Wonder Woman in the Justice League show is better than people give credit for

[mabromov]

Wonder Woman from the DCAU gets far too much flack from people on here.

This was Wonder Woman's first major appearance in media since the Linda Carter show. Despite Bruce Timm running into legal issues with the character, he was adamant that she be used in the series, and helped re-introduce a character who had previously been ignored for a long time. I still remember when the pilot episode first aired some fans complained about WW stealing her armor and running away from home. But everyone was perfectly okay with that 15+ years later when the same thing happened in the live-action film.

It should be said that Wonder Woman is a hard character to write. She's a warrior, an amazon, an ambassador, a compassionate and calm person, etc. There's a bunch of stuff in her character. For a lot of writers, finding the right balance for her can be tricky. And there's many people who have a different idea on how Wonder Woman should be like.

There were some episodes in the Justice League show where Wonder Woman just seemed like an angry brute such as Fury, Eclipsed, Hawk and Dove (though I'd argue that was the point in that episode).

And yet, there were several episodes of JLU which characterized Wonder Woman excellently, and showed her compassionate side such as Ultimatum, Maid of Honor, Tabula Rasa, and To Another Shore. I feel it's important to keep in mind that a fair chunk of episodes did get her character right.

Is this a flawless portrayal of WW? No, overall I'd say it'd mid-tier, there's better and worse versions of the character out there. I'd say in the show itself, Wonder Woman suffered from inconsistent writing, but there were several episodes which got her right as I've mentioned. It's frustrating when I see people on here gloss over that so they can preach their one sided narrative.

[Vampire Savior]

Susan Eisenberg was really incredible in the role. I don't think I can not hear her voice when reading Wonder Woman dialogue. I always liked her on the show. Admittedly, I don't think Timm and co. had as well a grasp on her as they did some other characters, but they didn't portray Wonder Woman (or Superman) nearly as bad as some people let on.

[Psy-lock]

Yeah, the hate for that version is a bit overblown. It's not great, but really no worse than how she's portrayed in most non-WW books (and definitely miles better than the current DCAU). At least in the show they never had Batman one-punch Cheetah and Circe.

And there are some positives too: she's well voiced, had a good showing power-wise and I also liked how they portrayed Steve Trevor, Giganta and Circe.

[Gaius]

Eisenberg's a good voice for the character and first season she wasn't that badly characterized , though disappointing her first two spotlight episodes centered around villains they made up for the show (Hades and Aresia) rather than more traditional WW rogues (none of whom that appeared got good showings). There was at least a decent moment with Steve Trevor.

Downhill after that in the later seasons, especially when the Batman schoolgirl crush began popping up though that's unfortunately a trademark in nearly all Timm Batman content. Given it's the most long-lasting thing people remember about DCAU Wonder Woman I think says a lot about about her and her mythos were handled and what people introduced to her through it took away from it.

[Nyssane]

At least in the show they never had Batman one-punch Cheetah and Circe.

No, it just had Cheetah get duped by Batman and then killed off by Solomon Grundy for her betrayal (the only reason she survived was due to animation error).

And it just had Circe get defeated by Batman singing.

None of Wonder Woman's villains made any sort of sense in the Justice League show, let alone Diana herself. Giganta was Gorilla Grodd's stooge and had no relationship to Diana beyond a few fight scenes. Dr. Cyber and Angle Man appeared, yet didn't even have lines as far as I remember. But the Cheetah stuff is the ultimate slap in the face.

Susan Eisenberg's voice acting was the only good thing about Wonder Woman in the JLU 'toon if you ask me.

[Psy-lock]

No, it just had Cheetah get duped by Batman and then killed off by Solomon Grundy for her betrayal (the only reason she survived was due to animation error).

And it just had Circe get defeated by Batman singing.

None of Wonder Woman's villains made any sort of sense in the Justice League show, let alone Diana herself. Giganta was Gorilla Grodd's stooge and had no relationship to Diana beyond a few fight scenes. Dr. Cyber and Angle Man appeared, yet didn't even have lines as far as I remember. But the Cheetah stuff is the ultimate slap in the face.

