How do you feel about Mala?

[Mel Dyer]

Mala and Etta have been around, since the Golden Age. I think they reflect two dynamic aspects of what makes Diana, Wonder Woman: her optimism and her wild ambition. Diana embodies both these qualities, and it makes sense that her two closest female confidantes would reflect that. I never bought Loebs's idea of Diana being Pollyanna, with Artemis being the edgy shadow.

Diana has never been all sweetness and light.

Think of Mala, as serving the same function, as Batman's Alfred. I think the editors should keep a regular character in the cast, who understands Diana's Amazon POV, ..as well as Alfred understands Batman's motivations. There should be someone in Diana's life, who understands why she's doing what she's doing, and who's going to be her Amazon conscience, sometimes. No matter what direction a writer decides to go with the WW comic or how involved she is with the Island, I think Diana needs that. Since Mala's been in the comic, forever, and Hippolyta's got to stay on the island, ..why not Mala?

As I see it, Mala should be the voice telling Diana to tread carefully. "Remember your Amazon code, before you do this, sister! Is this who you are?" While Etta is the voice, screaming, "What are we waiting for, Diana?! Let's go kick over that lost empire!" Steve can join one side or just support Diana. I want Diana to be in the middle of that sort of human dialogue, before the swords are drawn and the punches start flying. I want Diana to feel just a little like one of us, when we read her.

[marhawkman]

Now i want to see the Amazon Mala fight the Kryptonian Mala.

[WonderScott]

I hope I haven't been annoying you. Well for me the Amazons having children symbolizes them starting over. That these children aren't made from clay rather Artemis returning the souls of their dead children to them. Hippolyta however, is the last one to get Diana. Which she sculpts from clay. I know, I know I have been repeating myself but the sex pirates and the Banas for me would work better together. That before Diana was born the Banas didn't part ways but rather lived on the Island and steal any sons form being born and simply part them on a near by Island where choosen Amazons would give birth to them and raised them to obey them.

OMDG! (Oh my Dark Gods!)

You haven't been annoying me at all! I enjoy it when you provide the background to your thinking, because usually it's different from mine and makes me think about Wonder Woman and her world in another way.

I repeat my ideas too, 1. because I feel strongly about them and 2. sometimes a new thought pops in while I'm rethinking my position on something Amazon related.

The beauty of Wonder Woman is she's been around so long and had some many different incarnations, that it's fun to play with all the pieces and concepts as more gets created and more get reinterpreted for contemporary times.

Like Mala...she's one of the first Amazons we ever met and she's been missing for decades. She's a character and concept I hadn't thought about much before everyone talking about her and now she's got a spot in my take on Wonder Woman. That's a great thing.

[WonderScott]

Mala and Etta have been around, since the Golden Age. I think they reflect two dynamic aspects of what makes Diana, Wonder Woman: her optimism and her wild ambition. Diana embodies both these qualities, and it makes sense that her two closest female confidantes would reflect that. I never bought Loebs's idea of Diana being Pollyanna, with Artemis being the edgy shadow.

Diana has never been all sweetness and light.

Think of Mala, as serving the same function, as Batman's Alfred. I think the editors should keep a regular character in the cast, who understands Diana's Amazon POV, ..as well as Alfred understands Batman's motivations. There should be someone in Diana's life, who understands why she's doing what she's doing, and who's going to be her Amazon conscience, sometimes. No matter what direction a writer decides to go with the WW comic or how involved she is with the Island, I think Diana needs that. Since Mala's been in the comic, forever, and Hippolyta's got to stay on the island, ..why not Mala?

As I see it, Mala should be the voice telling Diana to tread carefully. "Remember your Amazon code, before you do this, sister! Is this who you are?" While Etta is the voice, screaming, "What are we waiting for, Diana?! Let's go kick over that lost empire!" Steve can join one side or just support Diana. I want Diana to be in the middle of that sort of human dialogue, before the swords are drawn and the punches start flying. I want Diana to feel just a little like one of us, when we read her.

This is an interesting way to think of Etta and Mala and what they represent in their relationship to Diana.

