Actually, I Don’t Want ‘Carmen Sandiego’ to be a Hero

In many ways, Netflix’s new animated series Carmen Sandiego is cause for celebration. Not only does it mean that we get more Gina Rodriguez on our streaming screens — no, Jane the Virgin, Big Mouth, and Annihilation are not enough! — but it also marks the return of one of the most beloved millennial franchises. The Carmen Sandiego suite of games and television shows helped a generation of kids learn geography all while getting wrapped up in thrilling crime stories. So it’s about time today’s kids get the same experience.

However, there is one cause for disappointment in this new Netflix series, and that in attempting to flesh out the crimson-coated character’s backstory, Carmen Sandiego rewrites the villain as a misunderstood hero. It’s a simplistic solution to the mystery surrounding Carmen Sandiego’s background that defangs her. Carmen Sandiego was a fun, compelling, brilliant villainess for decades, and for some reason that’s no longer good or interesting enough.

The character of Carmen Sandiego started out simply enough. She was just one of a number of villains proposed for a 1985 educational video game. In fact, the original head villain was going to be someone named Professor Estaban Devious, but project manager Katherine Bird zeroed in on lesser villain Carmen Sandiego. She saw the intrigue inherent in the name and boosted Carmen to top-line titular villain. The game itself put the player in the role of hero, and it encouraged children to learn about world geography and foreign cultures in an effort to catch the wily Carmen and her goons. The video game franchise later spawned two educational game show, an animated series following a duo of underage sleuths named Zach and Ivy, and finally, the new Netflix series.

While Carmen Sandiego certainly features far-flung locales, a relatable computer hacker nicknamed “Player,” and a strange Southie twist on Zach and Ivy, its focus is on its title character. As the Netflix media site itself explains, “we will follow [Carmen’s] escapades and get to determine not only where but WHO in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” So who is she? According to Netflix, a woefully misunderstood orphan who was raised by thieves without knowing they were evil. As soon as she learned this, she dedicated her life to undoing their crimes, making her a globe-trotting Robin Hood in a scarlet fedora.

It’s not a bad origin story. In fact, other shows, including another Netflix animated revival, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, have used that backstory with incredible success. The problem that I have with it on Carmen Sandiego is that it erases decades of the character’s complex history while also misunderstanding Carmen’s core allure. We liked her because she was mysterious, devious, and on the wrong side of the law. She was never portrayed as evil, but mischievous, making her a fresh kind of female villain. Not only was she allowed to be the big boss, but she wasn’t twisted by her crimes into being some kind of monster. Carmen Sandiego was a noble sort of villain — and there aren’t many female characters who get to shift into that mode.

And now, not even Carmen Sandiego gets to claim this unique honor. She has…well, She-Ra’s origin story. She doesn’t get to be sneaky, dastardly, or ever on the side of wrong. Carmen must be a heroine now. And there’s something kind of depressing about the notion that in order for a female character to be the lead in a story, to be compelling, or to be interesting she has to be on the side of good. When in fact, this is false.

Carmen Sandiego used to be the greatest thief, but now she’s been robbed of her bite.

Watch Carmen Sandiego on Netflix