Hear Me Roar: A look at Women in the DC universe.
At first this was just going to be an article about Wonder Woman, then I decided to go ahead and expend it to include all of the fabulous super heroines in the DC universe. But I figured that would undercut the super villains in the DC universe, they after all, add so much to the universe. So I decided that out of respect to Woman’s history month I would dedicate a few posts about Women, good and bad and in between.
Super Heroines
Wonderful Woman
Created in the 1940s by William Moulton Marston and his wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, after he made the observation about the DC line up being dominated by “supermen” he decided to propose a super heroine: Wonder Woman.
After that she was first introduced in All-Star Comics issue #8 in the winter of 1941. By the summer of 1942 she had a self-titled book. Marston wrote all of the stories until his death in 1947.
It was said that Marston modeled Wonder Woman after his wife and his ideal woman. Both were strong, intelligent, and beautiful and were different from the socially accepted norm. From the start Wonder Woman was an Amazon but in the beginning her powers were derived from her ‘Amazonian Concentration’.
In a 1943 Marston wrote to and issue of The American Scholar:
Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.
In her original origin story she took part in a contest to see who would go to the “Man’s world” and fight the Nazis. Diana, in disguise, won the tournament and along with a man, Steve Trevor an army intelligence officer, who crashed on the Amazon’s island. They both go back to America and Diana buys the identity of a young army nurse who looks like her. This allows her to over hear Steve’s intelligence conversations and this allows her to go where she is needed.
After a stint in the 70s where the amazons left this dimension, thus taking all of Wonder Woman’s powers, and no longer affiliated with the JLA she left, and be came more of a super spy than a super hero. Echoing the popular Emma Peele from the Avengers TV show. She was also mentored by I Ching and she learned martial arts and weapons training. In order to cut the ties to her life before this they killed Trevor Steve.
Wonder Woman’s powers were restored, in part because of the urging of famous feminist Gloria Steinem. She noticed and most Super Heroines where depowered. She rejoined the JLA after twelve trials (Ala Hercules). The first volume ended in issue 329 during February 1986 with the marriage of Diana to Steve Trevor.
After the DC reboot in 1987, after the “Infinite Crisis on Multiple Earths” she got a second volume that ran from then until 2006. Which culminated in the story arc of Sacrifice where she broke not only the neck of Maxwell Lord but the DC heroes code of “do not kill”. Thus began the falling out between Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman.
Though the Character of Wonder Woman has gone under many changes in the characters history when she has had her powers she has had the bracelets, the whip and the tiara. Often the lesser known of the three DC staples she is well worth reading.
Volume 3
I have been getting this comic since June and only 4 issues have come out since then. While the comic is well done, both from a drawing and writing stand-point, I can’t forgive the fact that so few issues have come out. If the DC website is at all reliable (and lets face it, it can proven itself quite the opposite) more issues should come out soon. Maybe this will be the trend and not the exception.
The Art is just how I like it, not to stylized but it doesn’t look like anything else out there. WW is drawn as a large, athletic woman with curves. Which I think is important to do. It would be very easy to draw Wonder Woman as a man in drag. It’s a tough balance you must maintain her as a strong woman, and so many people think that means a man with long hair.
The story is hard to judge because there have only been 4 issues and the first arc is not completed yet. So far though the story seems to be nicely done. Though I was confused in the first two issues with Donna Troy taking over as Wonder Woman, and Diana dressed in white. While I could understand what Donna was doing, and why, I, at first, didn’t get that that was Diana, I thought that was someone new.
Regardless of my confusing this series has a lot of potential it is still early enough that it could fall flat on its face and never get up again. Only the coming months will tell.
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Next on comic review Bird of Prey, Renee and other Heroines are on the way…