My understanding is that was not Donna - that was young Diana (as was Wonder Tot). Wonder Girl only became Donna, a separate character, with Teen Titans. Indeed, in the old letters pages, you have fans asking who Wonder Girl is, now that she isn't Diana. Took her an age to get a name. Still beat poor Garth by years, though. I am talking about Donna, in the Teen Titans stories, not the Impossible Tales young Diana (I only read a couple of those, though).
Last edited by Tzigone; 08-04-2021 at 05:34 PM.
The only thing this 'cosmic punching bag' idea will result in is people being more confused and hating Diana by proxy for being 'perfect' while Donna suffers. It does nothing to make the character accessible to fans and at worst it will result in more Barry/Zoom eseque memes ' IT WAS ME DONNA! I DID IT! I WAS THE ONE WHO LEFT THE HAIR BAND ON YOUR WRIST AT YOUR WEDDING! NOW ALL YOUR WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHS ARE RUINED!'.
Yes it was a supposedly a younger Diana, but the character herself was written as if they were two distinct people. They had different personalities and Wonder Girl talked about Wonder Woman as if it was someone else. When Teen Titans started Donna was written the exact same way Wonder Girl was written by Robert Kanigher, and all the development Donna eventually had under Wolfman spurred from this characterization by Robert Kanigher. Island
If I remember correctly, Wonder Girl even had a crush on the much older Steve Trevor, and look at who Donna ended up marrying.
Wait what? What's confusing about a magic clone made for the twisted pleasure of divine entities (Titans or something else) since they couldn't touch Diana herself.
I'm not proposing that Donna continue to be cursed by the Titans afterwards. Once Diana finds out she exists and rescues her, Donna is brought to our world so she can overcome her sad childhood and the memories she has of Diana's happy life on Paradise Island.
Last edited by Alpha; 08-05-2021 at 02:56 AM.
Rhea doesn't even have a role in the WW history. And she did nothing important in the Greek Mythology aside from saving Zeus.
What background? Some kind of twisted deity wanted to get to Diana but knew they couldn't, so they created this other creature for them to humiliate continuously.Also.... WHY??? you still glossed over that. What you posted is a pretty lame revenge plot. It's paper thin premise, that needs a lot of background to make sense.
Or maybe it was a game where someone tried to attack Paradise Island and someone else created Donna as a compromise. This isn't complicated.
And the reason why? Donna being adopted isn't an interesting origin story.
Plus it creates all kinds of questions about why she herself is the only orphan ever allowed to stay on Paradise Island before and after Diana was born,
it takes away from how Diana's history on the island has been written for the most part as the only daughter of the amazons (like in the beautiful "The Circle" by Gail Simone)
it creates this weird thing where Donna only spent a few years on Paradise Island, and left as a teenager for no clear reason, even though Diana wasn't allowed to leave until she was much older;
It doesn't explain why Donna looks exactly like Diana;
what you claim is a simpler solution than mine, turns into all of these big problems for a premise that isn't even compelling to new readers (or to a fan like me).
Last edited by Alpha; 08-05-2021 at 07:21 AM.
Yes, Rhea's not one of WW's patrons. Which is part of why I like the Rhea story, Donna has a different source of power than WW.
You... didn't even finish writing out an outline of the idea, and you say it's "not complicated"? It's easy for an unfinished idea to be "simple".... it's unfinished. Like a clock with no internal workings, it's just a decorative box.What background? Some kind of twisted deity wanted to get to Diana but knew they couldn't, so they created this other creature for them to humiliate continuously.
Or maybe it was a game where someone tried to attack Paradise Island and someone else created Donna as a compromise. This isn't complicated.
I think the Titan Seed story was quite good actually.And the reason why? Donna being adopted isn't an interesting origin story.