I really want this kind of Etta back in the Wonder mix.

[WonderScott]

Now i want to see the Amazon Mala fight the Kryptonian Mala.

Haha...they really need to introduce Mala to the DC Comicsverse.

I'd love to see Mala, Faora Hu-Ul, and Ursa escape the Phantom Zone and head to Themyscira for an adventure.

[marhawkman]

Haha...they really need to introduce Mala to the DC Comicsverse.

I'd love to see Mala, Faora Hu-Ul, and Ursa escape the Phantom Zone and head to Themyscira for an adventure.

Maybe toss in Car-Vex too for a bit more fun?

[WonderScott]

Maybe toss in Car-Vex too for a bit more fun?

I'm into it and breaking the single Kryptonian female hanging out with two or more Kryptonian guys trope.

(That said I need Power Girl to hang out with Supergirl then too, when all the good Supers get together.)

[marhawkman]

I'm into it and breaking the single Kryptonian female hanging out with two or more Kryptonian guys trope.

(That said I need Power Girl to hang out with Supergirl then too, when all the good Supers get together.)

That reminds me...one of the story arcs I liked most in Supergirl, which tragically was far too short, and ended in a STUPID way.... was Supergirl vs Nadira. Nadira was a recurring Kryptonian character who was one of the zoners, but not a "big evil" sort of person. She was in it because she was greedy. It was interesting because Supergirl actually TALKED to Nadira on some occasions, and the two of them did more than just fight(but they mostly fought). It was kinda cool seeing Supergirl try to talk her into giving up being a supervillain.

[Agent Z]

What should Mala's design look like?

Seeing as how the name Mala is of Indian origin, maybe someone who looks Indian.

[WonderScott]

Seeing as how the name Mala is of Indian origin, maybe someone who looks Indian.

Yes to more ethnic diversity in the regular Wonder supporting cast!

[AmiMizuno]

Well, she does also have blond hair and looking at the history of India why not have her be mixed?

[Koriand'r]

Mala and Etta have been around, since the Golden Age. I think they reflect two dynamic aspects of what makes Diana, Wonder Woman: her optimism and her wild ambition. Diana embodies both these qualities, and it makes sense that her two closest female confidantes would reflect that. I never bought Loebs's idea of Diana being Pollyanna, with Artemis being the edgy shadow.

Diana has never been all sweetness and light.

Think of Mala, as serving the same function, as Batman's Alfred. I think the editors should keep a regular character in the cast, who understands Diana's Amazon POV, ..as well as Alfred understands Batman's motivations. There should be someone in Diana's life, who understands why she's doing what she's doing, and who's going to be her Amazon conscience, sometimes. No matter what direction a writer decides to go with the WW comic or how involved she is with the Island, I think Diana needs that. Since Mala's been in the comic, forever, and Hippolyta's got to stay on the island, ..why not Mala?

As I see it, Mala should be the voice telling Diana to tread carefully. "Remember your Amazon code, before you do this, sister! Is this who you are?" While Etta is the voice, screaming, "What are we waiting for, Diana?! Let's go kick over that lost empire!" Steve can join one side or just support Diana. I want Diana to be in the middle of that sort of human dialogue, before the swords are drawn and the punches start flying. I want Diana to feel just a little like one of us, when we read her.

I'm not as old as this reference implies, but I don't think of Diana as being like Pollyanna, she's like Mary Richards from the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Friendly, capable, professional, sweet beyond measure, but with a steel backbone and a temper you never want to see.

[Phoenixx9]

Mala should definitely be included as it hahas een forever since we have seen her! Mala, Mala, Mala!

[Mel Dyer]

As a sidebar consideration, ..wouldn't it be great to see the WW comic FINALLY get a small cast of its most enduring, dynamic characters? I would love to follow these characters, over the years, and to see them grow and change in some way that makes me emotionally invested in them and, as a result, ..become more emotionally invested in the comic! I think that's how it's supposed to work.

