Best Supporting Cast For Wonder Woman?

[Gaius]

Yep. This is why I'm against simplifying it down to "Steve and Etta or the Kapatelis women" as the main group, when it should be all four of them, plus a few others like Donna, Ferdinand, Myndi and Darnell/Michaelis/Sasha/whoever.

Fans may say we don't want the Superman and Batman comparisons, but that seems at odds with the YEARS of WW fans clamoring for a stable supporting cast and fleshed out rogue gallery like those two (or Spider-Man or even the Flash) have.

Batman and Superman, nor superhero comics in general, didn't invent supporting casts though?

I guess you could say stuff like fictional comic cities but I'd rather avoid that too since, even Gotham and Metropolis, I find them to be lifeless stereotypes of real cities.

[SiegePerilous02]

Batman and Superman, nor superhero comics in general, didn't invent supporting casts though?

I guess you could say stuff like fictional comic cities but I'd rather avoid that too since, even Gotham and Metropolis, I find them to be lifeless stereotypes of real cities.

They didn't invent those things. In this thread specifically I admit I was the first to bring up the comparisons to Jimmy, Lois, Alfred, Robin etc. But in general, WW fans will say they want her to have a stable supporting cast and rogues gallery, and as she's a member of the Trinity, wanting the same things Batman and Superman have is the go to example. It's also why comparison's of Cheetah's treatment vs. Lex and the Joker are ALWAYS made.

[Mel Dyer]

They didn't invent those things. In this thread specifically I admit I was the first to bring up the comparisons to Jimmy, Lois, Alfred, Robin etc. But in general, WW fans will say they want her to have a stable supporting cast and rogues gallery, and as she's a member of the Trinity, wanting the same things Batman and Superman have is the go to example. It's also why comparison's of Cheetah's treatment vs. Lex and the Joker are ALWAYS made.

Doesn't there always seem to be some lame excuse for why we can't have what other comic fans have, as a matter of course? Doesn't anyone else get tired of that?

It's like we Wonderfans don't need feet and lungs, like other humans...no-oo. We're so different. We'll just grow flippers and slide around on our bellies. We'll be okay. We're tough little fanfolk.

No.

Aren't you a little tired of hearing us talk ourselves into agreeing that there's something wrong, with wanting things for WW, which so many other fandoms already enjoy? Things, like a regular city, a supporting cast, a rogues gallery, a superhero family? All of that is very plainly normal. I don't think we're going to fan-hell, for wanting these things.

It's what's been going on in the WW comic, since the Kanigher Fifties, that isn't normal ..AND which set this comic, so hopelessly far behind other popular comics, in its editorial development, that it's still only barely catching up. I'm not disagreeing with you or Gaius, really. We Kangaliers complain about these things, a lot - maybe, more than other fans do.

I just think we should point the weirdness finger, where it belongs.

[HestiasHearth]

I am definitely up for Diana getting a steady supporting cast, a fictional city she can call her own, and a badass rogues gallery that is used in badass ways not just in her books but across the DC universe.

[Agent Z]

Aren't you a little tired of hearing us talk ourselves into agreeing that there's something wrong, with wanting things for WW, which so many other fandoms already enjoy - a regular city, a supporting cast, a rogues gallery, a superhero family? All of that is very plainly normal. I don't think we're going to fan-hell, for wanting these things.

No Wonder Woman fan has ever said this and that is not what is being argued here.

[Mel Dyer]

I am definitely up for Diana getting a steady supporting cast, a fictional city she can call her own, and a badass rogues gallery that is used in badass ways not just in her books but across the DC universe.

Absolutely!

"...Diana getting a steady supporting cast, a fictional city she can call her own, and a badass rogues gallery that is used in badass ways..." is EXACTLY what we're talking about. Much of the development of these things, in other comics (Superman, Batman, Aquaman strips, etc), happened in the Silver Age Fifties.

I can even see Donna joining the regular cast, for a year or two, while some genius writer establishes her grown-up situation. What do you think? Too much Wonder-woman for one cast? Does it take too much away from Diana's uniqueness?

[I typed this in the middle of something, on my giant cellphone, and it's a mess. Sorry.]

[OBrianTallent]

No Wonder Woman fan has ever said this and that is not what is being argued here.

Isn't part of that exactly what this thread is about...having a supporting cast? Also, this is what, if not you, a great many of us have been begging for over the last I dont know....20 years for the character? Wonder Woman has existed, if you will pardon the bad metaphor, on an island by herself with little to no interaction from a continued supporting cast for decades. Even in the last ten years she's had no continuation of characters. G Willow Wilson brought in her own supporting cast and where are they now? (Not that I am complaining about that, I much prefer the cast we have now as compared to that one.)
Plus Diana needs a base of operations, not just floating wherever the wind takes her. Part of the structure of writing is engaging the reader, building an environment around the main character or characters that the reader can relate to. That means a cast of characters, a setting that is somewhat relatable and situations that pull the reader in whether through wish-fulfillment or common experience. With Diana, she's had none of that and is in part why readers may shy away from her....there's nothing to relate to there. They have even taken away the secret identity which builds internal struggles for the character and thus for the reader.
The same that she needs a supporting cast of friends, she needs rivals. Whether it be characters that pose a physical challenge to her, an intellectual challenge or a moral challenge. It's what drives fiction. Granted, when you have a character that has been in continuous publication for almost 80 years, there's going to be overlap and retread if there aren't reboots and start overs, but there has to be some sort of evolution for the character(s) as well. Otherwise, the stories become stale and lose readers interest.

