Male supporting cast in Wonder Woman's history

[AmiMizuno]

throughout the years Diana has had several male cast members. Some well known in the Wonder Woman mythos others lost and forgotten. What have been your favourites and what have been characters you hope stay forgotten

[Mel Dyer]

Prince Jason and I Ching (both above) are my favorite male Wonder-friends, because they bring something useful to the comic. Perez's Herakles, who many forget fought beside his Amazon sisters in WOGs, would be a close second.

[Fuzzy Mittens]

Hmm...Well I will say I-Ching was a very interesting character. Though more for how he had his own fascinating storythan his contributions to Wonder Womans mythos. He made for a good supporting character during the mod era whose connection to Doctor Cyber helped to build up the villain. And having his daughter established to have been claimed and raised by Doctor Cyber to become her right hand was a nice twist.

Steve Trevor obviously. I notice alot of writers don't seem to know what to do with him, but the golden age painted a nice picture of the character as an agent of army intelligence who was head over heels for Wonder Woman and was the sort to cook and clean and has seemingly befriended everyone in the military

Ferdinand honestly was a nice inclusion to have. He added a certain element of fantastical to Wonder Womans supporting cast

Tolifhar and his Gorilla knights was a fun concept. The notion that a squad of Gorilla soldiers would be upon being defeated by Wonder Woman go and choose to be her sidekicks until they can pay for their misdeeds was interesting and giving Wonder Woman an army of gorillas just makes everything better.

Achilles Warkiller was an interesting idea even if the origin they gave for him was pretty meh. The mythological achilles coming back to life with superhero powers and settling on an island with the ressurected spartans and his gay lover while also being granted superpowers by Zeus does establish an interesting character in terms of potential.

Cadmus the randy pegasus just because hes better than Comet the Superhorse.

[Phoenixx9]

Hmm...Well I will say I-Ching was a very interesting character. Though more for how he had his own fascinating storythan his contributions to Wonder Womans mythos. He made for a good supporting character during the mod era whose connection to Doctor Cyber helped to build up the villain. And having his daughter established to have been claimed and raised by Doctor Cyber to become her right hand was a nice twist.

Steve Trevor obviously. I notice alot of writers don't seem to know what to do with him, but the golden age painted a nice picture of the character as an agent of army intelligence who was head over heels for Wonder Woman and was the sort to cook and clean and has seemingly befriended everyone in the military

Ferdinand honestly was a nice inclusion to have. He added a certain element of fantastical to Wonder Womans supporting cast

Tolifhar and his Gorilla knights was a fun concept. The notion that a squad of Gorilla soldiers would be upon being defeated by Wonder Woman go and choose to be her sidekicks until they can pay for their misdeeds was interesting and giving Wonder Woman an army of gorillas just makes everything better.

Achilles Warkiller was an interesting idea even if the origin they gave for him was pretty meh. The mythological achilles coming back to life with superhero powers and settling on an island with the ressurected spartans and his gay lover while also being granted superpowers by Zeus does establish an interesting character in terms of potential.

Cadmus the randy pegasus just because hes better than Comet the Superhorse.

Gorilla Knights could help WW fight off Gorilla Grodd. Could be interesting story with similarities/differences between the 2 groups. Maybe even convert Grodd to good side.

As for Comet the Superhorse...well, Golden Age Supergirl may just disagree with you on that!

[AmiMizuno]

Prince Jason and I Ching (both above) are my favorite male Wonder-friends, because they bring something useful to the comic. Perez's Herakles, who many forget fought beside his Amazon sisters in WOGs, would be a close second.

You mean the certain Jason? How so?

[WonderScott]

I want the Wonder Woman editor and writers to reclaim some of these characters as secondary supporting characters in the tapestry of the Wonder mythos.

I kind of want Heracles back as an anti-hero/villain (partially to juxtapose the Marvel version of Hercules) and its high time we have a Wonder Boy in the mix alongside Donna and Cassie. (Thankfully I have ideas for a Wonder Boy.)

I've added Ed Indelicato back to mix in my Wonder Woman Series Bible Thingee and Myndi Mayer's brother, Kevin, has a larger presence in Myndi's life than we've previously seen.

I've also stolen Andros from the 1970s television series as an occasional supporting character, for a couple of specific reasons and with a few character connections in mind.

Like Ed and Myndi above, Trevor Barnes is also a retcon or transplant to Diana's new city in my planning.

Achilles lives there too and becomes a member of the Wonder family.