Susan Eisenberg's voice acting was the only good thing about Wonder Woman in the JLU 'toon if you ask me.

Still nowhere near as humiliating as what happens to Cheetah in most non-WW books or the last DCAU movie.

Wut? Circe was not defeated by Batman singing. She defeated and humiliated him, Diana and Zatanna and got away with it. The only villain on the show who managed that.

And Giganta has practically no relationship to Diana beyond a few fight scenes in the post crisis comics either. Neither do Angle Man or Dr Cyber (who barely even exist).

[mabromov]

No, it just had Cheetah get duped by Batman and then killed off by Solomon Grundy for her betrayal (the only reason she survived was due to animation error).

And it just had Circe get defeated by Batman singing.

None of Wonder Woman's villains made any sort of sense in the Justice League show, let alone Diana herself. Giganta was Gorilla Grodd's stooge and had no relationship to Diana beyond a few fight scenes. Dr. Cyber and Angle Man appeared, yet didn't even have lines as far as I remember. But the Cheetah stuff is the ultimate slap in the face.

Susan Eisenberg's voice acting was the only good thing about Wonder Woman in the JLU 'toon if you ask me.

This is a Justice League show, not a Wonder Woman show. Expecting a D lister (and that's being generous) like Angle Man to show up, when the series barely had time for Batman villains is ridiculous.

Giganta in the show has an origin story similar to the Earth-Two and Earth-One versions of the character that were evolved from a gorilla by Professor Zool. I loved her girly persona and she's one of the standout side villains in the whole DCAU.

If you wanna complain about Cheetah, fine. But let's not pretend that was a major part of the show.

[Gaius]

No, it just had Cheetah get duped by Batman and then killed off by Solomon Grundy for her betrayal (the only reason she survived was due to animation error).

And it just had Circe get defeated by Batman singing.

None of Wonder Woman's villains made any sort of sense in the Justice League show, let alone Diana herself. Giganta was Gorilla Grodd's stooge and had no relationship to Diana beyond a few fight scenes. Dr. Cyber and Angle Man appeared, yet didn't even have lines as far as I remember. But the Cheetah stuff is the ultimate slap in the face.

Susan Eisenberg's voice acting was the only good thing about Wonder Woman in the JLU 'toon if you ask me.

Yeah, the Circe episode was one of my least favorite given WW was reduced to a plot device while Batman and Zatanna got to take center stage.

[SiegePerilous02]

This is a Justice League show, not a Wonder Woman show. Expecting a D lister (and that's being generous) like Angle Man to show up, when the series barely had time for Batman villains is ridiculous.

People don't need to be told that.

We're not expecting WW stuff 24/7 in a JL show, but when her stuff does appear I don't think it's unreasonable to expect it be treated well. Outside of Circe and Steve, none of it was. Ares and Cheetah were jokes, Giganta had no connection to her (the comics making the lousy choice to do the same around that time is no excuse either, then we have just two bad representations instead of one) and the Amazons banishing her for daring to bring men to help them is a low point.

Eisenberg was fine, I would have liked if she had better material to work with. Or gotten her own series with minimal involvement from Bruce Timm (I'd be more willing to see involvement from Paul Dini though).

[Psy-lock]

Yeah, the Circe episode was one of my least favorite given WW was reduced to a plot device while Batman and Zatanna got to take center stage.

I agree, but it was a good showing for Circe nonetheless. Had they reversed Diana's and Bruce's roles it could've been great.

[Nyssane]

This is a Justice League show, not a Wonder Woman show. Expecting a D lister (and that's being generous) like Angle Man to show up, when the series barely had time for Batman villains is ridiculous.

Giganta in the show has an origin story similar to the Earth-Two and Earth-One versions of the character that were evolved from a gorilla by Professor Zool. I loved her girly persona and she's one of the standout side villains in the whole DCAU.

