Thoughts on Wonder Woman (Part 2)

Another Rant that I posteted on the DC Comics Message Boards here

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Quoting from From here:
http://dcboards.warnerbros.com/web/thread.jspa?threadID=2000226134&tstart=0

Another problem is that no matter how powerful she was, little boys weren't going to buy or play with her merchandise. (Well most anyway!) She's a girl!!!!!! The issue of gender in this regard can't be over looked. What little boy would be caught with a Wonder Woman doll or comic book? We know what that entails. Also, comics and cartoons about superheroes are largely considered the boys area of the playground. That's why movies about super heroines are such a tough sale to a large audience. The female properties that are hero like and cater to girls are mostly marketed directly to them. (Sailor Moon, Power Puff Girls, Kim Possible, etc.)
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Look at those examples of successful female action/superhero franchises.

Sailor Moon. Powerpuff Girls Kim Possible.

Each of those franchises ARE basically Wonder Woman, bisected into various concentrations of her mythos.

Mythical/Magical Princess.

Action packed no nonsense tough Grrrl powerhouse.

Adventurous Espionage Agent against Criminal Masterminds and Terrorists.


Wonder Woman is EVERYTHING that each of those franchises has in one multifaceted package.

Look at some other popular female adventure franchises. Buffy. Lara Croft a few years back.

Why can't she have what they have without sacrificing who she is to post-modern 90's throwback nonsense?

Simple.

HER PERSONALITY. She's viewed as too perfect. Haughty. Stuck up. Un-relatable. Hypocritical. Guys fans are often intimidated by her in a way that Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk don't because they are at their core normal women. There is a perception of anti-male ideology to her mythos which turns off most mainstream men and boys. You need to balance between her being an Ideal and a human being with hopes, dreams, flaws, INSECURITIES that are consistent with her role and iconic status yet make her understandable.

Superman for one had a strong element of tragedy and loneliness even during what some called the 'perfect super-god' days. Survivors Guilt, Over-Confidence, and even a seemingly Cruel Trickster aspect (for Jimmy and Lois and Lana's own good, of course...)where all part of the classical superman personality.

Diana needs to be marketed to GIRLS and Young women currently enraptured in the current Twilight/Vampire phase and balance that 'dark' edgy side of supernatural adventure with a more positive, life-affirming, yet cool and spunky vibe. She needs to have a sense of HUMOR. One of her patrons is Hermes the trickster she should understand more than most the persuasive power of humor, she is a ambassador and negotiator of peace after all. I'd also like to see her SPUNK. her SPIRIT. New adventure new locales, new cultures, vast vistas to explore (along with injustices to fight against and people to inspire via her example, natch)? She's ALL for it!

The other thing is--yep, get ready for it-- ROMANCE and SEX. Wonder Woman is a romance character. Yeah you heard me. Just like Superman is a Romance character--except even more so. Girls/Women like Romance and Relationship stuff a lot more than Boys do. We all know that this is true so let's not BS ourselves about this or argue about self-evident facts for nonsensical Political Correctness purposes. Steve Trevor MUST be restored to his proper place. Nemesis was a terrible half baked replacement and only underscored the need for the authentic Steve to Return. Make him the Elder Steve Trevor's Nephew who is a Iraq War/OWAW/insert various DCU crossover epics/war here*. compatriot and buddy to Hal Jordan. Fellow Espionage Agent. Adventurer and maybe Soldier of Fortune 'Human Target' Style. Adrenaline Addict. Undercover Bondage Freak*ahem* forget that past part . Don't make him a typical damsel in distress but yeah, Diana certainly helps him out (saves his a$$)when he gets into uber-villain territory. Remember Among Diana's Patrons is Aphrodite the embodiment of Feminine Beauty, Emotional Connection and Romantic and Sexual Desire, every bit as she is a follower of Virginal Warrior/Huntresses Athena and Artemis, respectively.

Villains. We need to grow, expand, and re-vamp her Rogues Gallery into one that truly Rivals Batman, GL, Flash territory. Political Strife. Religious Oppression, Environmental Terrorism. Economic Hardship. In the real frigging world we have a complex network of Religious ?Extremists who oppress women having economic, ideological, religious and violent warfare against the West. HOW in Gods name is that not rife with potential for allegory within the DCU again? Whatever happened to the refugees from Jarhampur and the Rama Khan from Kelly's JLA run?

Why doesn't Diana encounter Brother Blood- a blood-sacrificial death cult? Kobra, a Hindu snake-god worshiping cult bent on creating a New World Order with him at the head after the Kali Yuga.

Why can't you take the Classical Diana, incorporate elements from William Moulton to Kagngiher to O'Neil to Perez to Jimenez to Rucka to Simone and make it WORK in an integrated way.

It's NOT that hard, people.

Thoughts on Wonder Woman (Part 1)

Here's a couple posts I did on the characetr Wonder Woman abd how she should be re-invigorated to realize her potential as a character. Originally posted this at the Barbelith Forum and then on the DC Comics Message Board.


