De Liz's "The Legend of Wonder Woman" Series to Explore Character's Origin

[Renae De Liz]

Will we see any of Wonder Woman's classic villains in your story such as Cheetah, Giganta, Dr. Psycho, Queen Clea, Dr, Poison, Silver Swan, Angle Man, etc.?

Yes. For this I focused on trying to find (from her classic villain roster) one who best parallels and counters who/what Wonder Woman is (Like how Joker's insanity counters Batman's quiet steel, or Lex Luthor's corrupt boldness counters Clark's almost quiet innocence). I found him, but he was pretty under utilized, with sporadic looks/character traits, so I took the liberty of changing him up more than others.

Along with the main villain, I also laid the groundwork for more villains in the next chapter (if I get to do it) so you will see them in there as well, getting their start. You named one I ESPECIALLY hope to get to bring back in all her original Glory.

[Darius]

Yes. 27 Chapters starting Digitally later in November. The print version in January. I hope you like Etta. She was originally such a strong character, she sort of wrote herself.

I'm am very excited to see a book that seems to be reverting a character such as Etta back to her form glory! I'll be reading digitally right off the bat!

[Nyssane]

Ditto!

I hope the villain is the Duke of Deception... But I have a feeling he will be Dr. Psycho. So excited for this book!

[I-Ching]

DC definitely has taken many creative and fun chances with their digital offerings and it's paying off for WW fans. Sensation Comics,
the Wonder Woman '77 and now this!

WW's origin, for me, has always been such a more rich origin than Batman or Superman.

I hope this does well and is a treat for fans !

[Mel Dyer]

All hope is not lost for 52 fans.

The de-retconning of the Chiazzarello run doesn't necessarily eliminate the First Born story, which was BRILLIANT, or Lennox, ..but does eliminate Diana's blood relationship to these potentially great characters - bother, her elder half-brothers - and I think that's a shame. It's a shame, because the writer, who followed Mr. Azzarello hasn't seen fit to build upon them or give them a chance to grow, beyond their introductions. It's also a shame, because de-retconning the Chiazzarello run eliminates Wonder Woman having brothers for the first time in her history, and I cannot accept that giving her brothers was a mistake, in the first place. Lennox and the First Born can exist beyond a de-retconning, but without blood ties to Diana, ..which I think diminishes their relevance to the mythos, contextually speaking.

Hopefully, Lennox will prove that with his appearance in the upcoming WW movies.

Anyway, ..I'm not sure this de-retconning is entirely necessary. As much as I hate to see Wonder Woman lose her first brothers, I might not mind, quite so much, if her fully mythological cousin - the wild King Virbius - had already been introduced in the stories. Even a retconning of Gail Simone's Warkiller would be welcome. At least, she would have a lieutenant of the opposite sex, who was a 'Wonder' by blood or power, ..as Superman, Aquaman, Batman, the Hulk, Hawkman and some of the others do.

The Kanigher Wonder Woman, the one Lynda Carter grew up, reading in the 50s, had a father in Queen Hippolyta's ill-fated lover, Prince Theno.

[Silvanus]

All hope is not lost for 52 fans.

The de-retconning of the Chiazzarello run....

Mel, I think there may be less to worry about than you think. I don't see a "de-retconning." Renae says upthread that her story is not in continuity, which means it doesn't retcon anything. DC could decide to change that in the future, but they evidently haven't yet; and even if they do, they could probably set it elsewhere in the multiverse or adopt elements of it it into the current continuity. For the forseeable future, Azz's story still seem to be "have happened" in the Finch's run and (for the most part, at least) in JL, as well as SM/WW. (Am i missing something?)

In any case, I'm all for multiple takes. I'm looking forward to Renae's, and I hope these nine issues will be the first of many.

I hope the villain is the Duke of Deception... But I have a feeling he will be Dr. Psycho. So excited for this book!

I was thinking of the Duke too. Dr. Psycho's had "sporadic looks and character traits," but I don't know if we'd call him "underutilized" by Wonder Woman rogue standards. By more general standards, though, I guess they're almost all underutilized, so "he" could be any of the male classic heroes (a fairly small group to begin with, I guess.)

[Dr. Poison]

Yes. For this I focused on trying to find (from her classic villain roster) one who best parallels and counters who/what Wonder Woman is (Like how Joker's insanity counters Batman's quiet steel, or Lex Luthor's corrupt boldness counters Clark's almost quiet innocence). I found him, but he was pretty under utilized, with sporadic looks/character traits, so I took the liberty of changing him up more than others.

Along with the main villain, I also laid the groundwork for more villains in the next chapter (if I get to do it) so you will see them in there as well, getting their start. You named one I ESPECIALLY hope to get to bring back in all her original Glory.

