Wonder Woman In The New 52 – I NEED TO VENT…AGAIN

Okay, I know I already talked about this before, but I feel the need to bring up the problems occurring with Wonder Woman in the New 52. Namely, I feel that there’s a definitive lack of respect for the character at times. Before I start on that, though, I would like to point out that I got a lot of these images, as well as some additional info I wasn’t already aware of, from DC Women Kicking Ass. She writes an awesome Tumblr, and you should all really give it a look sometime.

Now then, back to poor Diana. Her origin story has been altered so that, rather than being sculpted from clay and granted life by the Gods, it turns out that was a lie and that she’s really the result of a one night stand between her mother and Zeus. Now ultimately, this one didn’t bother me quite as much, since it just meant she’s a Demigod instead of a Golem (she was made from clay, that technically makes her a sort of Golem), though it does irk me that Hippolyta would lie like that. Plus, it pretty much makes the events of The Circle either non-canon or based around complete bull. What bothers me far worse is THIS.

…Seriously, what the hell? Turning the Amazons into killers, rapists, and slave traders was not only unnecessary, but it completely RUINS them as characters you want to see come back. And because they’re tied to Diana’s backstory, that in turn hurts her as well. Oh, and don’t even get me started on THIS.

But that’s just her solo book. Y’know, the one where the character is supposed to excel the most? Then there’s Justice League. I mentioned before that her current characterization works for the first arc, and I still stand by that. However, all that changed when THIS happened…

All of a sudden, Wonder Woman has gone from a strong, independent woman who forced a sword through Darkseid‘s eye socket to basically just being Superman’s girlfriend. And no, it’s not JUST because they’re dating, it’s HOW their relationship is unfolding, where we see Superman trying to teach and lecture her on humanity and how best to hide among them, and, oh good grief, does it make me wanna vomit!

Look, I get that at the beginning of Justice League, she was new to Man’s world, but as of this time in JL, she’s been a part of it for FIVE YEARS! She does not need Superman to teach her this stuff. She would have picked all this up while here. But no, we have to have Superman teach her because…well, just because. And that’s the problem in a nutshell: These two do not come off as equals in this relationship, as I’ve stated before. And it’s made all the worse by the fact that Supes is likely still holding a torch for Lois, and storylines suggest that their relationship will eventually end BADLY. And the sad thing is, it could actually still be worse. Don’t believe me? Read Frank Miller’s work that includes them as a couple. It makes me feel like DC will someday drop the pretences and just go ahead and release adult love novels featuring DC Superheroes. Hell, if Fifty Shades of Grey can become a best-seller, I’d believe anything could sell that much.

And then there’s her appearances in Batwoman as of late, where she’s……..um, actually pretty well written. I’m serious, while I don’t pick up Batwoman on a regular basis, what I’ve read of it depicts Wonder Woman pretty well. Powerful, confident, and compassionate. I WAS cringing for a moment when it became apparent that Batwoman was harbouring a schoolgirl-like crush on her, but thank goodness they didn’t go in the direction of a Batwoman/Wonder Woman/Superman love triangle, and we instead see Batwoman proposing to Maggie Sawyer…Um, Batwoman IS a DC title, yes? o.O

Anyway, that’s all from me for now. Post your thoughts, opinions, whatever, and let’s hope that things don’t degrade much more. Hell, this makes my brain ache, and I already have a really bad cavity in my mouth right now. I don’t need any more pains in the region of my head. Ja né!

Related articles

• She Has No Head! – Is the Destruction of The Amazons The Destruction of Feminism in DC Comics? (comicbookresources.com)
• “Because they are both heroes and wear red and blue” (dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com)