Amazons of Themyscira Appreciation Thread 2022

[bardkeep]

Does anyone have a personal headcanon or preference for why the Themyscirans never leave the island?

Is it because:

- they're forbidden to by the Gods / exiled there (but are capable of leaving should they choose)
- choose not to (for whatever reason)
- physically cannot leave due to some kind of magical barrier

I think the reason why they stay on the island says a lot about who they are as a culture, and also about the significance of Diana leaving (is it defiance of the Gods or just against Themysciran norm? Is it a sacrifice or a duty?) and also the significance of other Amazons choosing to leave after her.

I ask because it increasingly puzzles me why we wouldn't see more Themyscirans making trips off the island purely out of curiousity unless they were forbidden to by custom, Godly decree, or magic. And that links to the earlier question about whether or not they would lose their immortality if they left (which seems to be a plot point for the backups leading into Trial of the Amazons).

I might not be remembering correctly, but I think them being on the island at all is variably described as either a retreat or a punishment, with or without the duty to Doom's Doorway etc, depending on the writer. Interested to hear what personally works for each of you.

I know this is going back a ways but I like the take in Year One (I think?) where they forget where Themyscira is after they leave. It's not as final as some kind of magical barrier/exile and it doesn't require them to sacrifice their immortality but it still adds stakes to the choice.

[Primal Slayer]

Does anyone have a personal headcanon or preference for why the Themyscirans never leave the island?

Is it because:

- they're forbidden to by the Gods / exiled there (but are capable of leaving should they choose)
- choose not to (for whatever reason)
- physically cannot leave due to some kind of magical barrier

I think the reason why they stay on the island says a lot about who they are as a culture, and also about the significance of Diana leaving (is it defiance of the Gods or just against Themysciran norm? Is it a sacrifice or a duty?) and also the significance of other Amazons choosing to leave after her.

I ask because it increasingly puzzles me why we wouldn't see more Themyscirans making trips off the island purely out of curiousity unless they were forbidden to by custom, Godly decree, or magic. And that links to the earlier question about whether or not they would lose their immortality if they left (which seems to be a plot point for the backups leading into Trial of the Amazons).

I might not be remembering correctly, but I think them being on the island at all is variably described as either a retreat or a punishment, with or without the duty to Doom's Doorway etc, depending on the writer. Interested to hear what personally works for each of you.

I think they choose not to leave and once you leave, coming back is very hard to do.

I personally like what they introduced in Titans...where they have agents in Mans World that basically keep them up to date with what is going on and everyone does their time. Once you are there for X amount of years you have to return to the island with that knowledge.

[Fuzzy Mittens]

Theres sure been alot of reasons for it over the years. Honestly im not sure I have a favorite as the reason suited the periods pretty well.

Golden Age had them swear not to leave the island as part of their bargain with Aphrodite to free them from Hercules slavery. With the Amazon who left to be forbidden from living on the island once more.

Bronze age established the Amazons were keepers of gateways between the Earth and the realms of gods and death, with them staying to guard as is their duty.

Post Crisis established they were charged with guarding Dooms Doorway and swore an oath to keep those within from escaping which was a monumentous task that required constant vigilance. Then when that duty was done they tried reaching out into the world only to get regularly attacked by asshats wanting to bomb the island.

And of course the most recent version wherin an Amazon literally couldn't return once they left.

I suppose if I had a favorite version it would be the 'sacred duty' version, though I couldn't decide between the 'keeper of doorways' or the Dooms Doorway versions. They swore a sacred oath to the gods to hold the way and will not break their vows. With Diana only leaving the isle because the goddesses commanded one among their number to become a champion into the outside world.

[Gaius]

The Amazon Queens

[Agent Z]

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New Teen Titans #11

[John Venus]

Boy, is this thread dead.

Anyway, while looking up something Legion related I came across this issue of 'Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century' , the tie in comic of the mid 00's LoSH cartoon and in #7 in which we see the Themyscira of the 31st century, now known as 'New Themyscira' and ruled by......Circe who somehow managed to survive till the 31st century because of course she did.



And we are also introduced to Princess Xenobia (who seems to be named after Queen Zenobia a real life Queen of Syria who took on the Roman Empire) and we also see a statue of Diana in the future:



The Goddesses are mentioned in the issue so they're still relevant even in the far flung future:

[John Venus]

Princess Xenobia is also friends with Phantom Girl and in this issue, after deposing Circe, there are hints of attraction between her and Superman which I thought was cute:




Source: Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century #7.

[Primal Slayer]

The Wonder-world largely being ignored when it comes to the future has always been annoying so its nice to see when they were allowed to show up.

[Alpha]

Yeah that's really cool. I probably wish a writee came uo with more visionary ideas of how Diana and the amazons could have a big presence un the Future.

Phil Jiminez is probably the best person for that job. Him turning Themyscira into a bunch of floating islands and spaceships.

"A cosmic university, a place where weapons didn’t work (except on the Isle of combat training); a place dedicated to the democratic exchange of information between beings across the universe."

[nj06]

How many Amazons are there in Themyscira in the comics? Also, has it ever been mentioned how many Amazons live in Themyscira in the DCEU?

[bardkeep]

The Wonder-world largely being ignored when it comes to the future has always been annoying so its nice to see when they were allowed to show up.

