Originally Posted by
hellacre
I'd say Injustice hurt Superman the most, not Wonder Woman even if the writer tried to make an excuse for Clark's lack of a moral spine by dumping it on her shoulders. Very lazy and frankly sexist but hey I never thought Taylor understood Wonder Woman anyway. It is what it is. Now there are detractors who try to suggest she can't be with Clark because she makes him become a dictator and many of these folks never picked up a Wonder Woman comic in their life. Injustice is very out of character for both Clark and Diana but then when I think of the subtext sent with Superman across media be it tv, comic and movies...one wonders if Superman is not just a villain in the making if a certain love interest is not around. Least that is what is suggested that he needs one particular human to give him motivation and so called grounding to care for his adopted home and have empathy for the human race and if she is not around then to hell with everyone and his own moral core. We have seen this message in TAS, Brave New Metropolis, to the DCEU with the Superman go evil arc, to the CW where Clark refuses to help innocents because he thinks of his own comfort in both Smallville and the Arrowverse. Many writers who push and push the mind set he, as an alien, can't have humanity and is useless without Lois. Never mind the DCU is an extremely diverse verse and this subtext that humans are somehow morally above other species... seems particularly tone deaf to me. You never see this kind of thing with Batman who is seen as incorruptible no matter his pain.
Anyway, Wonder Woman, despite the debacle of WW84 is still in a good place. She has a chance at another movie sequel. Something Superman does not have. She sells tons of merch and is actually loved by audiences. And I'm not talking about who is playing her. The character is seen as empowering to women and girls and even boys. WB is going so far as to give her a game. Something Superman has not gotten as yet. Some might cite Superman as having a tv show and it a hit. Relatively speaking it's not that big. The Flash, Supergirl had bigger numbers in its first few seasons and it is surely no WandaVision or Peacemaker in terms of the impact on pop culture. Fact a movie is a far better chance for any character to reach audiences and Wonder Woman has this atm. Superman ...well not many directors want to touch him and those who did, be it Snyder or Singer ,were not able to crack him because they unable to develop a take for an audience that sees what makes Superman interesting. And it's not because he is too good...because we have seen positive characters like Cap, Black Panther and Spiderman do well. Superman is bogged down by nostalgia, perceived as milquetoast, his stories tend to be one note, like Death of Superman. He is given no real personality, his motivations when he is really put on to the test are shaky and frankly not heroic if audiences actually think he is a ticking time bomb. Why should we care for a hero like this, who, when pushed,can break so easily?
New 52 when one reads the narrative, nowhere Superman displayed any signs of becoming a villain or not wanting to do anything for innocents if his love interest Wonder Woman is not around . Soule made it clear these two would not allow their romance to change their focus on helping the world. New 52 never damaged anything. Maybe if Snyder had followed New 52 Superman's journey and not Death of Superman and Injustice we'd have a Superman sequel by now. New 52 sold well. That was said many times by Jim Lee and Didio. It only pissed off the traditional fandom who were very vocal. But DC and WB undid it more for synergy with the DCEU and well look at the mess that is in. Rumor is Superman will be replaced by Supergirl. Many comic fans do not even care for the CW, nor soap opera teen drama which is what Superman there has mostly been. And what is the excuse now for the poor sales of Action and Superman post new 52?
Sites like comichron and The Beat have said it many times, the new 52 initiative saved comics. The industry was in a big slump. So you say they doubled down but it has done nothing much for Superman as a property tbh the way other franchises and even lesser known heroes have sky rocketed in popularity and most importantly generating $$$ for DC/WB. SuperWonder fans do not really care for Jon/Yara because they are new, rather boring and we are not invested in them. I don't know why DC would waste their time in pushing them given they can't sell an ongoing series together nor merch as Clark and Diana. He is more gay than bi anyway and if he was to go with the female why not use a female from Superman's mythos? Many try to use that excuse for Clark and Diana that they should not put two different franchises together ( ironic it isn't not a problem taking from other parts of the DCU for Superman right?) but then suddenly want to toss that rule out for Jon. It's funny when it is convenient it is one rule for one and another for some. But ultimately DC has a multiverse and can do SMWW in some format even while keeping status quo canon. They would be foolish not to see the potential they have with their AU and just willing to sit on something they doubled down with that did not bring the response they want. SMWW even without live tv/movie still has a impact on popular culture. We don't make it up. It's here on these threads for all to see. Different races, gender, ages, culture...not even other canon couples have this.