I've got a couple of new, original groups of characters too, that have men as members and are supporting players to Diana or her adversaries.

[gwhh]

He was pretty cool!

https://wonder-woman.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Tresser

[Mel Dyer]

As for Steve Trevor and male supporting cast, in general, ..I'm for them, with moderation. I think the WW comic's female regulars should always out number the males - my opinion. I don't think there should be any time, when the WW comic is only sprinkled with women...ever! There should be a girl-energy in the WW comic that is undeniable and that distinguishes it from other comics, ..and male characters, super or human, should be along for the ride.

I love (love, love) what the Diana-Maggie-Aphrodite character dynamic are doing for this title. Wanting to see Jason become an infrequently recurring hero in the comic - it will happen, eventually, anyway - doesn't change that. I would prefer that it was a Diana-Etta-Mala thing, but will soon forget that, if D-M-A thing is allowed to grow into a classic cast.

I hope that Steve, Ferdinand and Jason will eventually be joined by I Ching, Hercules and some old Sensation heroes, like Sargon the Sorcerer. They should never outnumber the ladies, however...my opinion.

But, let's cut through the gender politics, for a minute.

Little and not-so little male WW fans should have (deserve) a costumed male Wonder or associated character for playground games and to dress up as, on Halloween ..or cosplay. [Period]

I would argue that, prior to seeing Lynda Carter's show, I can't imagine having wanted anything to do with comic superheroines, ..outside of reading comics. Seeing Lynda, a live woman, in action, as TV's premier superhero - Bionic Man was the male - changed how we thought of women, what they could do in the world and, most importantly, ..how we admired them. When plastic Bionic Woman costume sets started showing up, at drugstores, you better believe Lynda's little warriors were looking for some way to celebrate Halloween that honored our favorite show...

Prince Jason, Herakles or Andros have a role to play in the WW comic. They will never outshine the leading lady, because we, especially fans of the TV show, wouldn't stand for it. At best, they are an invitation to little and big boys to suit up, jump in our Invisible Jets [Mine's an Invisible Tank!] and go avenge the world's injustices, at Diana's side, ..if only in our dreams! Shame on all of us, if we let silly gender politics get in the way of boy's honoring and being inspired by Wonder Woman, ..and feeling free to express that, in some masculine way, out in the open.

If not with Prince Jason, then give them G. Willow's Ares, Perez's Herakles, Champion, Mister Genie...something.

He was pretty cool!

https://wonder-woman.fandom.com/wiki/Tom_Tresser

I liked Tom Tresser, very much, and often spoke up for him on the boards.

I find it extremely irritating that the WW comic couldn't invent a new male supporting regular, one with no connection to Steve Trevor, for Diana to interact with. If the WW comic was going to import a temporary love interest from another comic, why not HAWKMAN, who, like Diana, ..is a roving adventurer AND a prince? Did we really need to grift a Steve Trevor clone from another comic? Considering that Wonder Woman has travelled all over the world to foreign and exotic places...amazing places, Can't believe there is no one, out there, worthy of replacing Steve, as Diana's love interest? For that and other reasons, I have mixed feelings about Tom...

And wonder, if he should ever have been in WW, at all.

Could a Diana/Carter Hall merger not lift both boats? Even if he didn't join the regular cast, he could be an ally, who drops by for team-ups and special missions.

[Phoenixx9]

I want the Wonder Woman editor and writers to reclaim some of these characters as secondary supporting characters in the tapestry of the Wonder mythos.

I kind of want Heracles back as an anti-hero/villain (partially to juxtapose the Marvel version of Hercules) and its high time we have a Wonder Boy in the mix alongside Donna and Cassie. (Thankfully I have ideas for a Wonder Boy.)

I've added Ed Indelicato back to mix in my Wonder Woman Series Bible Thingee and Myndi Mayer's brother, Kevin, has a larger presence in Myndi's life than we've previously seen.

I've also stolen Andros from the 1970s television series as an occasional supporting character, for a couple of specific reasons and with a few character connections in mind.

Like Ed and Myndi above, Trevor Barnes is also a retcon or transplant to Diana's new city in my planning.

Achilles lives there too and becomes a member of the Wonder family.

I've got a couple of new, original groups of characters too, that have men as members and are supporting players to Diana or her adversaries.

Glad you added Andros! Did you add both father and son Andros? Younger Andros seemed more powerful as his power Crystal was an upgrade of the power sphere of father Andros and he also made the Scrill warning rings.