Mala and Etta were there in the beginning, and, over the years, they've come to complement two very important aspects of who Wonder Woman is. With Mala taking the high road, and Etta taking the rough road, it leaves Diana room in between them, hopefully, ..to be a little more unpredictable, than she's known to be. I would like to see these ladies at Diana's side, no matter what. At this point in the history of the WW comic, I would like to see someone, besides Steve and her mama, at Diana's side, no matter what's happening in the comic. Nostalgia aside, I think Mala could serve a very useful purpose in being one of those characters - Etta, Steve, Doc Julia [?], Ferdinand [?] - who is a constant in the on-going narrative.

Historically, the supporting regulars have had some role, job or purpose to fulfill that's relevant to the superhero's narrative. For example, if Etta and Steve were Diana's combat support in the field, perhaps, Ferdinand could be her butler/archaeology expert, ..with Mala serving as something else. That's hard to do, if the superhero's narrative is jerking around into one, bold, new direction, after another. It's hard to see where Mala would fit, in that sense, but, it's very clear to see the balance she brings to Wonder Woman's characterization, in relation to the other regulars in the comic.

Simply put, with Mala as a regular, being the comic's fountain of golden, inexhaustible Amazon optimism, ..it keeps Diana from drifting too much into Pollyanna territory. I want Wonder Woman to be brilliant, FUN, edgy, angelic and always full of surprises. I don't buy into the 'Etta bad cop, Diana good cop' scenario that Rucka offered, and I don't find it interesting. Without another high-road character in the WW comic, there's too much of an opportunity for writers to make the sort of Diana that Bill Loebs and Phil Jimenez poked fun at - a Diana with all smooth edges...

And boring as hell.

At the rate blondes are vanishing from the DCU, Mala looks pretty diverse to me. Etta looks West African; Steve looks Northern European, and Diana looks Mediterranean. What's wrong with good, old, Nordic blond Mala?

[Agent Z]

As a sidebar consideration, ..wouldn't it be great to see the WW comic FINALLY get a small cast of its most enduring, dynamic characters? I would love to follow these characters, over the years, and to see them grow and change in some way that makes me emotionally invested in them and, as a result, ..become more emotionally invested in the comic! I think that's how it's supposed to work.

Mala and Etta were there in the beginning, and, over the years, they've come to complement two very important aspects of who Wonder Woman is. With Mala taking the high road, and Etta taking the rough road, it leaves Diana room in between them, hopefully, ..to be a little more unpredictable, than she's known to be. I would like to see these ladies at Diana's side, no matter what. At this point in the history of the WW comic, I would like to see someone, besides Steve and her mama, at Diana's side, no matter what's happening in the comic. Nostalgia aside, I think Mala could serve a very useful purpose in being one of those characters - Etta, Steve, Doc Julia [?], Ferdinand [?] - who is a constant in the on-going narrative.

Historically, the supporting regulars have had some role, job or purpose to fulfill that's relevant to the superhero's narrative. For example, if Etta and Steve were Diana's combat support in the field, perhaps, Ferdinand could be her butler/archaeology expert, ..with Mala serving as something else. That's hard to do, if the superhero's narrative is jerking around into one, bold, new direction, after another. It's hard to see where Mala would fit, in that sense, but, it's very clear to see the balance she brings to Wonder Woman's characterization, in relation to the other regulars in the comic.

Simply put, with Mala as a regular, being the comic's fountain of golden, inexhaustible Amazon optimism, ..it keeps Diana from drifting too much into Pollyanna territory. I want Wonder Woman to be brilliant, FUN, edgy, angelic and always full of surprises. I don't buy into the 'Etta bad cop, Diana good cop' scenario that Rucka offered, and I don't find it interesting. It creates an easy opportunity for writers to make the sort of Diana that Bill Loebs and Phil Jimenez poked fun at - a Diana with all smooth edges...

And boring as hell.

At the rate blondes are vanishing from the DCU, Mala looks pretty diverse to me. Etta looks West African; Steve looks Northern European, and Diana looks Mediterranean. What's wrong with good, old, Nordic blond Mala?

The DCU at the moment does not exactly have an abundance of poc characters nor is it lacking in blondes any more than it previously was.