I think it's a crime what's happened to Wonder Woman.

She's the character with the most wasted potential in the entire DCU, IMO.

Here's the first major female super-heroine, a socio-political/spiritual-mystical proto-feminist crusader with a strong undercurrent of psycho-sexual BDSM fantasy due to her creator's hangups.

How the heck could DC go wrong with this for so long when they have the type of material they have over at Vertigo? And Why didn't Grant ever do anything substantial with her? Rucka was doing really good, but at the same time, His characters tend to have everything go wrong on every level. he tends to want to completely destroy them so that they can emerge at the end 'stronger'.

That's a problem with Diana to an extent IMO as she's intended to be an inherently optimistic figure. She's the champion for women's right sand equality, really. so she can't exactly ever truly FAIL in her mission, as she has in the mainstream DCU due to the events of OMAC/Infinite Crisis.

My Diana would be a Greco/Roman Shaolin Monk, as it where. a Teacher/Philosopher/Mystic/Warrior super-heroine. She's also an social and political activist here to make the world a better place for the weak and oppressed. Phil Jimenez during his WW and Joe Kelly in his JLA run both briefly showed that there where Themysciran-run centers around the world to help deal with issues of poverty,disease abuse and rape of women, etc. I'd get into that a bit more. Her status as Spirit of Truth could be played with as well, She speaks truth to Power, and I'd like to explore the rarely seen and define abilities of the Lasso of Truth to boot. She'd be one of the toughest heroes in the DCU, with top of the line strength, speed, and combat skill. Think of the movies Troy+Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon


I'd bring back Steve Trevor as a Love interest, sure. I like how Adam Hughes described him in his interview on the up coming All Star Wonder woman: Hal Jordan, 'only better'. I'd have him and Hal be old Air Force buddies and rivals.

I'd expand the concept of her Mission on Man's World. Man's World isn't just 'the rest of Earth'. Man's World is WHEREVER gender discrimination and male patriarchy exist, which judging by DC's history, seems to be the whole blamed universe. They have some hard work ahead of them.

The Amazon Nation could have sub-ambassadors and embassies across the GALAXY. I'd like to see Artemis, the Bana-Migdalian(The Amazons who didn't get to live on Paradise island for 5,000 years, and survived in Africa and the Middle East) who once stood in for Wonder Woman, I'd have her be the point for a sort of, well, inter-stellar movement -- The Amazonian Jihad. That could be a long running sub plot and evolve into a miniseries/ongoing title of it's own, really. I'd like to see the politics of the DCU and how all the renowned dictators and empires like it when a band of rowdy *women* brew discontent and anarchy among the masses, and how'd they react. The Guardians of the Universe, for example, are the (mainly male) self imposed guardians of Order who allow despots and empires to brutally oppress their populaces in the name of greater stability in the cosmos. How would they react to see a renegade movement foment instability and chaos, offsetting the relative order they worked for so long to maintain with their Green Lantern Corps?--guest appearances by the resident chauvinist Guy Gardner and fearless ladies man Hal Jordan brewing, of course.

Darkseid, the New God of Totalitarianism, deserves a mention as he has history with the Amazons, having slaughtered a number of them during John Byrne's run. He represents everything Wonder Woman was created to fight against, to a large extent. Interesting contrasts between the modern context of the New God and the Classical Gods, who they inter act and relate to one another, and there could also be a continuation of the scene where Diana implants a piece of her soul with Darkseid(as portrayed in the Our Worlds at war crossover, where the Amazons had to reinvigorate Darksied's power by worshiping him). Tons of potential there.

The Omega Men are self style freedom fighters/'terrorists' who spent years commiting themselves to fighting the totalitarian Citadel. Potential allies for fellow anti-status quo Amazons. they also worshiped a Goddess figure in X'Hal, and her son Auron was a member of the group.

Then, of course, there's the Mythological Angle. The Olympians. We could see how the Gods interact with both each other and the resulting effects on human kind, we could also see how the Olympians interact with other pantheons across the Earth and even the Universe, which I believe Eric Luke touched upon in his run but it was sort of too much like Marvel's system of 'magical aliens' to be. I'd like to see a bit more of the complexity and multiplicity among godly manifestations and aspects. Other mythological and mystical characters, such as Captain Marvel Dr. Fate can be used to create effect, with the Cap's boyish nervousness (internally) and Huge heart as well as mystical gifts and Dr. Fate connection to The Egyptian Powers of Ra, Isis and Thoth having a direct connection to some of the Bana's spirituality .

With dynamics of sexual/gender politics, counter cultural movements, terrorism, revolution, alternative spirituality/polytheism and much more--Why the hell isn't Wonder woman one of the best written characters in comics?

Hello

Hey my name's Rao.

I like to think of myself as a Renaissance Man in Training.

I enjoy learning about everything from Art, History, Politics, Comic Books, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Music, Spirituality, Philosophy and Self Improvement.

Here's my first blog to just put up some writing on things i think about. Hope anyone outthere who sees this enjoys.