[Alpha]

The X-men didn't need a city. Hulk doesn't need a city. Thor has Asgard (as much as Diana has Paradise island)

[HestiasHearth]

The X-men didn't need a city. Hulk doesn't need a city. Thor has Asgard (as much as Diana has Paradise island)

It's not about need. It's about believe; and I believe in love. I also believe in the power of fictional cities for superheroes.

[WonderScott]

The X-men didn't need a city. Hulk doesn't need a city. Thor has Asgard (as much as Diana has Paradise island)

X-Men had a mansion outside a city. You’re right that Hulk doesn’t need a city. Thor can keep Asgard. Diana can have Themyscira, but she was built to have a city as a character leaving Themyscira to Man’s World.

Originally that was Washington D.C., but as the DCU developed that doesn’t mean she couldn’t have had a Metropolis or Gotham all her own, if someone would have valued creating it for one of the preeminent superheroines of all time.

Marvel and DC cities and locales cannot be compared… it’s two different philosophies at different times that needed to differentiate from each other on iconic cities in different universes…

As an icon, Diana would benefit from what she never got at the time… A city all her own that’s as reflective of her as Metropolis is to a Super guy and Gotham is to a Dark Knight vigilante…

It’s not too late (ever) to give, focus on, and deliver Diana what she should have had all along in the DCU.

[Alpha]

Diana didn't come to Man's World to protect a city, she came to change the world. She needs Holliday College, an alternative community where women come to experience a new way of being their best selves, inspired by amazon ideals about athleticism, philosophy, and science. Diana doesn't get to actually make a big difference in the world, so this would be her Krakoa, the small part of it where all the people she met along the decades come to actually show her footprint on this society.

Her having a city doesn't do any of this. She would have it just to have it. Diana is a globetrotter. Why would you want her to pretend not to be? Even Superman being centered around Metropolis mostly pushes the logic out of his goals.

[Stanlos]

Diana didn't come to Man's World to protect a city, she came to change the world. She needs Holliday College, an alternative community where women come to experience a new way of being their best selves, inspired by amazon ideals about athleticism, philosophy, and science. Diana doesn't get to actually make a big difference in the world, so this would be her Krakoa, the small part of it where all the people she met along the decades come to actually show her footprint on this society.

Her having a city doesn't do any of this. She would have it just to have it. Diana is a globetrotter. Why would you want her to pretend not to be? Even Superman being centered around Metropolis mostly pushes the logic out of his goals.

I second Alpha, which apparently is a Thing; we share a lot! I would go further and say Diana traverses Creation not just the globe

[Alpha]

I second Alpha, which apparently is a Thing; we share a lot! I would go further and say Diana traverses Creation not just the globe

We do? That's really nice. I'll be paying attention mate

[Agent Z]

Isn't part of that exactly what this thread is about...having a supporting cast? Also, this is what, if not you, a great many of us have been begging for over the last I dont know....20 years for the character? Wonder Woman has existed, if you will pardon the bad metaphor, on an island by herself with little to no interaction from a continued supporting cast for decades. Even in the last ten years she's had no continuation of characters. G Willow Wilson brought in her own supporting cast and where are they now? (Not that I am complaining about that, I much prefer the cast we have now as compared to that one.)
Plus Diana needs a base of operations, not just floating wherever the wind takes her. Part of the structure of writing is engaging the reader, building an environment around the main character or characters that the reader can relate to. That means a cast of characters, a setting that is somewhat relatable and situations that pull the reader in whether through wish-fulfillment or common experience. With Diana, she's had none of that and is in part why readers may shy away from her....there's nothing to relate to there. They have even taken away the secret identity which builds internal struggles for the character and thus for the reader.
The same that she needs a supporting cast of friends, she needs rivals. Whether it be characters that pose a physical challenge to her, an intellectual challenge or a moral challenge. It's what drives fiction. Granted, when you have a character that has been in continuous publication for almost 80 years, there's going to be overlap and retread if there aren't reboots and start overs, but there has to be some sort of evolution for the character(s) as well. Otherwise, the stories become stale and lose readers interest.

Once again, no one here is saying they don't want Diana to have a stable supporting cast. Where the disagreement occurs is who that cast should be.

[Agent Z]

X-Men had a mansion outside a city. YouÂ’re right that Hulk doesnÂ’t need a city. Thor can keep Asgard. Diana can have Themyscira, but she was built to have a city as a character leaving Themyscira to ManÂ’s World.

Originally that was Washington D.C., but as the DCU developed that doesnÂ’t mean she couldnÂ’t have had a Metropolis or Gotham all her own, if someone would have valued creating it for one of the preeminent superheroines of all time.

Marvel and DC cities and locales cannot be comparedÂ… itÂ’s two different philosophies at different times that needed to differentiate from each other on iconic cities in different universesÂ…

As an icon, Diana would benefit from what she never got at the timeÂ… A city all her own thatÂ’s as reflective of her as Metropolis is to a Super guy and Gotham is to a Dark Knight vigilanteÂ…

ItÂ’s not too late (ever) to give, focus on, and deliver Diana what she should have had all along in the DCU.

Washington and Boston clearly work just fine. Not all DC heroes live in fictional cities nor do they have to. And most of the fictional ones don't have much of a character in the first place.