Nubia 'Queen of the Amazons' Appreciation Thread 2022

[John Venus]

A character not being suited to your tastes and preferences and that character not being well written are two different things.

Does Nubia have share similar traits as Diana and Hippolyta? Yes. Do we like her for them anyway? Yes, yes we do.

[Alpha]

A character not being suited to your tastes and preferences and that character not being well written are two different things.

Does Nubia have share similar traits as Diana and Hippolyta? Yes. Do we like her for them anyway? Yes, yes we do.

Hum, I didn't say I disliked Nubia. I said she wasn't well defined yet. Right now the logic behind her actions are "what is the noble thing to do". She doesn’t have a viewpoint.

How would you define Bruce Wayne for example? How would you define Peter Parker?

What does Nubia think about when she is on vacation? What would she wanna do with her time off? What does she like to talk about? I can tell you these things about Yara Flor even though we know much less about her past. I can't really do that with Nubia.

And again, that means she is incomplete right now. Doesn’t have a clear voice yet. Hopefully that will change soon

[SonOfBaldwin]

Hum, I didn't say I disliked Nubia. I said she wasn't well defined yet. Right now the logic behind her actions are "what is the noble thing to do". She doesn’t have a viewpoint.

How would you define Bruce Wayne for example? How would you define Peter Parker?

What does Nubia think about when she is on vacation? What would she wanna do with her time off? What does she like to talk about? I can tell you these things about Yara Flor even though we know much less about her past. I can't really do that with Nubia.

And again, that means she is incomplete right now. Doesn’t have a clear voice yet. Hopefully that will change soon

To you. She's "incomplete" to you.

I don't have these issues with Nubia.

I feel like I have a clear sense of who she is. She leads both with heart and mind. She has a cute sense of humor. She's affectionate. She's playful. She's observant. She's not quick to anger, but if you get her there, watch out. She keeps her cards close to her chest until she's fully assessed a situation. She's slightly insecure about her abilities and needs input from those she trusts.

Nubia strikes me as the type of woman who, when on vacation, would sunbathe even though she doesn't need to; who enjoys a nice glass of wine and becomes giddy when tipsy. She likes to cuddle and has a healthy romantic and sexual appetite.

And I got all of that just from reading her first mini, her brief appearance in the Black Manta mini, Trial of the Amazons, the Coronation special, and the first issue of the second mini.

[Confuzzled]

Mock poster for a hypothetical Nubia and the Amazons animated show by Twitter's Chris Jones (@mistajonz)

[Agent Z]

If we do get a Nubia animated series, I'd rather she be voiced by someone with extensive voice acting experience.

[MarquisAsh]

If we do get a Nubia animated series, I'd rather she be voiced by someone with extensive voice acting experience.

Like Cree Summer.

[Koriand'r]

Um....no, not at all. And Becky? LOL Where'd you get that?

It was my understanding that the label "Nubian" was a blanket descriptor thrown around back in the day by white people with regards to AA people, regardless of where they were from, in an attempt to make them (women in particular?) seem exotic....perhaps similar to how "Oriental" was also thrown around...

I'm not well-versed in the cultural history of these terms, but "Nubia" as a character name struck me as being all about her race. I am similarly uncomfortable with Black Panther and Black Lightning as character names (as both are also black characters), though Nubia just strikes me as particularly outdated and cringey.

But maybe it's not such a big issue for others.

A sidelined Amazon with a unique origin and history of challenging Diana for her title? Cool. I'm feeling it. A somewhat/possibly racist/reductive name....in 2022? Ehhhhhh.

From what everyone is saying she's getting good material now, so that's nice at least.

Here's some more information...

[John Venus]

If we do get a Nubia animated series, I'd rather she be voiced by someone with extensive voice acting experience.

Like Cree Summer.

Seconding Cree Summer. She is the first one I thought of as well.

[Koriand'r]

Seconding Cree Summer. She is the first one I thought of as well.

What? Erika Alexander would be PERFECT as Nubia. She can pull off tough, cool, majestic and noble in her sleep. Not only is she a good actor but as a comic book creator she's probably already familiar with the source material.

[MarquisAsh]

What? Erika Alexander would be PERFECT as Nubia. She can pull off tough, cool, majestic and noble in her sleep. Not only is she a good actor but as a comic book creator she's probably already familiar with the source material.

Cree Summer voiced Hippolyta in one of the dc animated films. Her worksheet is pretty big business.

[Koriand'r]

Cree Summer voiced Hippolyta in one of the dc animated films. Her worksheet is pretty big business.

I know all about Cree Summer but still think Erika Alexander would do it better. And since I'm posting videos...

[MarquisAsh]

I know all about Cree Summer but still think Erika Alexander would do it better. And since I'm posting videos...

Oh yes! I remember her from living single! I loved her crazy ass! I wouldn’t mind hearing her voice behind Nubia.

[Agent Z]

What? Erika Alexander would be PERFECT as Nubia. She can pull off tough, cool, majestic and noble in her sleep. Not only is she a good actor but as a comic book creator she's probably already familiar with the source material.

Which is an impressive resume. It doesn't mean she'd be a good voice actor or better than a veteran voice actor.

And just to be clear, it doesn't have to be Cree Summer.

[MarquisAsh]

Nubia Queen of the amazons #3

[bardkeep]

A character not being suited to your tastes and preferences and that character not being well written are two different things.

Does Nubia have share similar traits as Diana and Hippolyta? Yes. Do we like her for them anyway? Yes, yes we do.

Honestly I think Nubia only comes across as too similar to Diana or Hippolyta when a writer misses some of the key elements of the latter 2 characters.

A well-written Hippolyta is generally shown as being pretty fiercely protective, occasionally to the point of neurosis - probably the one element of her characterization that's consistent. A well-written Diana is wide-eyed and curious and wears her heart on her sleeve, and it isn't totally consistent but a lot of writers give her a boisterous quality that I really like (Marston, Gail Simone, Cloonrad, Darwyn Cooke, Marc Andreyko, and to an extent Phil Jimenez all made a point to show it, as did the writing team behind the 2017 film).

Nubia's entire mini-series was a pretty in-depth exploration of not only her character, but her central emotional conflict. In public she's reverent, intensely duty-driven, and consistently acts as the voice of reason, but privately she's quite vulnerable and openly expresses when her duties are at odds with her emotions. It isn't always easy or natural for her, which is what gives her more depth than just "I must do the noble thing."

Frankly I think other than Williams/Ayala, the best-written Nubia is Diana in Rucka's first run - right down to her relationship with the PROPER Io, i.e. before they tragically de-butchified her. Both Nubia and Diana are deeply honor-bound, have a "warrior-priest" quality to them, and are natural leaders without being lone wolves, but Rucka didn't really work out the wide-eyed element of Diana's character until Rebirth (though the brilliant narrative writing in his first run easily outweighs the slightly lacking characterization).