What defines YOUR Wonder Woman mythos?

[kjn]

Totally down with this take! (Except for the Steve being gay part. ��)

Yeah, I include the last one mostly as a lark. What I'm serious about Steve is that neither he nor Etta should be in any military (or para-military) bureaucracy. Steve being a former member is fine (he can even be in active service when he crashes on Themyscira), but being active is problematic both due to the current role that the US plays in world politics right now, and due to the way that it tends to distort and limit the role he plays in the stories.

Instead, I see him as a daring pilot who works with various humanitarian efforts, bringing in supplies and relief/rescue workers, and bringing out refugees from disasters and conflict zones. He can still have plenty of contacts in the military, and possibly also in the US State Department (as their alternative backdoors route to Wonder Woman and the Justice League when they believe ARGUS and the military are about to screw things up). I'm also inspired by the real-life diplomat Harald Edelstam, who carried the badass nickname of "The Black Pimpernel" due to his role smuggling Norwegian resistance fighters to Sweden during the Second World War, and later saved over a thousand of people during Pinochet's coup in Chile with nothing but attitude and a diplomatic passport. That puts Steve as a person who both does admirable work, gets in trouble on his own, but also provides a skill set that can help Diana.

(Ie, I'm the opposite of many posters here who wants to increase the presence of ARGUS in the Wonder Woman title; I want it to appear less, and then probably more often in a neutral/adversarial role than as a semi-permanent ally.)

Etta I see as more of an artsy type, being similar to movie Etta in that she seems like an airhead but in reality is an excellent organiser. She also has above-average combat skills, and is very cool in combat situations. (For those who have read the Miles Vorkosigan books—very much recommended—think of her as one of the Koudelka sisters in a fight.)

[DrNewGod]

Yeah, I include the last one mostly as a lark. What I'm serious about Steve is that neither he nor Etta should be in any military (or para-military) bureaucracy. Steve being a former member is fine (he can even be in active service when he crashes on Themyscira), but being active is problematic both due to the current role that the US plays in world politics right now, and due to the way that it tends to distort and limit the role he plays in the stories.

Instead, I see him as a daring pilot who works with various humanitarian efforts, bringing in supplies and relief/rescue workers, and bringing out refugees from disasters and conflict zones. He can still have plenty of contacts in the military, and possibly also in the US State Department (as their alternative backdoors route to Wonder Woman and the Justice League when they believe ARGUS and the military are about to screw things up). I'm also inspired by the real-life diplomat Harald Edelstam, who carried the badass nickname of "The Black Pimpernel" due to his role smuggling Norwegian resistance fighters to Sweden during the Second World War, and later saved over a thousand of people during Pinochet's coup in Chile with nothing but attitude and a diplomatic passport. That puts Steve as a person who both does admirable work, gets in trouble on his own, but also provides a skill set that can help Diana.

(Ie, I'm the opposite of many posters here who wants to increase the presence of ARGUS in the Wonder Woman title; I want it to appear less, and then probably more often in a neutral/adversarial role than as a semi-permanent ally.)

Etta I see as more of an artsy type, being similar to movie Etta in that she seems like an airhead but in reality is an excellent organiser. She also has above-average combat skills, and is very cool in combat situations. (For those who have read the Miles Vorkosigan books—very much recommended—think of her as one of the Koudelka sisters in a fight.)

Put them both in the UN as ex-Air Force Intel types doing human rights work.

ETA: better yet, make them RCAF on detached duty to the UN human rights and Intel offices. The Canadians have done a lot of UN work over the last 1/2 century.

[kjn]

Put them both in the UN as ex-Air Force Intel types doing human rights work.

ETA: better yet, make them RCAF on detached duty to the UN human rights and Intel offices. The Canadians have done a lot of UN work over the last 1/2 century.

