Page 5 of 8 FirstFirst 12345678 LastLast
Results 61 to 75 of 111
  1. #61
    Astonishing Member WonderScott's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    4,554

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Dyer View Post
    I think Diana's city could help define her, as a character, and even help writers to develop her best super-villains.

    For me, Diana's city - Marston City or Gateway - is a port city for supernatural beings, ..like a classical Amazon freedom-fighter from a time-lost utopia, who have nowhere else to go. Like all immigrants, they've come to the city to make a better life for themselves, and Diana is the protectress of their hopes for the future. In the middle of all of that, DEO threatens their freedom, with its myriad plots to monitor and control the 'aliens' and 'freaks', putting Diana between her newfound friends ..and the awesome, hi-tech authority of the US military.

    From the stage of this iconic city, Diana's stories launch her into the wildest, far-flung, most imaginative adventures that DC Comics has ever published! From her myth-inspired origins, as daughter of a once-enslaved race, Diana travels the world and beyond, challenging all, who would subdue or terrorize others, ..as her own Amazon nation was subdued. The city, as much as her origin, serves to reinforce why Diana became Wonder Woman and what she is doing in Man's World. More than just a launching pad, the City launches Diana in a coherent direction that, for writers, ..shapes and informs her on-going narrative.

    It irritates me to no end that the Supergirl TV show, in one season, was able to realize that for DC Comics' girl-Superman, while Wonder Woman, DC's First Lady of Weird, continues to limp along, with no direction. What is worse, she's even given her own fictional, iconic city, something reserved for DC's top heroes, which happens to be called 'National City', which sounds so much like a caricature of Washington, DC, ..Wonder Woman's iconic roost, in the Golden Age. The Supergirl TV show has even thrown in storylines involving social injustice issues and LGBT characters, making Supergirl the champion of the DCU's disenfranchised minorities - not the world-famous, freedom-loving Amazing Amazon...but, Supergirl? It all just felt, to me, like a robbery of what could or should have been done for Wonder Woman, the first and best of female superheroes - without whom there might not be a Supergirl TV show ..or comic - a very long time ago.

    Conceptually speaking, I felt National City and the role it plays in that show ..should have been Wonder Woman's.

    ARGUS, at its worst, like Supergirl's DEO, ..is just one more conquest-driven monster for Diana to protect all of us from. That is why I see it, at the center of Diana's city, where I think it serves to remind us who Wonder Woman is ..and why she is doing, what she's doing. Diana's archenemy, whoever that turns out to be (looks like Warmaster), should probably be a reflection or extension of that dynamic, in her enmity, with Diana. When Diana isn't battling her female, Ming the Merciless/Vandal Savage combo platter (Clea, Atomia, Villainess X, etc), ARGUS and its X-Filesy presence should keep Diana's mission, on point, in her hometown. The iconic city should accomplish that, in the same way Metropolis and Gotham do for their respective champions.

    That's what an iconic city, in a superhero comic, is for.
    I love a lot of this and my take on her city includes ARGUS and some weird-meets-reality, in that I love imagining what politics and society would be like in a world with Wonder Woman. Life would be similar in some ways, but very different in others. That’s the world-building I want to see. Where it blends and where it comes into conflict. Gotham and Metropolis do that to some degree, but I don’t feel like the differences have ever been truly embraced, so that’s something I can see Diana leading with and exploring in her title in her iconic city.

  2. #62
    Astonishing Member WonderScott's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    4,554

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AmiMizuno View Post
    Okay. While I don't think this should be a common thing. I had an idea that at least Athena would be living in Gateway. Any other mythical people or creatures you would want to be in the city. Also, would you guys like Artemis to live in Gateway
    Artemis might show up occasionally, but I see her as having a home base somewhere else and being a bit more of a world adventurer.

  3. #63
    Extraordinary Member AmiMizuno's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    9,228

    Default

    One thing that I think is Transformation Island should be in Gateway. By that, it's in one of the dimensions. Diana doesn't have her own special place anymore for her villains.

  4. #64
    Astonishing Member WonderScott's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    4,554

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AmiMizuno View Post
    One thing that I think is Transformation Island should be in Gateway. By that, it's in one of the dimensions. Diana doesn't have her own special place anymore for her villains.
    I think Transformation Island is absolutely an interesting aspect of Wonder Woman lore, but I like it as one of the archipelagos surrounding Themyscira.

  5. #65
    Extraordinary Member AmiMizuno's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    9,228

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WonderScott View Post
    I think Transformation Island is absolutely an interesting aspect of Wonder Woman lore, but I like it as one of the archipelagos surrounding Themyscira.
    Maybe mixing it. Transformation Island is near Paradise Island. I mean maybe due to who is there transformation island is somewhat is it's own thing. If that makes sense.

  6. #66
    Astonishing Member WonderScott's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    4,554

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AmiMizuno View Post
    Maybe mixing it. Transformation Island is near Paradise Island. I mean maybe due to who is there transformation island is somewhat is it's own thing. If that makes sense.
    My vision is it’s an archipelago off Themyscira and I’ve developed the island with its own origin story so-to-speak.

    Your “maybe mixing it” comment has got me thinking that perhaps Diana’s city needs a rehabilitation center of its own - one for adversaries not destined for Transformation Island.

  7. #67
    Extraordinary Member AmiMizuno's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    9,228

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WonderScott View Post
    My vision is it’s an archipelago off Themyscira and I’ve developed the island with its own origin story so-to-speak.