[WonderScott]

Glad you added Andros! Did you add both father and son Andros? Younger Andros seemed more powerful as his power Crystal was an upgrade of the power sphere of father Andros and he also made the Scrill warning rings.

I'm a singular Andros kinda guy.

[Sutekh]

I kind of want Heracles back as an anti-hero/villain (partially to juxtapose the Marvel version of Hercules) and its high time we have a Wonder Boy in the mix alongside Donna and Cassie. (Thankfully I have ideas for a Wonder Boy.)

Superman has a long history of female legacies (starting with Supergirl, but including powered versions of Lois and Lana as 'Superwoman'), as does Batman with multiple Batgirls and Batwomen, so Diana, IMO, should be able to have inspired and trained some *male* legacies, who aren't any more ashamed and embarrassed by their looking up to Diana, than Kara or Kate are ashamed or embarrassed to wear the symbol of a famous dude-hero on their chests.

Indeed, she should have had them long before now. Being an inspiration and a symbol for others to rally around is kind of her thing, far more than it is for Batman.

[AmiMizuno]

I don’t mind a Wonder But much like robins I would want Donna, Cassie than Jason.

[Agent Z]

Superman has a long history of female legacies (starting with Supergirl, but including powered versions of Lois and Lana as 'Superwoman'), as does Batman with multiple Batgirls and Batwomen, so Diana, IMO, should be able to have inspired and trained some *male* legacies, who aren't any more ashamed and embarrassed by their looking up to Diana, than Kara or Kate are ashamed or embarrassed to wear the symbol of a famous dude-hero on their chests.

Indeed, she should have had them long before now. Being an inspiration and a symbol for others to rally around is kind of her thing, far more than it is for Batman.

Superman and Batman's female legacies were created due to a dearth of original female superheroes. Remove the Batgirls, Huntresses, Batwomen, Power Girls and Super Girls and the number of female superheroes shrinks even further. Remove Jason and you still have a disproportionately large number of male superheroes. Not to mention, that the two legacies Diana has inspired barely interact with her nowadays and have been subject to even worse writing than usual for female superheroes. Almost as if they're being punished for being part of a female brand not a male one.

That's another thing: Supergirl and Batgirl were easier sells (in comparison) because they had the luxury of being attached to brands that DC/WB cared about a hell lot more. It's no coincidence we got a Supergirl movie before we got a Wonder Woman one.

[Mel Dyer]

You mean the certain Jason? How so?

I Ching brought cultural, racial and AGE diversity to the WW comic, long before we were talking about 'wokeism'...before 'New Superman'. His cultural background and experience are a constant reminder to writers and readers that Diana is a globally focused adventurer and presents opportunities to tell stories, outside of Greek myth-inspired sort. Ching is also an elder, and I don't think we have enough elder heroes in comics. Best of all, he's just COOL...Diana's coolest companion, hands-down! What a waste that writers have allowed him to go unused, for so many years, in a comic that struggles to be cool.

Do we really think that the Bat-editors, who presently edit WW, would swipe Ching for use in their comics, if he wasn't a great character?

Prince Jason is useful for similar reasons, I think.

For one thing, he's ethnically Greek and raised in Greece...there's cultural diversity for readers! Secondly, ..it's high time that Diana led a recurring (twice, a year, maybe) male superhuman, who was created for the WW comic, ..into battle! Wonder Woman having a brother, who is a superhero in modern Greece, seems entirely appropriate, I think. Like Donna, Jason carries the Wonder-brand into comics, where Wonder Woman isn't physically present, and to audiences that might not be reading the WW comic. Besides, in an age of multicultural and gender diversity, the WW comic having a male warrior, carrying the Amazon standard, ..is pretty progressive.

For our friends, who fear he undermines Wonder Woman, as an independent superheroine, well...Jason lives in Greece, and Diana ..doesn't. Don't see how he hurts anything.

[Agent Z]

Do we really think that the Bat-editors, who presently edit WW, would swipe Ching for use in their comics, if he wasn't a great character?

I Ching appearing in Batman has less to do with his merits as a character and more to do with Morrison’s reverence for everything Silver Age, no matter how racially tone deaf it is for the 21 Century.

Besides, in an age of multicultural and gender diversity, the WW comic having a male warrior, carrying the Amazon standard, ..is pretty progressive.

Jason might offer cultural diversity but not gender diversity.

For our friends, who fear he undermines Wonder Woman, as an independent superheroine, well...Jason lives in Greece, and Diana ..doesn't. Don't see how he hurts anything.

That’s not why Jason is disliked.