Wonder Woman Controversial Opinions Part 2

[Ascended]

There are three separate issues here imo.

1. How old are they? For me, ideally, Superman should be about 50ish, Bruce 35is, Diana hundreds +.

I don't get too hung up on their exact ages (because comics) but assuming Jon and Damian are considerations I put Clark and Bruce in their mid 40's or so, with Bruce being a little older. Diana I prefer being centuries old but if she can't be immortal then I want her in the same age group as Clark and Bruce.

2. How old do they appear? Superman should look a bit about 30ish, Bruce a bit older and Diana around 25-30, but with an ageless quality.

I'd say if Clark's in his 40's or pushing 50, his longevity is probably only now starting to become noticeable and people might occasionally remark that he's aging well (but its not at the point where it really stands out as odd). So if he's (random number) 45, he probably looks closer to 35-40. If Bruce is in his 40's and been active as Batman for 15-20 years he's probably starting to look older than he really is. So if he's 45 he probably looks 50 (a badass, handsome 50, but war ages a man). Diana should have an ageless look to her but would be considered part of Clark and Bruce's generation because A) she debuted publicly around the same time and this is the Trinity so they're lumped together anyway, and B) she's too experienced, mature, and confident for anyone to think she's young (but doesn't look old enough to be in the JSA's generation).

3. When did they become superheroes? I'm torn on this one. As a traditionalist, I want to give all due honor to Superman being the first, but given that he's also the best at everything with Diana being immortal? I lean towards Diana 1st, Superman 2nd, Batman 3rd.

I prefer Clark being the first public hero, but that doesn't mean much when it comes to Diana's experience. The DCU is full of strange and crazy forces that existed in the shadows since forever ago. We've had demon knights in old England, powers like the Red and Green since life itself began, visiting Green Lanterns, mystery men fighting the good fight as nothing more than urban legends, etc. Not to mention Themyscria (and Atlantis, Nanda Parbat, Lazarus pits, immortal cavemen, etc) so its not like Diana's experience begins when Clark goes public. Hell even Clark's experience doesn't begin when he goes public.

Diana being immortal is only a problem if you allow her to be written problematically. Personally, I don't consider Clark to be "best at everything" and I'm a huge Super-fan. Diana's a better fighter, a better tactician, a better diplomat and politician, a better teacher......really the only things Clark surpasses Diana in is raw strength (and then only by a relatively small margin, though I dislike her strength being defined by his) and his ability to inspire the common man. Diana's damn inspiring of course, but Diana's a royal from a fantastical place while Clark can relate to the average person's problems with direct experience. Clark can say inspiring things while helping you fix your fuel pump, yknow? By the same token, Diana can "speak the language" world leaders use far better than Clark, and likely does better giving UN speeches than he does.

Now, if you want Diana to debut with the JSA while Clark doesn't arrive until the present day, then everything gets more complicated. Easiest answer I have there is that you treat the JSA like mystery men; they weren't public figures and weren't giving interviews and signing autographs and to the public at large were just myths who've been forgotten by today. After WWII ends you can either A) have Diana sent to limbo along with the rest of the JSA, B) have her continue her "out of sight" heroics, or C) have her retire from heroics and try other ways to accomplish her mission of spreading Amazon values by teaching, writing, whatever. Once Clark debuts, it gets Diana to go public as well, thus keeping her (in the public's mind) a peer of Superman's despite her having been around much longer.