Nubia Appreciation 2021

[Largo161]

How adorable!



SOURCE: https://twitter.com/thatnerdkris/sta...535172/photo/1

Too cute for words!

[HestiasHearth]

I am gonna say it right now: if Nubia gets introduced in Wonder Woman 3 (fingers crossed!!), I pray to Gaia that Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim, Anne Boleyn, Without Remorse) plays her!!!
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[Perseus]

I can't speak for the other guy, but I personally do not see the appeal of Diana having a twin sister with brown skin both in execution and even in theory. Why does this appeal to you? Or more specifically, why does she have to be a clay figure created by Hippolyta on the same day as Diana? Why can't she be Diana's equivalent but from another source by other people?

I think it dilutes both Nubia and Diana. Now Diana isn't as much of a special creation, and Nubia will always be just as capable as Diana but not the most important one. Diana is the one that leaves the island. Diana is the one that wins the contest. Diana is the one that joins the Justice League. It suddenly becomes so racially charge when there is no necessity for that if Nubia had her own origin.

That's implying that Nubia was there at the time of any of those events, she wasn't. I don't see how this is racially charged, Nubia wasn't on the island at the time, it wasn't her fault. On top of Nubia actually matching and beating Diana in a contest once, this could be a talking point between the two. That Nubia is every much just as capable and as powerful as Diana and could be Wonder Woman if anything happened to Diana.

[Perseus]

Why would Nubia need to be Diana’s equal? Several other Amazons have been Wonder Woman at one time or another and none of them were written as being equal in strength and power to Diana. As long as there is a Wonderverse or Wonderfamily or whatever you want to call it, Diana will always be the main attraction and I just think that any character spun out of that world would be better served by not being a derivative copy.

I agree with you in that execution is everything and no matter what direction they go in, I’m sure we will all find aspects of her story we don’t care for. If I’m being 100% honest, I rarely enjoy comics for the writing. It’s more about the art for me, so if the writing isn’t great, then I’m ok just having pretty pictures to look at.

Diana is not a regular amazon. Artemis needed special equipment just to kind of sort of be on par with Diana's powers. It doesn't make the amazons less then because they can't match Diana in power.

Diana and by extension Nubia are or would be presented as powerful as the Man of Steel himself. The first black female superhero was presented to be on par with the woman who is an equal to the most power man.

[Alpha]

That's implying that Nubia was there at the time of any of those events, she wasn't. I don't see how this is racially charged, Nubia wasn't on the island at the time, it wasn't her fault. On top of Nubia actually matching and beating Diana in a contest once, this could be a talking point between the two. That Nubia is every much just as capable and as powerful as Diana and could be Wonder Woman if anything happened to Diana.

If she wasn't there then you know what she was? The black twin that didn't get to grow up in paradise. Any way you put it, her being Diana's sister is not only weird, but also bad representation.

Either Nubia was hidden away, or she was just as strong as Diana but not as eager to be the first to save the world, nor as strong to win the contest. Neither origin makes Nubia feel as blessed and appreciated.

Everyone can accept the idea that Devastation is just as strong as Wonder Woman. Why can't Nubia also be an equal while having a distinct origin that doesn't create these weird and problematic implications?

[I'm a Fish]

If she wasn't there then you know what she was? The black twin that didn't get to grow up in paradise. Any way you put it, her being Diana's sister is not only weird, but also bad representation.

Either Nubia was hidden away, or she was just as strong as Diana but not as eager to be the first to save the world, nor as strong to win the contest. Neither origin makes Nubia feel as blessed and appreciated.

Everyone can accept the idea that Devastation is just as strong as Wonder Woman. Why can't Nubia also be an equal while having a distinct origin that doesn't create these weird and problematic implications?

Doesn't Devastation have basically the same origin as Diana? Just with Titans instead of Olympians?

[Perseus]

If she wasn't there then you know what she was? The black twin that didn't get to grow up in paradise. Any way you put it, her being Diana's sister is not only weird, but also bad representation.

Either Nubia was hidden away, or she was just as strong as Diana but not as eager to be the first to save the world, nor as strong to win the contest. Neither origin makes Nubia feel as blessed and appreciated.

Everyone can accept the idea that Devastation is just as strong as Wonder Woman. Why can't Nubia also be an equal while having a distinct origin that doesn't create these weird and problematic implications?

I don't agree. Bad representation would be if Nubia was the only POC in the Wonder mythos and that she speaks for all black women, who are not a monolith. There are tons of POC in the Wonder mythos, its only a matter of using them. Nubia's experience was different then Diana's, so what? You seem to think that makes her less then, I don't. I'm more annoyed that nothing really come from that story, she never appeared that much or at all afterwards. It felt like a one and done thing rather then having the two of them explore their history together or expanding Nubia's character after the origin. That felt like bad rep, not the origin.