While a moral-ethical improvement over straight in the US military, it still puts them in a military chain of command and as part of a huge bureaucracy, and so does not solve the story-telling aspect of the quandary. Instead of visiting interesting places on their own volition, they will be ordered to go there. They will not have a huge organisation as their backup when they get into trouble, but have to rely on their own wits and maybe calling Diana for help. It will also provide an outlet for exploring roles of masculinity that are not tied to the military or being a warrior. Make Steve a badass not becuase he punches people but because he rescues people from groups like the IS or Boko Haram or military juntas without firing a single shot.

A character like movie Steve worked in the first and second World Wars because he they operated on the margins of huge bureaucracies and was doing necessary work; I doubt he would last five days in today's military and intelligence bureaucracies.

[Largo161]

Yeah, I include the last one mostly as a lark. What I'm serious about Steve is that neither he nor Etta should be in any military (or para-military) bureaucracy. Steve being a former member is fine (he can even be in active service when he crashes on Themyscira), but being active is problematic both due to the current role that the US plays in world politics right now, and due to the way that it tends to distort and limit the role he plays in the stories.

Instead, I see him as a daring pilot who works with various humanitarian efforts, bringing in supplies and relief/rescue workers, and bringing out refugees from disasters and conflict zones. He can still have plenty of contacts in the military, and possibly also in the US State Department (as their alternative backdoors route to Wonder Woman and the Justice League when they believe ARGUS and the military are about to screw things up). I'm also inspired by the real-life diplomat Harald Edelstam, who carried the badass nickname of "The Black Pimpernel" due to his role smuggling Norwegian resistance fighters to Sweden during the Second World War, and later saved over a thousand of people during Pinochet's coup in Chile with nothing but attitude and a diplomatic passport. That puts Steve as a person who both does admirable work, gets in trouble on his own, but also provides a skill set that can help Diana.

(Ie, I'm the opposite of many posters here who wants to increase the presence of ARGUS in the Wonder Woman title; I want it to appear less, and then probably more often in a neutral/adversarial role than as a semi-permanent ally.)

Etta I see as more of an artsy type, being similar to movie Etta in that she seems like an airhead but in reality is an excellent organiser. She also has above-average combat skills, and is very cool in combat situations. (For those who have read the Miles Vorkosigan books—very much recommended—think of her as one of the Koudelka sisters in a fight.)

More good stuff.

[Joao]

My version is just taking the most iconic elements and characters and taking them as a granted part of their mythos.

Origin: clay, gods (rebirth's version as animals) gave her powers after the tournment.
Themyscira: Year One (cause it looks one of the most authentic and idilic and has some hints of "high tech" that could be explored. And by high tech I mean using the island own raw materials to make their technology. I don't want like computers and airships to explore the space or whatever) + gates of doom (don't like it that much as a tree but I'll take it).
Supporting cast: Etta (Rucka's version, but funnier), Steve (DCEU version), the Kapatelis family (Pérez), amazons (Note: the book should feature iconic amazons from all eras: Hippolyta, Philippus, Mala, Antiope, Io, Artemis, Hessia, Castalia, Kasia, Orana... I also love the idea of specific amazons related to specific areas of the island: Io the forge, Castalia the religion... That council was a brilliant move of Rucka. I just adore Year One ok ok. We need someone for the library/school/philosophy whatever).
Affiliated superheroes: Donna Troy - the more responsible - and Wonder Girl - the impulsive teen. Jason? Never heard of him.
Villains: Rebirth's Cheetah and Cale and Circe. Vanessa as Silver Swan. Injustice's Ares. No specific preferences for others.
Random elements: Kangas. Invisible jet. Gateway city. Embassy. Transformation island. Ferdinand (although Idk what they could do with him, his Rebirth appearance was useless). Imortal amazons. No men on the island. Steve's crash. Lois is her friend. More amazons outside Themyscira. Myth creatures living in Themyscira (pegasi, nymphs etc). The Banas.

