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  1. #1
    Astonishing Member mathew101281's Avatar
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    Default Steve Trevor: The most disrespected love interest in comics?

    For as long as I can remember their has been a constant desires to either recreate him or write him out of the book entirely. I don’t see this desire with the any of the primary love interests of the other major DC characters. Is it because Diana/Steve doesn’t fit the conventional way male/female pairs are suppose to be?

    I think it’s because Steve is to much of a blank slate. It feels like some people at DC feel that he will overshadow Wonderwoman if he’s given to much focus.(a problem repeated with a lot of Diana’s cast) but what does that say about Wonderwoman if that’s possible.
    Giving Catwoman, Lois Lane, Carol Ferris, and others focus doesn’t lesson their heroes?

  2. #2
    Leftbrownie Alpha's Avatar
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    I mean, Carol Ferris herself isn't a fascinating love interest. I mean, she's fine.

    The problem with Steve is that he just doesn't add all that much to Diana as a character after a while. Plus the fact that Diana shouldn't be stuck with all these boring dudes or jerks.

  3. #3
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    Steve Trevor and Lois lane both share the same personality type with Captain Kirk: ESTP. That means Steve should bring to her similar elements to what Lois brings to Clark.

    Sue Dibny and Katma Tui may be more "disrespected". . .

    I guess there are multiple reasons people don't like Wonder Woman being locked down. For one, it ruins the illusion of some readers that they can have her if she's taken, like how K-popstars are told not to date in order to perpetuate the attainability fantasy. Steve is the archetypal high school sports star, so he may not be a who geekier readers identify with. For another thing, a lot of people (men and women) believe in traditional gender roles in a relationship to the point of thinking women should be sidekicks in their relationships, given the domestic responsibilities, and supporting the aspirations of their male counterpart, so writers may just be trying to subvert this by not having WW enter a permanent relationship with a man. In other words, I guess some people fear a relationship in which both partners bring the same things to a relationship. Also, a lot of people see the point of marriage as children, and that opens up a bunch of other questions on what is progressive in that situation. Is the feminist thing to do keeping her surname, taking Steve's, or hyphenating? Could that choice or similar choices put off readers?

    TL;DR, it helps writers avoid debates still going on in feminist circles and doesn't upset the sensitive members of the male readership.

  4. #4
    Ultimate Member Gaius's Avatar
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    Some just prefer Wonder Woman being arm candy for Superman and Batman.
    Last edited by Gaius; 12-13-2021 at 02:54 PM.

  5. #5

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    This was brought up in the WW sub forums. I recall it was I'm A Fish who showed scans of Golden Age Steve Trevor as a cook and breaking commonly accepted gender roles.

    Might as well link it here since it covered the same topic.

  6. #6
    Ultimate Member j9ac9k's Avatar
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    Katma Tui: cut to pieces in her kitchen just to get at Hal.

    Jean Loring: became a crazy murderer to get a reaction out of Atom

    Alex DeWitt: shoved in a fridge

  7. #7
    Extraordinary Member Primal Slayer's Avatar
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    I think it is because he's a normal male whose in love with a superhero. It's very Buffy/Riley where it's looked down upon and she's seen that she's to good for him and people either ship her with Batman whose super popular and brooding or Superman whose seen as her equal.

    Paired with the fact that so many writers always go "there is no definitive WW. I dont know who she is" so they just interpret her in a completely new way and dont care about her supporting cast.

  8. #8
    Mighty Member Dr. Skeleton's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gaius View Post
    Some just prefer Wonder Woman being arm candy for Superman and Batman.
    Or someone not Steve for that matter. He never really clicked with me and feel he and Diana are a mismatch.

  9. #9
    Extraordinary Member Lukmendes's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SecretWarrior View Post
    I guess there are multiple reasons people don't like Wonder Woman being locked down. For one, it ruins the illusion of some readers that they can have her if she's taken, like how K-popstars are told not to date in order to perpetuate the attainability fantasy.
    Man, that kind of mentality is ridiculous lol.

    Anyways, I haven't read that much stuff about WW yet, but Steve feels like a directionless character at times, back in New 52 he was basically a bland Ultimate Fury with a crush on Diana (At least in JL comics), and when I checked him out in Rebirth and some issues after Rucka's retelling, he's basically a nice soldier, it kinda feels like they make him into something to stay relevant but that comes at the cost of not really defining him... And if he's usually like this, he sounds like a slightly better Gwen Stacy, and that's not a compliment.

  10. #10
    Leftbrownie Alpha's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SecretWarrior View Post
    Steve Trevor and Lois lane both share the same personality type with Captain Kirk: ESTP. That means Steve should bring to her similar elements to what Lois brings to Clark.
    First of all, Lois Lane and Steve Trevor have totally different personalities. They have almost nothing in common. And Diana is also totally different from Clark, so she wouldn't be attracted to the same things as Clark.

