Originally Posted by
Tzigone
No, no, no. That's a movie thing. Maybe it was utilized in comcis before that, too, but it wasn't there originally. Superman was sent away from Krypton to save baby Kal-El's life from the planet exploding. It has nothing to do with helping earth. He would not have been sent if the planet was not about to explode. And I much prefer that version. No space-Jesus if I had my way.
I think for Wonder Woman, part of the issue is that her early setting was very specific to WWII. Superman and Batman's can be anytime. They are not tied to a specific era. So they can be reused and stay constant through-out comic (and movie) history for contemporary tv shows and movies. Wonder Woman can't. So she needs a new purpose. She can't leave to fight the nazis, and love-at-first-sight is no longer deemed the best or most empowering or noble/heroic reason. So a new writer comes along and reworks it a bit - timeframe, motive for leaving, goal in man's world, etc. And uses that to inform his/her particular depiction of the character. But it's not "the original" the way Bats and Supes are, and none of these new ones have become iconic in the same way (partially because they have't been around as long and utilized over and over again in multiple media). Because the new departure isn't iconic, when the next new writer comes along, they feel free to change it up.
I can't really say why her supporting didn't stay, except perhaps that Steve's military career was more tied the war-period and types of battles Diana did then, and so he was ill-used in the silver age (trust me, he was), and so dropped. And new characters introduced. And characters that have been around less time are more disposable to new writers. Etta suffered from being a comic relief character and got jettisoned that way. Alfred was also originally comic relief and killed off, but the tv show ended up changing that.
Bats and Supes have had various personalities over the years, too, just like Wonder Woman. Really, until the late sixties, specific personality was somewhat weak in comics. I definitely prefer certain ones to others. But, the consistent setting and a few consistent, well-known to general audiences, characters probably does help them be more accessible. More accessible means more movies, cartoons, shows. Which means greater exposure to general audience, more sales, more people wanting to write title, etc. And comic sales aren't what they once were, anyway.
I really do think being tied to a specific-era in origin that could not continue led to a necessity to change things up, and a certain lack of consistency. There can be a plus to that - it gives writers new freedom to try new things. Thing is, just as writers feel free to change up origin, they also change up motivations, goals, and personality. I don't even think I could tell you what drives Diana or what her goals are or even what her personality generally is. I mean, I could, for what they were in Rebirth, since I've read. But the same ones don't apply to her in the post-crisis era, the bronze age, etc. Until there is an iconic version of her, writers are going to feel free to change it up. They do with most characters other than Batman and Superman. Barry got reworked to have his mom murdered. A tragic of Hal's dad was added. Even Superman, we have an evil-dad going on write now. But some of the others have a status quo to go back to when a new writer comes on. And Diana really doesn't.
I actually like the original version where all Amazons have the same kind of power, and Diana only triumphed on skill. But, again, it's been changed up so many times there's not an set-in-concrete way that everyone can agree is what is "correct."