Donna Troy Appreciation

[Agent 86]

So.... Who Is Troia? is happening now, like I thought it would. Hopes/fears?

My hopes would be for a simple, logical explanation and a very close relationship between Donna and Queen Hippolyta, Diana and the Amazons. Ideally, it would be as basic as possible - Donna is the sole survivor of a shipwreck, washed up on the shores of Themyscira and was adopted by Queen Hippolyta and become Diana's younger sister. Amazon training and maybe some Amazon technology or magical weapons give Donna super-powers to rival Diana (although maybe not quite as powerful). A future storyline could explain that Donna was saved from drowning / dying and guided to Themyscira by the Titans because they sensed some cosmic destiny for her as a future hero and sought to ensure she received the best training available to achieve that goal. I know all of that doesn't fit with Rebirth, but I'd be happy for them to do some hand waving to make it fit with Rebirth.

My fears would be that Donna receives yet another convoluted, overly complicated and unnecessarily ridiculous origin story which will be rebooted yet again at some point in the future. And that her ridiculous origin story somehow turns her into a man-hating, blood-thirsty, irrational, aggravating character who has no close ties with Diana, Queen Hippolyta or the Amazons. And that she's forced to run around in some kind of skimpy bathing suit costume with high heels and dramatic cleavage while constantly carrying a sword which she uses to cleave the heads off her enemies.

[Assam]

My fears would be that Donna receives yet another convoluted, overly complicated and unnecessarily ridiculous origin story which will be rebooted yet again at some point in the future. And that her ridiculous origin story somehow turns her into a man-hating, blood-thirsty, irrational, aggravating character who has no close ties with Diana, Queen Hippolyta or the Amazons. And that she's forced to run around in some kind of skimpy bathing suit costume with high heels and dramatic cleavage while constantly carrying a sword which she uses to cleave the heads off her enemies.

argent donna.jpg

Maybe one day this question will have a satisfying answer, but I don't think it's in sight.

[Doctor Bifrost]

Okay, here's mine, in brief. It's a happy mash-up. It may not fit in with the current "Diana spent the first 5-10 years of her superhero career believing completely false things about her past/Nobody can go to Themysicra" status quo, but since I don't think those are good for Diana anyway (especially the first part, and I don't expect the second part to last), I won't worry.

While still living on Themysicra, before becoming Wonder Woman, Diana uses the Mirror of Troy - a powerful and unpredictable magical artifact in the Amazon's treasure store - to rescue a young girl from a burning house in Man's World and bring her to the island. She lives there for several years before returning to Man's World. A number of goddesses, who witnessed her bravery and kindness while she was on Themyscira, grant her supernatural abilities so she can assist Wonder Woman in her heroic efforts, and become a hero in her own right.

My longer version explains all those details, and also explains how she got the name Donna Troy, involves one of the Titan goddesses (Selene, specifically), why she later chooses the name Darkstar (or Dark Angel, or Dark Opal, depending on taste), and more.

[jamgut]

My hope would be an origin for Donna that is NOT closely tied to Diana. That way in the future when Diana’s origin changes for the umpteenth time, Donna won’t be collateral damage. My preference would be a Titans of Myth origin for Donna with those Titans putting Donna in the Amazons care when she was entering her teens. The Titans did things to Donna's memories during the hand-off (maybe even the Amazons' memories as well) and that led to later repercussions.

[Artemisfanboy]

My hope would be an origin for Donna that is NOT closely tied to Diana. That way in the future when Diana’s origin changes for the umpteenth time, Donna won’t be collateral damage. My preference would be a Titans of Myth origin for Donna with those Titans putting Donna in the Amazons care when she was entering her teens. The Titans did things to Donna's memories during the hand-off (maybe even the Amazons' memories as well) and that led to later repercussions.

Do you think the various Batman or Superman family members should be delinked/distanced from their main characters? All the trouble Donna's been through since the original post-crisis era could ultimately be said to originate from them not really considering her part of Wonder Woman. She really shouldn't be in a position to end up as collateral damage from Diana getting a origin retelling/reboot. In fact every retelling/reboot they've had would of been a good chance to fix her yet they keep passing them up for some reason. Her original origin doesn't need to be changed that much or thrown out. Somehow a young orphaned girl, Donna Troy, ends up on Themyscira and is found by Diana and her mother Hippolyta. Hippolyta adopts the girl as her daughter and Diana's younger sister. Later after Diana becomes Wonder Woman and leaves the island, Donna likewise follows after her older sister and becomes Wonder Girl. You can put different spins on this and modify it. She could simply shipwreck on the island or be brought there by a goddess, titan, or even another amazon. There are plenty of ways to justify her getting enhanced powers close to Diana's level. The only modification to Diana's origin that needs to be made is to remember Diana should have a younger sister. Have Donna sit next to Hippolyta watching the contest. Maybe have some nice scenes of Diana talking to Donna about wanting to leave the island. It seems ridiculous that it seems nobody at DC wants to do this.

