Originally Posted by
Ascended
Maybe? I don't know, that's the question I'm looking at. I don't think serialized fiction can work the same way real institutionalism does because the characters will bring their history with them no matter what, you can't get rid of it like you can bad employees or policy. DC can say Diana is stronger, but that won't actually get rid of anything. Nobody will forget what's been on the page just because DC puts that crown on her head. Fire someone like Berganza and their behavior and policy goes out the door with them, but we can't change our memories of the stories we've read, and those are what define the characters. So yeah, DC can say Diana's stronger, but I don't know if that actually tackles the real problem, or would even accomplish anything at all. I think it just sounds good, but doesn't actually do anything.
I don't think I've ever read a story where that mattered either. It matters as far as DC's crowns go, and there's minor marketing elements there and it helps with navigating the DCU in a way, but that's it. So since it's never really mattered much in the fiction what does changing it accomplish? Put the "strong" crown on Diana's head and all you're giving her is bragging rights the story itself never pays attention to, which is mostly all those crowns are anyway. That's not going to improve her stories or make old ones somehow better, and bad stories are the real issue are they not?
Even if I'm right and DC has started to make the right changes, that process doesn't happen quickly so I'm sure there's still chunks of institutionalism in the mix and I'm sure the office wasn't purged of every small person, some almost certainly slipped through the cracks. Fixing institutional bigotry is a long and difficult effort. I'm giving DC hypothetical points for starting the process, assuming they actually did like I think I remember hearing, but that doesn't mean the effort is finished.
Does it actually fix anything? Will people look at Diana differently? Will her stories improve? Will her history really change? Will she gain more fans? Her strength isn't the problem, at best it's a symptom of the real disease, at worst it's a distraction.
Let's say I'm wrong here, which I could be. Let's say tomorrow DC says that Diana is the strongest. What changes? How are her stories better for it? If I'm wrong tell me where things will improve because she has that crown. Does DC suddenly understand her, because she can bench press just a tiny bit more? Will that make them put smarter creators on the book who are a better fit? If I'm not reading her book right now, what about her wearing that crown is going to make me start buying again?
I've suggested tweaking Diana's powerset to better accomplish this, it does not go over well. Too many of her fans are obsessed with this one thing. I've suggested giving her basically every power she's ever had back plus a few others pulled from similar myths, leaning into the unique skills and traits she has, all of it deeply rooted in her own history and archetypes, none of actually taking away anything she currently has, but if she's not wearing the "strong" crown nothing else matters to some of these folks.
And for the record I didn't want her wearing the "warrior" crown anyway. I thought there were better options. For a time, between the "army nurse" origins of Diana Prince and stuff like the purple ray and Diana's natural inclination towards diplomacy and reconciliation, I wanted to see her wearing the "healer" crown; the person who is best at saving the body *and* the spirit. Seemed apt for the hero who, back in the day, made a habit of helping villains rehabilitate and had the coolest medical tech in comics. Not a "doctor" but the hero who heals wounds of all kinds, y'know? Somebody gets hurt in a fight she'll zap him with a ray and heal him yeah, but she'd also be the one negotiating peace agreements between waring nations, ending feuds between mothers and daughters, stuff like that. Kinda gave up on the idea when I realized it didn't look as good on a splash page.
And someone else could post a panel where Diana's awesome. Those do exist. And I'm not arguing that the quality has improved drastically, merely that sexism doesn't appear to be as much a motivator as it was and trying to beat the rest of it out of the franchise by giving her the "strong" crown is not going to accomplish the goal, it's just feel-good theatrics. And as I recall, a lot of the moments where Diana gets to showcase her combat prowess and show why she deserves that crown got decried by her own fans as too much "warrior woman." Takeaway seems to be that her fans will only accept the "strong" crown on her head, and that's just not gonna happen. At best she and Clark could both wear it and be officially tied for #1. That'd probably be fine but I get the feeling it wouldn't really make anyone happy unless it came with higher quality stories and better treatment, and those aren't actually related things. One does not require the other.