Wonder Woman villain: how would you fix him/her: Genocide

[marhawkman]

I find Deva interesting because, while physically very formidable, she actually prefers to manipulate people. She's one of the few supervillains who doesn't routinely over-estimate how strong she is. Also, I really like the basic concept of a supervillain that was literally created to take WW out.... but ends up not only failing but getting helped instead.

To be honest what Deva needed was a more open-ended story and a reason to be a more lingering annoyance.

[Agent Z]

They have no redeeming qualities. There is nothing interesting about them. They're more plot devices than characters. They're like goddamn Doomsday.

Devastation actually has a personalitybinlike Doomsday. Being really strong is all they have in common.

[Carabas]

So if it's possible could they actually be interesting characters? What would make them interesting? If not who could take their place?

They might be interesting if they were completely different characters who do not have anything at all in common with the originals. Legacy characters maybe. Genocide 2.

Nah. The name Genocide makesany character with that name beyond ridiculous. They're a Garth Ennis parody of a supervillain.

[AmiMizuno]

That makes sense. Maybe they could work if they were one-off villains.

[marhawkman]

Devastation actually has a personality unlike Doomsday. Being really strong is all they have in common.

Yeah really. Deva even has this weird super-martial artist thing she sometimes does. Doomsday doesn't do much beyond smashing things.

[WonderScott]

Genocide equals Doomsday to me - a powerful, raging force-of-nature destroyer. (Perhaps they should date?)

Devastation equals Bizarro to me - an evil opposite, clone-ish type character whose goal is to supplant the original.

They both work for me on that level and when they're being manipulated by other villains. Devastation edges out Genocide to me in my interest in the character. I'd revisit them if/when we ever get Donna and Cassie's origins revamped into something better and more like their original origins.

Devastation's origin is a little messy in particular (or depending on) your preferred Donna Troy origin. Donna"s Titans of Myth, and Cronus, and Cronus's Titans of Myth (Arch, Slaughter, etc.) oh my!

[marhawkman]

Devastation's origin is a little messy in particular (or depending on) your preferred Donna Troy origin. Donna's Titans of Myth, and Cronus, and Cronus's Titans of Myth (Arch, Slaughter, etc.) oh my!

Out-of-universe they get treated as different groups, but... the Titans of Myth actually included Cronus in it.... but had Hyperion as the leader?

To be honest the original New Cronus depictions of the Titans are all weird. :/ They all look human while there and aren't normally depicted that way. Tethys is typically depicted as being blue, but there she merely wears blue.

I wonder if the various stories written with them were written by people who hadn't read the others?

[AmiMizuno]

I wonder if you did take away their titan myths what would you give them?

[WonderScott]

Out-of-universe they get treated as different groups, but... the Titans of Myth actually included Cronus in it.... but had Hyperion as the leader?

To be honest the original New Cronus depictions of the Titans are all weird. :/ They all look human while there and aren't normally depicted that way. Tethys is typically depicted as being blue, but there she merely wears blue.

I wonder if the various stories written with them were written by people who hadn't read the others?

I’m guessing they didn’t read them or editorial wasn’t up on the status quo. In my head I always kind of left it that Cronus’s Titan’s of Myth that empowered Devastation were some of his more monstrous children as opppsed to godly siblings - but you’re right that it doesn’t make sense without some mental gymnastics.

Anyway, back on topic and Genocide... I need a whole redesign if the character is going to be used again. The original design is too 90s for moi.

[marhawkman]

Looking at it more, Hyperion's group was shown twice and the second time it didn't have Cronus. I'm not sure of the exact RW reason, but maybe the second time didn't have him because he was used differently in the other story? Because it was the second appearance of the Titans of Myth that had them look less human. For example, in the first appearance(1987) of the Titans of Myth, Tethys was just a woman in a blue mermaid-like costume. But the second time(2005) she had blue skin and looked like she was always wet. The Children of Cronus debuted in 1999. So maybe the look of the Titans in general got redesigned at that time.

In universe you can always say they used their powers to make themselves easier to relate to. At any rate the goals of Cronus are the only thing that really seems markedly different to me. He wasn't all that mean the first time, but the second time? Yikes... he literally tried to take over the universe!

As for Genocide though... Story-wise there's a huge difference between her and Deva. Deva was created/born to help Cronus take over the universe! Genocide was created specifically to kill WW. But also Genocide was created by science. She's in many ways more like Frankenstein's monster(she even has skin that looks stitched together). T. O. Morrow took several dead things, including a dead version of WW, and used them to create a monster. But Cronus made a child and he and his children gave her bits of their power. While Genocide is a hideous monster, Deva was actually said to have superhuman beauty.

How to fix Genocide? Genocide works best as a golem with no real will of her own, and thus little more than a weapon used by another who isn't physically formidable. I mean, WW kills her and NO ONE tried to say it was wrong! It was literally treated the same as Superman killing Doomsday.

[AmiMizuno]

Isn't Donna tied to the Titans of Myths? What if she is the Answer to Deva?

[LordUltimus]

How to fix Genocide? Genocide works best as a golem with no real will of her own, and thus little more than a weapon used by another who isn't physically formidable. I mean, WW kills her and NO ONE tried to say it was wrong! It was literally treated the same as Superman killing Doomsday.

So Genocide would be the equivelant of the Destroyer armor from Thor?

[marhawkman]

So Genocide would be the equivelant of the Destroyer armor from Thor?

Not exactly, but something similar. Maybe actually say things sometimes, but even then...

Isn't Donna tied to the Titans of Myths? What if she is the Answer to Deva?

I see them more as cousins than anything else.

Hmm I was pondering the new demi-goddess origin for Diana, and it really doesn't change as much as I'd originally thought. Cronus is powerful enough that he doesn't NEED magic clay to create a child out of clay. He could go into it thinking that the clay origin is real even though it's fake, and STILL make it work because he's just that powerful. But not only that, it adds a new dimension to the part where Diana "corrupted" her. It now makes Deva into what she hated, a descendant of Zeus.