Oh wow! I like the sounds of all of your ideas so far! You just made my week!

[Dr. Poison]

Mel, I think there may be less to worry about than you think. I don't see a "de-retconning." Renae says upthread that her story is not in continuity, which means it doesn't retcon anything. DC could decide to change that in the future, but they evidently haven't yet; and even if they do, they could probably set it elsewhere in the multiverse or adopt elements of it it into the current continuity. For the forseeable future, Azz's story still seem to be "have happened" in the Finch's run and (for the most part, at least) in JL, as well as SM/WW. (Am i missing something?)

In any case, I'm all for multiple takes. I'm looking forward to Renae's, and I hope these nine issues will be the first of many.



I was thinking of the Duke too. Dr. Psycho's had "sporadic looks and character traits," but I don't know if we'd call him "underutilized" by Wonder Woman rogue standards. By more general standards, though, I guess they're almost all underutilized, so "he" could be any of the male classic heroes (a fairly small group to begin with, I guess.)

While I like Dr. Pyscho, i'm hoping that the villain i the Duke of Deception as he hasn't been used in quite a while. He's way overdue for some modernization.

[dshipp17]

Yes. For this I focused on trying to find (from her classic villain roster) one who best parallels and counters who/what Wonder Woman is (Like how Joker's insanity counters Batman's quiet steel, or Lex Luthor's corrupt boldness counters Clark's almost quiet innocence). I found him, but he was pretty under utilized, with sporadic looks/character traits, so I took the liberty of changing him up more than others.

Along with the main villain, I also laid the groundwork for more villains in the next chapter (if I get to do it) so you will see them in there as well, getting their start. You named one I ESPECIALLY hope to get to bring back in all her original Glory.

Will one villain be Dr. Psycho? To me, he is Wonder Woman's Joker and Lex, yet, he's rarely appeared in the Wonder Woman book. Please, look into Dr. Psycho, as Marston designed him.

[borntohula]

I focused on creating a book that A) included/excluded aspects I've seen WW fans say over and over again they've wanted for years; and B) one I would want to pick up myself as a comics fan. I aimed for fun, and adventurous, but also including some serious tones (without being "dark"). Something I could enjoy as an adult, but also share with my kids. Building on Wonder Woman's classic past to create something new, keeping one foot in the past and one towards new adventures.

DC gave me complete creative freedom to write and draw this (and my husband Ray Dillon inked/colored/lettered), of which I think they deserve major recognition for giving out a chance like this. Here's hoping I did well enough to deserve the wonderful response I've seen so far

Also I thought Azzarello did an admirable job too, and I personally appreciated Chiang's ability to draw a strong Diana. And I, too, love to see all the WW iterations out lately!

That's all a bit wordy, but hope that answers your question.

Thank you Renae for the reply.

I must say I like how passionate you are about the story you are working on, and it's really cool to hear that DC lets you do your thing. Can't wait to read it!

Will one villain be Dr. Psycho? To me, he is Wonder Woman's Joker and Lex, yet, he's rarely appeared in the Wonder Woman book. Please, look into Dr. Psycho, as Marston designed him.

Perhaps a Dr. Psycho based upon Marston? That'd be a trip.

"Relax. Submit to the ropes! The only hope for freedom is to learn to enjoy being bound! Be proud, be my slave!"
--WMM:s own words, from interviews, mixed with Dr Psycho's.

[neonrideraryeh]

So Etta's gone back to being white, then?

I was kind of interested in the ARGUS story with the current Etta, but they seemed to have forgot about it. In general, I feel like the post-convergence DCU has dropped a lot of the cool plot threads the New 52 had in an attempt to placate the older fans who complained about the reboot.

[wagthedog]

So Etta's gone back to being white, then?

Is that a bad thing? Or that she looks more plump than a supermodel?

[neonrideraryeh]

Is that a bad thing? Or that she looks more plump than a supermodel?

No, it just feels silly to backpedal on one of the changes now after making it. They make a big deal of diversity and then they undo it. It's not very consistent.

[wagthedog]

No, it just feels silly to backpedal on one of the changes now after making it. They make a big deal of diversity and then they undo it. It's not very consistent.

Consistent? We shouldn't be talking about her powersets, then.......

Renae....are we getting the Diana with the ability to fly and be able to take on powerhouses like Superman, or are we getting the one that has a plane/fly on currents and gets knocked out easily with a hard knock to the base of the neck?

[Silvanus]

No, it just feels silly to backpedal on one of the changes now after making it. They make a big deal of diversity and then they undo it. It's not very consistent.

Is it really backpedaling if it takes place in a book that's not in continuity? This doesn't prevent Johns or anyone else from using the New 52 Etta (although it's true that the character has been neglected; have we seen her at all since the ARGUS mini?)