In some continuities most of the Amazons are adopted orphans.Plus it creates all kinds of questions about why she herself is the only orphan ever allowed to stay on Paradise Island before and after Diana was born,
Except when it's not....it takes away from how Diana's history on the island has been written for the most part as the only daughter of the amazons (like in the beautiful "The Circle" by Gail Simone)
How is that weird if she leaves after Diana does? Hippolyta's reason for wanting Diana to not leave had nothing to do with Diana's age.it creates this weird thing where Donna only spent a few years on Paradise Island, and left as a teenager for no clear reason, even though Diana wasn't allowed to leave until she was much older;
Is this still canon? I know she is drawn looking very similar, but I'm not sure if having her appearance be identical is actually canon now.It doesn't explain why Donna looks exactly like Diana;
You say "big problems"... and talk about things that I see as trivial. Some of them are minor plot points that got discarded multiple continuity manglings ago.what you claim is a simpler solution than mine, turns into all of these big problems for a premise that isn't even compelling to new readers (or to a fan like me).
I feel the need to point out that the first comic book I ever read with Donna Troy in it was a Team Titans book... yes.... TEAM... not Teen. IIRC that story arc erased itself from continuity.. :P
Donna is hardly the only sidekick who is drawn to resemble a person they aren't biologically related to.
Also, the cosmic punching bag idea doesn't offer an explanation for that either.
Fine, this is my assembled pitch for the origin of Donna Troy.
When Diana was still young, living in Themyscira, the Titan Thia (or someone else) grew to resent her as the most beloved creation of the lesser Olympian goddesses. Desperate to destroy the young child, she conjured a living nightmare to consume Diana and emotionally torture her for the rest of time. The Olympian goddesses (or someone else) couldn't stop or contain the creature, so in shame they created a magic clone for the beast to consume instead, this was Donna Troy. Donna had all of Diana's memories of a happy childhood with the amazons, but her day and night were spent living Diana's worst nightmares, over and over again. The fears and failures that Diana never experienced. Not the destruction of the world, not the death of all her peers, but of being unloved, unwanted, unworthy.
Many years later, when Diana was a hero in Man's world she found out about Donna and through an epic saga managed to free her from the living nightmare. She bonded with Donna and tried to take care of her. Yada yada yada, Donna is brought to man's world and cared for by Diana's friends, she eventually forms the original Teen Titans. She starts a life in our world and through this overcomes her past as a cosmically bullied punching back and stops earning for the love and happiness that Diana experienced, because she herself gets that in the present. She becomes a hero.
If you want a 2 sentence origin:
Donna is a magic clone of Diana with all of her childhood memories, but who was raised inside a living nightmare. One day she escaped and started a life in our world while learning to overcome her abused past and come out stronger.
Last edited by Alpha; 08-05-2021 at 11:41 PM.
Wait what? What stories? I've never heard of this.
In like 80% of the Wonder Woman books Diana has been written as the only child of the amazons. Donna Troy only appeared in 4 Wonder Woman stories pre crisis. Post Crisis Donna wasn't mentioned until the late 90s when Byrne revised her history. Then in 2011 she was taken out again and only appeared in the book during the Fingh run, but she still wasn't a child of the amazons. So Donna was only in Wonder Woman world for about 13 years (or less). For the rest of it Diana was the only child of the amazons.Except when it's not....!
Nubia was the only other exception to the only child of the amazons thing, but she wasn't raised with the amazons, and she was only written in the 70s as Diana's sister.
Diana had to go through a contest as a fully developed woman in order to leave the island. Why is Donna allowed to leave when she is a teenager?How is that weird if she leaves after Diana does? Hippolyta's reason for wanting Diana to not leave had nothing to do with Diana's age.
And why does Donna even leave when she hasn't been in paradise for very long?
Dick Grayson is similar to Bruce, but they are still drawn pretty differently. Donna Troy looks EXACTLY like Diana (obviously because half of her origins say she was a magic clone/ younger version)Is this still canon? I know she is drawn looking very similar, but I'm not sure if having her appearance be identical is actually canon now.
Last edited by Alpha; 08-05-2021 at 04:39 PM.
Reading List (Super behind but reading them nonetheless):
DC: Currently figuring that out
Marvel: Read above
Image: Killadelphia, Nightmare Blog
Other: The Antagonist, Something is Killing the Children, Avatar: TLAB
Manga: My Hero Academia, MHA: Vigilanties, Soul Eater: the Perfect Edition, Berserk, Hunter X Hunter, Witch Hat Atelier, Kaiju No. 8