As long as I'm on about the supporting cast of Wonder Woman, there's one female character I really wish they'd add to it.
Ystina from Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight.
Can you imagine the effect Diana would have on someone like her? She's a young woman from an ancient Celtic society who hid her gender in order to become a warrior. (I believe the Queen's shown in armor in a flashback, but with Ystina's actions I think that's a strangeness.) Diana is female warrior of incredible prowess from a society of female warriors.
Not only that, Diana is an honest-to-gods Princess (with really impressive gold armor) and Ystina's a knight without a liege. There's no reason someone of Arthurian values and virtues wouldn't imprint on Wonder Woman and pledge their sword to her forever. Can you imagine Ystina exclaiming that she sees the light of Camelot in Diana's words and actions, then dramatically kneeling and holding her sword up to Diana to offer it in her service? This is a scene just waiting to happen.
On Diana's side, she would certainly understand coming from a warrior culture and finding yourself adjusting to the 21st Century USA. She's experienced this sort of culture shock before. As a warrior from an idealistic monarchy she'd understand many of Ystina's expectations. (But not so many that we wouldn't have some interesting confusion and disagreement between the two.) She'd be a fine mentor in addition to a liegelady, and she'd be that much needed emotional support for Ystina.
Of course, that might just be my fixation on Arthurian legends imprinting on Wonder Woman. Hippolyta, to me, seems very much a King Arthur figure. She's a great warrior in a leadership position, and she varies in her morality and alignment according to whatever point the writer wants to make. Phillipus is clearly Sir Kay the Seneschal, but the badass one of the early Welsh stories rather than the guy who got unhorsed by everyone in the Mallory books. Diana's our questing prince/princess/knight. She's out righting wrongs and spreading the Queen's justice in the wild lawless lands.
Really, the pre-Crisis adventures read a bit like those old romances. (And not just with the strange attitude towards characterization and logic.) You have the Knight and the lady who needs his help in those. They travel for a while and he solves her problem, having adventures along the way. Steve Trevor's like the lady who starts the quest. His career in military intelligence makes him the center of all sorts of problems, especially during the war when he was in constant danger of spies seeking information, and he will either seek out help from the Princess of the Amazons or by lucky coincidence be found and rescued by her. He's not just someone who tags along to be protected, he's either the initiator or the object of the quest. Just like the damsel in the old stories, who often accompanied the questing knight like Steve accompanies Diana.
Hell, the Amazons actually had a tournament to decide who would get the honor to escort him home. And that's the one time I absolutely want them to establish he's awake on the island (I wasn't too happy with movie-Steve being so active on Themiscyra, it seemed off to me), during the Tournament. I want someone to do that scene with Steve sitting in a little chair (with his feet on that gold rug they used Pre-Crisis to avoid activating the curse) by Hippolyta's side, anxiously watching the tournament.
That's right, just like Guinevere.
Not only that, I want him to give Diana a scrap of parachute material or his tie to carry during the tournament like ladies gave knights their scarves or sleeves. Any writer who did this I would love forever.
Since they aged and put Steve aside, Diana's been kind of like Gawain. She often has an opposite-sex companion on her quests, and it's a different person every writer. The Knight errant impression is still very strong to me post-Crisis. That's probably the nature of superheroes, though. They're a modern continuation of the same idea as the old Arthurian romances.
Except I think it's a bit stronger with Diana than fully modern-world heroes, because she's a traveling princess from an enchanted land over the sea. A traveling princess who rescues dudes in distress. From an enchanted land where they have tournaments over who can escort a man home.
Yeah. Ystina could be comfortable in this franchise.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Friday, March 04, 2011
The casting continues
They went ahead and cast the first male, Pedro Pascal as Ed Indelicato. So far, I don't know ANY of these actors but I like the characters they've chosen.
I'm always glad to see more Ed, actually. We don't get to see him too often because the Wonder Woman franchise has Rooster Syndrome. You have a lot of female characters usually only get one male character that's notable and active. And that character will be pushed to the side when they bring in another male character. Since they took Steve (still my all-time favorite rooster) off the board as the main love interest we've had a rotating Rooster chair. A lot of these guys (Mike Schorr, Trevor Barnes) didn't work for me. Others like older Steve, Micah, and Nemesis were pretty enjoyable. (Achilles I thought had the most potential, but they erased his timeline.)
So far my favorite post-Crisis rooster has been Ed. He's cynical, cranky, macho, and nurses a crush on Diana that will never develop into anything substantial between them. As a foil for Diana, he's got a lot of potential and I think he's been underused so that writers can focus on their own pet roosters. When Byrne moved them out of Boston, Ed got put on the shelf.
I actually saw him the the Ghost Annual (Annual #7) before I ever saw him in the Perez run. He was the viewpoint character. I liked his voice, it was that hardboiled down-on-his-luck cop stereotype. The narration underscored the effect she has on people, to hear this sort of guy go on about her idealism and energy. There was a moment when he gave her good news so she picked him up and twirled him around.
It freaks him out. I've kind of loved Ed ever since.
ETA: This show won't have rooster syndrome. They just cast a familiar face as another of the male characters. Still waiting on the Steve pick, though.
I'm always glad to see more Ed, actually. We don't get to see him too often because the Wonder Woman franchise has Rooster Syndrome. You have a lot of female characters usually only get one male character that's notable and active. And that character will be pushed to the side when they bring in another male character. Since they took Steve (still my all-time favorite rooster) off the board as the main love interest we've had a rotating Rooster chair. A lot of these guys (Mike Schorr, Trevor Barnes) didn't work for me. Others like older Steve, Micah, and Nemesis were pretty enjoyable. (Achilles I thought had the most potential, but they erased his timeline.)
So far my favorite post-Crisis rooster has been Ed. He's cynical, cranky, macho, and nurses a crush on Diana that will never develop into anything substantial between them. As a foil for Diana, he's got a lot of potential and I think he's been underused so that writers can focus on their own pet roosters. When Byrne moved them out of Boston, Ed got put on the shelf.
I actually saw him the the Ghost Annual (Annual #7) before I ever saw him in the Perez run. He was the viewpoint character. I liked his voice, it was that hardboiled down-on-his-luck cop stereotype. The narration underscored the effect she has on people, to hear this sort of guy go on about her idealism and energy. There was a moment when he gave her good news so she picked him up and twirled him around.
It freaks him out. I've kind of loved Ed ever since.
ETA: This show won't have rooster syndrome. They just cast a familiar face as another of the male characters. Still waiting on the Steve pick, though.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
More Wonder Woman Casting
And we have a Veronica Cale. This is really happening.
ETA: And an Etta Candy. Watch the Steve casting choice leak while I'm asleep tonight.
ETA: And an Etta Candy. Watch the Steve casting choice leak while I'm asleep tonight.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
You can always go home, but you can never go back.
My current obsession with Pre-Crisis Wonder Woman hasn't shifted my buying habits back to DC it seems. I have Avengers Academy, Heroes for Hire, and Captain America and the Falcon on my order this week.
That's pretty much the problem with DC's supposed Silver Age nostalgia. As much as they attempt to bring back the past setting, they're missing the spark. Here I am, a genuine Silver Age lover in the middle of a full-blown Silver Age Wonder Woman obsession and I have all Marvel on my list. For all their resurrections and realignments... I'm reading the reprints.
That's pretty much the problem with DC's supposed Silver Age nostalgia. As much as they attempt to bring back the past setting, they're missing the spark. Here I am, a genuine Silver Age lover in the middle of a full-blown Silver Age Wonder Woman obsession and I have all Marvel on my list. For all their resurrections and realignments... I'm reading the reprints.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Yeah, it's unnecessary.
DC Women Kicking Ass:
You might be surprised to hear this, because I rant about the Perez reboot and fervently wish they'd bring back her pre-Crisis male love interest, but DCW is right. There is nothing wrong with Wonder Woman. There is no reason we can't read great stories with the setup Perez gave her. I rave more about Marston and Kanigher reprints but I enjoyed the hell out of the Rucka and Simone runs. And as cheesy as the Byrne run was, it was still a blast. I liked reading Perez's stuff. I liked the William Messner-Loebs stuff. I.. Phil Jimenez had some okay moments.
And you know when I had the most fun with these writers? Not when they were tearing up the mythos (I am still super-pissed at Jiminez for offing Hippolyta and Perez for offing Hermes and removing so many pre-Crisis elements that worked), but when they were building the mythos. She does not need to be redefined all the time. There's plenty to write with there (Hell, I've got three different ways off the top of my head to bring back Steve and not change a damned thing about Diana's current setting--Yes, that's right, we can bring back love interest Steve and keep older Steve too if they get their heads out of their asses for once and remember they're writing a comic book) and plenty to work with. The strength of the stories relies on the skill of the writer, not something that's broken in her setup. If all your writer can do is raze the setting and start from scratch, find a new fucking writer.
"But it doesn't SELL" they whine. Yeah, because they don't ever push it like they do the crap that does. Because they don't aim it at women, the original intended audience for Wonder Woman.
Oh the bright side, it looks like they've wised up a bit. I don't know if I fully trust a variant, but it looks promising, doesn't it?
I am opposed to a new costume being part of the “Something is wrong with Wonder Woman” theme that I heard last year. As I said a few weeks ago on the 3 Chicks cast, “the only thing wrong with Wonder Woman is that they keep trying to fix her.”
You might be surprised to hear this, because I rant about the Perez reboot and fervently wish they'd bring back her pre-Crisis male love interest, but DCW is right. There is nothing wrong with Wonder Woman. There is no reason we can't read great stories with the setup Perez gave her. I rave more about Marston and Kanigher reprints but I enjoyed the hell out of the Rucka and Simone runs. And as cheesy as the Byrne run was, it was still a blast. I liked reading Perez's stuff. I liked the William Messner-Loebs stuff. I.. Phil Jimenez had some okay moments.
And you know when I had the most fun with these writers? Not when they were tearing up the mythos (I am still super-pissed at Jiminez for offing Hippolyta and Perez for offing Hermes and removing so many pre-Crisis elements that worked), but when they were building the mythos. She does not need to be redefined all the time. There's plenty to write with there (Hell, I've got three different ways off the top of my head to bring back Steve and not change a damned thing about Diana's current setting--Yes, that's right, we can bring back love interest Steve and keep older Steve too if they get their heads out of their asses for once and remember they're writing a comic book) and plenty to work with. The strength of the stories relies on the skill of the writer, not something that's broken in her setup. If all your writer can do is raze the setting and start from scratch, find a new fucking writer.
"But it doesn't SELL" they whine. Yeah, because they don't ever push it like they do the crap that does. Because they don't aim it at women, the original intended audience for Wonder Woman.
Oh the bright side, it looks like they've wised up a bit. I don't know if I fully trust a variant, but it looks promising, doesn't it?