They're also in Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman - they're the last people on the dying Earth and Diana tries to convince them to find somewhere else to go but they refuse. I forget exactly what happens from there but they go down with the planet and the artwork is gorgeous.

How many Amazons are there in Themyscira in the comics? Also, has it ever been mentioned how many Amazons live in Themyscira in the DCEU?

Since Perez's run it's generally been around 3000. No clue about the DCEU, they never really establish it but there's a full stadium in the intro scene in WW84 so probably a bit more than that.

[nj06]

Since Perez's run it's generally been around 3000. No clue about the DCEU, they never really establish it but there's a full stadium in the intro scene in WW84 so probably a bit more than that.

Thanks for the info! Do you also happen to know the population numbers of the Bana Amazons and/or the Esquecida Amazons?

[Sebastianne]

In a type of Wiki I found this summary of what would be canon in the history of the amazons of prime earth. I don't know how serious it is but it's more or less what I remember from the sources they use.

Prime Earth
The Amazons are children of the Queen of the Olympian Gods, Hera, goddess of women. They are part of a race of immortal warrior women and live on the mystically hidden island of Themyscira.

When humankind was still young, the matriarchal oracles of each pantheon foresaw a danger coming from the stars. Since the gods, who couldn't see the threat, didn't take it seriously, those goddesses united to find a solution and decided to create a new race. To achieve that, they poured their godly essences into the Holy Grail, so their energies would mingle, and each goddess drank a sip from the resulting liquid. Afterwards, the goddesses split up to find consorts and give birth to the new race. Hera, the matriarchal oracle of the Olympian pantheon, went to Themyscira and gave birth to the new race under the name of Amazons.[6] Thus, tribes such as the Amazons and the Valkyries are part of the same race, sharing the same origin.

However, according to the version of the mythology known by Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva, Queen Otrera was the mother of the Amazons by Ares,[7] but it was also mentioned by the Amazon Castalia that the nymph Harmonia was their mother by Ares (not to be confused with the goddess Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite).[8]

The truth of their true origin and destiny would be kept from the Amazons for centuries, until an Amazon general named Hessia discovered the truth during her journey in the Viking era. As in Hessia's eyes, the Amazons should be able to choose their own destiny, she cut the "thread of Amazon destiny" held by the Moirai. Unbeknown to Hessia, her action didn't stop the goddesses' scheme; they prophesied the birth of a woman whose destiny would be to lead the Amazons.[9]

More centuries would pass before the birth of the "prophesied one": Diana, later to be known as Wonder Woman.

Links and References
The Odyssey of the Amazons #1
All-Star Comics #8
Wonder Woman #178
Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #102-104
Wonder Woman (Volume 3) #44
The Odyssey of the Amazons #4
Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #12
Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #2
The Odyssey of the Amazons #6

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Amazons_o...e_ref-OtA6_9-1

[John Venus]

From Justice League Adventures #4 by Dan Slott (writer) and Min S Ku (artist), one of the earliest comics I read and I thought it had an interesting take on what the Amazons armory should be like.

The plot involves the Amazons praying to Athena after seeing the awful ways that Man's World treats women and Athena (actually Ares in disguise) appears and brainwashing them into attacking Man's World.

The Amazons go to war and somehow they're mind controlling other women into joining them which Diana explains:

JLAd vol 4-01.jpg

Wonder Woman and the JL confront the Amazons we are greeted with their armory:

JLAd vol 4-02.jpg

The Shield of Apollo, the Gauntlet of Hepehsteus, the trident of Poseideon and also, the shoes of Hermes:

JLAd vol 4-03.jpg

[John Venus]

As for the Queen herself, Hippolyta had the wings of Nike:

JLAd vol 4-04.jpg

And there was also the bow and arrow of Artemis:

JLAd vol 4-05.jpg

Also, note that the Shield of Apollo is said to have the output of an entire star.

The League does manage to get the upper hand on Amazons but it felt logical like the Amazon with the speed of hermes being defeated because she can't out run light, Batman intentionally letting a batarag be hit with the bow of Artemis which strikes the Amazon using Apollo's shield and Flash redirecting the water from Posiedon's trident to take out the Gauntlet of Hephesteus. The only one who wasn't defeated was Hippolyta.

Diana notes that Athena would never do something like this and she exposes Ares by binding 'Athena' with her lasso. Plus, the designs for Athena and Ares were sick:

photofunny.net_.jpg

This what the DCAU designs for Ares should have been like.

The story is not perfect. There are several Bat God moments in it which I think would be distasteful for those who don't like it.

But still, I think this one comic had more respect for WW and her mythos than either the actual JLU cartoon or the 2009 animated movie. The Amazons concerns about how women are treated worldwide are not handwaved away with 'not all men' message. The Amazons are not inherently depicted as war like. The resolution of the conflict is when Diana exposes the truth and once the Amazons are knocked out of Ares mind control, they refuse serve him with them outright saying that 'war is not their way'. Hippolyta even gives a speech at the end about how the gods gifts shouldn't be taken lightly, she is proud of her daughter's work in man's world and believes that the reason why Ares chose to attack because she was making a genuine difference in Man's World.

The DCAU WW was imperfect but I think this one comic really exemplified how her and her mythos should have been represented on the show.

Plus I want all these weapons from the gods incorproated into the main line comics. If anyone goes up against the Amazons, this is what they should be up against.