Has Wonderwoman actually gained anything by loosing her Diana Prince alias?

[mathew101281]

I’m not sure she really has in the long term.

[Agent Z]

I think the question is what did the Diana Prince alias add in the first place?

[kjn]

What Agent Z said. The original Marston stories probably only used the Diana Prince identity because it was expected of the superhero stories of its time, and as a way to insert cheap relationship drama akin to the Clark-Lois-Superman love triangle. Except for Clark and Superman, that drama meant something. It doesn't mean anything for Diana.

But a secret identity makes very little sense for Diana's character and is directly counter-productive for her mission to Man's World.

What I think she has lost is the a set of narrative conventions and tropes that have been well-understood by writers, but since those are shared by just about everyone superhero around, dropping all the pretenses seems to at least give some points for originality. That writers have a hard time wrapping themselves around the concept of a truly public superhero is on them, not Wonder Woman, especially when one considers that most every writer has trouble handling her as a character.

[bat39]

What Agent Z said. The original Marston stories probably only used the Diana Prince identity because it was expected of the superhero stories of its time, and as a way to insert cheap relationship drama akin to the Clark-Lois-Superman love triangle. Except for Clark and Superman, that drama meant something. It doesn't mean anything for Diana.

But a secret identity makes very little sense for Diana's character and is directly counter-productive for her mission to Man's World.

What I think she has lost is the a set of narrative conventions and tropes that have been well-understood by writers, but since those are shared by just about everyone superhero around, dropping all the pretenses seems to at least give some points for originality. That writers have a hard time wrapping themselves around the concept of a truly public superhero is on them, not Wonder Woman, especially when one considers that most every writer has trouble handling her as a character.

Pretty much this.

I'm still in favor of having the 'Diana Prince' identity in the event of Diana just needing a way to blend in without drawing too much attention to herself - either to go undercover or just to relax. It could also be her way of exploring life as an ordinary woman in 'Man's World' - the way some people believe Superman uses 'Clark Kent' to explore living a human life.

But no, I don't think 'Diana Prince' is fundamental to the Wonder Woman mythos the way Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent are to Batman and Superman respectively.

[franckd]

Pretty much this.

I'm still in favor of having the 'Diana Prince' identity in the event of Diana just needing a way to blend in without drawing too much attention to herself - either to go undercover or just to relax. It could also be her way of exploring life as an ordinary woman in 'Man's World' - the way some people believe Superman uses 'Clark Kent' to explore living a human life.

But no, I don't think 'Diana Prince' is fundamental to the Wonder Woman mythos the way Bruce Wayne or Clark Kent are to Batman and Superman respectively.

That one of the point of the unaired TV pilot. It's not a mean comment from me : I'm in the minority here, but I liked the pilot. It wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed it. Maybe because the last time I read Wonder Woman was decades ago. So I didn't have huge expectations. Anyway, that's the point of my message : I'd like to go back to WW (not World War but... Well you know who) but I just want to read good stories. Can fans advice me some trades, if possible ? Thanks.

[Serpis]

She never needed to disguise herself as diana prince.
A lesbian Amazon does not pretend to be a mortal woman to be close to a man.
The whole point of the diana prince thing is totally wrong. It should be clear that diana does not need to be close to a oh so mighty american male soldier because she is not interested in males, she is not interested in america, she is not interested in any army.
All that stuff has always been against the very concept of WW.
So, good riddance, it was about time

[Dr. Poison]

The only thing I can think of that losing the Diana Prince ID has gained Wonder Woman is more attacks at her place of residence.

Diana Prince had a job, privacy, and a social life not ridden with paparazzi trying to get pictures and interviews from Diana.

[AmiMizuno]

More people being attacked due to her living around everything people. I wouldn’t mind. I mean if she needs to her money it could easily be from now Perez’s showed us. Also it terms of her living Situation. Maybe she somewhat makes her own version of the gate ? That no matter what the villains can’t find where she lives?

[Agent Z]

The only thing I can think of that losing the Diana Prince ID has gained Wonder Woman is more attacks at her place of residence.

Diana Prince had a job, privacy, and a social life not ridden with paparazzi trying to get pictures and interviews from Diana.

Diana of Themyscira had a job, privacy, a social life with her friends when she wanted and frankly this idea she was constantly being hounded by the paparazzi is more head canon as opposed to what actually happened in the books. It doesn't happen nearly as often as people think.

[JackBNimble]

I’m not sure she really has in the long term.

At the time, I didn't think the loss of the Diana Prince persona was a big deal. In the mid-80s, I thought the idea of Diana embracing and being herself in the public eye was a fantastic choice. It was a simpler time in the world--social media wasn't a thing yet, there wasn't a 24-hour news cycle, and the paparazzi hadn't become so ravenous and relentless (the death of Princess Diana hadn't happened yet). The idea that Diana could and would be Diana--ambassador, princess, Wonder Woman--without secrets/lies really jived with the Lasso of Truth concept. The writers tried to play with what it meant to have such a public persona/celebrity, but not too much.

But things have changed a lot since then. Social media is rampant, the 24-hour news cycle is numbing and relentless, and celebrity and paparazzi have spiraled out of control. What does it mean to be Wonder Woman in today's world all the time? How does this affect the people she's closest to? How does this limit how she can operate in the world? Would a secret identity now be helpful?

I think there's a lot that the Diana Prince persona can add to the Wonder Woman mythology now than before. The secret identity trope in the golden/silver age was used for many reasons, not the least of which is love triangles. In the 21st century, Diana Prince can exist for other reasons, none of which is to get close to a man or for a job.

While I thought the David Kelly pilot was not great, I felt his intention to have the Diana Prince persona be a chance for her to take a break from the celebrity/super-hero identity made sense.