Monday, February 28, 2011
They must've thought he was crazy.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
This is a bit much even in the Silver Age.
I understand that in order for genre fiction to work, the characters must have incredible timing and we will see many amazing coincidences and danger-prone people. That's why the smarter writers put their characters in jobs that help them find trouble, and their love interests incareers that get them into danger. (Lois Lane at the paper, Betty Ross in the FBI, Betty Dean on the police force...etc...)
Thing is, I always figured Steve Trevor had the amazing experience of landing on the secret island nation of Amazons and then a few weeks of recovery passed, and he got back to work before his next terrifying experience. His job was a brilliant pick, a military intelligence operative in the middle of World War II. There's no end to the amount of shit that he could get into and really the most unlikely thing was landing on that island. I just didn't realize, until I picked up my archives to read through them today, that he managed to get into trouble while recovering in the hospital.
Seriously, he doesn't get discharged until Sensation Comics #3. The three stories prior to that all center around Diana saving his life, though.
In All-Star Comics #8 she fishes him out of the ocean and nurses him until he's well enough to leave the island.
In Sensation Comics #1, they pick right up where they left off (and it's cute, because it has them talking in the plane, and her carrying him to the hospital) and he leaves the hospital because he gets some news about some threat to national security that only he can stop. (Some gas thing that I guess had something to do with info he already had.) Diana follows him, saves his ass, and is kinda surprised when he can't jump out of the way of danger as fast as she can so he gets even more hurt than before.
And in Sensation Comics #2, he's still in the hospital. Safe and sound, right? Nope, he gets kidnapped.
At least with Lois, we can kind of think that there's a gap between dangerous situations. This guy? He will be lying sick in the hospital and STILL find himself in trouble. No WONDER he was set on marrying Diana. It's for survival.
There's even a Silver Age story (Wonder Woman #101) where he bets her that if she saves his life three times in 24 hours she has to marry him. He's expecting to do dangerous test flights all day, and is disappointed when Gen. Darnell grounds him.
So he's pouting and she's giggling at first, then at lunch he sits in the sun for a quick nap. And...
That's right. A piece of a rocket falls from the sky and nearly kills him. Even Diana has an "Are you kidding me?" face at this.
This is a guy who (in both the Golden Age and the Silver Age) can nearly get himself killed in his sleep.
And then a gang of armed gunmen try to shoot him. Oh, and then he nearly drowns but Diana manages to keep her independence by saving him twenty minutes past the deadline.
So far, I can't find a Steve Trevor and Lois Lane team-up, but it must be a hell of a thing. Like sending the Scarlet Witch and Longshot into a casino.
Thing is, I always figured Steve Trevor had the amazing experience of landing on the secret island nation of Amazons and then a few weeks of recovery passed, and he got back to work before his next terrifying experience. His job was a brilliant pick, a military intelligence operative in the middle of World War II. There's no end to the amount of shit that he could get into and really the most unlikely thing was landing on that island. I just didn't realize, until I picked up my archives to read through them today, that he managed to get into trouble while recovering in the hospital.
Seriously, he doesn't get discharged until Sensation Comics #3. The three stories prior to that all center around Diana saving his life, though.
In All-Star Comics #8 she fishes him out of the ocean and nurses him until he's well enough to leave the island.
In Sensation Comics #1, they pick right up where they left off (and it's cute, because it has them talking in the plane, and her carrying him to the hospital) and he leaves the hospital because he gets some news about some threat to national security that only he can stop. (Some gas thing that I guess had something to do with info he already had.) Diana follows him, saves his ass, and is kinda surprised when he can't jump out of the way of danger as fast as she can so he gets even more hurt than before.
And in Sensation Comics #2, he's still in the hospital. Safe and sound, right? Nope, he gets kidnapped.
At least with Lois, we can kind of think that there's a gap between dangerous situations. This guy? He will be lying sick in the hospital and STILL find himself in trouble. No WONDER he was set on marrying Diana. It's for survival.
There's even a Silver Age story (Wonder Woman #101) where he bets her that if she saves his life three times in 24 hours she has to marry him. He's expecting to do dangerous test flights all day, and is disappointed when Gen. Darnell grounds him.
So he's pouting and she's giggling at first, then at lunch he sits in the sun for a quick nap. And...
That's right. A piece of a rocket falls from the sky and nearly kills him. Even Diana has an "Are you kidding me?" face at this.
This is a guy who (in both the Golden Age and the Silver Age) can nearly get himself killed in his sleep.
And then a gang of armed gunmen try to shoot him. Oh, and then he nearly drowns but Diana manages to keep her independence by saving him twenty minutes past the deadline.
So far, I can't find a Steve Trevor and Lois Lane team-up, but it must be a hell of a thing. Like sending the Scarlet Witch and Longshot into a casino.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Yeah, I'm still on about this guy.
Today's timewaster was a Steve Trevor tumblr. I've been bookmarking and saving so many panels the last couple weeks I just went ahead and set up a place to dump them. It's weird how stuff like this happens.
I always liked this character as a concept (and I've always found it deeply suspicious that the only prominent Silver Age love interest to get written away was the MALE character who had to be rescued by a female character), but until I looked through my stuff with an eye specifically for his parts I hadn't realized just how much I liked him as a character.
Wonder Woman's adventures tend to be divided between stuff in the US and stuff back on Themiscyra, and when it's set in the US (or starts there and goes to a special world) usually she has her boyfriend along for the ride. Sometimes she follows him, sometimes he follows her, but he's this really fun mixture of comedic sidekick, hapless eye-candy and love interest in the Silver Age.
He did get one leg up on a lot of female characters in that, being a male character, they let him actually fight and do stuff. Steve's a neat character in that he can and does take command of a situation when his girlfriend isn't around. He just seems to prefer to follow Wonder Woman's lead once she shows up, and this is something that shows up in Golden and Silver Age storylines. He's mostly looks and guts, but he's got some competence. I get the feeling a lot of people don't respect this character because they haven't really stopped and looked at anything with him in it.
I do find it pretty funny that I've spent several years making fun of Hal Jordan for getting bashed on the head, when there is this other character--who is not only a pilot but a MILITARY INTELLIGENCE EXPERT--who has a severe head injury in the origin story and gets conked on the head pretty much every appearance afterwards.
I strongly suspect the frequent head injuries are why he doesn't recognize his girlfriend, even when she is leaning over his bed saying "Take a CLOSE look, do you see ANY resemblance between me and Wonder Woman?" In retrospect, that might make the Diana Prince identity mean. The Golden Age story was she wanted to take care of him, the Silver Age story in issue #99 is that she wants to mess with his head, and the Silver Age story in #162 establishes that at first she wanted to care for him and then she got mad he didn't recognize her. To which I have to go "Umm... you were JUST worried about him having brain damage."
Fortunately, he is absolutely adorable when unconscious (a modern Endymion--which is a terribly creepy story when you think on it) and able to come up with something complimentary 99% of the time when regaining consciousness. And she thinks it's so admirable when he tries to do something brave, because he doesn't have any powers or equipment. It actually helps his love life that he gets knocked out so often.
I will be terribly disappointed if no one ever does a story with the Queen of Fables putting him to sleep, and Diana waking him up with a kiss.
I always liked this character as a concept (and I've always found it deeply suspicious that the only prominent Silver Age love interest to get written away was the MALE character who had to be rescued by a female character), but until I looked through my stuff with an eye specifically for his parts I hadn't realized just how much I liked him as a character.
Wonder Woman's adventures tend to be divided between stuff in the US and stuff back on Themiscyra, and when it's set in the US (or starts there and goes to a special world) usually she has her boyfriend along for the ride. Sometimes she follows him, sometimes he follows her, but he's this really fun mixture of comedic sidekick, hapless eye-candy and love interest in the Silver Age.
He did get one leg up on a lot of female characters in that, being a male character, they let him actually fight and do stuff. Steve's a neat character in that he can and does take command of a situation when his girlfriend isn't around. He just seems to prefer to follow Wonder Woman's lead once she shows up, and this is something that shows up in Golden and Silver Age storylines. He's mostly looks and guts, but he's got some competence. I get the feeling a lot of people don't respect this character because they haven't really stopped and looked at anything with him in it.
I do find it pretty funny that I've spent several years making fun of Hal Jordan for getting bashed on the head, when there is this other character--who is not only a pilot but a MILITARY INTELLIGENCE EXPERT--who has a severe head injury in the origin story and gets conked on the head pretty much every appearance afterwards.
I strongly suspect the frequent head injuries are why he doesn't recognize his girlfriend, even when she is leaning over his bed saying "Take a CLOSE look, do you see ANY resemblance between me and Wonder Woman?" In retrospect, that might make the Diana Prince identity mean. The Golden Age story was she wanted to take care of him, the Silver Age story in issue #99 is that she wants to mess with his head, and the Silver Age story in #162 establishes that at first she wanted to care for him and then she got mad he didn't recognize her. To which I have to go "Umm... you were JUST worried about him having brain damage."
Fortunately, he is absolutely adorable when unconscious (a modern Endymion--which is a terribly creepy story when you think on it) and able to come up with something complimentary 99% of the time when regaining consciousness. And she thinks it's so admirable when he tries to do something brave, because he doesn't have any powers or equipment. It actually helps his love life that he gets knocked out so often.
I will be terribly disappointed if no one ever does a story with the Queen of Fables putting him to sleep, and Diana waking him up with a kiss.
Friday, February 25, 2011
The Not So Many Loves of Wonder Woman: Aquaman
I never really got into Wonder Woman until Morrison's JLA (fortunately, the old TV series was in reruns on the scifi channel so I didn't have to just settle for the Byrne issues at the time) so the first love interest I ever saw for her was...
Aquaman.
Honestly, I'm one of Those Fans who only found Aquaman stomachable during the 90s when he ran around barechested and bearded with a hook hand. I think part of it was his role on the JLA, though. He was this grumpy anti-social complainer surrounded by optimists. Even though he was completely out of his watery element in most stories, he seemed to fit, seemed to serve a purpose.
And I did enjoy the little ongoing plot with Wonder Woman, where the two seemed to be old friends but he was secretly attracted to her. It had a few things going for it. One, it gave Aquaman a reason to be cranky but still come along. Two, it was the only dynamic like that: Morrison didn't really develop sexual tension between Diana and Superman or Batman, and while he had Flash and Green Lantern discuss how attractive she was they never really fixated on it. Three, it was almost completely one-sided.
I liked it because it added a bit of character to Aquaman but had no chance of going anywhere. Diana didn't seem to think of him that way, and his own storyline wasn't open to pursue this. He spent time suppressing his attraction to her and she rolled her eyes at him and told him to stop being such a pompous all the time. It was a touch of melodrama in the background of an action-driven series.
