make it lightly. In fact, she gave him the benefit of the doubt for as long as she could. 

This is important in how Darcy interacts with others. Sign up for a summer to spend with a stranger? Okay. Scientist flying into town to sleep in our trailer? Okay. Adopting guy we hit with a car who might be a god? Okay. Government officials? Okay. Giant robot? Okay. Wait, not okay.

Darcy is trusting, but has an amazing deal of common sense. She is NOT clueless.

Caring, but annoying: Darcy is incredibly caring, but not to everyone. Like most of us, we are selectively caring to people who we consider important in our lives. Do not flatten her character to the point where she is nice to everyone. In the preludes, Darcy tells people to move out of her way because she’s holding coffee. She crashes Jane’s date and loudly drags a chair across the floor to spite Jane. 

She regularly interrupts people. Jane admits that she can be annoying. In the comics, she regularly goes “Jane. Jane. Jane. Jane. Jane.” Granted, Jane is always swept up in something, and being annoying is perhaps necessary. But let’s face it. A lot of people are annoying. Assuming Darcy is too isn’t a bad thing. It gives her a regular and realistic character flaw.

• I need to view Thor 2 again, because I have a lot of things to say about it, but this was primarily written before I saw Thor 2. I have made edits for consistency and added in a few more things from the Thor 2 script. I’ll make a part 2 for our favourite intern with more personality tid-bits, relationships, outlooks, and other approaches to Darcy’s life.