I did read the comic book and it was unclear exactly what the spell included. The baby, the clay of Hippolyta, and the sacrifice of the amazon woman. All seemed like they were ingredients for the spell to work. I was thinking that the baby was aged to be a young woman and the clay from Hippolyta was to link her to Diana. I didn't think that Donna was just made of clay.
Not really. Not very many books listed on that site, last time I checked, get rated below 5, but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't get negative comments. It looked to me like most of the reviews that rated Wonder Woman 37 between 5 and 7 were more negative than positive in the comments that they made, especially on the writing.
The other universe versions were much more average American in perspective and attitude than the Paradise Island/Themyscira-raised Diana, so I will miss the all-American, girl-next-door aspect of Donna Troy. She might have a story arc that makes her more heroic in the end but I did like having her as having a inverse relationship to American and Themysciran culture than her sister (i.e. she's the American rep to Paradise Island politics). On the other hand, I do like the opportunity for her to have an intentional origin this time around, rather than having her be a character that hangs out for a few years before people realize they know nothing about her origins; this time around, there's no need for a retroactive type of flashback story of "Who is Donna Troy?"
Sorry if I made you look for it in the Newsarama interview. It's in the CBR interview; David Finch says this:
Meredith referred to Donna as a blank slate, which is really what she is, coming out of the caldron. She is a canvas for Derinoe and the other Amazons to write upon. In these first few appearances, I've really tried to emphasize that. She isn't really attached or bonded to anything or anyone yet and she has been created from clay much like Wonder Woman's original origin. I'm really trying to present Donna right now as an echo. Essentially she's Wonder Woman, without the heart.
I'm so glad you mentioned this. That line stood out to me more than anything else in the interview. I find Meredith's writing lacks depth, something that could be chalked up to her limited knowledge of characters, history, and comics in general. Unfortunately, the fault lies with editor. I'd love to see someone with more passion on the editorial board.
Donna will probably join the teen titans after the first arc, I don't understand how people can't grasp this is only her origin story.
Well, after seeing Diana's origin trashed and replaced with her sidekick's origin, her sidekick (Cassie) completely disassociated from her in her origin (over three years and I don't think they've even met yet), her mother now an adulteress who was turned to stone/animated stone/broken stone, and her first major villain (Ares) turned into her mentor/friend, I can't say I have a lot of faith in Donna being made a hero again. Do I hope it happens? Of course! However, I think this is a terrible new origin for her, and I sadly lack to optimism needed believe that all will be well.
Shame about the villain thing. It just seems cheap. Instead of giving Donna a new origin where her most notable traits are on display, like her heart and her ability to care, she is made to be an adversary right off the bat because that is the easiest thing to do. Sure the villain thing won't last, but it is a shame that all these legacy characters have to be at odds with their mentors instead of building their relationship around them caring and supporting each other.
Actually, villain is exactly what I mean. Factoring in the new back story, I think that making Donna into a compelling villain(or Amazon hard-liner, if you prefer) seems like the most interesting thing that can come of this.