Steve Trevor & Bernie Taupin
(On the DC boards, some guys were talking about how to bring a new Steve Trevor, not just the type, but a character with that name, into Wonder Woman continuity as a new love interest. One even used the expression, "the K.I.S.S. Rule."
(So I responded:)
I don't consider either a long-lost son or a split time-lost alternate version "simple."
Even pre-Perez, Steve occasionally had competition. And he was even killed off. Twice. It's no great problem to say that Steve & Diana's lives took different paths, & they fell in love with other people.
Clark Kent didn't marry Lana Lang. Wally West & Tina McGee broke up. Peter Parker lost Betty Brant. Julie Madison mysteriously disappeared from the Batman comics. (I'm afraid Bruce threw her down a well somewhere, the misogynist. [OK, I looked on Wikipedia; supposedly she moved out of the USA; I speculate that it was due to the beatings, the constant verbal abuse, & Bruce's bizarre sexual demands.]) Jean Loring...OK, bad example. Steve Rogers & Bernie Rosenthal broke up.
Anyway, my point is, it's normal for single superhero characters to have love interests, & for some these relationships to end as people's lives go their separate ways. I wouldn't call for it in every case. I miss Rex & Sapphire Mason as a couple, & I quite liked the Bronze Age Hawkman & Hawkwoman. But in some cases, changes add to the verisimilitude of the character.
For Wonder Woman, it's (unfortunately for Steve loyalists) pretty clear that a lot of fans (& writers, & editors) found pre-Sekowsky Steve Trevor's role in the series undesirable: unlikeable, badly conceived, silly, problematic, restrictive, take your pick. I think the way that Steve was used in the origin story may have been the problem. It seems to treat the relationship as a foregone conclusion, & this is a bit too pat. Once Di sees more of Man's World, & men, doesn't she have the right to move on?
Give her another boyfriend already!
Postscript: I had to look up Tina & Bernie's last names, & apparently if you search Wikipedia for "bernie captain america" you get:
Bernie Taupin
Relevance: 100.0% - -
Red Skull
Relevance: 94.0% - -
Grendel (comics)
Relevance: 88.1% - -
St. Louis Blues (hockey)
Relevance: 87.3% - -
Bernie Taupin? Bernie Taupin? What??? I gave up & used Google. (Bernie Rosenthal was at 85.7% on Wikipedia, even with Greg Capullo.)
(So I responded:)
I don't consider either a long-lost son or a split time-lost alternate version "simple."
Even pre-Perez, Steve occasionally had competition. And he was even killed off. Twice. It's no great problem to say that Steve & Diana's lives took different paths, & they fell in love with other people.
Clark Kent didn't marry Lana Lang. Wally West & Tina McGee broke up. Peter Parker lost Betty Brant. Julie Madison mysteriously disappeared from the Batman comics. (I'm afraid Bruce threw her down a well somewhere, the misogynist. [OK, I looked on Wikipedia; supposedly she moved out of the USA; I speculate that it was due to the beatings, the constant verbal abuse, & Bruce's bizarre sexual demands.]) Jean Loring...OK, bad example. Steve Rogers & Bernie Rosenthal broke up.
Anyway, my point is, it's normal for single superhero characters to have love interests, & for some these relationships to end as people's lives go their separate ways. I wouldn't call for it in every case. I miss Rex & Sapphire Mason as a couple, & I quite liked the Bronze Age Hawkman & Hawkwoman. But in some cases, changes add to the verisimilitude of the character.
For Wonder Woman, it's (unfortunately for Steve loyalists) pretty clear that a lot of fans (& writers, & editors) found pre-Sekowsky Steve Trevor's role in the series undesirable: unlikeable, badly conceived, silly, problematic, restrictive, take your pick. I think the way that Steve was used in the origin story may have been the problem. It seems to treat the relationship as a foregone conclusion, & this is a bit too pat. Once Di sees more of Man's World, & men, doesn't she have the right to move on?
Give her another boyfriend already!
Postscript: I had to look up Tina & Bernie's last names, & apparently if you search Wikipedia for "bernie captain america" you get:
Bernie Taupin
Relevance: 100.0% - -
Red Skull
Relevance: 94.0% - -
Grendel (comics)
Relevance: 88.1% - -
St. Louis Blues (hockey)
Relevance: 87.3% - -
Bernie Taupin? Bernie Taupin? What??? I gave up & used Google. (Bernie Rosenthal was at 85.7% on Wikipedia, even with Greg Capullo.)