Wonder Woman villain: how would you fix him/her: Veronica Cale

[AmiMizuno]

I mean she is suppose to be Diana's Lex Luthor but how to make her stand on her own. I see how many did love Rucka's version of Dr.Cyber but what of Cale?

[sakuyamons]

Give her the ruthless personality from Rucka's first run, with the motivations of the second run.

[Lex Luthor]

I think she was the most human and personable character in Ruckas run so I say leave her as is just use her more.

[Carabas]

Why are people here always asking how to fix what isn't broken?

[Michael Watkins]

Why are people here always asking how to fix what isn't broken?

it's useful because I had no knowledge of the character. the thread forced me to search.

[OBrianTallent]

She doesn't need to be fixed as much as she needs to continue. She has been the one character that showed the most growth in the current series and I would love to see that growth continue. Unfortunately I think she's one of those characters that is considered property, so I doubt anyone else will use her outside of Rucka.

[Frank]

If he does get $ from her use, though, wouldn't he want to encourage others to use her? Or do you mean more abstractly?

I agree that I'd like to see her continue. Not be overexposed, but yes, continue. I have wondered if she'd be part of the conduit to this "evil force" in hoping to make the Amazons part of his army, according to upcoming solicits. It'd make sense in that Cale has been closer to reaching Themiscyra than most, and she'd likely prefer to figure out how to fix/save Izzy away from the island, which can only happen if the island is accessible.

[Carabas]

She doesn't need to be fixed as much as she needs to continue. She has been the one character that showed the most growth in the current series and I would love to see that growth continue. Unfortunately I think she's one of those characters that is considered property, so I doubt anyone else will use her outside of Rucka.

How can Veronica Cale possibly be considered Rucka's property. She's 100% work-for-hire.
Also, she featured a lot in the post Infinite Crisis Doom Patrol book.

[Pinsir]

She was genuinely the best aspect of the Rucka run. If there is a problem with her, its that no one else seems interested in picking her up besides Rucka. If the Wonder Woman II is set in the 80's though she is probably going to be the villain though.

Also, no, she was pretty awful under Rucka's initial pen. She was depicted as being hysterical, hating Wonder Woman essentially for being liked. She also never received a satisfying conclusion, even as Wonder Woman became disgraced for being the neck tearing murderer she is, we don't get to see her gloat and proclaim victory.

[Koriand'r]

She was genuinely the best aspect of the Rucka run. If there is a problem with her, its that no one else seems interested in picking her up besides Rucka. If the Wonder Woman II is set in the 80's though she is probably going to be the villain though.

Also, no, she was pretty awful under Rucka's initial pen. She was depicted as being hysterical, hating Wonder Woman essentially for being liked. She also never received a satisfying conclusion, even as Wonder Woman became disgraced for being the neck tearing murderer she is, we don't get to see her gloat and proclaim victory.

Veronica Cale hated Wonder Wolman in Rucka's first run because she saw her as being a hypocrite. Cale raised herself up from poverty and became a doctor and head of her own pharmaceutical corporation, while Wonder Woman came from a privileged background in paradise, was afforded great gifts, as well as supermodel beauty. It was easy for Diana to say "empower yourself, you can do it, fight to be independent" but she never had to deal with everyday hardships like food, rent and tuition the way Cale did. She didn't struggle and scheme and claw her way to the top, she was blessed to be superior at birth. So it's easy to see why Cale would resent her. I've read people say that jealousy is a trite and thin motivation for a proposed supervillain, but I think it's a hard to control and base emotion that anyone can relate to.

Are Cale's motivations in the second run more justified and sympathetic and less Luthorlike? Sure, but she was no slouch the first time around either. She doesn't need "fixing".

[Mel Dyer]

If he does get $ from her use, though, wouldn't he want to encourage others to use her? Or do you mean more abstractly?

I agree that I'd like to see her continue. Not be overexposed, but yes, continue. I have wondered if she'd be part of the conduit to this "evil force" in hoping to make the Amazons part of his army, according to upcoming solicits. It'd make sense in that Cale has been closer to reaching Themiscyra than most, and she'd likely prefer to figure out how to fix/save Izzy away from the island, which can only happen if the island is accessible.

I really wanted to see some kind of supernatural transformation, at the end of that story, like turning her into a new, Ares-powered Silver Swan, ..and I was very disappointed that I didn't.

I think Rucka missed a great opportunity to make her more interesting, when he didn't do more with her. What if Anderson had somehow downloaded part of herself into Cale, ..creating the deadliest Doctor Cyber, ever? Even better...what if Cale, in a desperate attempt to get her daughter back, was forced to take on Izzy's affliction - to become a woman with NO FACE?! That might have been interesting, even if it didn't give her superhuman powers, ..and I think it would make her a wee bit CRAZIER, than she already is. The idea that a woman from nowhere, who worked, schemed and murdered herself out of abysmal poverty and obscurity ..to become one of the most famous women in the world...

Suddenly found that she had NO FACE?! While I guess it borrows too much from the Doctor Cyber mythos, there's something marvelously ironic about a beautiful, immortal Amazon being tormented by a faceless destroyer, ..who happened to be a woman.

Anyway, Veronica Cale is boring. She needs something extra, that makes her look a little less, like a generic, movie-of-the-week antagonist. I would mess her up, somehow, and I might give her the name or likeness of one of Wonder Woman's Golden Age supervillains, just for the sake of continuity. I'd like to see more made of her, than female Luthor, which has never set me on fire, with interest in her.

[scary harpy]

Veronica Cale was unnecessary.

Essentially, she is an updated Priscilla Rich sans Cheetah. Since the Cheetah is Barbara Minerva now, reinventing Priscilla Rich would have been a great update. Instead, Diana's villains were once again ignored.

[AmiMizuno]

Let Cale stay the same but Rich can be her own thing or at least be connected to Barbara. Like she is Barbara's mother and how, Barbara learns of the Cheetah is because her mother was once the Cheetah.

[WonderScott]

Cale was a little too sympathetic in the most recent run. From what I remember, she had a bit more of an edge to her personality in Rucka’s first run which I enjoyed. She was more Paula Von Gunther to me than Priscilla Rich.

Her motivation of “who’s the real wonder woman around here” worked for me. She headed down the Luthor path, but I really didn’t mind. I’d be up for seeing her again if they keep some of the brilliant fringe scientist aspect she had in Doom Patrol.

[Agent Z]

The version of Luthor that Cale vaguely resembled had pretty much stopped existing by the time she was created. She has more in common with David Xanatos than Luthor honestly.