[Largo161]

...amazons (Note: the book should feature iconic amazons from all eras: Hippolyta, Philippus, Mala, Antiope, Io, Artemis, Hessia, Castalia, Kasia, Orana... I also love the idea of specific amazons related to specific areas of the island: Io the forge, Castalia the religion... That council was a brilliant move of Rucka.

Ditto this right here.

[Mel Dyer]

This (below) ..defines MY Wonder-mythos. The WW comic used to be a place, where, literally, ANY-thing was possible: immortal Amazons, giant spacefaring kangaroos, genies, invisible jets, butterfly-winged Venusian warrior-queens and morbidly obese cowgirl sorority-chicks, ..all in the same comic. Sometimes...all in the same STORY! [LOL] Somewhere, amidst all the WOGs and taking Wonder Woman way, wa-aay too seriously, ..we lost this.

This is the sensational world of Wonder Woman. We need to get it, back.

[The Dying Detective]

This (below) ..defines MY Wonder-mythos. The WW comic used to be a place, where, literally, ANY-thing was possible: immortal Amazons, giant spacefaring kangaroos, genies, invisible jets, butterfly-winged Venusian warrior-queens and morbidly obese cowgirl sorority-chicks, ..all in the same comic. Sometimes...all in the same STORY! [LOL] Somewhere, amidst all the WOGs and taking Wonder Woman way, wa-aay too seriously, ..we lost this.

This is the sensational world of Wonder Woman. We need to get it, back.

Man lots of people love the Marston era here.

[Mel Dyer]

Man lots of people love the Marston era here.

Pluck Diana out of that picture, and slip a certain, quirky BBC hero into her place, and you have the perfect Doctor Who episode. That's what we've lost, and it's depressing, ..because I don't think we're ever going to get that back. The 'wonder' in Wonder Woman...

What we've got now is a Xena comic, with some primary colors added ..and flying, ..but, it's what people want and expect. We haven't seen Wonder Woman in her purest, most powerful and inspiring form, for SO long, that pastiche characters and superheroines, like Lady Death and Vampirella, become the standard we hold her to. That is very sad.

She's so far above them, in so many ways. She's such a silly, absolutely absurd character, in so many others, while still surpassing them. I think Wonder Woman is a brilliant creation, ..and the mythos should reflect that.

[The Dying Detective]

Pluck Diana out of that picture, and slip a certain, quirky BBC hero into her place, and you have the perfect Doctor Who episode. That's what we've lost, and it's depressing, because I don't think we're ever going t get that back.

This is comics where anything is possible if Tim Seeley can send Steve Trevor on a mission to a hidden location with source of water that make people young and heal injuries then DC can send Wonder Woman on bizarre adventures that take her to who knows where. It's possible.

[The Dying Detective]

Pluck Diana out of that picture, and slip a certain, quirky BBC hero into her place, and you have the perfect Doctor Who episode. That's what we've lost, and it's depressing, ..because I don't think we're ever going to get that back. The 'wonder' in Wonder Woman...

What we've got now is a Xena comic, with some primary colors added ..and flying, ..but, it's what people want and expect. We haven't seen Wonder Woman in her purest, most powerful and inspiring form, for SO long, that pastiche characters and superheroines, like Lady Death and Vampirella, become the standard we hold her to. That is very sad.

She's so far above them, in so many ways. She's such a silly, absolutely absurd character, in so many others, while still surpassing them. I think Wonder Woman is a brilliant creation, ..and the mythos should reflect that.

Who says it's impossible to bring all this revamp it for the modern era? All one needs is to use their little grey cells to do it.

[Mel Dyer]

This is comics where anything is possible if Tim Seeley can send Steve Trevor on a mission to a hidden location with source of water that make people young and heal injuries then DC can send Wonder Woman on bizarre adventures that take her to who knows where. It's possible.

I would like to see that.

