John Byrne’s WW

[bretmaverick2]

I know this is not a popular run with a lotta folks but I really enjoyed Byrne’s work on the title.

I know he tweeted a lot and added her mom as the WWII Wonder Woman, but I enjoyed it.

I worked in a comic shop at the time and he monthly orders increases by 30 - 40 per month just based on his attachment to the series.

Others thoughts??

[Gaius]

Can’t say I’m a fan of it. Seems Byrne is where ground zero of the cycles of new writers coming on to WW largely disregarding what came before them starts. Don’t know what the point of Hippolyta Wonder Woman was. I don’t really think Diana lost anything moving her origin to the modern times or not being a founding member of the JSA/JLA so came off as trying to fix a problem that didn’t exist.

Between Byrne, Final Crisis, and Robinson think I’d also be happy if WW and the New Gods stopped interacting with one another.

[Riv86672]

For some reason I never read Byrne’s WW.

[rayray1127]

Byrne's run started shortly after I seriously started collecting Wonder Woman comics (my first having been Vol. 2 #75) and so it has influenced alot about how I see Diana. I thought she was written pretty well, though even as a 13 year old, I thought all the Kirby stuff thrown in felt pretty shoehorned. I definitely remember loving the virtual clone arc, though, and his art is where I first found I prefered the costume with less white stars on the briefs.

Recently re-read the whole run and I can't say it holds up great (all those decimated amazons...) and there were some questionable art choices, but all in all it's enjoyable Wonder Woman fluff.

***** out of 10.

Ray
=w=

[SiegePerilous02]

Never read it and don't have a strong urge to. IMO, the only good thing Byrne as ever done is his X-Men run and Claremont certainly helped to elevate it as his partner.

Time traveling Wonder Hippolyta is one of the more annoying and pointless additions to post-Crisis lore. It makes Diana a legacy character when she shouldn't be, and doesn't actually restore her Golden Age history because it's not even her doing it.

Did he resurrect Artemis or bring her back to the book? That's one good thing I guess.

[Psy-lock]

Byrne's run is far from my favorite, but he did a lot of good stuff. He introduced Cassie, brought Artemis back into the book, restored Donna's connection with Diana (in a very convoluted way but beggars can't be choosers), reintroduced some Golden Age elements like the Invisible Jet and a WW in the JSA. And while he clearly had more interest in the guest stars he actually used quite a few Wonder Rogues (some of which made their first post-COIE appearance in his run): Cheetah, Dr. Psycho, Giganta, Decay, Paula, Egg-Fu. His run also had good art and Diana came off very powerful in it.

[Frank]

Did he resurrect Artemis or bring her back to the book? That's one good thing I guess.

Loebs resurrected Artemis in the Requiem mini-series; Byrne brought her back to the book, I think (it's been a long time) for the purpose of being a mentor to Cassie.

[Timothy Hunter]

Can’t say I’m a fan of it. Seems Byrne is where ground zero of the cycles of new writers coming on to WW largely disregarding what came before them starts. Don’t know what the point of Hippolyta Wonder Woman was. I don’t really think Diana lost anything moving her origin to the modern times or not being a founding member of the JSA/JLA so came off as trying to fix a problem that didn’t exist.

Between Byrne, Final Crisis, and Robinson think I’d also be happy if WW and the New Gods stopped interacting with one another.

What happened to Wonder Woman in Final Crisis?

[Tzigone]

I don’t really think Diana lost anything moving her origin to the modern times or not being a founding member of the JSA/JLA so came off as trying to fix a problem that didn’t exist.

I agree with her moving to modern times for her origin (and not liking Hippolyta in JSA), but do not like her being a rookie when Batman and Superman aren't (and also didn't like the 5G idea of them being rookies when she was an experienced hero). Don't like the unequal footing. And, of course, the Donna fallout from that. Her backstory never made chronological sense, anyway, but this was worse because Wonder Girl existed before Wonder Woman did, so it kinda makes Diana look like the copier in-universe. Fortunately, the character was well-known enough that fans don't come in with that perception. And they changed Donna's name to crappy one (I dislike "Troia" for mostly the same reason as "Drake").

[Agent Z]

I agree with her moving to modern times for her origin (and not liking Hippolyta in JSA), but do not like her being a rookie when Batman and Superman aren't (and also didn't like the 5G idea of them being rookies when she was an experienced hero). Don't like the unequal footing. And, of course, the Donna fallout from that. Her backstory never made chronological sense, anyway, but this was worse because Wonder Girl existed before Wonder Woman did, so it kinda makes Diana look like the copier in-universe. Fortunately, the character was well-known enough that fans don't come in with that perception. And they changed Donna's name to crappy one (I dislike "Troia" for mostly the same reason as "Drake").

Diana isn't unequal to Clark and Bruce just because they have more experience than her especially when she caught up eventually. Donna's original backstory was at least simple and easy to understand.

[Tzigone]

Diana isn't unequal to Clark and Bruce just because they have more experience than her especially when she caught up eventually.

Eventually. We still saw her as rookie when they were experienced. I don't like that. It doesn't bother you, I get that. It does bother me. She went from being one of the first to the one the most recent. I have similar irritation with Dinah being made into her daughter or when Dick as Robin is placed debuting long after Barry, Hal, etc. Taking away a character's experience and achievements is diminishing a character, IMO. Timeslides are a given and I totally get specific adventures being wiped away because they are too silver age or events don't fit continuity. But a decade of someone's life gone is just not at all okay. I've bitterly complained about Barbara and Dick being de-aged for similar, but not exactly the same, reasons.

[Gaius]

What happened to Wonder Woman in Final Crisis?

Main thing was just become one of Darkseid's mind-controlled slaves. On it's own it's not particularly bad but compared to the stuff Superman and Batman got to due it felt like something of a letdown.

I agree with her moving to modern times for her origin, but do not like her being a rookie when Batman and Superman aren't (and also didn't like the 5G idea of them being rookies when she was an experienced hero). Don't like the unequal footing.

I can see that view I don't think it particularly diminished the character in any real way. If it puts her on unequal footing with Bruce or Clark, that's just because DC prefers her to play supporting character when the three are in the same room.

[Natamaxxx]

Byrne’s run is pretty much what took me off buying the book at the time. Aside from the art, there were many story elements I didn’t care for. Ditching Boston & the Kapatelis family for Gateway and the Sandsmarks did not sit well with me & Cassie is a character that I hate to this day. I was pretty disinterested in the book by the time Hippolyta became Wonder Woman, though I would occasionally flip through an issue at a stand. The art was pretty atrocious at that point, so I would just roll my eyes and walk away.

[kcekada]

Prior to the announcement that he was taking over -- I thought he would be an excellent choice. But he screwed the pooch on this one. It wasn't a total disaster, but I had expected so much better than he delivered. He was no George Perez when it came to handling mythology. Also his supporting cast was just a rip off of Perez's. Then there is that huge tiara. Ugh!