Wonder Woman's God-Mode

[Guy_McNichts]

So DC in recent years has dabbled in with the notion of Diana having a "god-mode" of sorts. Kind of her own Super Saiyan transformation.

Personally, I like the idea. Heroes discovering or unlocking some special super-mode in desperate or extreme times is a trope I usually enjoy. The aforementioned Super Saiyans of Dragon Ball. Blade whenever he drank real blood in his movies. Superman has his sun bath.
So I'm cool with Wonder Woman having one, and given her connection to gods--be it the clay origin or Zeus' daughter--I think it's a fair extension of her powers to have a god-mode she can tap into when s**t gets real.

I think the problem is no one's really sure what the exact nature of it should be and how to convey it visually. In comparison, though the changing hair colors of Dragon Ball can be seen as silly to some, it is a handy way of demonstrating visually the character is reaching a new level.

During Azzarello's run, which might be the first instance of this Diana doing this sort of thing, it was usually conveyed by removing her bracelets which then gave her a prominent glow effect and made her paler.



Personally, though I like the idea of god-mode, I didn't care for this. Diana removing her bracelets resulting in a power boost has roots in the Golden and Silver Age, but what turns me off is it's pretty blatant with the lightning effects the source of this power is being Zeus' daughter.
So this, to me, comes across like Diana is gaining power by discarding part of iconography (the bracelets) and embracing who her Daddy is.

I'm kind of meh on the visuals, too. Having her glow is all well and good, but I'm not big on her turning very pale. That combined with the lightning and glow effects, she almost looks like her skin has turned blue.

Meanwhile, though I didn't read the Superman/Wonder Woman comics, there was an arc where Diana becomes a god which was demonstrated with, again, glowing, and more distinctly, a white variation of her costume.



I don't know how she achieved this or how it affected her powers, but just as a visualization of Diana's god-mode, I think this works. I feel like any transformation should be relatively subtle, and her costume changing colors like this is a good example of that.

Which brings me to the 2017 movie's interpretation, which is denoted by a subtle glow effect to her armor and electricity sparkling from her bracelets.



As far as visuals go, again, I like the subtlety of her "transformation" if you can even call it that. I like that it still incorporates her bracelets. It does have the Zeus taint, but a good thing about the movie is they don't dwell on it that much. It could just as easily be her a special god power she was blessed with.


Unfortunately, none of these are really that developed as far as what they can do or how she achieves them except for arguably Azzarello's god-mode.

As said, I don't like when Diana's god-mode is tied/owed directly to Zeus. If it was up to me, being a proponent of the clay origin, I would tie it more to Gaia and her Amazon training. Because of her training, she's able to harness a direct link to Gaia and channel the power of the Earth herself. It can make her stronger, faster, enhance her senses, and she can do bigger BOOSH attacks with her bracelets. Maybe some other stuff.
To balance it out, it's not easy for her to do and takes a lot out of her, which is why she only does it in extreme circumstances.

[Perseus]

I liked "witch-mode" more than "god-mode" personally. It's still a super insane powerboost but it also has the added benefit of giving Diana more magical abilities that she normally wouldn't have. You get the cool transformation, candle white body with hair like she's been lit and black eyes. It's not tied to Zues either but Hecate, who has been given some solid appearances recently with Historia.



Never liked the added armor in the event, just keep this look with her in her base costume.

[John Venus]

I like power boosts that come from training and is a natural extension of their abilities.

Too often these power boosts often come with the caveat of the character being weak or ineffective every other time (see Zatanna).

I do like her 'Witch Mode' though.

[BiteTheBullet]

So DC in recent years has dabbled in with the notion of Diana having a "god-mode" of sorts. Kind of her own Super Saiyan transformation.

Personally, I like the idea. Heroes discovering or unlocking some special super-mode in desperate or extreme times is a trope I usually enjoy. The aforementioned Super Saiyans of Dragon Ball. Blade whenever he drank real blood in his movies. Superman has his sun bath.
So I'm cool with Wonder Woman having one, and given her connection to gods--be it the clay origin or Zeus' daughter--I think it's a fair extension of her powers to have a god-mode she can tap into when s**t gets real.

I think the problem is no one's really sure what the exact nature of it should be and how to convey it visually. In comparison, though the changing hair colors of Dragon Ball can be seen as silly to some, it is a handy way of demonstrating visually the character is reaching a new level.

During Azzarello's run, which might be the first instance of this Diana doing this sort of thing, it was usually conveyed by removing her bracelets which then gave her a prominent glow effect and made her paler.



Personally, though I like the idea of god-mode, I didn't care for this. Diana removing her bracelets resulting in a power boost has roots in the Golden and Silver Age, but what turns me off is it's pretty blatant with the lightning effects the source of this power is being Zeus' daughter.
So this, to me, comes across like Diana is gaining power by discarding part of iconography (the bracelets) and embracing who her Daddy is.

I'm kind of meh on the visuals, too. Having her glow is all well and good, but I'm not big on her turning very pale. That combined with the lightning and glow effects, she almost looks like her skin has turned blue.

Meanwhile, though I didn't read the Superman/Wonder Woman comics, there was an arc where Diana becomes a god which was demonstrated with, again, glowing, and more distinctly, a white variation of her costume.



I don't know how she achieved this or how it affected her powers, but just as a visualization of Diana's god-mode, I think this works. I feel like any transformation should be relatively subtle, and her costume changing colors like this is a good example of that.

Which brings me to the 2017 movie's interpretation, which is denoted by a subtle glow effect to her armor and electricity sparkling from her bracelets.



As far as visuals go, again, I like the subtlety of her "transformation" if you can even call it that. I like that it still incorporates her bracelets. It does have the Zeus taint, but a good thing about the movie is they don't dwell on it that much. It could just as easily be her a special god power she was blessed with.


Unfortunately, none of these are really that developed as far as what they can do or how she achieves them except for arguably Azzarello's god-mode.

As said, I don't like when Diana's god-mode is tied/owed directly to Zeus. If it was up to me, being a proponent of the clay origin, I would tie it more to Gaia and her Amazon training. Because of her training, she's able to harness a direct link to Gaia and channel the power of the Earth herself. It can make her stronger, faster, enhance her senses, and she can do bigger BOOSH attacks with her bracelets. Maybe some other stuff.
To balance it out, it's not easy for her to do and takes a lot out of her, which is why she only does it in extreme circumstances.

We can speculate if she used 'god-mode' in the movie, but she didn't take her bracelets off nor did she use this 'god-mode' in other movies. It might have been helpful in her fight against Steppenwolf. Maybe she could have done more than just a holding pattern until Superman showed up.

[Primal Slayer]

Im not a fan of god mode. Diana having all this power locked away until she removes her bracelets that keep her check seems outdated. Depends on where Diana is in her career and which origin, she should be getting stronger and better throughout the years without having to go all god mode.

Now..i did like the thunderbolt. That they could keep.

[Access]

If you like to see Wonder Woman fighting deities face to face,a god mode is a good way to justify it(Not that I believe such a thing necessary)

An alternative is that she is only able to use her full power in the realm of the gods,so she can choose to transport a battle there(kinda like Dante in the DMC Reboot)

[Guy_McNichts]

I liked "witch-mode" more than "god-mode" personally. It's still a super insane powerboost but it also has the added benefit of giving Diana more magical abilities that she normally wouldn't have. You get the cool transformation, candle white body with hair like she's been lit and black eyes. It's not tied to Zues either but Hecate, who has been given some solid appearances recently with Historia.

Never liked the added armor in the event, just keep this look with her in her base costume.

Interesting. Though I've heard good things, I haven't really followed Justice League Dark so I don't know the context of this form.

Looks kind of sinister and Hecate tends to be portrayed as, if not evil, one of the less savory gods in Diana's mythos. Maybe this could be like a dark alternative to her god-mode? It gives her a different kind of power boost, but its risky to tap into because it can corrupt her or something?

I like power boosts that come from training and is a natural extension of their abilities.

Too often these power boosts often come with the caveat of the character being weak or ineffective every other time (see Zatanna).

I agree.

Another perk of making it a product of training is that implies any Amazon could potentially achieve a power boost and it's not just a result of having the right parents/bloodline. If Diana can do it, why not Nubia or Donna? Maybe not a god-mode, but suppose Artemis discovered her own super-mode?

Anything that presents Amazonian training as this elite thing everyone wishes they could master is a plus, IMO.

If you like to see Wonder Woman fighting deities face to face,a god mode is a good way to justify it(Not that I believe such a thing necessary)

An alternative is that she is only able to use her full power in the realm of the gods,so she can choose to transport a battle there(kinda like Dante in the DMC Reboot)

I don't think Diana needs a god-mode to justify fighting gods or deities. I agree, she should be able to do that anyway.

I just like the implementation of a god-mode as a dramatic and aesthetic device for big climactic moments. Comics are a visual medium. If a character is going all out or beyond their limits in big epic showdowns, it's nice to convey it visually and bombastically.

[Access]

What I meant is that I don't think Diana should be able fight a deity in a fist fight,but If you want her to,a god mode is a good way to justify why she can do it and still have trouble fighting mortal beings

I'm happy to see someone else who shares my opinion about amazon training

[Primal Slayer]

What I meant is that I don't think Diana should be able fight a deity in a fist fight,but If you want her to,a god mode is a good way to justify why she can do it and still have trouble fighting mortal beings

I'm happy to see someone else who shares my opinion about amazon training

That comes down to skill and improvising. If Buffy can fight a hell god, WW can fight a Greek God.

[Rightoya]

What I meant is that I don't think Diana should be able fight a deity in a fist fight,but If you want her to,a god mode is a good way to justify why she can do it and still have trouble fighting mortal beings

That implies that gods are more powerful than all the mortal beings, which is not even close to the truth in the DC's verse for most of the time, heck they even often enough call a certain solar-powered alien a god.

I'm happy to see someone else who shares my opinion about amazon training

With this i agree.

[Fuzzy Mittens]

Personally I liked the golden age concept of it being a to use a trope name 'Superpowered Evil Side' an incredible power that has the drawback of unleashing her full strength along with any restraint or control of herself. Given how crazy powerful she is, something that makes her even more crazy powerful having a drawback makes for more narrative potential. Plus the whole 'use restraint' symbolism of course

[WonderLight789]

What I meant is that I don't think Diana should be able fight a deity in a fist fight,but If you want her to,a god mode is a good way to justify why she can do it and still have trouble fighting mortal beings

I'm happy to see someone else who shares my opinion about amazon training

She is supposed to have godly powers herself and fight Gods all the time.

[Perseus]

Interesting. Though I've heard good things, I haven't really followed Justice League Dark so I don't know the context of this form.

Looks kind of sinister and Hecate tends to be portrayed as, if not evil, one of the less savory gods in Diana's mythos. Maybe this could be like a dark alternative to her god-mode? It gives her a different kind of power boost, but its risky to tap into because it can corrupt her or something?

Diana basically walked in on an ancient amazon cult that was still thriving on Themscirya that worshiped Hecate. She got branded on the forehead (hence the triple moon) and became one of the five witchmarks that was said to bring back Hecate, who in basically a multiversal magic threat on par with the upside-down man. Diana unlocked this power with the help of Zatanna and was able to do insane reality warping type stuff, she even fought Upside down man in his own realm by the end of her real appearances in JLD. Basically, Diana has access to 1/5 of Hecate's limitless magic powers. Circe, secretly, was one of the other four and stole all of their powers but lost it all but lost it all by the end of Tyion's run. Diana supposedly lost it as well, but it was also ambiguous. I'm leaving a ton of stuff out but that's the gist of it.

[I'm a Fish]

I like the "Witch Mode" Diana got from Hecate more than the "God Mode" as well, because it felt like an actual God Mode and not just "I punch harder now".

Like, "Witch Mode" Diana could teleport and manipulate the Earth or....just, casually break reality (it was really OP). An she had the moon on her forehead like her namesake (Diana being a moon goddess) so it doesn't feel like a Zeus thing.

Witch Mode all the way!

[Perseus]

I like the "Witch Mode" Diana got from Hecate more than the "God Mode" as well, because it felt like an actual God Mode and not just "I punch harder now".

Like, "Witch Mode" Diana could teleport and manipulate the Earth or....just, casually break reality (it was really OP). An she had the moon on her forehead like her namesake (Diana being a moon goddess) so it doesn't feel like a Zeus thing.

Witch Mode all the way!

Yes! Another witch mode stan!