Of course, Diana's had a lot of admirers like this, where she's the love interest for some curmudgeonly dude who won't get anywhere with her for various reasons. It was the first one I ever saw, though.
It was also the first time I ever saw a scene where I thought "That simply doesn't work." That was in the Mark Waid storyline with the Queen of Fables.
There's a scene where Diana is discovered to be asleep, Snow White-style, and Wally and Kyle are standing over her trying to figure out who should kiss her. Aquaman steps up, pushes them aside and tells them it's a job for a prince. Then, in a lovely splash page, he kisses Diana.
It's meant to be one of those great moments, those little bits that justify Aquaman being on the league and drive home his personality but... it seemed wrong.
And I don't mean wrong as in "I have consent issues with this fairy tale" wrong, I mean wrong as in "Hey. Wonder Woman should not be kissed awake by Aquaman" wrong.
Really, it's the exact same wrongness that makes the Queen of Fables a great villain for Wonder Woman. This villain thinks Diana is Snow White, and Diana is as far from Snow White as possible. Yes, black-haired white princess known for being the "Fairest in the land", but in a narrative role? Diana's not a princess who is tied to the kingdom and rescued. She isn't someone who is the daughter out on a specific quest to end a curse. Diana is the character who leaves home to seek fame and fortune. She's supposed to find love, her destiny, and make a name for herself before she returns home to take the throne.
Yes, Diana is a princess who's a superhero, I cannot emphasize this sort of girl appeal enough. But in a fairy tale character role? Diana's not the princess in this setup. Diana's role is that of the prince.
Wonder Woman doesn't get kissed by to life. Wonder Woman is the one who kisses the cursed character back to life.
And I enjoyed the storyline, and I like the villain who caused it, but that moment did change something for me. I didn't like Aquaman and Wonder Woman sexual tension anymore. His "stepping up to the plate" moment really suited his character but just jarred with Wonder Woman's natural place in the narrative. It broke the entire dynamic for me. It just seemed wrong.
I think, actually, it would have seemed less wrong with Wally or Kyle because neither had the same tension prior. Wally or Kyle would have just been "Oh man, I hope this works" with some teasing from Diana after. With Aquaman, it was this opportunity he'd wished for the entire series. The chance to swoop in and be Diana's Prince. It was basically his shot at being a man and winning her, and really Diana isn't a character you "Win" by being a traditional male hero who saves the girl. It would be disservice to her if that were to work. Fortunately, I think the editors and writers who thought this would be cool looked at that and went "Yeah... let's try Wonder Woman and Batman instead."
Honestly, I'm one of Those Fans who only found Aquaman stomachable during the 90s when he ran around barechested and bearded with a hook hand. I think part of it was his role on the JLA, though. He was this grumpy anti-social complainer surrounded by optimists. Even though he was completely out of his watery element in most stories, he seemed to fit, seemed to serve a purpose.
And I did enjoy the little ongoing plot with Wonder Woman, where the two seemed to be old friends but he was secretly attracted to her. It had a few things going for it. One, it gave Aquaman a reason to be cranky but still come along. Two, it was the only dynamic like that: Morrison didn't really develop sexual tension between Diana and Superman or Batman, and while he had Flash and Green Lantern discuss how attractive she was they never really fixated on it. Three, it was almost completely one-sided.
I liked it because it added a bit of character to Aquaman but had no chance of going anywhere. Diana didn't seem to think of him that way, and his own storyline wasn't open to pursue this. He spent time suppressing his attraction to her and she rolled her eyes at him and told him to stop being such a pompous all the time. It was a touch of melodrama in the background of an action-driven series.
Of course, Diana's had a lot of admirers like this, where she's the love interest for some curmudgeonly dude who won't get anywhere with her for various reasons. It was the first one I ever saw, though.
It was also the first time I ever saw a scene where I thought "That simply doesn't work." That was in the Mark Waid storyline with the Queen of Fables.
There's a scene where Diana is discovered to be asleep, Snow White-style, and Wally and Kyle are standing over her trying to figure out who should kiss her. Aquaman steps up, pushes them aside and tells them it's a job for a prince. Then, in a lovely splash page, he kisses Diana.
It's meant to be one of those great moments, those little bits that justify Aquaman being on the league and drive home his personality but... it seemed wrong.
And I don't mean wrong as in "I have consent issues with this fairy tale" wrong, I mean wrong as in "Hey. Wonder Woman should not be kissed awake by Aquaman" wrong.
Really, it's the exact same wrongness that makes the Queen of Fables a great villain for Wonder Woman. This villain thinks Diana is Snow White, and Diana is as far from Snow White as possible. Yes, black-haired white princess known for being the "Fairest in the land", but in a narrative role? Diana's not a princess who is tied to the kingdom and rescued. She isn't someone who is the daughter out on a specific quest to end a curse. Diana is the character who leaves home to seek fame and fortune. She's supposed to find love, her destiny, and make a name for herself before she returns home to take the throne.
Yes, Diana is a princess who's a superhero, I cannot emphasize this sort of girl appeal enough. But in a fairy tale character role? Diana's not the princess in this setup. Diana's role is that of the prince.
Wonder Woman doesn't get kissed by to life. Wonder Woman is the one who kisses the cursed character back to life.
And I enjoyed the storyline, and I like the villain who caused it, but that moment did change something for me. I didn't like Aquaman and Wonder Woman sexual tension anymore. His "stepping up to the plate" moment really suited his character but just jarred with Wonder Woman's natural place in the narrative. It broke the entire dynamic for me. It just seemed wrong.
I think, actually, it would have seemed less wrong with Wally or Kyle because neither had the same tension prior. Wally or Kyle would have just been "Oh man, I hope this works" with some teasing from Diana after. With Aquaman, it was this opportunity he'd wished for the entire series. The chance to swoop in and be Diana's Prince. It was basically his shot at being a man and winning her, and really Diana isn't a character you "Win" by being a traditional male hero who saves the girl. It would be disservice to her if that were to work. Fortunately, I think the editors and writers who thought this would be cool looked at that and went "Yeah... let's try Wonder Woman and Batman instead."
Thursday, February 24, 2011
A typical flight for Col. Trevor
From Wonder Woman #107, Gunslingers of Space!
I don't know how the industry at the time showed enough restraint to pass up a Silver Age team-up of Lois Lane and Steve Trevor, but if they were to appear in the same panel could anything less than the complete and total destruction of the DCU be the result?
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
This is not an effective way to recapture the Golden Age appeal of Wonder Woman
Dustin Nguyen's Generation Lost #22 variant:
I'm not particularly angered by this. Don't get me wrong, I don't like it, but I'm long past outrage in this category. There's a long tradition of covers where Diana or another character is tied up with the lasso, that's just the nature of a story where the main character uses a lasso as a weapon.
And, of course, there's the infamous "bondage theme".
Honestly, I hate to address the "bondage theme" because the Internet and the Comics Industry have the same weakness here. A lot of people out there don't understand nuance and complexity. A lot of people out there don't understand that sexuality was simply an element of the Golden Age Wonder Woman, and that her appeal and her effect went far beyond crackshit pop Freudian analysis. A lot of people don't understand that yes, this character was intended for little girls, and that the bondage play elements had symbolism beyond the puerile ideal that everything that with a wink or a nod indicates that sex is the foundation.
So I'm going in here today, and possibly in the next few posts, and I'm going to say flat out that acknowledging a sexual element does not mean the same as reducing everything to sex, that acknowledging sexuality in a female character does not mean that the character is intended solely for the male gaze, and that if you respond to any of my posts with anything along the lines of "hruh, hruh, bondage means she's there to get tied up" couched in pseudointellectualism I'm going to save myself the time and right now call you a shallow, posturing idiot and unworthy of my time. That will be why you don't get a response from me.
Now that that's out of the way, yes there was tying up of people and all sorts of giggly subtext in Wonder Woman. Yes, there was a sexual element--her freaking patroness is Aphrodite--and it was part of the fun. And yes, I think it is absolutely absurd that a follower of Aphrodite who started out with such a bright and playful subtext back in the 40s is consigned to Eternal Virginity in the modern era.
Here's the thing, much as we see Diana in perilous situations where she gets tied up, if you wait a couple panels she always ALWAYS breaks free. It was a not-so-subtle commentary on women in society, how they allow themselves to be restrained and restricted by men. Wonder Woman breaking free of her enemies was symbolic of women finding their strength and breaking free of patriarchal rule. Every misstep, every capture, every humiliating and titillating position was to reinforce that, which is why it always ended with her breaking free before she or her friends got hurt.
And every time I see some moron argue that bondage covers are a tradition and were just there as a sneaky-sexy to sell a female character, I want to scream at everyone: THE BONDAGE IS A GIANT METAPHOR FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS, YOU GAPING SIMPLISTIC MORONS. IT IS NOT JUST THERE FOR YOU TO WANK OFF ON.
That is, of course, not to say that you can't wank off on it... That's your business and yes, there is an element of sexuality to be found in many stories (about everything, not just Wonder Woman and not just superheroes). I'm saying if you do, keep it to yourself and don't insist that we all see that as the end-all-be-all to it, or that greater themes should be sacrificed in the service of sexualization. Fetish material is not the foundation, the point, or all there is to Wonder Woman.
In the DCWKA thread, someone said that cover looked like something Marston would've submitted, and while I initially agreed I'm going have to take that back. It looks considerably more humiliating and mean-spirited than anything from the Golden Age. Danger and restraint in a Marston story served to set up the triumph at the end and there was a hint of that optimism in the Peters art.
Of course, I may just look unkindly upon it because there are other elements to the stories and covers of the Golden Age that we'd be guaranteed if we saw Wonder Woman tied up with her own lasso. Elements that would drive home the true theme. We'd have Diana breaking free of the trap, through her own wits and strength. We'd have a group of women who are oppressed by the villain, and we would know that Diana would inspire them to join forces and overtake the villain. And we'd have the main male character in the story trapped and humiliated right along with her, to show that men are oppressed by the same worldview that constrains women. (Key point here: He doesn't free her, she frees him.)
As Generation Lost is a Judd Winick story, I expect to see none of that in this book. And there's no power and joy in this image of Diana here.
Really, that's one thing that seems to have been cut from Wonder Woman covers and appearances all around. Power and joy. She's supposed to be a woman in charge of her life who loves the universe and everyone in it. Even bound up with her own weapon, she's supposed to carry that effect. Seems everyone remembers they can tie her up, but few remember that in the end she's supposed to take control. She's supposed to win in the end. (Also, she's supposed to be the Dom.) Thing is, lately in the writing she often doesn't win in the end. This has gotten so pervasive that nowadays we don't really trust a Wonder Woman story to be uplifting, and we certainly don't trust the covers to carry any message other than "this is hot".
