Where in the World is (the Respect for) Carmen Sandiego?

Television, film, and even video game history is full of some legendary baddies. Those of you who have read my stories know that I focus on the females of the bunch, but even so, I've noticed that when it comes to villainesses, the ones that get the most mention are the Wicked Queen, the Wicked Witch of the West, Cruella de Vil, Rita Repulsa, and Catwoman, just to name a few. Now those are iconic villainesses, but there's more than that group. One such villainess came to mind just barely before I had the idea to write this: Carmen Sandiego.

I swear, Carmen Sandiego doesn't get enough mentions, and honestly, it's a shame. I grew up on Carmen Sandiego; she was one of the first villainesses I had ever watched in my life. I vividly remember religiously watching the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? kids' game show on PBS; I even remember finding that show on accident and becoming hooked on it. I learned even then that this was a video game, originally debuting in 1985, though the game show premiered in 1991 and aired for five seasons on PBS. I loved that show because it centered on geography, and I was obsessed with that subject as a kid. After WitW ended, PBS aired a spinoff/sequel game show, Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?, which centered on the subject of history.

The franchise included several different games, and even a Fox Kids series. Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? was part of the Fox Kids lineup from 1994 until 1999, and featured iconic actress Rita Moreno as the voice of the titular character. The most recent incarnation is an animated series that aired on Netflix for four seasons between 2019 and 2021, and featured Gina Rodriguez as the voice of the titular character.

A bit more on that later, but right now, I want to mention the portrayal of Carmen Sandiego over the years, because it's quite interesting.

Now, the backstories change quite a bit, but one tidbit remains the same: Carmen Sandiego was once on the side of good. She was once one of the top detectives for the ACME Detective Agency, but at some point, Carmen left ACME and turned heel afterwards, later forming the Villains' International League of Evil (V.I.L.E.). Carmen's heel turn never really had a true motive, though one version stated that she became bored over easily catching criminals and decided to become one herself and outsmart ACME. This is where the portrayal gets interesting, as even as a criminal villainess, Carmen's habitual thievery was basically a game to her, though other criminals in her organization were truly evil and capable of just about anything.

The early video games portrayed Carmen as the central antagonist, as did the PBS game shows. However, one of the things I loved about Where in Time was that, unlike WitW, we would see the character portrayed on screen in the opening. In every episode of WiT, Carmen would be shown sending one of her criminal henchpersons on their mission. We would also see Carmen very briefly at episode's end, but her appearance was ending-dependent. If the contestant was successful in capturing Carmen in the allotted time, she's captured, game over. If not, we see Carmen running off, cackling maniacally as she continues going on the run.

To me, the most interesting portrayal was in the Fox Kids series, Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, as on that show, Carmen goes from serving as a villainess to becoming an anti-villainess and even an anti-heroine at times. Every episode has Carmen being pursued by young ACME agents Zack and Ivy, and regarding the pair, Carmen was often portrayed as respecting the duo's drive, and even helped them on their own missions against criminals who didn't have Carmen's grey area mentality. I remember watching this and actually enjoying seeing this side of Carmen. Though even at a young age, I loved Carmen's evil side (and still do), I also liked that WoE gave us a more human side to the iconic master criminal.

The Netflix animated series actually portrays Carmen as a heroine, and while the same backstory of Carmen joining V.I.L.E. remained intact, the Netflix series has Carmen turning against the villainous organization after realizing their true goals, and she becomes a Robin Hood-esque character and starts stealing from the organization. I have yet to watch this animated version, though I definitely plan on giving this a watch very soon.

Now, I have to talk about Carmen's signature look. I've always loved it; the red fedora and trenchcoat. It was quite a typical look that we often see in spy films and TV shows, and even some action films--that mysterious, sinister, yet somewhat seductive look. In some case, Carmen dons leather gloves as well, a very delicious addition.

I mentioned that Gina Rodriguez voiced Carmen Sandiego on the Netflix series, and I remember reading a long time ago that a Carmen Sandiego film was planned, with Rodriguez playing the character in a live action setting. Before that, there was another rumor that enraptured me: Jennifer Lopez playing that role. This rumor came out over a decade ago, and I was over the moon over the thought of J-Lo playing such an iconic villainess. The reason was simple, Jennifer Lopez hadn't played a villainess (and wouldn't until 2019's Hustlers), so seeing her don that red trenchcoat and fedora as the deliciously evil Carmen Sandiego would have been so epic.

Though, if I know the filmmakers, J-Lo's Carmen would probably be portrayed as either an anti-villainess or an anti-heroine, which would be cool in its own right. However, if it were up to me, Carmen would be an absolute bad-ass in a live action film--ruthless, evil, and very willing to get her hands dirty. Jennifer Lopez could definitely play that version of Carmen, but I can also see Eva Longoria and (especially) Roselyn Sanchez in that role as well. Another good choice: Camila Mendes. She would be truly golden! And yes, Carmen Sandiego is, and always has been, Latina. I've known that ever since I watched the PBS game shows.

When it comes to the recorded history of fictional villainesses, there doesn't seem to be enough emphasis on Carmen Sandiego. She is so immensely underrated, yet she is still quite legendary. I say this not only as a devout fan and enthusiast of villainesses for 30 years, but also as someone who grew up watching a number of Carmen Sandiego based shows. As today's generation has been saying in the name of female empowerment, "Put some respect on her name."