Foggy the Fembot. It's so... specific. One of the fews times tv Foggy gets called a mean name was when a biker called him “pork chop”. Like poor comic Foggy experiences all too often, this is a name targeted at his weight. So why "fembot”?
The word has existed since the 1970s with The Bionic Woman, but it was definitely brought back to the mainstream because of the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. And in that movie the fembots are sexualized robots, women with long blonde hair who are scantily dressed, seduce Austin, and shoot men with guns in their breasts.
Could it be a reference to something else, something not related to this satirical movie from the 90s? That's certainly always possible, but Foggy is the pop culture king of tv Daredevil. He sings a song from The Pirates of Penzance, he references Top Gun's Maverick and Goose, he mimics Yoda to make Matt laugh. He calls Jessica Super Joan Jett, he mentions Beyonce and Digital Underground to Luke, he recognizes Ghostface Killah by sight. He's one of the only NMCU characters to mention an Avenger by name! Foggy is the go-to guy for pop culture references, so it's fitting for something from his past to be rooted in a movie.
So why this movie? Foggy knows Lionel "Ray" McCoy from childhood, they grew up in the same building. Foggy was best friends with Ray's younger brother Connor. They had living room sleepovers. The timeline is hazy (per usual for DD), but Foggy's description to Matt implies he was present both before and after Suzanne McCoy's death when her son Connor was in the eighth grade (age 13 or 14). A movie series with installments ranging from 1997 to 2002 is perfectly in line with that time.
But why "fembot" when Austin Powers has a really mean and obvious character name targeting weight that is primed for the taking (Fat Bastard)? The choice of "fembot" raises some really interesting possible interpretations.
Foggy and Ray's First Scene
On my first watch of the episode, it struck me immediately as if it were a homphobic slur. I literally had to pause the tv, stand up, and pace for a second around the coffee table before I could sit back down and press play again. It isn't a slur of course and it softened intensity the more they said it. It’s a goofy and childish thing to call him, especially as adults.
Elden's performance in these flashback scenes is quite nuanced. He plays it very complicated. You can frequently see there are several thoughts happening all at once in Foggy’s brain.
When Ray first asks "Foggy the Fembot?" Foggy looks incredulous. He glances first at Matt, perhaps embarrassed Matt's going to witness this encounter, then asks "Ray?", "Isn't your name Ray?". And you can practically see himself wondering if this is actually happening.
Ray confirms his name is Lionel, because "you think I'd go by Lionel in that neighborhood?". It's ironic he's saying this to a guy who goes by Foggy no matter the neighborhood. It's cruel that he bullied Foggy by calling him "fembot" in the same neighborhood he was too insecure to go by Lionel in. They lived in the same building, remember.
Next Lionel makes the most overt suggestion to the sexual undertones of "fembot". He says "You know Fembot here used to clean my sneakers, didn't you?". He says this with a blink and miss it lick of the lips, with a hint of pursed lips. Foggy stares into the distant ground, face carefully blank, not looking at Ray or at Matt. Ray's rude additude towards Matt's blindness snaps him out of this frozen moment and he redirects the conversation to Connor.
Now, you can take this as far and as serious as you want to take it. "Clean my sneakers" isn't slang for anything specific as far as I can tell. And Ray doesn't just call him "fembot", he mocks all authority Foggy has ("You Mr Nelson? Is that supposed to be you?"). But this entire scene, Foggy stumbles over his words and through cut-off sentences when in the hallway he was rattling off case details with ease. The legal aspects are the only time he speaks with confidence, boosted by Matt's subtle encouragement. Otherwise he can barely look at Ray, gazing away in discomfort. This cuts deep for Foggy.
Just compare it to the how he acts around Mr. Levine. Mr Levine calls the duo “fuckos” and Foggy still tries to address him as Jeff, then later is openly mocking “Mr. Levine Thank You”. He's not afraid of that guy one bit. And when Matt repeats “Foggy the Fembot” twice, both times Foggy half chuckles, like he knows it’s childish and stupid and appreciates that Matt does too.