I'm not particularly angered by this. Don't get me wrong, I don't like it, but I'm long past outrage in this category. There's a long tradition of covers where Diana or another character is tied up with the lasso, that's just the nature of a story where the main character uses a lasso as a weapon.
And, of course, there's the infamous "bondage theme".
Honestly, I hate to address the "bondage theme" because the Internet and the Comics Industry have the same weakness here. A lot of people out there don't understand nuance and complexity. A lot of people out there don't understand that sexuality was simply an element of the Golden Age Wonder Woman, and that her appeal and her effect went far beyond crackshit pop Freudian analysis. A lot of people don't understand that yes, this character was intended for little girls, and that the bondage play elements had symbolism beyond the puerile ideal that everything that with a wink or a nod indicates that sex is the foundation.
So I'm going in here today, and possibly in the next few posts, and I'm going to say flat out that acknowledging a sexual element does not mean the same as reducing everything to sex, that acknowledging sexuality in a female character does not mean that the character is intended solely for the male gaze, and that if you respond to any of my posts with anything along the lines of "hruh, hruh, bondage means she's there to get tied up" couched in pseudointellectualism I'm going to save myself the time and right now call you a shallow, posturing idiot and unworthy of my time. That will be why you don't get a response from me.
Now that that's out of the way, yes there was tying up of people and all sorts of giggly subtext in Wonder Woman. Yes, there was a sexual element--her freaking patroness is Aphrodite--and it was part of the fun. And yes, I think it is absolutely absurd that a follower of Aphrodite who started out with such a bright and playful subtext back in the 40s is consigned to Eternal Virginity in the modern era.
Here's the thing, much as we see Diana in perilous situations where she gets tied up, if you wait a couple panels she always ALWAYS breaks free. It was a not-so-subtle commentary on women in society, how they allow themselves to be restrained and restricted by men. Wonder Woman breaking free of her enemies was symbolic of women finding their strength and breaking free of patriarchal rule. Every misstep, every capture, every humiliating and titillating position was to reinforce that, which is why it always ended with her breaking free before she or her friends got hurt.
And every time I see some moron argue that bondage covers are a tradition and were just there as a sneaky-sexy to sell a female character, I want to scream at everyone: THE BONDAGE IS A GIANT METAPHOR FOR WOMEN'S RIGHTS, YOU GAPING SIMPLISTIC MORONS. IT IS NOT JUST THERE FOR YOU TO WANK OFF ON.
That is, of course, not to say that you can't wank off on it... That's your business and yes, there is an element of sexuality to be found in many stories (about everything, not just Wonder Woman and not just superheroes). I'm saying if you do, keep it to yourself and don't insist that we all see that as the end-all-be-all to it, or that greater themes should be sacrificed in the service of sexualization. Fetish material is not the foundation, the point, or all there is to Wonder Woman.
In the DCWKA thread, someone said that cover looked like something Marston would've submitted, and while I initially agreed I'm going have to take that back. It looks considerably more humiliating and mean-spirited than anything from the Golden Age. Danger and restraint in a Marston story served to set up the triumph at the end and there was a hint of that optimism in the Peters art.
Of course, I may just look unkindly upon it because there are other elements to the stories and covers of the Golden Age that we'd be guaranteed if we saw Wonder Woman tied up with her own lasso. Elements that would drive home the true theme. We'd have Diana breaking free of the trap, through her own wits and strength. We'd have a group of women who are oppressed by the villain, and we would know that Diana would inspire them to join forces and overtake the villain. And we'd have the main male character in the story trapped and humiliated right along with her, to show that men are oppressed by the same worldview that constrains women. (Key point here: He doesn't free her, she frees him.)
As Generation Lost is a Judd Winick story, I expect to see none of that in this book. And there's no power and joy in this image of Diana here.
Really, that's one thing that seems to have been cut from Wonder Woman covers and appearances all around. Power and joy. She's supposed to be a woman in charge of her life who loves the universe and everyone in it. Even bound up with her own weapon, she's supposed to carry that effect. Seems everyone remembers they can tie her up, but few remember that in the end she's supposed to take control. She's supposed to win in the end. (Also, she's supposed to be the Dom.) Thing is, lately in the writing she often doesn't win in the end. This has gotten so pervasive that nowadays we don't really trust a Wonder Woman story to be uplifting, and we certainly don't trust the covers to carry any message other than "this is hot".
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
I'm speechless
CBR:
CBR News has learned that comic writer, animation producer and respected industry veteran Dwayne McDuffie passed away. The cause of death and specific details are unknown at this time.This is a huge loss. He was behind some of the best animation we've seen in recent years and one of the most creative minds in the industry.
Monday, February 21, 2011
A Pitiful Pool of Prospective Paramours
Steve Trevor wasn't the only Silver Age love interest, but he was honestly--even in 1958 when they actually let him almost outsmart her--the most likable. Our other options were usually villains or...
Mer-man.
He's Diana's teen romance from when he was Mer-Boy. He used to try to protect her underwater and she would save his ass. He used to fight with Bird-boy over her. He used to follow the dumbass advice of dumbass Mermaids about how girls were all alike and fuck up courting her because Amazons are immune to that shit. Of course since Wonder Girl became Donna Troy, I guess the Mer-Boy and Bird-boy fighting over her experience went to Donna. Maybe? And I think post-Crisis they've all been replaced by Aquaman, but I'm not sure.
What I am sure of is that I fucking hate Mer-man. Mer-man's sole purpose is to create a Lana Lang-style love triangle and have them fight over Wonder Woman like a prize. (The lead story in issue 125 is actually called "Wonder Woman--Battle Prize") He also tries to rush in and save her from situations she's perfectly capable of handling herself. I'll give you that Steve does this too, but he seems a lot more inclined to sit back and just keep within eyesight. Mer-man actually tells her not to do things like he knows better. Then he gets his ass saved by her.
Really, just take all of Steve's Silver Age Rough-Around-the-Edges Macho Flaws and multiply them by 10. That is Mer-man.
And when Steve encounters Mer-man, take his competitive pigheadedness and watch it multiply all of HIS flaws by 10.
Then add pissed off Hippolyta telling them they're a bunch of idiots.
Mer-man does suffer from a problem Steve doesn't, which is that he doesn't appear often enough for there to be many stories to offset when he acts like a jackass. Steve can be a pushy jerk because he's around next story being loyal and supportive, and telling her how awesome she is and that she always saves his life. We get to see Steve remember that Wonder Woman is more capable than him often enough that it actually seems endearing when he tosses himself into danger to help her. Mer-man... just acts like an asshole, and seems to not ever remember that she is considerably more powerful than he is.
Really, because of this pigheaded arrogance the competition stories have the option of being very funny. For example, in #125 Mer-man (without asking) grabs Diana and (without asking) jumps into the ocean to show off underwater because he has the advantage there. Steve gets annoyed and follows. Diana watches Mer-man fight a swordfish, then sees Steve is losing oxygen and consciousness looking for her and rescues him. Mer-man follows them to land where Steve beats up a gorilla, and Mer-man gets captured by a giant bird. Diana saves his ass. That's... actually pretty funny.
Except at the end of the story (and all of these stupid competition stories with Steve and Mer-man or Mer-Boy and Bird-brainboy) she doesn't tell them they're idiots and send them packing. She tells them she likes them both, and then looks at the audience and asks how she could possibly choose between the two. Which is bullshit. They both suck in these stories.
"How can I choose?" Don't. Send them both packing, then go to the Superman franchise and ask Lois out. Maybe you'll hit it off and give Clark a break from this sort of shit too. At the very least you'll get a nice meal and some entertaining company while Steve follows you around with his adorable pilot's hat in his hand begging you to talk to him again.
He's Diana's teen romance from when he was Mer-Boy. He used to try to protect her underwater and she would save his ass. He used to fight with Bird-boy over her. He used to follow the dumbass advice of dumbass Mermaids about how girls were all alike and fuck up courting her because Amazons are immune to that shit. Of course since Wonder Girl became Donna Troy, I guess the Mer-Boy and Bird-boy fighting over her experience went to Donna. Maybe? And I think post-Crisis they've all been replaced by Aquaman, but I'm not sure.
What I am sure of is that I fucking hate Mer-man. Mer-man's sole purpose is to create a Lana Lang-style love triangle and have them fight over Wonder Woman like a prize. (The lead story in issue 125 is actually called "Wonder Woman--Battle Prize") He also tries to rush in and save her from situations she's perfectly capable of handling herself. I'll give you that Steve does this too, but he seems a lot more inclined to sit back and just keep within eyesight. Mer-man actually tells her not to do things like he knows better. Then he gets his ass saved by her.
Really, just take all of Steve's Silver Age Rough-Around-the-Edges Macho Flaws and multiply them by 10. That is Mer-man.
And when Steve encounters Mer-man, take his competitive pigheadedness and watch it multiply all of HIS flaws by 10.
Then add pissed off Hippolyta telling them they're a bunch of idiots.
Mer-man does suffer from a problem Steve doesn't, which is that he doesn't appear often enough for there to be many stories to offset when he acts like a jackass. Steve can be a pushy jerk because he's around next story being loyal and supportive, and telling her how awesome she is and that she always saves his life. We get to see Steve remember that Wonder Woman is more capable than him often enough that it actually seems endearing when he tosses himself into danger to help her. Mer-man... just acts like an asshole, and seems to not ever remember that she is considerably more powerful than he is.
Really, because of this pigheaded arrogance the competition stories have the option of being very funny. For example, in #125 Mer-man (without asking) grabs Diana and (without asking) jumps into the ocean to show off underwater because he has the advantage there. Steve gets annoyed and follows. Diana watches Mer-man fight a swordfish, then sees Steve is losing oxygen and consciousness looking for her and rescues him. Mer-man follows them to land where Steve beats up a gorilla, and Mer-man gets captured by a giant bird. Diana saves his ass. That's... actually pretty funny.
Except at the end of the story (and all of these stupid competition stories with Steve and Mer-man or Mer-Boy and Bird-
"How can I choose?" Don't. Send them both packing, then go to the Superman franchise and ask Lois out. Maybe you'll hit it off and give Clark a break from this sort of shit too. At the very least you'll get a nice meal and some entertaining company while Steve follows you around with his adorable pilot's hat in his hand begging you to talk to him again.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The Mirage Mirror
The backup story in Wonder Woman #130 is a simply amazing secret identity story. It features Diana, Hippolyta and Steve behaving without a shred of logic between the three of them. It may be one of the most enjoyable things I have ever read.
It starts out with a sequence about Diana asking Steve out on a date. Now, think about these three panels for a minute.
Each time Steve answers that he has a prior engagement with Wonder Woman. Diana actually went to the trouble to make a date with Steve and then change into her alter ego to ask him out at the same time.
This would make sense if she just wanted to see if he'd break a date with her, but no... she actually wants him to break a date with her and go out with her.
