The Invisible Plane: Yay or Nay?

[Agent Z]

I think the Invisible Jet is an iconic piece of Wonder Woman's lore. Perez butchered it and that was one of the main flaws of his reboot. Does Diana need to use the jet in every story arc? No, but it should be used from time to time as it can be used to help carry passengers(Steve, Etta, Ferdinand, etc.), carry fragile equipment, or for stealth missions.

How do you "butcher" something you're not even using?

[Agent Z]

But a vaporized Steve Trevor pouncing around Washington D C in 1984 looking all dapper does?

We've seen people come back to life in the DCEU and we don't even know if that's really Steve yet. Invisible jets on the other hand, have yet to be established.

[Restingvoice]

Or do what Rucka did in Rebirth. The ancient/magitech Amazons rebuilt Steve's plane, and made it invisible in the process. Or have Diana acquire it from somewhere not Themyscira.

That works too

Okay so my general answer is yes because that's unique to Wonder Woman

[Dr. Poison]

How do you "butcher" something you're not even using?

That's just it, he made it seem like it was completely useless. No disrespect to Perez, I loved his run overall but not utilizing the Jet and making Steve Trevor much older than Diana were the 2 of the major blemishes of his run IMO.

[Agent Z]

That's just it, he made it seem like it was completely useless. No disrespect to Perez, I loved his run overall but not utilizing the Jet and making Steve Trevor much older than Diana were the 2 of the major blemishes of his run IMO.

I can understand what you're saying in the last part of your post. But Perez didn't make it seem useless. He didn't make it seem like anything because he didn't use it. You can't accuse a writer of butchering a character or concept that doesn't appear in their work. If you want an example of such happening look at issue 43 of Robinson's run where Diana opts to beat information out of the Furies rather than use the Lasso which she has in her hands. That is butchering a concept.

[SiegePerilous02]

"butchering" is a strong word, but he/DC should have left room for it to have existed in the canon. Maybe the editorial edict that his run had to take place in the present day played a part in that, and he wanted her to be able to fly in the present, hence the absence of the plane. It's why I also wish Rucka hadn't given her flight in Year One and allowed for more use of the Plane, and flight could have been acquired sometime between Year One and the Lies (maybe Hermes could have still given it to her).

Then it got given to her in post-Crisis canon long after the point where she even needed it, and it was useless. Is this where the "Why does she need an Invisible Plane if she can fly?" problem came from? Because having it before she could fly on her own is a pretty simple answer that is not allowed to exist for some reason. Also, it often means no technologically advanced Amazons, and screw that noise.

[Jim Kelly]

It used to be called the Robot Plane and I think that's a better name as it's more intriguing and suggests that the plane does more than become invisible. Asking why Wonder Woman needs a plane when she can fly, is like asking why Batman needs the Batmobile when he can walk. Obviously they don't need need them, but they are useful. And DC can sell them as toys and collectibles.

[WonderScott]

I think the Invisible Jet is an iconic piece of Wonder Woman's lore. Perez butchered it and that was one of the main flaws of his reboot. Does Diana need to use the jet in every story arc? No, but it should be used from time to time as it can be used to help carry passengers(Steve, Etta, Ferdinand, etc.), carry fragile equipment, or for stealth missions.

Yes, this. I get why Perez streamlined and offered up his version of the Amazons, but for all the great he did, he omitted a few classic aspects - technologically-advanced Amazons, the invisible jet, Steve Trevor as a viable love interest, etc.

Besides myth, Diana can operate in romance stories, or sci-fi tales, or detective stories, and some of these classic Wonder mythos concepts would have aided that and not detract from his Amazons.

But, maybe that's just my reaction to not having those elements of her fantasy for so long.

[WonderScott]

I can understand what you're saying in the last part of your post. But Perez didn't make it seem useless. He didn't make it seem like anything because he didn't use it. You can't accuse a writer of butchering a character or concept that doesn't appear in their work. If you want an example of such happening look at issue 43 of Robinson's run where Diana opts to beat information out of the Furies rather than use the Lasso which she has in her hands. That is butchering a concept.

The butchering came about by not incorporating some iconic elements from her Pre-Crisis mythos, that he could/might have worked in, so it's a bit of quibbling over semantics.

I love Perez and the amazing foundation he created for Diana, the Amazons, her villains, and her stories, but disagree with how he limited some of her supporting characters and Wonder concepts that in turn could have opened her up to other types of stories in the 80s, 90s, etc. I get why he did what he did and enjoyed it, but I would have made some changes had I been consulted. LOL

[WonderScott]

It used to be called the Robot Plane and I think that's a better name as it's more intriguing and suggests that the plane does more than become invisible. Asking why Wonder Woman needs a plane when she can fly, is like asking why Batman needs the Batmobile when he can walk. Obviously they don't need need them, but they are useful. And DC can sell them as toys and collectibles.

Ideally, if/when the Amazons get tech back (or, as in Year One's mechanic and design work on Trevor's plane, it gets shown as a bigger aspect of their culture), I'd love it if the creators would do some intrepid research on what's next in stealth technology or other advanced functions that the invisible plane could contain. Dive into the theoretical stuff or things designers are dreaming up and build off that creatively and fictionally, so that the Amazons are once again a few centuries ahead of the curve.

(Aside: Whoever works on the Legion or New Gods needs to do this too. I mean, we don't have Boom Tubes, but most of us are all walking around with essentially Mother Boxes right now.)

[Jim Kelly]

The change in the Mother Boxes--so they're these big lumbering cubes--is the main thing that bugged me in the JUSTICE LEAGUE movie (and I'm a fan of that movie). Kirby was a genius to come up with the idea of Mother Boxes as hand-held devices that do everything for their owners.

I'm all for a highly advanced Amazon culture. Bring back the mental radio.

[My Two Cents]

That's just it, he made it seem like it was completely useless. No disrespect to Perez, I loved his run overall but not utilizing the Jet and making Steve Trevor much older than Diana were the 2 of the major blemishes of his run IMO.

The stories are 40 years old and I do not remember feeling cheated when I originally read them.
But moving to now and how Marvel used stealth invisibility on there jets in the S.H.I.E.L.D television
series and the same formula has been shown in other movies and television series and comics;
especially on Star Trek (that came out originally in the late 1960's)
It does get my craw that She had the invisible Plane since Sensation Comics # 1 January 1942
and because of silly uses in cartoon and the television series has been labeled a joke and something
to be avoided, while (like I wrote) has been used in all kinds of entertainment since with
much approval and awe.
And why can she not have a cool plane that becomes invisible? because she can fly and it would be
ridicules? or because she is not part of some team in her solo adventures?
how about the Amazons are more advanced than they have been shown for decades and they where
the ones who invented stealth and invisibility over 100 years ago. And what if Diana uses her own
Amazon supplied Jet to transport her team while with the Justice League and than uses mental command
to summon it while in her solo book when it is needed like transport of other people she is with?

[Vakanai]

Kind of going off the robot plane thing and all - what if the invisible jet was a character as well as a vehicle, like talking robot voice and everything?

[Mel Dyer]

I think writers are determined to make Wonder Woman a flying, female CONAN, which means she won't need the I-Jet to haul her friends around in

[Vakanai]

I think writers are determined to make Wonder Woman a flying, female CONAN, which means she won't need the I-Jet to haul her friends around in

They want her to host a late night talk show?