Foggy's relationship with Connor is an undercurrent through all of the flashback scenes. He clumsily explains to Matt that "We- uh- used to... hang out. Me and his brother. We were best friends." He's off kilter describing that relationship. When he asks after Connor, wanting to know what happened to him, he looks uncomfortable when told Connor had "knocked up the first chick he could."
During Foggy's discussion with Matt in their office he reveals the details of the McCoy homelife. He likely even witnessed some of it. Remember, he'd sleep over. He saw how much the mother, Suzanne, drank. He describes the father vaguely: "he was not a good guy". I think it's telling that Foggy mentions her by name and him not. Foggy continues, “Connor was younger. Lionel took the brunt of it. I - I didn’t like him.”
That last sentence, go watch how it’s said and the face Foggy makes. He chokes it out, stumbles over his words, furrows his brow. Did Foggy even mean to say it? It doesn't add to his argument. So why did he say it? Who is “him”, hiding in the subtext? Lionel? The dad? …maybe even Connor?
Ray clearly bullied Foggy. He was obviously jealous of the friendship between his brother and Foggy. In the later scene, when Ray says “I never really had a friend like that”, Foggy replies with a knowing “I know”. And that bullying took the form (at least in part) of calling him "fembot", during the pre-teen and teenage period of their life. And now as an adult, calling him that old mean nickname with a deliberately suggestive gesture.
Ray makes Foggy stumble over his words, as we saw earlier. But so does talking about Connor. Why was Foggy halting when he told Matt he and Connor were best friends? Foggy's often free with affection, this should be the easy part to describe. But Ray has context Matt doesn't, context Foggy isn't prepared for Matt to know.
I didn't like Ray because he hurt me.
I didn't like the dad because he was a bad man.
I didn't like Connor, I didn't have a crush on him, please stop bullying me.
Foggy and Ray's Final Scene
At the end of the first scene, the only time Foggy is able to truly face Ray is when Ray describes his death sentence should he go to prison. Foggy is no longer distracted by the humiliation ritual, he's laser focused. This turns the table for the final scene.
Something I found really interesting is that Ray only calls Foggy "fembot" in front of Matt. When Foggy goes to his apartment, he calls him Foggy. While at the jail his parting words were “Good to see you Fembot”, in Matt’s presence. That entire conversation in the apartment, he only calls him Foggy.
Now Foggy has the upper hand, not Ray. They stand in the very same apartment from childhood, the one where Suzanne drank herself to death and the McCoy dad did "bad guy" things. Where Connor and Foggy camped in sleeping bags with flashlights, best friends, Ray wishing he could join in. Now it's Ray who stumbles over his words. But Foggy doesn't belittle Ray, he watches him talk with compassion.
He helps him get out of this place and tells him he is worthy of his brother. They have tears in their eyes. Ray gently ushers Foggy out of the apartment.
Conclusion: Why "Fembot"?
Everything is painted in innuendo, all so ambiguous that there are many ways to interpret it. Maybe Ray is just a plain bully, repeating childish wrongs. But here is where I acknowledge that this little tale is playing as backdrop against the Matt-Bullseye drama. Bullseye, who committed the most grievous offense, changing Matt intrinsically. This certainly feels more serious than just name-calling.
I keep going back to that initial instinctual reaction I had: that it felt like a slur had been used. I look at Foggy and Connor, the things said and unsaid, text and subtext. Look at those pictures of the fembots again. Look at how Foggy reacts to it. Foggy, who had long blond hair as a teenager. Who went to theater camp. Who greeted his new college roommate by calling him a "really, really good-looking guy". Who jokes with his best friend about kisses and marriage. Who is free with affection and hugs.
Calling Foggy Fembot isn't just a “girly boy” joke. Ray painted the easiest homophobic target he could right on his brother's best friend.
