Well first of all, I think it's a big stretch to say that parallel universes is "the most likely explanation". It certainly isn't the most believable explanation to me. And even if they were humans, their biologies have nothing to do with testosterone, and it's biological engineering, they can literally decide not to make the genders different. Why would they perpetuate a power difference between genders if they can totally make them equal?
We are talking about fiction. The rules of human testosterone doesn't have to be an obstacle. Specially for characters crafted around magic. In WW's case. She was created to be as strong as superman. Those are the words of her own creator. In fact, her classic intro says stronger than Hercules, faster than Hermes. And we even see her overpowering Hercules several times in the comics. And it shouldn't be a surprise. Since she has powers from several Gods unlike hercules. And in current incarnation. She has powers from several Gods on top of being a child of Zeus. So yes, the way the fight with hercules was portrayed in injustice doesn't make sense.
Wonder Woman and Hercules are fictional characters of which neither is properly “human” and if DC writers state Diana is stronger than their version of Hercules, Diana is stronger than Hercules.
Anyways on topic, Tom Taylor is the worst Wonder Woman writer but he’s not a sexist.
I think one can certainly argue he is not sexist in an overt, hyperactive conscious sense, but his choices reveal that there may indeed be an influence of sexism subconsciously with Wonder Woman being a good example. He has a LOT of company among comics writers. It is always a good tell when a separate standard defines the choices made for a character in a story.
You can use Alex Ross as an example. He has interviews and work with Wonder Woman in comics and other media like MKvsDCUNIVERSE. But when you look at say his rationale for choices for Captain Marvel versus the same for WW some red flags pop up.
Taylor definitely falls in that category when you analyze his depiction of Diana in the early years of the series.
Wonder Woman was historically Beautiful as Aphrodite, Wise as Athena, Stronger than Hercules, and Swifter than Mercury. But yet Taylor rites what he wrote
Pretty much this. He also falls back on memes about characters, such as a collective of the greatest minds of humanity requiring Batman "because he's Batman" when it's Damien under there. Yes, he's smart, but listing everyone's credentials and then "he is in the pointed ears," well he kind of betrays himself.
I don't think it's possible he's a sexist, though, given his work and general demeanor. He just doesn't really get Diana or her world. But Dinah? Harley? He treats them with a ton more respect even if I don't love his work or choices for them.
Not many writers do because they don't read her comics. They read team books she appears in and every character in those are reduced to their most broad incarnations.
So while he seems to follow Clark and Bruce and gets them a bit more, his Diana seems based on generalizations. He's not nearly the only one guilty of this.
The most reasonable explanation is that they're aliens. In the infinite expanse of space, do you really think we're all that unique?
Ancient God's are manifestations of abstract concepts given human form so we can comprehend them.
Readers are okay with a ten year old acrobat being able to dodge bullets for fun. They're willing to accept a lot of nonsense as long as it's fun or serves the narrative.
Last edited by Robanker; 02-01-2021 at 03:35 AM.
Oh, I don't disagree we all have some biases put into us even if Taylor isn't a knuckle-dragging MRA type. That she was the only character on the Regime side in Injustice that he decided "she was always evil" and didn't try to explain her journey from A to Z, like he did with Clark, Hal, Cyborg, and Barry or her being a jobber to the stars in DCeased speaks very poorly of him as a writer imo.
He's good at shallow characters like Harley where there's not much to her in terms of depth which you can make up for with unfunny jokes but he struggles with characters beyond that.
Last edited by Gaius; 02-01-2021 at 08:47 AM.
You truly nailed it. Look at at that mary vs WW fight for example. taylor could remember that mary has the strength of hercules, the speed of mercury while beating WW. But forgot that WW herself was introduced as stronger than Hercules, faster than Mercury. He decided to treat the so called biggest, most iconic and important female hero as a jobber to a d lis*at best( character that oh what a coincidence, is the female version of an already existing male character. Many writers do this, and this is a sexist bias in my opinion. Even if they are not doing it in a conscious sense.
Wasn't a bunch of Marvel fanboys calling Tom Taylor a "SJW" cause he had two or three books with strong women as leads?
Funny that he is being called a sexist here.
Last edited by Drako; 02-04-2021 at 03:52 PM.
DC: Dick Grayson, Wally West, Donna Troy, Yara Flor, Titans
Some of my favorite Mangas: One Piece, Slam Dunk, Fullmetal Alchemist, HunterXHunter, Vinland Saga, Monster, Berserk, Vagabond.
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