Wonder Woman is an icon of DC Comics – literally. She’s often portrayed as a feminist icon, and we’re here for that. She’s been around for decades, creating countless memorable adventures along the way. Likewise, she’s inspired many young children to rise against the odds and do their best, and she was one of the first superheroines for little girls to look up to. Still, there’s no denying that some things about Diana’s character simply don’t make sense. It doesn’t matter how badly we want things to be different, as countless reboots have chipped away at her core, raising more questions than they’ve answered.
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Princess Diana hails from Themyscira, the land of the Amazons. As such, she left her world with a complete understanding of battle tactics, fighting styles, and more. Despite this, her isolation led her to enter the world somewhat naively, hoping to create a lasting change for those she met. She has succeeded in many ways, but we still have questions about this cherished character.
1) Why Does it Feel Like She’s Defined By Those Around Her?
One of the biggest points of contention or confusion about Wonder Woman is how she’s perceived. In many ways, Diana always seemed to be defined by something other than herself. In other words, while many other iconic DC Heroes have clear definitions of their own, Wonder Woman is often defined by those around her. She’s a warrior from Themyscira or the daughter of gods.
In the comics, Wonder Woman fits into varying methods of definition. She’s defined by her romances (Steve Trevor, Batman, Superman), her family (Hippolyta, Amazons, Zeus), and her rivalries (Cheetah, Circe). While all of these can be elements of her character, they should never be defining features – nor should they limit her potential. Yet the comics rarely take risks and explore her character beyond these core elements.
2) Are Readers Really Expected to Overlook the Implications of Her Weakness?
All heroes should have a weakness. Superman has his Kryptonite. Batman is mortal and has no superpowers to speak of. And Wonder Woman? She has a weakness in being bound by men. Yep. When Diana is bound by men, including when her bracelets (called The Bracelets of Submission) are brought together, Diana will lose access to all of her powers. However, it only works when a man does it. The comics have shown Diana successfully maintaining her powers when a woman captures the hero.
It all has to do with Wonder Woman’s creator, William Moulton Marston. We won’t go into all the details here, because that’s an entirely different can of worms, but it’s worth reading if you want to try and understand some of the oddities about Diana’s backstory. However, it’s hard to believe that readers were meant to overlook the obvious implication here.
3) Why Has She Never Had Her Own Animated Series?
Animated series are a huge hit for DC Comics, with heroes such as Batman and Superman each having half a dozen (at least) solo series. More recently, anti-hero Harley Quinn got her own animated series on MAX. Do you know who doesn’t have her own animated series? Wonder Woman. Why is that?
While Wonder Woman has appeared in several animated series (Super Friends, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, DC Super Hero Girls, etc.), she has never landed her own solo animated series. Not only is this a crying shame, but it’s confusing. Diana is one of the Trinity, alongside Batman and Superman. The latter two have held dozens of solo projects, including animated series, movies, etc. Yet Diana doesn’t have her own solo animated series, and it took years for her to get a solo live-action movie (in the DC Cinematic Universe). Why is she treated any differently?
You can’t even argue that the problem is a fear about a female-led animated series flopping, as Harley Quinn has been knocking it out of the park. It seems like now is the perfect time to give Princess Diana the spotlight and bring her story to the forefront.
[RELATED: Harley Quinn Season 5 Finale Feels Like an Ending (And That’s a Good Thing)]
4) Why Did Diana Accept an Honorary Role on the JSA?
Before the Justice League came into being, there was the Justice Society of America. It was a great organization of heroes, so it’s totally understandable that Wonder Woman wanted to be part of it. However, what does not make sense is that Diana would ever accept anything that made her a lesser member of the team. Yet history tells of a time in which Wonder Woman happily acted as an honorary member of the JSA…and their secretary. The latter is not a joke, as the roll call for the JSA made it very clear that this was Wonder Woman’s role in the team, and she seemed oddly fine with it.
Wonder Woman is supposed to be a feminist icon, so why would she ever accept a role that made her less than the rest of the team? Even if one was willing to argue that it’s because she isn’t around as much, her honorary title still feels demeaning at best. Simply put, she deserved better.
5) Why Doesn’t She Have Magical Armor?
Wonder Woman grew up in Themyscira, and as such, she was trained by the best warriors around. Likewise, she was given many gifts, including magical bracelets and the Lass of Truth. However, it’s hard to believe that these Amazon warriors would ever have let Diana leave the island wearing a glorified bathing suit. This has us asking – why doesn’t Diana have magical armor? It would certainly be in keeping with her backstory. Furthermore, a complete set of armor would be in keeping with Diana’s themes instead of letting her wear something designed for the male gaze.
Remember, Diana’s weaponry and tools are often gifts of the gods. While she doesn’t have control over what they give her, surely somebody would have realized that she needed something more. A carefully crafted set of armor would show how Diana is beloved by the gods.
Argue all you want about her agility and comfort – if the boys can handle it, so can Diana. Batman has full body armor, gadgets galore, and even backups of everything. Aquaman has Atlantean plating, and even Shazam showcases what magical armor can look like. So, it’s been done in DC Comics, just not for Diana’s sake.
6) How Wonder Woman Has Been Pulled Into So Much Relationship Drama?
Wonder Woman is a feminist icon who doesn’t need a relationship to feel fulfilled, yet she’s constantly pulled into romantic drama across the DC Universe. When it happens inside her own story and is done to advance her character growth, it works. However, she’s been caught up in many romances that felt counter to her character.
Love him or hate him, Steve Trevor is but one of Wonder Woman’s famous romances. She also famously began relationships with Batman and Superman. These have come and gone a few times, some more inane than others. For example, during one 1955 run (The Brave and the Bold #78), Wonder Woman got into a fight over Batman’s affections. Were fans seriously supposed to believe that Wonder Woman would ever fight over a man? Then there’s that famous Superman romance during New 52, which happened after the death of Lois Lane. Ick.
None of this is to say that Wonder Woman shouldn’t have any relationships – the contrary! Diana deserves happy and healthy romances. However, she also deserves more than a crutch, trope, or distraction, which is often what her romantic adventures are relegated to.
[RELATED: DC Reveals That Wonder Woman Hates the Gods (And I Understand Why)]
7) Why DC Keeps Changing Her Backstory
Realistically, we understand that reboots happen. Sometimes they’re even necessary. DC has become somewhat infamous for its continuous reboots, but it’s safe to say that Wonder Woman is one of the most (worst) affected by all of these reboots. Her story has changed drastically from her introduction, and not always for the better.
When Diana was first introduced, she was the daughter of Hippolyta and a warrior of the Amazons. The latter never really changed, but the first part has been in flux for ages. In the first version, Hippolyta made her daughter out of clay. This would later get dropped during the Silver Age, only for the Bronze Age to bring it back. If that was the end of it, readers could breathe easier.
Unfortunately, it isn’t the end of Diana’s origin story problems. Next came the New 52 era, which tried to shake up many superhero and villain stories with varying degrees of success. In this timeline, Wonder Woman was the daughter of gods, specifically the daughter of Zeus. This came complete with sibling dynamics and all the problems they brought along for the ride. Then Rebirth occurred. Unlike New 52, it made fewer sweeping changes. While that was probably for the best, it did put some parts of Diana’s story in limbo. This was probably done to preserve some of the mystery around Diana’s character, but it can make things more confusing for readers, especially new readers. These multiple variations on Diana’s backstory add a certain boundary, making many readers feel like they need to check and double-check with a version of the character they’re dealing with.