Eventually he does accept a date (probably because she asked when she hadn't already made plans with him) but doesn't put out any illusions about actually being interested in Diana romantically. Instead, he hangs out with her and talks about how awesome Wonder Woman is.
This really bothers her, because she feels like he's ignoring her... as he talks about awesome she is.
And I know some people read this and go "Wow, what a freaking jerk, going out with her and talking about another girl the whole time" but you gotta remember... he is actually dating Wonder Woman and she knew this before she asked him to spend the afternoon with her. Hell, as far as he knows, she is his girlfriend's best friend. Either he and the princess are in a very open relationship (which is likely) and he's Silver Age style tactless (which he is anyway, and it is hilarious), or he thinks that they are just spending time together as friends (which is also pretty likely when you take into account Steve Trevor's incredible mental density).
See, Secret Identities are a great idea to protect your loved ones but the way Diana is set up she doesn't need it. Her mother is on Paradise Island and she is openly dating Steve in her superhero identity. So in the Silver Age, the Diana Prince identity exists to try and convince Steve Trevor to cheat on Wonder Woman with Diana Prince.
And when he doesn't... she gets upset.
And when he does go out with Diana, but proceeds to be completely honest with both women about who he really loves... she gets upset.
Now, there's a few ways to simplify her life here (and for all I know they've all been addressed in those parts of the archives I haven't had a shot at) based on what she really wants. If she wants Steve to love her in the Diana Prince identity, she can simply turn down his romantic invitations as Wonder Woman and catch him on the rebound in her Diana Prince identity. She has no problem with saying no to a marriage proposal, but for some reason she is always meeting him for walks in the park and going for drives in his car.
If she wants Steve to love her for her true self, she can stop asking him out in the Diana Prince identity and just date him as Wonder Woman, which is her real self, the way she met him, the persona that's associated with her actual family and history and not a purchased or completely fabricated false identity. The Diana Prince identity can be used to give her a break from celebrity, give her access to information she needs to fight evil, and give her a chance to watch over her boyfriend and best friend incognito. (This is how they pulled it in the TV show, and Diana was simply flattered when Steve went on about Wonder Woman to her and Etta.) But she doesn't do that, she fixates on getting her to love her with glasses.
If she just suspects he's shallow... Well, this isn't going to help because the two women are identical with the exception of glasses. (Kalinara's theory is Steve assumes he's imaging the resemblance because he loves Wonder Woman so much. I must admit, this is a stupid enough thought that Steve Trevor might be thinking it.)
For some reason (the writers) she decides not to simplify her life. Instead, she decides to teach him a lesson. How dare he be totally upfront with two women! How dare he go on about how much he loves her!
To that end, she goes to her mother for help. It turns out that Hippolyta pulled the same thing when she was dating Hercules. (Yes, Silver Age Hippolyta dated Hercules.) It must be some weird Amazon ritual for hazing male suitors.
And because Hercules, when dating a no-name Amazon warrior who never took her helmet off, went on and on about how beautiful the Queen was Hippolyta decided to fuck with his head a bit. She produces a magic mirror that will temporarily change her appearance when she and her suitor look in it together. Hercules is sufficiently weirded out that he focuses on the no-name Amazon warrior afterwards.
In the meantime, Steve has tickets to a charity carnival and can't find Wonder Woman. So he, making clear that he's only asking because his girlfriend isn't around, asks Diana to go. She's so happy she calls off the trick.
And that's when we get to a sequence that has made me love Steve Trevor and his dense, tactless, clueless Silver Age love interest brain forever.
"I'll have to wiggle out of my date with Diana Prince" He doesn't think that. He says it out loud on the phone with Wonder Woman. (And "mistake her voice for Wonder Woman's"? What the fuck? Is the writer as confused by the dual identities as Diana and Steve are?)
And she gets mad, but doesn't let him know.
Still, they are clearly in an established open relationship. He'll tell her right to her face that he's made dates with other women, and she doesn't yell at him for it. (And no, she's not afraid to tell him when she's mad at him. See issue #127 when he tells her his dream about being married to her was horrible.)
And that's not the best part... Look at what Steve thinks "wiggle out" means:
That's right, to Steve Trevor, wiggling out of a date means telling the girl up front that he found a date with another girl that he thinks is prettier. Bear in mind, before he asked her out (and judging by Diana's pleased reaction this was the first time he'd ever taken the initiative and asked Diana Prince out) he said it was because he couldn't find this girl and he had those tickets.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Most Honest Man in Comics.
And yeah, that was a pretty fucking tactless way to break a date. It's more clueless than mean, though, because it seems like he thinks he's going easy on her. "EVERY woman looks bad compared to this girl, not just you." This man does not suspect for a second that these two women are the same person. (Unlike Lois.) He is really just too dumb to hate. (And he's so cute in his little pilot outfit. I love how he wears that everywhere in this era.) I suppose I should feel bad for Diana... if this whole thing weren't something she set up. I love Diana but honestly, she's being pretty bad in this issue. Besides, she's getting upset at hearing how awesome she is. It's pointless to pity that. (I don't feel sorry for Clark either.) She's just not cut out for this secret identity thing.
So anyway, he ditches her.. for her... and goes to the carnival where Diana's set up the magic mirror in the fun house. She makes herself look very fat, Steve is bothered but polite about it, and then some villains attack so she kicks their ass as a fat lady. Then she turns back, and he's relieved. Then she makes herself very tall and thin and long-necked. He's freaked out now. Bad guys attack, she fights them off.
Steve's weirded out and pretty scared by the whole thing, so he walks away. She gets mad. Clearly he left her because she was ugly and not because he needs to lie down for a bit or get his eyes checked out.
Or even because he's in trouble, because god knows he doesn't get knocked out and kidnapped every time she's not watching.
To be fair, Steve is shallow. That kind of goes with being not smart. He's also tactless as hell. That also goes with being not smart. I think it's pretty funny, because just about everyone is pretty dumb and tactless in the Silver Age.
Really, the big thing to be annoyed at is how PRESUMPTUOUS he is. He just assumes Wonder Woman and he have a standing date. Of course, in other issues when she lets him know she's mad he is instantly apologetic so this is something she could take care of if she wants to. That's writers forgetting Diana comes from a society where women get to speak up when they're offended. It's a character flaw of Steve's, but something correctable in-story.
Anyway, I will give Diana that she ends this story on the best possible note. Lucky her, she has a friend who understands the need to screw with your significant other's head from time to time.
It starts out with a sequence about Diana asking Steve out on a date. Now, think about these three panels for a minute.
Each time Steve answers that he has a prior engagement with Wonder Woman. Diana actually went to the trouble to make a date with Steve and then change into her alter ego to ask him out at the same time.
This would make sense if she just wanted to see if he'd break a date with her, but no... she actually wants him to break a date with her and go out with her.
Eventually he does accept a date (probably because she asked when she hadn't already made plans with him) but doesn't put out any illusions about actually being interested in Diana romantically. Instead, he hangs out with her and talks about how awesome Wonder Woman is.
This really bothers her, because she feels like he's ignoring her... as he talks about awesome she is.
And I know some people read this and go "Wow, what a freaking jerk, going out with her and talking about another girl the whole time" but you gotta remember... he is actually dating Wonder Woman and she knew this before she asked him to spend the afternoon with her. Hell, as far as he knows, she is his girlfriend's best friend. Either he and the princess are in a very open relationship (which is likely) and he's Silver Age style tactless (which he is anyway, and it is hilarious), or he thinks that they are just spending time together as friends (which is also pretty likely when you take into account Steve Trevor's incredible mental density).
See, Secret Identities are a great idea to protect your loved ones but the way Diana is set up she doesn't need it. Her mother is on Paradise Island and she is openly dating Steve in her superhero identity. So in the Silver Age, the Diana Prince identity exists to try and convince Steve Trevor to cheat on Wonder Woman with Diana Prince.
And when he doesn't... she gets upset.
And when he does go out with Diana, but proceeds to be completely honest with both women about who he really loves... she gets upset.
Now, there's a few ways to simplify her life here (and for all I know they've all been addressed in those parts of the archives I haven't had a shot at) based on what she really wants. If she wants Steve to love her in the Diana Prince identity, she can simply turn down his romantic invitations as Wonder Woman and catch him on the rebound in her Diana Prince identity. She has no problem with saying no to a marriage proposal, but for some reason she is always meeting him for walks in the park and going for drives in his car.
If she wants Steve to love her for her true self, she can stop asking him out in the Diana Prince identity and just date him as Wonder Woman, which is her real self, the way she met him, the persona that's associated with her actual family and history and not a purchased or completely fabricated false identity. The Diana Prince identity can be used to give her a break from celebrity, give her access to information she needs to fight evil, and give her a chance to watch over her boyfriend and best friend incognito. (This is how they pulled it in the TV show, and Diana was simply flattered when Steve went on about Wonder Woman to her and Etta.) But she doesn't do that, she fixates on getting her to love her with glasses.
If she just suspects he's shallow... Well, this isn't going to help because the two women are identical with the exception of glasses. (Kalinara's theory is Steve assumes he's imaging the resemblance because he loves Wonder Woman so much. I must admit, this is a stupid enough thought that Steve Trevor might be thinking it.)
For some reason (the writers) she decides not to simplify her life. Instead, she decides to teach him a lesson. How dare he be totally upfront with two women! How dare he go on about how much he loves her!
To that end, she goes to her mother for help. It turns out that Hippolyta pulled the same thing when she was dating Hercules. (Yes, Silver Age Hippolyta dated Hercules.) It must be some weird Amazon ritual for hazing male suitors.
And because Hercules, when dating a no-name Amazon warrior who never took her helmet off, went on and on about how beautiful the Queen was Hippolyta decided to fuck with his head a bit. She produces a magic mirror that will temporarily change her appearance when she and her suitor look in it together. Hercules is sufficiently weirded out that he focuses on the no-name Amazon warrior afterwards.
In the meantime, Steve has tickets to a charity carnival and can't find Wonder Woman. So he, making clear that he's only asking because his girlfriend isn't around, asks Diana to go. She's so happy she calls off the trick.
And that's when we get to a sequence that has made me love Steve Trevor and his dense, tactless, clueless Silver Age love interest brain forever.
"I'll have to wiggle out of my date with Diana Prince" He doesn't think that. He says it out loud on the phone with Wonder Woman. (And "mistake her voice for Wonder Woman's"? What the fuck? Is the writer as confused by the dual identities as Diana and Steve are?)
And she gets mad, but doesn't let him know.
Still, they are clearly in an established open relationship. He'll tell her right to her face that he's made dates with other women, and she doesn't yell at him for it. (And no, she's not afraid to tell him when she's mad at him. See issue #127 when he tells her his dream about being married to her was horrible.)