[Amazon Swordsman]

What is so hard about making this an origin for Donna? (Or Cassie)



The girl here is even a blonde, and her name is Cassie too. It seems so simple...with some minor tweaking, I don't see why this can't work for either of them.

[Doctor Bifrost]

What is so hard about making this an origin for Donna? (Or Cassie)



The girl here is even a blonde, and her name is Cassie too. It seems so simple...with some minor tweaking, I don't see why this can't work for either of them.

I'm not sure how this is an origin for a kid superhero.

[TheSupernaut]

I've always had this fanfictiony idea that Donna could be the daughter of Izaya and Hippolyta. A retcon of those 2 having a love affair could have happened during a past battle with Darkseid. Like I said fanfictiony. But in a way it would make Donna and Diana equals with the potential of a distinct powerset.

[Mel Dyer]

You know...when you cut out all of the Star Trek elements from "Who Is Wonder Girl?", you have a very nice, simple, somewhat cliched story about the Titans of Myth saving children from disasters and training them to be superheroes. We really didn't need much more, than that to fix Donna's post-Crisis origin problem.

I think Donna's personality makes her a great prospect to be the Wonder Woman of a small town or city, as Nightwing is to Bludhaven. That's what she needs.

[Amazon Swordsman]

I'm not sure how this is an origin for a kid superhero.

Saving a kid from a natural disaster and being inspired by the heroine...what's hard to get about that? It's tantamount to Diana rescuing Donna from the burning building.

[Doctor Bifrost]

Saving a kid from a natural disaster and being inspired by the heroine...what's hard to get about that? It's tantamount to Diana rescuing Donna from the burning building.

The Donna Troy I know is a little bit more than "inspired by a brief encounter when a superhero rescues her." She has superpowers. She is raised and trained by Amazons, or their equivalent. In the best versions, in my opinion, she is adopted by Hippolyta and Diana is her "older sister" - but here she's already got a mom. I don't see how this standard superhero rescue leads to this girl becoming Wonder Girl.

But that's just me.

[donnafan]

The Donna Troy I know is a little bit more than "inspired by a brief encounter when a superhero rescues her." She has superpowers. She is raised and trained by Amazons, or their equivalent. In the best versions, in my opinion, she is adopted by Hippolyta and Diana is her "older sister" - but here she's already got a mom. I don't see how this standard superhero rescue leads to this girl becoming Wonder Girl.

But that's just me.

I couldn't agree more. I think having the Titans as part of her origins is a way to explain those powers, separate her a bit from Diana and give her a bit of uniqueness. I think the Titans annual pointed out something that has plagued the character since Crisis: the missing Diana/Donna connection. The nu52 origin gave Donna Diana's old clay origin but, did little to solve the sisterly bond or make any real connection between the two, other than potential adversaries. Sadly, the same goes for Cassie: no real connection. Bats can have a gazillion Robins but, WW can't have a single mentee?

[AmiMizuno]

thag sucks. I wonder maybe Zeus mother give birth too or rather created Donna and Zeus due to angry had a sexual relationship with Cassie not knowing it would lead to Wonder Girls. Rhea tells Diana about Cassie to make sure she mentors her. Donna is already with the amazons . Cassie as to be protected from zeus’s Influence or should Cassie have the Zeus origin due to Diana’s weird origin ?

[richalex]

This would work for me and tie Diana and Donna together.

How about we reverse the whole Titans of Myth thing, since DC usually likes to portray them as villains anyway. They kidnap Donna after the Amazons find her and before she becomes a Teen Titan.

She ends up on Themyscira for "reasons" (We can figure that out later. Maybe Shipwrecked. Or whatever.) She grows up on the Island and forms a bond with Diana and Hippolyte, new sis and new mom. Gets kidnapped around the age of 12 or so by the Titans of Myth to serve as a counter to Diana, The Olympians' Champion. (This is how she gets powers that rivials Diana's but maybe not as strong because the Titans powers are not as strong as they once were) Donna becomes their Weapon as it is easier to manipulate children, further making most of the Titans of Myth into evil SOBs, maybe a few are tired of the war with the Olympians. She is returned to Earth and adopted by the Stacy's or whoever, I forget, with Brief Memories of possibly growing up with the Amazons, but they come to her as Nightmares. She is saved in a fire by Diana who recognizes her little sister immediately. This could also be one of the other reasons Diana enters the contest. Not only to take Steve back, but try and find Donna. Eventually the Titans of Myth return to try and use Donna against the Olympians and The Amazons and Wonder Woman, but she breaks free from their control.

[AmiMizuno]

Why? Not all the titans were evil. How about this Rhea holds the souls of her children that were eating. They are reborn as amazons. Even Donna. This is due to Dian’s wanting a sister.