At this point I have to be blunt, Nubia is not the main character of the Wonder mythos. That's obvious I know. Diana would always win the contest regardless of who she was against. And again, we are only just now seeing a rise in popularity in the character because she was Diana's sister, that's what people know her for. And she wasn't "hidden away", you make it seem like the Amazons are ashamed of her. She was kidnapped, that's it, be it from Ares or any other malevolent entity.

Devastation is Diana's equal in power because the Titans that created her wanted her to be an equal yet deadlier version of the hero. Its something that ties into the mythos. Nubia being another amazon, as if the named ones get a lot of attention anyway, hasn't done her any favors. What is a less "weird and problematic" origin for you?

[Perseus]

Doesn't Devastation have basically the same origin as Diana?

Yup, she was molded from clay and the Titans gave her life and powers to be equal yet a deadlier version of Diana... with Freddy Krugger dream powers too.

[Alpha]

I already presented my idea, but it wouldn't fit with your desire of Nubia being literally black Diana.

I also like the idea of Nubia being created by the amazons as a group after Diana left the island. And thus Nubia is a different attempt at making a different type of Wonder Woman. Nubia also signals a change in the amazon lifestyle.

Diana is a creature of spring, whilr Nubia is a creature of autunm. There is a certain serenity in Nubia and she could be part of a new design for Paradise Island.

Maybe Nubia was harder to make because detiny needed her to be brought to life at the right time, and thus for many years Nubia was just a clay figure.

[I'm a Fish]

I already presented my idea, but it wouldn't fit with your desire of Nubia being literally black Diana.

I also like the idea of Nubia being created by the amazons as a group after Diana left the island. And thus Nubia is a different attempt at making a different type of Wonder Woman. Nubia also signals a change in the amazon lifestyle.

Diana is a creature of spring, whilr Nubia is a creature of autunm. There is a certain serenity in Nubia and she could be part of a new design for Paradise Island.

Maybe Nubia was harder to make because detiny needed her to be brought to life at the right time, and thus for many years Nubia was just a clay figure.

That's what they did to Donna... (we don't talk about it, though )

[Perseus]

I already presented my idea, but it wouldn't fit with your desire of Nubia being literally black Diana.

I also like the idea of Nubia being created by the amazons as a group after Diana left the island. And thus Nubia is a different attempt at making a different type of Wonder Woman. Nubia also signals a change in the amazon lifestyle.

Diana is a creature of spring, whilr Nubia is a creature of autunm. There is a certain serenity in Nubia and she could be part of a new design for Paradise Island.

Maybe Nubia was harder to make because detiny needed her to be brought to life at the right time, and thus for many years Nubia was just a clay figure.

I feel like that's implying that I want them to have the same personality. Not at all.

[Perseus]

That's what they did to Donna... (we don't talk about it, though )

What are you talking about, Finch had the right idea. Diana needed to see a reflection of herself if she was made of clay by the man hating barbarians for realsies.

[Alpha]

That's what they did to Donna... (we don't talk about it, though )

Not at all what I'm proposing.

[wonder39]

I’m sorry, but I just don’t see it. The very fact that she’s now been made queen in this continuity already makes her more than just some “random Amazon”. In fact she now outranks Diana herself and there are many ways in which she can be portrayed as deserving of her elevated place amongst the Amazons without being the token black sister she was originally created to be.

Well, she's now Queen in part because she's Hippolyta's daughter, as Hippolyta mentioned in that ish.

You don't need to see the importance of her being Diana's sister. But to many people, saying Diana has a black sister of equal power and status says a lot vs another Amazon.

[John Venus]

I already presented my idea, but it wouldn't fit with your desire of Nubia being literally black Diana.

I also like the idea of Nubia being created by the amazons as a group after Diana left the island. And thus Nubia is a different attempt at making a different type of Wonder Woman. Nubia also signals a change in the amazon lifestyle.

That might work for an original character (not named Nubia or Donna) but I think there has been enough wholesale rewriting of character's backstories. I rather writers find a way to improve what is already there. We have enough confusion about characters and their backstories as it is. Wholesale rewriting usually means somebody else down the line will do the same.

Nubia is defined by being Diana's sister and also the first champion. Do variations of that, like how Nubia: Real One used the former to craft a different story for Nubia while still retaining her as Diana's sister. Though you claim that Nubia's backstory as it is is problematic, I say her story has potential to be really powerful. You have a young black girl who was kidnapped from her own culture by a malevolent entity, raised in a culture other than her own and then manipulated as a weapon against her birth culture. Yet, she manages to break out of her curse, reconnect with both her birth culture and adopted culture and stand as equals with her blood sister. I think this has potential to resonate with people the same way Killmonger resonated with so many except without villanization.