If you wanna complain about Cheetah, fine. But let's not pretend that was a major part of the show.

No, but this is a Wonder Woman forum, y'know, where we talk about Wonder Woman.

Giganta was an evolved gorilla, yes, but she was evolved by Gorilla Grodd, and thus her origins were tied to him and not any of Wonder Woman's characters.

Wonder Woman's villains not being a "major part of the show" is the problem that many of us Wonder Woman fans have. Batman, Superman, and even Green Lantern and Flash were given far more respect in regards to their mythos, while Wonder Woman had virtually none except for a bunch of laughable villains who had no connection to her.

[Gaius]

I agree, but it was a good showing for Circe nonetheless. Had they reversed Diana's and Bruce's roles it could've been great.

Yeah, like Circe's most basic thing is turning men into animals and standing right there is a guy who dresses like a bat.

[mabromov]

Eisenberg's a good voice for the character and first season she wasn't that badly characterized , though disappointing her first two spotlight episodes centered around villains they made up for the show (Hades and Aresia) rather than more traditional WW rogues (none of whom that appeared got good showings). There was at least a decent moment with Steve Trevor.

Downhill after that in the later seasons, especially when the Batman schoolgirl crush began popping up though that's unfortunately a trademark in nearly all Timm Batman content. Given it's the most long-lasting thing people remember about DCAU Wonder Woman I think says a lot about about her and her mythos were handled and what people introduced to her through it took away from it.

This is something I'll never understand. Contrary to popular belief, this show did not invent the Batman and Wonder Woman pairing. It happened several times before in the comics.

Both Batman and Wonder Woman had good banter and chemistry together, hence why fans responded to it.

And I thought WW was characterized far better in JLU. Seriously, go and watch Ultimatum or To Another Shore, it's pretty spot on to her character.

[mabromov]

No, but this is a Wonder Woman forum, y'know, where we talk about Wonder Woman.

Giganta was an evolved gorilla, yes, but she was evolved by Gorilla Grodd, and thus her origins were tied to him and not any of Wonder Woman's characters.

Wonder Woman's villains not being a "major part of the show" is the problem that many of us Wonder Woman fans have. Batman, Superman, and even Green Lantern and Flash were given far more respect in regards to their mythos, while Wonder Woman had virtually none except for a bunch of laughable villains who had no connection to her.

That's completely unfair. Batman and Superman had their own prior shows before this, and even then, a lot of characters in Batman TAS didn't appear on JL or had minor roles. Even before the Bat-Embargo, Bruce Timm canned several Poison Ivy stories because he wanted to focus on different characters. Flash had like one episode where his villains appeared, and he didn't have much interaction with Grodd.

They were able to do a decent amount of Wonder Woman's mythos.

-Introduce Paradise island and the Amazons
-Introduce Steve Trevor
-Have an episode with Ares as the main baddie
-Introduce the Lasso of Truth
-Had an episode that basically toyed with Wonder Woman's bisexuality as much as they could on a kids show
-Have an episode with Circe as the main baddie

In fact, Wonder Woman's villains had more main starring roles than Batman's villains in the show.

[Guy_McNichts]

I didn't care for how Circe was treated. They made her a joke. She owes Medusa money, her fight with Zatanna is just Looney Tunes slapstick, and she's swayed by Batman singing a song. This is supposed to be one of Diana's deadliest foes.
That whole episode was awful, beginning to end.

Yes, it was a Justice League show, not Wonder Woman, but it's obvious she was at the bottom of their priorities. She was only there because she's Wonder Woman and she has to be there, but they otherwise couldn't have cared less and it showed.
And I hate that the apparent legacy of her portrayal was the abyssmal Bat ship. The show wasn't the first, but when people ship Diana and Bruce or insist they should hook up, it's because of the DCAU.

It wasn't all bad--Susan Eisenberg is/was a great voice for Diana, and yeah, she had her moments. But overall, I thought the DCAU's Wonder Woman was, at best, mediocre.