QUEEN CLEA: Are you a fan of her look?

[Nyssane]

Stemming out of the Future State thread, there's been a conversation about Queen Clea's semi-consistent look throughout the years. Are you a fan of her Aztec-inspired Atlantean outfit, or is the golden metal bra a relic of the past?

For those of you who aren't familiar with the character:

Queen Clea is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as an adversary for the superhero Wonder Woman. The ruthless dictator of Venturia, a remote kingdom on the sunken continent of Atlantis, she first appeared in 1944 in Wonder Woman #8, volume 1, written by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston and illustrated by Harry G. Peter. After several clashes with Wonder Woman, Queen Clea became a member of Villainy Inc., a team of super-villainesses consisting of several of Wonder Woman's Golden Age foes, including the Cheetah, Giganta and Doctor Poison. She made several Silver Age appearances (including one in Justice League of America #135 in 1976 in which she allied with Batman's enemies the Penguin and Blockbuster, along with the Captain Marvel foe Ibac), as well as several Post-Crisis appearances in which she was the leader of Villainy Inc.

[Agent Z]

Can't say I am.

[Perseus]

The head piece is nice and identifiable.... everything else however needs an update.

[Largo161]

I like her classic look.

[Koriand'r]

Metal bras are fun and always have been!

metal bra.jpg

[Artemisfanboy]

I really don't have a strong opinion either way, but I have no problem with the classic look, and the arguments against it in the other thread seem to be coming from a place of sex negativity. If some body just wanted to give her a new outfit to be cool or try something different and not just "cover her up to be taken more seriously/cheescake bad" I wouldn't be immediately opposed.

[Psy-lock]

I like it and I like her in general and would love to see her come back as a major WW villain. Though I understand why DC probably doesn't want to deal with this kind of character.

[Nyssane]

I really don't have a strong opinion either way, but I have no problem with the classic look, and the arguments against it in the other thread seem to be coming from a place of sex negativity. If some body just wanted to give her a new outfit to be cool or try something different and not just "cover her up to be taken more seriously/cheescake bad" I wouldn't be immediately opposed.

I don't think everyone who is against cheesecake art in a Wonder Woman comic is sex-negative, personally. But I also don't think Queen Clea's look is cheesecake.

I like it and I like her in general and would love to see her come back as a major WW villain. Though I understand why DC probably doesn't want to deal with this kind of character.

It might be why Dr. Psycho gets less use, too. Clea is sort of the reverse of Psycho. But they both bring great themes to the comic that aren't really explored elsewhere.

[Gaius]

I'd add some over-the-shoulder straps on the bra to make it look more like a top but I'm mostly fine with it. I like the headdress.

[PopQuezy]

I really don't have a strong opinion either way, but I have no problem with the classic look, and the arguments against it in the other thread seem to be coming from a place of sex negativity. If some body just wanted to give her a new outfit to be cool or try something different and not just "cover her up to be taken more seriously/cheescake bad" I wouldn't be immediately opposed.

I disagree that I am "sex negative" but psychology is psychology and conditioning is conditioning. I can tell you as a high school teacher there is a vast difference between how students react to me when I am dressed casually versus in a suit or even business casual. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to dress like someone who should. This is true for both women and men. If Clea is to be taken seriously as a villainous queen, a 1980s Madonna outfit will only make it more difficult for her to reach that goal.

[Psy-lock]

t might be why Dr. Psycho gets less use, too. Clea is sort of the reverse of Psycho. But they both bring great themes to the comic that aren't really explored elsewhere.

And on top of that she also has an additional problem because of her Atlantean heritage. In the shared universe you can't use Clea on a regular basis without addressing how she ties into the Aquaman lore. Well, I guess you can, but that would be bad writing.

[Nyssane]

I'd add some over-the-shoulder straps on the bra to make it look more like a top but I'm mostly fine with it. I like the headdress.

Her outfit in the 40's did have straps. Actually, I think the red and green color scheme also was a bit more striking.

And on top of that she also has an additional problem because of her Atlantean heritage. In the shared universe you can't use Clea on a regular basis without addressing how she ties into the Aquaman lore. Well, I guess you can, but that would be bad writing.

I'm not so sure about that. We see figures of Greek Mythology pop up frequently in non-WW books with no reference to WW. And if it's such a big deal, just make Venturia it's own thing away from Atlantis.

[SiegePerilous02]

I like her look fine, especially the headdress. She isn't such a prominent figure that I don't think altering/updating her look would seriously cause waves, but I also don't see the need to.

I'd say the...campiness (?) of her "Las Vegas showgirl" look is part of the fun. Wonder Woman should have a variety of women in her rogues gallery all sporting different looks. I don't think Cheetah, Veronica, Dr. Poison, Giganta, Dr. Cyber, Blue Snowman, Hypnota etc. should wear similar costumes, but I don't see the harm in letting Clea, Zara and Circe (at least some of her looks) vamp it up in these costumes to show how they differentiate.

[Artemisfanboy]

I don't think everyone who is against cheesecake art in a Wonder Woman comic is sex-negative, personally. But I also don't think Queen Clea's look is cheesecake.

Not necessarily. I am speaking in very general sense. I said in the other thread that if somebody wanted to give her say, a combat outfit similar to Mera's or other Atlantean dress styles that might work, both to tie her into Aquaman.

I disagree that I am "sex negative" but psychology is psychology and conditioning is conditioning. I can tell you as a high school teacher there is a vast difference between how students react to me when I am dressed casually versus in a suit or even business casual. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to dress like someone who should. This is true for both women and men. If Clea is to be taken seriously as a villainous queen, a 1980s Madonna outfit will only make it more difficult for her to reach that goal.

I think you're making a mistake of only being able to interpret seriousness in one fashion. Clea is something of a decadent queen, and I think her traditional outfit conveys that well. I can see her being imposing while wearing that outfit, sitting on her throne surrounded by her slaves and guards. While she wouldn't strike fear into a crowd of surface dwellers by herself, she would come off as threatening to any prisoner brought before her throne.

[Koriand'r]

I disagree that I am "sex negative" but psychology is psychology and conditioning is conditioning. I can tell you as a high school teacher there is a vast difference between how students react to me when I am dressed casually versus in a suit or even business casual. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to dress like someone who should. This is true for both women and men. If Clea is to be taken seriously as a villainous queen, a 1980s Madonna outfit will only make it more difficult for her to reach that goal.

You may not take her seriously but that doesn't mean no one else does. Once she crushes your skull or impales you with her trident what she was wearing while doing so wouldn't matter much anyway. What matters is you were caught off guard because you were busy thinking she's not dressed professionally enough.