Wonder Woman
By Ramsey Rusef

I just looked at the top one hundred selling comic books, and Wonder Woman is now sitting precariously at Number 82 That puts the title behind sales juggernauts like J2 (The story of Juggernaut's son) and Lady Pendragon. This is no place for the original superheroine. While nothing, including the return of George Perez, will make the title challenge X-Men in sales, this title certainly should not be sitting behind Legends of the DC Universe, which is soon to be canceled.

The sales decline can't be due to the staleness of the character. NBC toyed with the idea of a Wonder Woman TV series. Ivan Reitman wants to cast someone like Catherine Zeta Jones as the title character in a Wonder Woman movie (and I can think of no better a choice). The public at large still remembers the Lynda Carter series with fondness.

The problem, of course, lies with the comic book itself. No other comic has denied its past with such consistency and such completeness as Wonder Woman. Fans have no idea what to expect from the title. They don't know what Wonder Woman's powers are, where her powers come from, whom she associates with, what devices she will use, where she lives, or even what time period she comes from.

Continuity Problems:

Pre-Crisis, the Wonder Woman comic was a complete mess when it came to continuity. She was either the strongest Amazon by far because of the gifts given to her by the gods, or just the best of a group of super powered individuals just a notch below her in terms of power. She either developed her abilities due to Amazon Training, or she didn't, and villains could sap her powers in hundreds of different ways. The whole thing was a complete mess.

Enter George Perez. He recreated Diana from scratch, an action he set up himself when the Anti-Monitor "killed" the Earth-One WW. He recreated the plane crash over Paradise Island, except Diana wouldn't fall in love with Steve Trevor (Tough for a young twenty-something to do when Steve looked about as old as Clint Eastwood does now). She instead would go to Man's World as an ambassador due to the conflict. The superhero moniker was supposed to go away, and the threats were to be more of a mystical nature than anything else.

Perez himself started many of the problems which carried over to the present day. Instead of writing a Man of Steel type mini, which would fill in the past of Wonder Woman, Perez made Diana one of the newer heroes of the DC Universe. This made her younger than Wonder Girl (Donna Troy), a character spun off from her original.

Her newness took away the icon status that Diana carried with her. While Superman and Batman were no longer the original heroes of the DCU, Diana was no longer one of the first heroes of the modern age. This created continuity problems in The New Titans, and the problems of Donna's history would later come home to Diana's title. Making matters worse, by making Steve Trevor as old as time itself. Perez denied Diana the love interest that she had throughout her history.

Other writers started denying aspects of Perez's creation. Instead of building upon what Perez had started, Loebs and, later, Byrne, instigated retroactive changes on the title. Loebs turned Hippolyta from a feminist icon into a scheming, occasionally tyrannical queen who would do anything to achieve her own ends. He changed Diana's origin to say that she never had her powers on Themiscira.

Byrne, on the other hand, changed everything. Diana lost half her powers whenever she was in the presence of Artemis, who absorbed the lost half. This was to set up her death. Byrne also moved her to a city called Gateway for some yet to be explained reason. Byrne also felt the need to change Donna Troy's origin yet again to set up her return to superheroics.

The constant changes in continuity make it tough for a reader to follow the story as it progresses, but more importantly, the changes make it impossible for a reader to come back to the title after leaving it. What was Hippolyta like? How did Diana win the contest?

Powers:

Wonder Woman has always been an almost Superman: almost as strong, almost as fast, almost as able to fly, and almost as bullet-proof (due to the bracelets). She even wears almost the same basic colors as Superman. With Superman around, what exactly would Wonder Woman's purpose be in the DCU? So often, writers focus on her physical abilities that, in a group situation, Wonder Woman becomes redundant.

Her power levels fluctuate wildly from author to author. Byrne wanted her to be "Second only to Superman" in terms of physical strength, while Gerard Jones over in JL:E had her take a pounding at the hands of the Tasmanian Devil (a true pile of mangoo of a character). For years, Diana was able to deflect every bullet fired at her. But, since the revamp, she has taken more serious gunshot wounds than Batman, who doesn't have the advantage of super-speed or bullet proof wrist armor.

While power levels don't define a character, the constant change from one writer to the next only leads to more and more confusion.

Supporting Cast:

Superman has always had Lois Lane. Jimmy Olsen and Perry White didn't come along all that much later. For years, the characters have remained relatively the same. Lane always has gotten herself into trouble for her intrepid style of reporting. Olsen has always been the eager kid, and White's always been the firm but fair Editor in Chief. Batman has always had Dick Grayson and Alfred. Though they will disagree with him on more than one occasion, they never leave his life.

Who can Diana claim as her main supporting cast? Right now, it's the Sandsmarks and Artemis, if that. What history does she have with them? What defines them as characters?

Even Wizard, a book which can often be labeled as puff piece, called the Sandsmarks a terrible supporting cast. They're watered down Kapetelises, single historian mother and teenage child. Wreck the supporting cast, and you wreck a main character who is iconic.

Even the characters who have had the most history with Diana have been radically altered to the point of being irrelevant. Steve Trevor and Etta Candy, two characters who have been around as long as Diana herself went away, and who really cared? Trevor is now just some good guy whom Diana brought back to Man's world. He's too old to be a love interest, and he's too locked into his career to be a recurring character. Etta? She's stuck with Steve on a farm, and no one really noticed. This leaves Hippolyta and Donna, characters, who if spotlighted too much make Diana herself redundant, and possibly irrelevant.