And that's not the best part... Look at what Steve thinks "wiggle out" means:
That's right, to Steve Trevor, wiggling out of a date means telling the girl up front that he found a date with another girl that he thinks is prettier. Bear in mind, before he asked her out (and judging by Diana's pleased reaction this was the first time he'd ever taken the initiative and asked Diana Prince out) he said it was because he couldn't find this girl and he had those tickets.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Most Honest Man in Comics.
And yeah, that was a pretty fucking tactless way to break a date. It's more clueless than mean, though, because it seems like he thinks he's going easy on her. "EVERY woman looks bad compared to this girl, not just you." This man does not suspect for a second that these two women are the same person. (Unlike Lois.) He is really just too dumb to hate. (And he's so cute in his little pilot outfit. I love how he wears that everywhere in this era.) I suppose I should feel bad for Diana... if this whole thing weren't something she set up. I love Diana but honestly, she's being pretty bad in this issue. Besides, she's getting upset at hearing how awesome she is. It's pointless to pity that. (I don't feel sorry for Clark either.) She's just not cut out for this secret identity thing.
So anyway, he ditches her.. for her... and goes to the carnival where Diana's set up the magic mirror in the fun house. She makes herself look very fat, Steve is bothered but polite about it, and then some villains attack so she kicks their ass as a fat lady. Then she turns back, and he's relieved. Then she makes herself very tall and thin and long-necked. He's freaked out now. Bad guys attack, she fights them off.
Steve's weirded out and pretty scared by the whole thing, so he walks away. She gets mad. Clearly he left her because she was ugly and not because he needs to lie down for a bit or get his eyes checked out.
Or even because he's in trouble, because god knows he doesn't get knocked out and kidnapped every time she's not watching.
To be fair, Steve is shallow. That kind of goes with being not smart. He's also tactless as hell. That also goes with being not smart. I think it's pretty funny, because just about everyone is pretty dumb and tactless in the Silver Age.
Really, the big thing to be annoyed at is how PRESUMPTUOUS he is. He just assumes Wonder Woman and he have a standing date. Of course, in other issues when she lets him know she's mad he is instantly apologetic so this is something she could take care of if she wants to. That's writers forgetting Diana comes from a society where women get to speak up when they're offended. It's a character flaw of Steve's, but something correctable in-story.
Anyway, I will give Diana that she ends this story on the best possible note. Lucky her, she has a friend who understands the need to screw with your significant other's head from time to time.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
This was actually a good love interest for the embodiment of truth.
So rather than do anything productive I've been picking through my pre-Crisis Wonder Woman reprints for Steve heavy stories, trying to pinpoint exactly what made Steve so unlikable to other fans. I mean, my first exposure to the character was reruns of the television show, where he was this smiling (everyone on that show smiled a lot), sweet, optimistic man without a shred of malice or deceit. Maybe that had tinted my view of the old comics.
Thing is, I have yet to come across a particularly assholish piece of behavior. (And yes, this includes the famous dream sequence in #127 where he thinks of all the downsides to marrying a career superhero.) There's a storyline where they have a fight in the 70s because he just came from the dead and thinks she's babying him too much, and some sprinklings of the sort of sexism you see from EVERY male character in the Silver Age but ultimately, I still like him a lot. This is another one of those characters that makes me smile every time he is onpanel.
I will give you, there is one very weird story where he's about to go on a dangerous mission and won't see Wonder Woman before he leaves... so he asks Diana Prince to pretend to be her so he can make believe he had a last day with his girlfriend. It is the sort of crazy that comes about solely because they need a secret identity story, with him not giving her a chance to slip out of his sight during the story. I also think it came about because he's just not as smart as Lois Lane, so they couldn't do a "I will PROVE that you are really Wonder Woman" story. So instead, they have him completely oblivious to the secret identity. And rather than be suspicious of Diana Prince, he likes her as a friend and wants her to share his love of Wonder Woman with her. So he talks to her about his girlfriend, and insists she come with him to see Wonder Woman in a parade, stay to meet her and other things until we get to this level of weirdness.
In general, I like Steve a lot more than the other male characters embroiled in Secret Identity soaps, probably because he's not the one playing the game. He doesn't have an inkling there's a game going on. So while we see Superman and Lois Lane caught in this web of mind games and paranoia and deceit, Wonder Woman is trying to handle a completely honest and enthusiastic person. Even when they take him over the edge to contrive some situation where she can't hide, they don't have it be suspicion or manipulation like with Lois. He is dragging his best friend along while he takes care of his problems. Poor Diana can't curb his pushiness without betraying her true self so she plays the part of his beleaguered army buddy that he's dragged to the park to see a show.
I think this is one thing that really worked, though. The story of the Amazons has Hercules deceiving them as their greatest shame. Ares, a deity not known in mythology for mind games, is often cast as a "Prince of Lies" style enemy who tricks men into warring against each other. She has villains in Dr. Psycho and the Duke of Deception. These things are still there post-Crisis, with the added pressure of Diana being a living lie-detector that wields the lasso of truth.
Deceit is a bad thing in this franchise, and an especially bad trait for a male character in this franchise. Diana's grown up being told that evil is spread through lies and that the greatest violence of men is preceded by lies. The ultimate expression of wickedness in men to her is lying. Any male love interest of Wonder Woman must be an honest man. Pre-Crisis, she had the most honest man in comics.
This level of openness added to his endearing naivete, which in turn added to his charm to a protector/nuturer like Diana.
Post-Crisis... well... Her most recent male love interest was Nemesis, the master of disguise. This was interesting, pairing the embodiment of truth up with a guy who's heroism is based on deception, and I enjoyed it but it didn't work for too long.
What worries me, though, is this is another thing they missed in the animated movie. Steve's mostly straightforward in that, but there's that fucking bar scene. He's your horrible stereotype of a deceitful man who only seeks sexual conquest in that scene, and that takes away what makes Steve a special enough man for Wonder Woman. All so that we can have her angry at him and saying her mother was right to warn her about men... and then have her turn around a couple scenes later and forget just how fucked up what he tried to do was.
God, I hate that bar scene.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Please do not make this character into Hal Jordan
And DC just found the surest way to get me interested in Flashpoint.
Yeah, if you didn't catch it DCW has it bolded.
I am aware that I may be the only genuine Steve Trevor fan on the Internet, but I'm going to go ahead and take this moment to do a little dance in my chair.
Now that I've done that I'm going to go ahead and worry, because things never really seem to work out the way I want them to. Off the top of my head they have passed on three good opportunities to restore Diana's love interest since the Perez reboot. Zero Hour just got us backstory of Hippolyta selling out the Amazons to Hercules. John Byrne's mucking around in the timestream got us Donna Troy as a magic mirror clone, Hippolyta as WWII Wonder Woman and six months of JLA compressed into 3 days. Infinite Crisis gave us Donna as an official baby sister, a secret identity and the little twirl effect. Three perfect opportunities to write Steve back in, three times they passed it by.
However, they are at least playing with the idea in their time-line miniseries, and this IS shaking up Diana. And Steve was still the love interest in the animated movie and the planned love interest for the TV series. He's the only male character that's been in the franchise since All-Star Comics #8. Eventually, they are putting him back in the love interest place and this is probably their best opportunity.
The other thing that worries me is how he'll be when he comes back. The Steve in the animated movie bugged me. He was too much like Hal Jordan. (Though honestly, if someone tried that bar scene with Hal I'd be screaming bloody murder about them portraying Green Lantern as a rapist. There are ways to make her disillusioned and angry at her boyfriend without muddying the consent waters further and perpetrating rape culture in a Wonder Woman movie by suggesting getting a woman drunk so that he can con her into bed is somehow not a villain-only behavior.) I think they just took the fighter pilot idea and built the personality based on the job, without realizing he only has that job as an excuse to get him to the island. That's why they can make him an intelligence officer or a secret agent or even a lawyer (but how the fuck a lawyer is getting washed up on Paradise Island is for David Kelley to explain) if they want. His career is a plot convenience, not part of his characterization like Hal being a pilot, Lois being a journalist or Kyle being an artist.
Beyond the idea he should be some sort of fighter jock, there's the idea that he should be some uber-macho traditionalist to properly match Wonder Woman. I've heard this from some writers and fans, and I really hope that's not what they pull either.
See, there's two things about portraying Steve Trevor, two items that make him the most viable male love interest for Wonder Woman and if you forget them you're going to screw him up:
1) He'll step in to save Wonder Woman if he can help her at any chance, but he's well aware she is super and he is not, and that does not make him feel like less of a man.
It is vitally, vitally important that Steve not be the slightest bit threatened by Wonder Woman being more powerful than him. As a concept he's attracted to the beautiful woman who regularly saves his ass when he's in over his head, and doesn't feel a need to prove that he can handle the situation without her. He thanks her for her help and tells her it's why he loves her. He's one of those chivalrous guys who thinks he should put himself in danger before he allows a woman to, but he's not even vaguely attracted to a woman he thinks needs his protection (this is why she could never get his eye as Diana Prince).
2) Wonder Woman is believably attracted to this guy.
Allow me to repeat that: Wonder Woman is believably attracted to this guy.
This is also really important, and I wasn't worried about it until the animated film. Steve Trevor was Hal Jordan in that film, and I couldn't for the life of me get why Diana liked him. (In the Carter TV show and pre-Crisis comics I get why she likes him, but in that movie I was mystified.) I know we have some stupid Silver Age panels floating about but I don't know how we get fratboy seeking sexual conquest from them.
Hitting on Wonder Woman constantly pre-Crisis wasn't the "You're gorgeous, we should hook up" sort of come on, but the "You and I should get married" sort of come on. Yes, this is born of pre-Crisis innocence when they couldn't say he wants to sleep with her, but it is still a completely different priority level from "I want to screw that hot chick" and you fundamentally change the character when you shift the focus from wanting a long-term relationship and family to wanting to sleep with Wonder Woman. Pre-Crisis his life's ambition was to marry and raise a family with a woman who could bench press an F-15. That does not properly translate to a fratboy attitude, no matter what point you want to make about people learning to respect women.
So why shouldn't they just change it? It's a new setting, right? A new era, all characters get updated... Well, again this is supporting Point 2. If he's not genuinely serious about her and he carries on like he's in High School and trying to get someone out to the van with him then he loses some of his appeal. And we all watch it and wonder why the fuck she's attracted to him.
In the pre-Crisis comics, we know why she likes him. He's selfless, brave as all hell, charitable, kind, and resilient. In his off-duty time he'll do volunteer work, like mentoring local children who can't afford summer camp. He'll offer to fight off sharks while he's injured. He'll dive into the ocean to follow when he sees her get pulled underwater by a merman. He'll get shot by spies while carrying important paperwork and manage to give her the briefcase before he loses consciousness. He'll be tied up and threatened with torture and still make smartass remarks. When she rescues him and asks if he's okay, he gets that sort of starry-eyed smile and says he's fine as long as she's around.