    TL;DR, it helps writers avoid debates still going on in feminist circles and doesn't upset the sensitive members of the male readership.
    That's definitely not the reason. Heck, one of the most sexist eras was when Steve Trevor's romance was at the forefront
    (Robert Kanigher). He was her man and every other guy kept throwing himself at Diana but she kept turning them all down because one day she would quit her job and become Mrs Trevor.
    Last edited by Alpha; 12-13-2021 at 06:45 PM.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alpha View Post
    First of all, Lois Lane and Steve Trevor have totally different personalities. They have almost nothing in common. And Diana is also totally different from Clark, so she wouldn't be attracted to the same things as Clark.
    Not really:

    https://www.personality-database.com...rd=lois%20lane

    https://www.personality-database.com...steve%20trevor

    https://www.personality-database.com...d=james%20kirk

    Quote Originally Posted by Alpha View Post
    That's definitely not the reason. Heck, one of the most sexist eras was when Steve Trevor's romance was at the forefront
    (Robert Kanigher). He was her man and every other guy kept throwing himself at Diana but she kept turning them all down because one day she would quit her job and become Mrs Trevor.
    I'm sure the reasons change from writer to writer or editor to editor, but I bet those are the most common ones. It's notable that she's one of the few major golden age characters without an OTP.

    Diana (ENFJ) and Clark (ISFJ) have similar decision-making axes (Fe-Ti), so they would look for similar qualities in a romantic partner.
    Last edited by SecretWarrior; 12-13-2021 at 06:59 PM.

  12. #12
    Leftbrownie Alpha's Avatar
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    Lois Lane is a woman guided by extreme insecurity she mascarades through intrusiveness and bravado. Her goal in life is to show the hypocrisy and corruption in the world around her. She has a sharp tongue.

    Steve Trevor has none of those things.

    Clark Kent is an introvert that carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is contemplative and cautious, and his biggest desire is to make the right decisions and be good. He loves Lois because she loves to push everyone's buttons and puts up the strongest of faces, and is so gosh daen good at it that only he sees the fear in her (what he loves is that she succeeds at it and he has no reason to change her). She makes him want to try even harder to be good.

    Diana is the embodiment of self love and of an equal desire to challenge one self to an even higher level just for the pleasure of trying. She is an extrovert and the opposite of depression. She is full of wonder and excitement for the world and loves to compel others towards their own ideal selves. She falls in love with creative people that can see the world from a unique perspective and full of passion (it's why I can understand her falling in love with Steve at first, but moving after a while). And this is why she should be falling in love with Dream Girl (Nura Nal) or B'wanna Beast.

    I'm sure the reasons change from writer to writer or editor to editor, but I bet those are the most common ones. It's notable that she's one of the few major golden age characters without an OTP.
    Wonder Woman has been written by several queer authors and women that still had no interest in putting her with Steve Trevor. It Has nothing to do with sexism
    Last edited by Alpha; 12-13-2021 at 07:28 PM.

  13. #13
    Ultimate Member Lee Stone's Avatar
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    I don't think modern readers can stand 'normie' characters as supporting cast, much less as love interests.
    I blame it on the wrestling shows. It's pretty much the same mentality.

    Whenever someone asks 'who would be a great match for X?', the most common answer is another cape.
    "There's magic in the sound of analog audio." - CNET.

  14. #14
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    Not to stray too far from the original topic, but I really do feel that at least superheroes who have their own books should have regular everyday people as the bulk of their supporting cast. I just feel that they really need some sort of human touchstones otherwise it starts to feel like one of those CW shows where at first there's only one lead hero, but then all of a sudden everyone's putting on a costume and it just begins to feel like regular people is just some sort of abstract concept the heroes are fighting for or like they're just fighting for some sort of trophy or something.

    As for Steve Trevor specifically, like others have said maybe a bit differently, since superhero comics started out as primarily male reader focused, love interests were almost always seen as damsels in distress for the hero to save. Since Steve has historically been WW's main love interest, this does nothing for your average male reader. Which is why I always thought the best way to go was Chris Pine's depiction in the first WW movie. Not only was he funny and charming, but he was also very capable, but also knew when to step aside and let Diana deal with threats he was clearly outmatched by. Nor did he feel particularly emasculated doing so. He clearly supported Diana as was his role in the movie, but he also had the utmost confidence in himself at the same time.
    Keep in mind that you have about as much chance of changing my mind as I do of changing yours.

  15. #15
    Astonishing Member The Kid's Avatar
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    I think it's because he wasn't reinterpreted after Crisis. In the reboot, he was made to be significantly older than Diana and removed as a love interest. Despite always being popular, post-Crisis Lois was successfully modernized and well written enough to use in several good adaptations that base her off the era

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