Uniqueness:

As the three characters who survived the superhero drought which followed the Golden Age, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are the only characters who didn't have their identities, costumes, and origins changed in the Silver Age. Flash and Green Lantern have seen three ages of heroes wear the costume (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West in Flash: Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, and Kyle Rayner over in GL). The "Big Three" have always been Kal-El (L)/ Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, and Diana. They were unique, and it was always Clark, Bruce, and Diana or nothing. The four replacement Supermen, Azrael, and Artemis proved that.

Suddenly, Diana isn't the only one who can successfully be Wonder Woman. Hippolyta has now, through editorial decree, worn the costume for seven or eight years and been a member of the JSA. Donna Troy is a clone of Diana, an exact duplicate who grew up for a time with her. If Wonder Woman isn't Diana exclusively, who is she? The worst injustice came when Diana died. Nobody noticed, and Hippolyta took a romp through time. Who would notice? She's just one of three potential Wonder Woman. In fact, she's number 2 in the pecking order. Everyone keeps reminding her how good her mother was. She never said "What?" the first time it happened. She just accepted her role as Wonder Woman Jr.

Location, Location, Location:

Let's face facts. Diana's a cosmic powered hobo. While Superman, Batman and the Flash are identified with Metropolis, Gotham, and Keystone City respectively, what city can you say is Diana's? She'd been in Boston for years, and it was a good fit. Suddenly, without warning or reason, she moved to Gateway City, "a dirtier version of San Francisco". Now she just lives in her Wonder Dome.

Each move separates Diana from her supporting cast. People who wanted to read about Steve Trevor never had a chance, but people who wanted to read about the Kapetelises now lost characters they grew to love. Now even the fans of the Byrne run have lost their characters since Diana has cut loose from them as well.

Without an anchor, Diana is a nomad, which wouldn't be bad, if it was about Diana going from town to town meeting new people, ala Hal Jordan or the Fugitive. Instead, she just sits in her Dome waiting for bad things to happen.

The Villains:

Most of Diana's foes just don't seem to be a real threat to her. The Cheetah, while a classic character in her own right, just doesn't seem to be strong enough to kill off someone in the Superman power range. Giganta is a woman with a gorilla's body, big deal. The Silver Swan doesn't have the malice to be a recurring villain, and Devastation is a goth kid on steroids. Only Circe can claim to be a real threat with really bad intentions.

Without a real Rogues Gallery, Diana will never be an engaging character who faces real challenges, especially since she now, weapons considered, may be the most powerful character in the DCU.

No Limits:

For the longest time Post-Crisis, Diana had her lasso, her tiara, and her bracelets to defend her. Now she has Time Machine Island, to be able to correct any mistakes that she made (Just because it hasn't been used for that doesn't mean the possibility isn't out there.) and the magical, omnipotent Wonder Dome.

The Dome can do just about everything. Anytime that Diana gets in trouble, the Dome will send an invisible chariot to carry her back to safety. It can become a plane, fire weapons, and destroy Gateway City (to be distinguished from Gateway Country). It's already proven to be more powerful than Superman, Batman, and Diana combined. With this Dome, Diana is completely unbeatable. There are no limits to what she can do, given the Dome and an island which exists in all times at once.

The solution:

Pure and simple, Wonder Woman as a title is a complete glob of continuity flaws and blatant disregard for history. As a linear tale, it sucks. Read WW (Volume #2) from #1 to the present. Then remember what made the title good before Perez. First thing you will notice is that events just don't add up. How did Myndi Mayer come up with the name Wonder Woman when Hippolyta was the first Wonder Woman? Second thing you will notice is that all that remains constant is a woman in a bathing suit who could beat you up.

Return history to the title. Wonder Woman has been around before George Perez, and some parts of history could translate well to modern times. Return Steve Trevor and Etta Candy to the title. Returning them is returning history. They're critical parts of the Wonder Woman mythos, and despite how engaging the Perez take was, it was lesser because of their absence. If Trevor is irrelevant, make him relevant again. The Kapetelises are her family in Man's World, bring them back.

Diana is the first superheroine. Treat her like it. Make her a superhero the new heroes aspire to be, just like Superman and Batman. When she walks in the room, everyone should quiet down. Don't water her down by making clones, and other Wonder Woman.

Define Diana as a person. Right now, she's still a cipher, living off of other people's emotions. While Diana isn't new to the US, parts of its culture should still confuse her to no end. How would she react to a woman uninterested in sports? What would she do if she saw an episode of Melrose Place? How does she juggle the fact that she's both a feminist icon and a sex symbol in the DCU?

Get rid of the superfluous garbage. If the character or thing doesn't add to Diana's stories, and, more importantly, Diana, lose it. The Wonder Dome doesn't add to Diana so jettison it into the Sun. It takes away from her both courage and a sense of vulnerability. If Diana can go through time without repercussion just by going back to Themiscira, nuke the place into oblivion. The Sandsmarks don't add to her. They create little sidebars which just distract. Hippolyta as Wonder Woman doesn't add to Diana. Lose the concept. Diana is the story here. When writers forget that, they end up creating romps through Hell with Merlin the Magician.

Select one continuity and stick to it. Make a decision about Diana's powers, and stick to it. Can she keep up with Superman, or is she just a bit stronger than Vibe? Put her in a city, and keep her there. Did she have powers on the island or didn't she?

Take the best of the Perez, Loebs, Moulton, and Byrne runs and go with it. Make Diana the most powerful superheroine in man's world, who just happens to have the double duty of being an ambassador. Treat the readers to the fun parts of the character. But, first, ditch Polly WW and the Dome.

Aside from Superman and Batman, what other characters have Diana's history and staying power?

Redoubt is Copyright © 1999-2000, Ramsey Rusef. All articles contained inside are Copyright by their original authors. All characters and comic books reviewed in Redoubt are Copyright and Trademarked by their respective owners.