When you look through the pre-Crisis stories you see him constantly bugging her for marriage and calling her an Angel and beautiful, that's the most known stuff. We also see he's pretty dense and sexist at times, as you see when he tells Diana and Etta that certain things are man's work. So I can kind of see how someone would update him by emphasizing rather than minimizing these particular flaws, but that just loses the sense of the relationship.
I know the temptation to make a point about Diana teaching a man to be a decent human being is very strong, but that's something you can do with the scores and scores of guys she doesn't give a shit about. Having her teach her main male love interest to be a decent human being is a terrible idea. The relationship can't just be about what he gets from her. She needs to get something out of this.
What worries me the most is that they'll return him, and miss one of these two things and they'll lose the appeal of this relationship. I'm worried they'll want to teach some sort of lesson about masculinity and respect using Steve as the learner, and they'll destroy what makes the character unique and attractive to Diana. Then we'll have a guy who is just there and everyone will wonder why.
Or worse, we'll have a guy who acts like an asshole just because the writers genuinely believe women are attracted to handsome assholes.
Perez managed to capture a good Steve Trevor personality, a gentle thoughtful man with a real respect for other people and a desire to do good. The only problem was that he made him a father figure and the love interest for the wrong character. I trust Hester to go ahead and write this guy younger if he gets to introduce him.
I'm worried, though, that we'll get a Steve out of Flashpoint or a later crossover, written by a writer who thinks he should be a fighter jock jackass like Hal Jordan. I enjoy a good Hal Jordan story, but there should be only one Hal Jordan and under no circumstances should Wonder Woman date him. Steve Trevor should probably be the anti-Hal. Maybe even a little inexperienced with women and dating, on account of being so picky.
I would even go so far as to make it so that Steve and Hal knew each other as pilots in the Air Force, and show them contrasting each other in flashbacks.
Yeah, if you didn't catch it DCW has it bolded.
I am aware that I may be the only genuine Steve Trevor fan on the Internet, but I'm going to go ahead and take this moment to do a little dance in my chair.
Now that I've done that I'm going to go ahead and worry, because things never really seem to work out the way I want them to. Off the top of my head they have passed on three good opportunities to restore Diana's love interest since the Perez reboot. Zero Hour just got us backstory of Hippolyta selling out the Amazons to Hercules. John Byrne's mucking around in the timestream got us Donna Troy as a magic mirror clone, Hippolyta as WWII Wonder Woman and six months of JLA compressed into 3 days. Infinite Crisis gave us Donna as an official baby sister, a secret identity and the little twirl effect. Three perfect opportunities to write Steve back in, three times they passed it by.
However, they are at least playing with the idea in their time-line miniseries, and this IS shaking up Diana. And Steve was still the love interest in the animated movie and the planned love interest for the TV series. He's the only male character that's been in the franchise since All-Star Comics #8. Eventually, they are putting him back in the love interest place and this is probably their best opportunity.
The other thing that worries me is how he'll be when he comes back. The Steve in the animated movie bugged me. He was too much like Hal Jordan. (Though honestly, if someone tried that bar scene with Hal I'd be screaming bloody murder about them portraying Green Lantern as a rapist. There are ways to make her disillusioned and angry at her boyfriend without muddying the consent waters further and perpetrating rape culture in a Wonder Woman movie by suggesting getting a woman drunk so that he can con her into bed is somehow not a villain-only behavior.) I think they just took the fighter pilot idea and built the personality based on the job, without realizing he only has that job as an excuse to get him to the island. That's why they can make him an intelligence officer or a secret agent or even a lawyer (but how the fuck a lawyer is getting washed up on Paradise Island is for David Kelley to explain) if they want. His career is a plot convenience, not part of his characterization like Hal being a pilot, Lois being a journalist or Kyle being an artist.
Beyond the idea he should be some sort of fighter jock, there's the idea that he should be some uber-macho traditionalist to properly match Wonder Woman. I've heard this from some writers and fans, and I really hope that's not what they pull either.
See, there's two things about portraying Steve Trevor, two items that make him the most viable male love interest for Wonder Woman and if you forget them you're going to screw him up:
1) He'll step in to save Wonder Woman if he can help her at any chance, but he's well aware she is super and he is not, and that does not make him feel like less of a man.
It is vitally, vitally important that Steve not be the slightest bit threatened by Wonder Woman being more powerful than him. As a concept he's attracted to the beautiful woman who regularly saves his ass when he's in over his head, and doesn't feel a need to prove that he can handle the situation without her. He thanks her for her help and tells her it's why he loves her. He's one of those chivalrous guys who thinks he should put himself in danger before he allows a woman to, but he's not even vaguely attracted to a woman he thinks needs his protection (this is why she could never get his eye as Diana Prince).
2) Wonder Woman is believably attracted to this guy.
Allow me to repeat that: Wonder Woman is believably attracted to this guy.
This is also really important, and I wasn't worried about it until the animated film. Steve Trevor was Hal Jordan in that film, and I couldn't for the life of me get why Diana liked him. (In the Carter TV show and pre-Crisis comics I get why she likes him, but in that movie I was mystified.) I know we have some stupid Silver Age panels floating about but I don't know how we get fratboy seeking sexual conquest from them.
Hitting on Wonder Woman constantly pre-Crisis wasn't the "You're gorgeous, we should hook up" sort of come on, but the "You and I should get married" sort of come on. Yes, this is born of pre-Crisis innocence when they couldn't say he wants to sleep with her, but it is still a completely different priority level from "I want to screw that hot chick" and you fundamentally change the character when you shift the focus from wanting a long-term relationship and family to wanting to sleep with Wonder Woman. Pre-Crisis his life's ambition was to marry and raise a family with a woman who could bench press an F-15. That does not properly translate to a fratboy attitude, no matter what point you want to make about people learning to respect women.
So why shouldn't they just change it? It's a new setting, right? A new era, all characters get updated... Well, again this is supporting Point 2. If he's not genuinely serious about her and he carries on like he's in High School and trying to get someone out to the van with him then he loses some of his appeal. And we all watch it and wonder why the fuck she's attracted to him.
In the pre-Crisis comics, we know why she likes him. He's selfless, brave as all hell, charitable, kind, and resilient. In his off-duty time he'll do volunteer work, like mentoring local children who can't afford summer camp. He'll offer to fight off sharks while he's injured. He'll dive into the ocean to follow when he sees her get pulled underwater by a merman. He'll get shot by spies while carrying important paperwork and manage to give her the briefcase before he loses consciousness. He'll be tied up and threatened with torture and still make smartass remarks. When she rescues him and asks if he's okay, he gets that sort of starry-eyed smile and says he's fine as long as she's around.
When you look through the pre-Crisis stories you see him constantly bugging her for marriage and calling her an Angel and beautiful, that's the most known stuff. We also see he's pretty dense and sexist at times, as you see when he tells Diana and Etta that certain things are man's work. So I can kind of see how someone would update him by emphasizing rather than minimizing these particular flaws, but that just loses the sense of the relationship.
I know the temptation to make a point about Diana teaching a man to be a decent human being is very strong, but that's something you can do with the scores and scores of guys she doesn't give a shit about. Having her teach her main male love interest to be a decent human being is a terrible idea. The relationship can't just be about what he gets from her. She needs to get something out of this.
What worries me the most is that they'll return him, and miss one of these two things and they'll lose the appeal of this relationship. I'm worried they'll want to teach some sort of lesson about masculinity and respect using Steve as the learner, and they'll destroy what makes the character unique and attractive to Diana. Then we'll have a guy who is just there and everyone will wonder why.
Or worse, we'll have a guy who acts like an asshole just because the writers genuinely believe women are attracted to handsome assholes.
Perez managed to capture a good Steve Trevor personality, a gentle thoughtful man with a real respect for other people and a desire to do good. The only problem was that he made him a father figure and the love interest for the wrong character. I trust Hester to go ahead and write this guy younger if he gets to introduce him.
I'm worried, though, that we'll get a Steve out of Flashpoint or a later crossover, written by a writer who thinks he should be a fighter jock jackass like Hal Jordan. I enjoy a good Hal Jordan story, but there should be only one Hal Jordan and under no circumstances should Wonder Woman date him. Steve Trevor should probably be the anti-Hal. Maybe even a little inexperienced with women and dating, on account of being so picky.
I would even go so far as to make it so that Steve and Hal knew each other as pilots in the Air Force, and show them contrasting each other in flashbacks.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
We have a name and a face now!
They cast Wonder Woman.
Adrianne Palicki
I've never seen her in anything (I understand she was Kara in Smallville but I haven't watched that episode), but she is not on my list of nightmare casting choices so I am cautiously optimistic.
Even if they are making Steve a lawyer, and there's a guarantee of at least one depressed at night eating ice cream scene.
On the bright side, someone already tracked down Lynda Carter for an interview about it. She sounds quite optimistic.
I've never seen her in anything (I understand she was Kara in Smallville but I haven't watched that episode), but she is not on my list of nightmare casting choices so I am cautiously optimistic.
Even if they are making Steve a lawyer, and there's a guarantee of at least one depressed at night eating ice cream scene.
On the bright side, someone already tracked down Lynda Carter for an interview about it. She sounds quite optimistic.
What do you think of the casting?
"I think it is an amazing role to play. I know she is going to be really nervous about it, just because you would be. But I have a lot of confidence in [writer] David Kelley and what he's going to come up with. David Kelley's so talented, and that's really where it needs to be, is in the writing.
I spoke with David yesterday, and he's really really excited about it.
I think the story needs to be retold. It needs to have a fresh look at it. It affected a lot of people. I think it's time, I think it's important to have it out there again.
Is there any advice you'd offer her?
[Laughing] Gosh, I would never offer her any advice. Nor would she probably want any. If she wants to talk to me, that would be a whole different thing. But I would never offer, 'Now let me tell you how to do this.' She's an actress and she's a good actress and she's beautiful and I hope she kicks butt.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
What makes Wonder Woman Wonder Woman?
A lot of you don't seem to get why this Superman #708 sequence is such a stupid idea, so we're going to have to go over Wonder Woman again.
Pre-Crisis, Diana is the sole daughter of the Queen of the reclusive Amazons who shunned the world of men because they had been deceived by men (Golden Age) and wished to avoid violence and conflict (Silver Age). She's trained from birth in their ways and philosophy. When a man, the very first man she ever sees, is hurt on the island she finds herself attracted to him and wants to learn more about him. Her mother realizes she's fallen in love and is susceptible to the charms of men. She tells Diana how dangerous men are, forbids her from seeing him, and says he's going home. When a contest is held to determine who will escort the man back, Diana enters in disguise because her mother won't approve and wins. She goes to man's world and pursues a romantic relationship with this man while fighting crime and inspiring women to take control of their own lives.