Think of the Flash Gordon story, but make Princess Aura the wise-cracking hero, and Flash, the virtuous, enduring love interest. Then, invent, from whole cloth, a super-villain, as grand and magnificently nasty, as Ming the Merciless, and pit him or her against the heroic, leading lady, ..with a world as strange, lurid, epic, VIOLENT and ridiculous, as Mongo! Add a morbidly obese coed-cowgirl and put all of this together, ..EVERY month - every month - and you're coming close to what Wonder Woman aspired to be and often was in the Golden Age.

That's what we've lost. That's the mythos, as I see it. Are we getting anything even close to that back, in the next quarter of a century? Don't think so.

Something better, maybe? Maybe. I hope so. Sure, I like the Marston model, but, there are others. I would like to see some genius make Wonder Woman ..SENSATIONAL, again!

[Agent Z]

Pluck Diana out of that picture, and slip a certain, quirky BBC hero into her place, and you have the perfect Doctor Who episode. That's what we've lost, and it's depressing, ..because I don't think we're ever going to get that back. The 'wonder' in Wonder Woman...

What we've got now is a Xena comic, with some primary colors added ..and flying, ..but, it's what people want and expect. We haven't seen Wonder Woman in her purest, most powerful and inspiring form, for SO long, that pastiche characters and superheroines, like Lady Death and Vampirella, become the standard we hold her to. That is very sad.

She's so far above them, in so many ways. She's such a silly, absolutely absurd character, in so many others, while still surpassing them. I think Wonder Woman is a brilliant creation, ..and the mythos should reflect that.

Diana is as much Xena, Lady Death or Vampirella as Superman is Mr Incredible. There has never been a time when she acted anything like them.

[The Dying Detective]

Think of the Flash Gordon story, but make Princess Allura the wise-cracking hero, and Flash, the virtuous, enduring love interest. Then, invent, from whole cloth, a super-villain, as grand and magnificently nasty, as Ming the Merciless, and pit him or her against the heroic, leading lady, ..with a world as strange, lurid, epic, VIOLENT and ridiculous, as Mongo! Add a morbidly obese coed-cowgirl and put all of this together, ..EVERY month - every month - and you're coming close to what Wonder Woman aspired to be and often was in the Golden Age.

That's what we've lost. That's the mythos. Are getting anything even close to that back, in the next quarter of a century? Don't think so.

Something better, maybe? Maybe. I hope so. I would like to see some genius make Wonder Woman ..SENSATIONAL, again!

You paint a very strange image. Well I could have a go at it and what you need is to give people what they want from Wonder Woman currently and then splice them correctly with the weirdness of the Marston era and then you have something that all readers will rip through every month and week. ANd will be anxious to see more of it come out. Arguably this set up might sort of be owned currently by Green Lantern and Superman so I can sort of see why it's not being used. But it didn't stop James Robinson from doing something like that with the Star Sapphires it's the closest one can get to the old days where Wonder Woman where she traveled to other planets.

[Mel Dyer]

I think the badassery of the bad girl trend comics, like Lady Death and Glory, and similar themes in films have cultivated an appetite for people, who read WW. The difference between today and the Marston days is ..it's not badassery for Diana's love of freedom and what she will dare to pursue it, anymore. Today, for some readers, it's badassery for badassery's sake.

Is Wonder Woman badass enough? How can 'they' make her more badass, like Xena and Lara Croft?

There's an expectation that's been cultivated...a standard that shapes the mythos. We must ask ourselves, in contemplation of modern badassery, ..if the WW comic is too sophisticated or sexy for kangas, mental-radio tiaras, cowgirls ..and invisible jets. That's not a problem, but, it does distance us from the Marston model, and, yes...Lady Death, Xena WP and Angelina Jolie movies had a lot to do with it.

All that aside, it's not the end of superhero comics ..or even of WW. While I appreciate the Golden Age WW for what it was, I welcome a skilled writer to introduce us to a better Wonder Woman and Wonder-mythos, than any we've seen to date.