Quote Originally Posted by Jon Clark View Post
I'm sort of conflicted with the idea.

I like the idea of Diana passing some sort of test to assume her role. I like the way it both makes her the official representative of her island and also how it marks the moment Diana takes iniative (entering the contest against Hippolyte's order). The fact the gods call for the contest also makes this more than "Diana ran off with her crush (Steve)"

But making the contest equal is the rub for me. Having an origin for Diana (clay statue/Zeus' offspring) separate from Wonder Woman (divine gifts for winning contest) seems like overkill. Having an exceptional creation for Diana if she is just like the other Amazons seems a waste. But having Diana fully empowered by virtue of "birth" then makes the contest nothing more than a formality- like having Superman or Flash compete against human athletes in the Olympics.

And while I want the Amazons to outshine the inhabitants of Man's World, I prefer Diana to be the only Amazon in the same class with top tier superheroes. So I don't want Diana's contest to have been the equivalent of Wonder Woman competing with Supergirl, Mary Marvel and Miss Martian.
I think this is a very good point, and the big issue. If Diana is born exceptional, the contest is rigged. If Diana is equal to the other Amazons, what makes Wonder Woman special when compared with the others? And as Agent Z says, the contest says nothing about Diana's character as a hero, just that she's skilled.

The only way around it I can think of is to change the nature of the Contest. I'd make it the Kobyashi Maru for Amazons. Any Amazon who wants to leave the island has to enter a chamber and face the Contest, effectively a compressed simulation of man's world and the dangers they'll face, and the overwhelming probability of failure. The test is a trap, a rigged game by the Gods. There's no way to "win". Man's world - the world in general - is a constant battle against an endless dark.

But Diana takes the Contest over and over again. Because she's the only Amazon who knows that the fight is what matters. The effort. The trying. And every Contest, she gets a little farther, does a little better, because the only person Diana has ever been in competition with is herself, who she was yesterday. Diana isn't trying to be The Best, she's trying to be Better. And that's why she's Wonder Woman.