Post-Crisis, Diana is the sole daughter of the Queen of the reclusive Amazons who shunned the world of men because they had suffered violence at male hands. She's trained from birth in their ways and philosophy, and is the only woman on the island never to have seen or been hurt by a man. When a man, the very first man she ever sees, is hurt on the island she finds an opportunity to leave the island and seek her fortune. Diana's mother forbids this, but the goddess Athena tells her that it's her destiny to go to man's world. The contest is held. Diana enters in disguise because her mother won't approve and wins. She goes to man's world, gets a couple crushes on other heroes while fighting crime and inspiring people to take control of their own lives.
Throughout her history and her reboots, no matter what the motivation UNTIL NOW, there has been one common theme. Disobeying her mother and entering that contest incognito. Pre-Crisis, she did it because she was in love, post-crisis she did it because she wanted to explore the world. But nearly every version of her origin, there is the authority figure (her mother), the desire to leave (awakened by the injured man), and the means to do so (the contest). The important thing is her disobedience. She CHOOSES her own way in the world.
This is what makes the Greek Myth background so effective. Diana is a hero against the inevitability of ancient Greek tragedy. She is surrounded by the Gods and Fates, holding tight to her autonomy while adrift in a sea of predestination.
People might bash the pre-crisis story as a man inspiring her and say Superman #708 isn't as bad, but they're wrong. The injured man, Steve Trevor, doesn't awaken her sense of adventure, or her desire to heal and compassion for others (she feels compassion for him but this is not a new reaction to an injured person for her), or her courage. He doesn't set an example for her to follow. He doesn't SHOW her the way. He awakens her curiosity. He is what she desires, whether that be sexual desire or just an unknown person symbolizing an unknown world and a greater destiny.
The most consistent and important part of Diana's origin story is THAT CHOICE. It is SELF-DETERMINATION. She could stay on Paradise Island/Themiscyra and be a great hero in the Royal Guard there, saving her sisters from the animals and monsters known to populate the island. She doesn't need to leave to help people. Don't get me wrong, being the first woman in three thousand years to leave IS a heroic feat, but it is not the sort of heroism Superman represents. Diana as a teenager was the sort of hero Superman was.
What makes Wonder Woman special, and it is VERY specific to women who are raised to be sweet princesses who stay in the tower and make a good kingdom, is that she takes the road less traveled by her culture and by women in society. She steps out into the world and plays the part of the Prince/Knight Errant. She seeks love, honor, and glory far from home, and betters the lives of everyone she meets as she does so.
Honestly, this is what was missing from the JMS-scripted issues that Phil Hester has managed to capture. JMS had her like a leaf tossed by the wind. She made one real decision, to see the Oracle. After that she was guided from point to point by other characters, She wasn't moving herself. Once Hester took over, he did flashbacks to her self-determination in her childhood and showed her trying to balance her personal concerns (that family she was caring for) with her duty as a princess and the whims of fate. Without changing the plot, he fixed the character because he brought back the most important character trait, her self-determination.
That Superman #708 was set up as a story point by JMS just proves that he doesn't get Wonder Woman. Looking to Superman for hope and help is one thing, something everyone does in the DCU at some point. Looking to Superman to show her the way, to be the person who tells her how to be a hero? That strips Diana of her most important characteristic, which is that she is solid in her self-image and chooses her own destiny based on what she feels is best for her. She MAKES her path, she doesn't follow Superman's.
And I don't think I can put into words how important making your own path is for a woman. If you don't understand, and you don't see this as integral to Wonder Woman, I don't have the communication skill to help you understand why I do and why this decision undermines her.
Pre-Crisis, Diana is the sole daughter of the Queen of the reclusive Amazons who shunned the world of men because they had been deceived by men (Golden Age) and wished to avoid violence and conflict (Silver Age). She's trained from birth in their ways and philosophy. When a man, the very first man she ever sees, is hurt on the island she finds herself attracted to him and wants to learn more about him. Her mother realizes she's fallen in love and is susceptible to the charms of men. She tells Diana how dangerous men are, forbids her from seeing him, and says he's going home. When a contest is held to determine who will escort the man back, Diana enters in disguise because her mother won't approve and wins. She goes to man's world and pursues a romantic relationship with this man while fighting crime and inspiring women to take control of their own lives.
Post-Crisis, Diana is the sole daughter of the Queen of the reclusive Amazons who shunned the world of men because they had suffered violence at male hands. She's trained from birth in their ways and philosophy, and is the only woman on the island never to have seen or been hurt by a man. When a man, the very first man she ever sees, is hurt on the island she finds an opportunity to leave the island and seek her fortune. Diana's mother forbids this, but the goddess Athena tells her that it's her destiny to go to man's world. The contest is held. Diana enters in disguise because her mother won't approve and wins. She goes to man's world, gets a couple crushes on other heroes while fighting crime and inspiring people to take control of their own lives.
Throughout her history and her reboots, no matter what the motivation UNTIL NOW, there has been one common theme. Disobeying her mother and entering that contest incognito. Pre-Crisis, she did it because she was in love, post-crisis she did it because she wanted to explore the world. But nearly every version of her origin, there is the authority figure (her mother), the desire to leave (awakened by the injured man), and the means to do so (the contest). The important thing is her disobedience. She CHOOSES her own way in the world.
This is what makes the Greek Myth background so effective. Diana is a hero against the inevitability of ancient Greek tragedy. She is surrounded by the Gods and Fates, holding tight to her autonomy while adrift in a sea of predestination.
People might bash the pre-crisis story as a man inspiring her and say Superman #708 isn't as bad, but they're wrong. The injured man, Steve Trevor, doesn't awaken her sense of adventure, or her desire to heal and compassion for others (she feels compassion for him but this is not a new reaction to an injured person for her), or her courage. He doesn't set an example for her to follow. He doesn't SHOW her the way. He awakens her curiosity. He is what she desires, whether that be sexual desire or just an unknown person symbolizing an unknown world and a greater destiny.
The most consistent and important part of Diana's origin story is THAT CHOICE. It is SELF-DETERMINATION. She could stay on Paradise Island/Themiscyra and be a great hero in the Royal Guard there, saving her sisters from the animals and monsters known to populate the island. She doesn't need to leave to help people. Don't get me wrong, being the first woman in three thousand years to leave IS a heroic feat, but it is not the sort of heroism Superman represents. Diana as a teenager was the sort of hero Superman was.
What makes Wonder Woman special, and it is VERY specific to women who are raised to be sweet princesses who stay in the tower and make a good kingdom, is that she takes the road less traveled by her culture and by women in society. She steps out into the world and plays the part of the Prince/Knight Errant. She seeks love, honor, and glory far from home, and betters the lives of everyone she meets as she does so.
Honestly, this is what was missing from the JMS-scripted issues that Phil Hester has managed to capture. JMS had her like a leaf tossed by the wind. She made one real decision, to see the Oracle. After that she was guided from point to point by other characters, She wasn't moving herself. Once Hester took over, he did flashbacks to her self-determination in her childhood and showed her trying to balance her personal concerns (that family she was caring for) with her duty as a princess and the whims of fate. Without changing the plot, he fixed the character because he brought back the most important character trait, her self-determination.
That Superman #708 was set up as a story point by JMS just proves that he doesn't get Wonder Woman. Looking to Superman for hope and help is one thing, something everyone does in the DCU at some point. Looking to Superman to show her the way, to be the person who tells her how to be a hero? That strips Diana of her most important characteristic, which is that she is solid in her self-image and chooses her own destiny based on what she feels is best for her. She MAKES her path, she doesn't follow Superman's.
And I don't think I can put into words how important making your own path is for a woman. If you don't understand, and you don't see this as integral to Wonder Woman, I don't have the communication skill to help you understand why I do and why this decision undermines her.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Really only one book catches my eye.
DC Solicits are up for May.
I'm underwhelmed. The Flashpoint crossover starts and while I do like the whole "Alternate Timeline that is just wrong" concept, I am not particularly interestest in it. In the meantime, we draw closer to the War of the Green Lanterns which I am also not particularly interested in. I might sit out both sets of books.
And can anyone guess the quickest way to get me to drop a book? If your answer is "Put Judd Winick on it", give yourself a treat. You know why I'm dropping Batman and Robin this spring.
I'll believe Batwoman #2 is out when I see it.
And this brings me to Wonder Woman #611, which has unexpectedly become the book from DC I'm now most looking forward to. I read 605-606 this week. (I will be ignoring Superman #708, and I advise you do the same.) Hester has Diana acting like Diana. She's fighting to save people all her life, and not just her Amazon sisters. Hester's fight sequences are engaging. Hester's characters seem like people making decision, not just items that are moved from one place to another in order to set up a plot. Even knowing this timeline is temporary, I am actually worried that one of these characters will die next issue. His scripting actually got me to give a shit about some of them.
Yes, we still have JMS plot. Yes, we still have that stupid costume. Yes, I fucking hate what they are doing to the Morrigan but I think Phil Hester has achieved his goal. Wonder Woman is readable and enjoyable again. I recognize Diana again. I want to see what happens to her. I'm looking forward the May issue, because I now WANT to see the big reveal, and the big villain, and the whole point of crossing Simonson's plot with "Age of Apocalypse."
I'm underwhelmed. The Flashpoint crossover starts and while I do like the whole "Alternate Timeline that is just wrong" concept, I am not particularly interestest in it. In the meantime, we draw closer to the War of the Green Lanterns which I am also not particularly interested in. I might sit out both sets of books.
And can anyone guess the quickest way to get me to drop a book? If your answer is "Put Judd Winick on it", give yourself a treat. You know why I'm dropping Batman and Robin this spring.
I'll believe Batwoman #2 is out when I see it.
And this brings me to Wonder Woman #611, which has unexpectedly become the book from DC I'm now most looking forward to. I read 605-606 this week. (I will be ignoring Superman #708, and I advise you do the same.) Hester has Diana acting like Diana. She's fighting to save people all her life, and not just her Amazon sisters. Hester's fight sequences are engaging. Hester's characters seem like people making decision, not just items that are moved from one place to another in order to set up a plot. Even knowing this timeline is temporary, I am actually worried that one of these characters will die next issue. His scripting actually got me to give a shit about some of them.
Yes, we still have JMS plot. Yes, we still have that stupid costume. Yes, I fucking hate what they are doing to the Morrigan but I think Phil Hester has achieved his goal. Wonder Woman is readable and enjoyable again. I recognize Diana again. I want to see what happens to her. I'm looking forward the May issue, because I now WANT to see the big reveal, and the big villain, and the whole point of crossing Simonson's plot with "Age of Apocalypse."
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