    Your “maybe mixing it” comment has got me thinking that perhaps Diana’s city needs a rehabilitation center of its own - one for adversaries not destined for Transformation Island.
    Who would it be for? Maybe Transformation Island could be more of the magical foes?

  8. #68
    Astonishing Member WonderScott's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    4,554

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by AmiMizuno View Post
    Who would it be for? Maybe Transformation Island could be more of the magical foes?
    I’m not sure I would classify or categorize it that way necessarily. In some ways I want to think about the kind of help an adversary might need and that would be dependent on where they might be housed. I’ve being a lot of thinking about the Amazons approach to medicine, healing, mental health, etc. and how that might influence Transformation Island versus a regular prison in Man’s World.

    I don’t think Diana would be impressed by Arkham Asylum or Stryker’s Island.

  9. #69
    Astonishing Member mathew101281's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    3,177

    Default

    I use to think that Diana didn't need a city, but as time has gone on I've come to appreciate the benefits that having a city of their own can have for a superhero. I think a lot of the issues that the character has had over the years can be tied, at least in part to the transient nature of the book. Cities can do many things for a character, but one of those things is attaching them to a particular place, and the supporting characters and locations in that place. The Marvel characters have New York City and all its iconic landmarks. Superman has Metropolis, Batman has Gotham. Even The Flash have Central City. City's in superhero comics tend to reflect their heroes in some way. Marvel heroes living in a real-world city kind of emphasizes the whole heroes with real-world problems that Stan and Jack were going for. Superman is called the man of Tomorrow so he lives in a futuristic city. Ideally, Wonder Woman would live in a real city that has a deep association with magic or myth, or an imaginary city with fanciful undertones. It would probably have a large immigrant population, and be either filled with overt sexism or have the thin veneer of a post sexist society. If done right, having a city of her own wouldn't limit the character, in fact, it would probably open the character up for more stories. You can also have the globe-trotting stories too. Having Metropolis doesn't hinder Superman from going out into space. It just gives him something to reliably come back to.

    Most importantly it gives Diana something else to do other than save Themyscira, yet again.
    Last edited by mathew101281; 06-20-2020 at 06:32 PM.

  10. #70
    Mighty Member wonder39's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Posts
    1,074

    Default

    I feel like making up a city for her at this point isn't needed. Kal, Bruce, etc always had their made up cities. Diana has mostly had DC and Boston. Both cities steeped in history and culture (like Themyscira/ Paradise Island) and I've always loved the neoclassic architecture of Washington DC reminding Diana of home, and it's a sort of modern reflection of her island home... and of course it's nostalgic....heaven forbid

    Giving her some made up city now feels like the constant tossing of her supporting cast and replacing it with a new group... just build upon the world she has and stop throwing stuff on her to see if it sticks.

  11. #71
    Astonishing Member Psy-lock's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Hades
    Posts
    2,420

    Default

    I'd have her live in Washington but operate in multiple cities, the ones she has the strongest ties with (Boston, Gateway, London). No need for another fictional city. From what I've seen, the strongest argument for giving her one is that it'll fix her mythos, make it more consistent, help define her character, ect...Which is quite ironic, the thing that'll supposedly fix her is the thing she never had for 80+ years of her history. It feels like another case of "let's change her origin to make her more relatable" or "let's make Grail her arch-enemy".

  12. #72
    Astonishing Member WonderScott's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    4,554

    Default

    Diana is a big enough character to support her own city that reflects certain themes about her, similarly to how Metropolis and Gotham do for their residents. There are a lot of real-world cities where I’d love to see Diana roll into town and interact with its inhabitants and intuitions. Washington DC is high on the list in the sense of Diana interacting with the federal government, given her mission and status as a family member of a constitutional monarchy - some interesting things to unpack there for one aspect of her character.

    But, I really think Diana needs her own fictional city to really do the character justice.

    1. Instead of giving her yet again another new cast of characters, it’d allow creatives and editorial the opportunity to merge a lot of Wonder characters and concepts into a single physical area and build off that... I’m talking about Ed Indelicato, Camille Sly, Micah Raines, Mike Schorr, Trevor Barnes, Helena Sandsmark, Myndi Mayer, Keith Griggs, Tod, Stacy Macklin, Lila Brown, Priscilla Rich, and other characters residing there.

    B. A fictional city can better encompass all of what Diana is thematically and add to her world and concepts over time.

  13. #73
    The Comixeur Mel Dyer's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    3,157

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WonderScott View Post
    Diana is a big enough character to support her own city that reflects certain themes about her, similarly to how Metropolis and Gotham do for their residents...A fictional city can better encompass all of what Diana is thematically and add to her world and concepts over time.
    I agree that Diana's city should have a role to play, in the broader DCU.
    COMBINING THE BIGBADITUDE OF THANOS WITH CHEETAH'S FEROCITY, IS JANUS WONDER WOMAN'S GREATEST SUPERVILLAIN?...on WONDABUNGA!!! Look alive, Kangaliers!

  14. #74
    Extraordinary Member AmiMizuno's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    9,228

    Default

    I mean I don't know. Diana is supposed to be both in myths and real political. Why not have Gateway be a real city hiding within D.C? Like I said the other trinity has a city that fits them. So D.C doesn't have that. So if we have both Gateway and D.C has one that could work.

  15. #75
    Extraordinary Member CRaymond's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    5,733

    Default

    Part of the appeal of Gateway as a magical hub city with a million ways to travel from location to location is that she can be in Gateway one minute and Washington DC on the other side of a door.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •