Best Supporting Cast For Wonder Woman?

[John Venus]

Which era/run had the best supporting cast for Wonder Woman?

[SonOfBaldwin]

I voted for the Rucka era Embassy cohort. I really like Wonder Woman when it's written with political intrigue.

[Gaius]

Perez followed by Rucka's first run and then his second.

None's 100% ideal but some combination of the three would be close.

[SiegePerilous02]

Voted Golden Age because I prefer the basic set up for how Steve and Etta were used, but I would ideally combine it with the Perez exclusive cast.

Her core cast for me outside of the Amazons should be Steve, Etta (with Holliday Girls in tow), Donna (as Wonder Girl), the Kapatelis women, Darnell, Ferdinand and Myndi.

[bardkeep]

I voted for the Rucka era Embassy cohort. I really like Wonder Woman when it's written with political intrigue.

+1 to this whole comment, which is why that run is the GOAT for me. I also liked that she still had a strong supporting cast of Amazons (Io, Artemis, Philippus, Cassie if she counts), plus you had the gods as interesting secondary players. My only gripe is that I wish we'd gotten to know the Embassy staff more outside of Ferdinand, Leslie, and Jonah.

[WonderScott]

Perez, Rucka and Golden Age… the fun of any run (to me) is to incorporate all the great characters from it into Wonder Woman’s ongoing mythology. (I wish more writers would do that.)

I’ve written down lots of possible conversations between Julia and Helena; Helena and Ferdinand; Myndi, Kevin and Ferdinand; the embassy staff and Trevor Barnes; Ed Indelicato and Tim Trench; Camille Sly and Tod; etc.

[Koriand'r]

Yeah no one should be off the table. In fact no more new supporting characters should be invented when there are so many good ones going unused. If Diana needs a landlady make it Camille Sly, a police detective Ed Indelicato, a publicist Myndi Mayer, a surprise ally to get her out of a jam, Ferdinand or Hessia and so forth.

[John Venus]

I think Steve and Etta are fine when Diana is just starting out but they are so static and stagnant as characters and I'm not interested in Steve/Diana's romantic squabbles or Etta being jealous of Diana story lines so for an ongoing narrative, Julia, Vanessa, Helena and Cassie are much better options. Though, I wouldn't mind modern Etta and Julia interacting. That could be fun. I think WW 2017 had the right idea by killing off Steve at some point so he forever stays as Diana's idea of perfect man, the man she ultimately couldn't have and no other guy really measured up afterwards.

[Largo161]

I voted for the Golden Age. Steve and Etta are the OGs! They don’t always get the care they deserve, but they’re still hanging in there.

If Perez hadn’t aged Steve I might have voted for his era.

[SiegePerilous02]

I think Steve and Etta are fine when Diana is just starting out but they are so static and stagnant as characters and I'm not interested in Steve/Diana's romantic squabbles or Etta being jealous of Diana story lines so for an ongoing narrative, Julia, Vanessa, Helena and Cassie are much better options. Though, I wouldn't mind modern Etta and Julia interacting. That could be fun. I think WW 2017 had the right idea by killing off Steve at some point so he forever stays as Diana's idea of perfect man, the man she ultimately couldn't have and no other guy really measured up afterwards.

Etta being jealous of Diana is something NOBODY wants, even Etta's diehard fans. It misses the point of her character entirely. It may have existed in the Bronze Age, but I think Perez really cemented it for the modern age. Either way, it's hot flaming garbage and has no place in the WW mythos.

I think the Perez cast have a double edged sword problem. They all feel like real people, but none of them save maybe Myndi Mayer have the larger than life personality that causes them to stand out in the superhero comic environment and create the desire for continued usage. Lois and Jimmy, even at their worst/goofiest, have that, they get into weird **** even when Superman isn't around. Alfred's dry wit and Robin's youthful enthusiasm contrast well against Batman's stoicism. Golden Age Etta, and the better modern depictions (LoWW, Simone, Morrison) had that in spades and she was the only person in this IP who could convincingly keep up with Diana in terms of BFF status. Perez's characters are very well fleshed out for the 80s soap opera writing style and are well above average for that era (especially Vanessa and her arc with Lucy), but they are still very much of that time. So other trends coming in and out of vogue mean the WW IP can't lean on them too much, or at least not without adjusting them. They face the same problems Steve and Etta do.

Superheroes can't really sustain their ongoings with such a small cast, so there really isn't a reason why we can't have BOTH Steve and Etta, and the Kapatelis/Sandsmark women. We basically had that in the Perez era, we would just need to replace Steve and Etta with versions that don't suck like they did there.

If Perez hadn’t aged Steve I might have voted for his era.

This. But Etta's personality overhaul is the even worse writing sin for me

[Mel Dyer]

Truthfully, I guess my vote is partly a vote of faith. The current regular cast, for however we're allowed to keep it, is probably my favorite, since the Golden Age, ..and even more likable, in some respects. That's a regular (every/ev. other issue) set, with Wonder Woman, Etta, Steve (in THAT order), Siguror and ONE MORE dynamic female side-order, ..to balance the narrative, going forward. With recurring characters, like Queen Nubia, the Amazons, Donna and the Greek gods...seriously happy, over here!

I think Cloonrad, Bellaire & Co are working on that last female side, by the way. For my druthers, that would be a revised Dr. Julia, with a world-traveler background, proficiency with guns and a dead Nessie. with Siggy aboard, Mala's optimism might be superfluous and less important, but, I think she, like Julia, ..would bring a grounding energy and specialist knowledge of science or history. As I see it, Mala would play more of quartermaster role, like Alfred, and a sparring partner for Diana, than being an active presence in the action of a story.

For a classic supporting cast to be immortalized in cartoons, live-ac movies and TV shows and merchandise, ..Etta, Steve, Siggy and Dynamic Female Side-character X ..looks pretty hot to me. I can't WAIT to see who the final, mystery addition to the cast will be! Can't wait...

[Confuzzled]

The ideal supporting cast would be Rucka's with the addition of the Kapatelises.

[Agent Z]

Etta being jealous of Diana is something NOBODY wants, even Etta's diehard fans. It misses the point of her character entirely. It may have existed in the Bronze Age, but I think Perez really cemented it for the modern age.

Can we really say Perez cemented it in the modern age when it pretty much wasn't a thing past his run?

I think the Perez cast have a double edged sword problem. They all feel like real people, but none of them save maybe Myndi Mayer have the larger than life personality that causes them to stand out in the superhero comic environment and create the desire for continued usage. Lois and Jimmy, even at their worst/goofiest, have that, they get into weird **** even when Superman isn't around.

Having a larger than life personality and getting into weird stuff when Superman isn't around aren't the same thing though. Steve certainly doesn't have a larger than life personality most of the time, and neither do Lois or Jimmy in many cases. And maybe the Kapatelis women could have adventures of their own if DC had bothered to use them for something besides turning Vanessa into a villain or killing off Julia. It's easy to say they aren't like Alfred, Jimmy, Lois, etc when they were never given an honest chance to be. And the Kapatelis women aren't the only WW characters who suffer from this. Really, they all could work if utilized more frequently.

[Mel Dyer]

Press for Wonder Woman #790 (after which I will crap a KANGA) tells us Diana will "recruit a new team-mate", from the new Psycho-led Villainy, Inc.

If we follow a sort of Cloonrad quasi-logic, a cast, featuring Wonder Woman, Etta, Steve (in THAT order) and Siegfried, figure in that it will be rounded off, with a current VI member, ..there's only one Vinker, it could be. That character will bring narrative, ethnic, gender and (way importante) SKILL diversity to the cast, in a way, which, I think will balance the cast, better than it's ever been balanced - at least, the best it's been, since World War II.

Yes...gender diversity. Yes, I think it's going to be a woman ..and damn well should be, with two strong, male regulars, in a comic, titled Wonder Woman. - or could it possibly be a history-making transgender character? If you're guessing the new addition will be the Vinker, I have in mind, ..of course, it could. The character dynamic of Diana, Etta and one more woman or transgender character balances the cast ticket, quite well; but, with who?

The introduction of Siegfried creates an entertaining contrast, with Steve, that should better define BOTH men. The prominence of everywoman Etta Candy creates a natural and similar contrast, between her and Wonder Woman, ..but, there is a difference. Diana and modern Etta aren't quite as much, the opposites Steve and Siggy promise to be. As Etta connects with/reflects Diana's passionate, adventurous side, I think the new regular will engage the side of Diana, which is cunning, methodical and a strategist. So, following Cloonrad narrative method (so far), who is the anti-Diana, Team Amazon will add to this cast?

I shared on Twitter, "Team Amazon is working on a classic supporting cast to be immortalized in cartoons, liv-ac movies/TV and merchandise. While Etta, Steve, Siggy and Dynamic Side-character X looks pretty hot to me, ..I can't WAIT to see who the final, mystery addition to their cast will be!"

I don't think that's hyperbole. It's going to be that good, ..if I'm right about the mysterious, 'new' [Ha!] recruit. Furthermore, the Cloonrad addition will be better, than BOTH of my fantasy picks, ..Dr. Julia and Mala. For that reason, my vote of faith is for "Rebirth/current cast."

[Oh, God. I hope I'm right about this!]

[SiegePerilous02]

Can we really say Perez cemented it in the modern age when it pretty much wasn't a thing past his run?



Having a larger than life personality and getting into weird stuff when Superman isn't around aren't the same thing though. Steve certainly doesn't have a larger than life personality most of the time, and neither do Lois or Jimmy in many cases. And maybe the Kapatelis women could have adventures of their own if DC had bothered to use them for something besides turning Vanessa into a villain or killing off Julia. It's easy to say they aren't like Alfred, Jimmy, Lois, etc when they were never given an honest chance to be. And the Kapatelis women aren't the only WW characters who suffer from this. Really, they all could work if utilized more frequently.

Etta developed an eating disorder, and her desire to lose weight happened in the Perez run. With her citing a desire to have a body like Diana's when she was younger. In the Jimenez run, she looked at her wedding album with Lois and expressed a bit of annoyance that people had been looking at Diana more than her. Etta didn't appear much post Crisis, but these issues seemed to crop up whenever she did until Simone got ahold of her and injected more of her Golden Age personality into her. Not that exploring these topics is an inherently bad idea, it just never fit the character Etta was designed to be.

Lois and Jimmy absolutely do have personalities roughly equivalent to someone like Etta. It's why Lois in particular has been a continued part of Superman's adventures, her chosen profession and willingness to throw herself into danger keep her involved in Clarks superhero adventures even when the context of love interest isn't factored in. Jimmy is a fearless photographer who takes his constant weird ass transformations in stride, and likes to dress in drag. He doesn't get much use these days, but when he does in stuff like All Star and his own recent series, it's always well received and has it's roots in all that crazy stuff. Julia and Vanessa work great in Dianas early years, but a single mother with a teenage daughter don't lend themselves as being free to participate in the Acton adventures Diana needs to take part in, which may be why they fell by the wayside unless angst can be wrung out of Vanessa's traumas.