Wonder Woman Earth One: Discussion Thread

[Fairyprincess]

spoilers:

I'll admittedly need to read this to judge for myself but the description of Hippolyta and Troia sound worrying. The latter in particular because of the New 52 version of Donna

end of spoilers.

Donna only receives a fleeting cameo. So, its too early too worry.....

[SiegePerilous02]

spoilers:

I'll admittedly need to read this to judge for myself but the description of Hippolyta and Troia sound worrying. The latter in particular because of the New 52 version of Donna

end of spoilers.

spoilers:

Donna's basically a brief cameo and doesn't speak. Better than the hatchet job done by Finch. Hippolyta is a different story, but I'm still processing how I feel about her depiction. The story is ultimately about Diana discovering the positives in the flawed Man's World and the negatives of the perceived perfection of Paradise Island. Hippolyta needs to be antagonistic for the story to work, but even so her experiences with Hercules make her viewpoint understandable (if wrong) and her love for her daughter is apparent. They part on good terms and Diana is allowed to leave with her mother's blessing.

end of spoilers

[Largo161]

Got my copy! Can't wait to immerse myself in it this weekend. The art is so rich.

[Cowtools]

This was a really entertaining book, but it wasn't the wholesale reinvention I was expecting based on the interviews. Morrison was telling the truth when he said he wanted to re-emphasize Marston's ideas of 'loving submission', but most everything else about the book was within the bounds of the established Wonder Woman mythos. I wonder how this story changed from when it was called 'The trial Of Wonder Woman' and they decided to make it an Earth One book instead?

The most controversial changes would be about Hippolyta's characterisation and Diana's birth. I think SiegePerilous is correct: this is framed as a coming of age tale, so Diana's mother is her antagonist, at least for this story. Their relationship is more like that of Thor and Odin in this version. I'm not too fussed by this frankly, because I always feel like it's weird when heroes set out on their journey and their parents aren't dead or missing or disowned - it's like the hero still has a safety net, y'know?

As for Diana's new origin.... I can't really see how this is better than having Zeus as a father. Except maybe that the way it was explained helped establish the theme of this series. Whether this was a good change or not will depend on where Morrison takes this story in the next instalment.

As with a lot of Morrison's books over the last few years, the story and ideas are terrific, but the characters all seem to speak in disconnected soundbites. I don't really feel I have much insight into Diana or Steve or Fat Amy, sorry, 'Beth Candy', as people.

But the art is simply spectacular. Worth buying the book for.

[Hypo]

So I'll echo some of the other posters and say that I was a little disappointed that after all the build up this book ended up being a rather straight forward origin story. That's not to say that the book was bad but I wasn't expecting it to be so "normal" due to the hype/controversy and Morrison writing it. On the art side of things Paquette and Fairbairn nailed it though, it's gorgeous.

[spark627]

Based on some early reviews and spoilers I was not expecting much here. I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't find the sexist, pornographic art that some people complained about. The way the origin was told was interesting, the personalities of the characters kept a smile on my face. My only issue is that is ALL set up, the story doesn't really go anywhere.

[Agent Z]

The most controversial changes would be about Hippolyta's characterisation and Diana's birth. I think SiegePerilous is correct: this is framed as a coming of age tale, so Diana's mother is her antagonist, at least for this story. Their relationship is more like that of Thor and Odin in this version. I'm not too fussed by this frankly, because I always feel like it's weird when heroes set out on their journey and their parents aren't dead or missing or disowned - it's like the hero still has a safety net, y'know?

Not really. It depends on how the parent is used and I fail to see how making them an antagonist is the only way to write them if they're not missing or dead. The protagonist can have problems even if they have a parents. Those don't make every problem go away.

[SiegePerilous02]

Based on some early reviews and spoilers I was not expecting much here. I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't find the sexist, pornographic art that some people complained about. The way the origin was told was interesting, the personalities of the characters kept a smile on my face. My only issue is that is ALL set up, the story doesn't really go anywhere.

Indeed, the art really only gets cheesecake-y with the Amazons, and that's really only to emphasize how their glamorous fantasy world contrasts with the reality of Man's World. The female characters shown in Man's World (especially Etta) are much more subdued with realistic body types. And even in the case of the Amazons, it really isn't as bad as some of those early reviews were hinting at. I've seen considerably worse. Even the festival with the deer costumes was pretty mild, we don't see any explicit sex acts going on.

Not really. It depends on how the parent is used and I fail to see how making them an antagonist is the only way to write them if they're not missing or dead. The protagonist can have problems even if they have a parents. Those don't make every problem go away.

Hippolyta is cast in an antagonistic role here, but that's only one function she serves. She's arguably also the deutragonist of this story and it opens with an explanation for her motivations. And set up at the end of the story shows she's not likely to fill that role going forward. And considering some of the shady stuff Hippolyta has engaged in throughout the vast history of the mythos, this isn't really that far off course. She's overprotective mommy monarch, same as she's always been. The characters are going to clash with that setup, it's only natural.

[Hypo]

My only issue is that is ALL set up, the story doesn't really go anywhere.

I am hopeful that we will see the second book next year around the time the new movie comes out in June. They did push this book back after all to move it closer to BvS.

[My Two Cents]

I enjoyed the book a lot, but that was before Hippolyta had to tell Diana's her true origin.
But.... it was still a fun to read book and actually does better explain how Diana acted.

I will read this again soon, and knowing what I learned at the end, I will have a better feel and
understanding of the irony of some of the things Diana did and what must have been going
through Hippolyta's mind while her daughter was doing these things spoilers:

like donning Hecules Lion head in the fight ritual.

end of spoilers

[SiegePerilous02]

I enjoyed the book a lot, but that was before Hippolyta had to tell Diana's her true origin.
But.... it was still a fun to read book and actually does better explain how Diana acted.

I will read this again soon, and knowing what I learned at the end, I will have a better feel and
understanding of the irony of some of the things Diana did and what must have been going
through Hippolyta's mind while her daughter was doing these things spoilers:

like donning Hecules Lion head in the fight ritual.

end of spoilers

spoilers:

I think donning the Hercules costume was always part of the ritual/play. Mala and Nubia comment that they have never caught her in the thirty centuries they've been doing it, and later nobody seems to mind her wearing it when she challenges Mala. It all seems to be part of the fun until Diana goes off script. It does make me wonder what Hippolyta and the Amazons were thinking with making it a tradition in the first place.

end of spoilers

[My Two Cents]

spoilers:

I think donning the Hercules costume was always part of the ritual/play. Mala and Nubia comment that they have never caught her in the thirty centuries they've been doing it, and later nobody seems to mind her wearing it when she challenges Mala. It all seems to be part of the fun until Diana goes off script. It does make me wonder what Hippolyta and the Amazons were thinking with making it a tradition in the first place.

end of spoilers

I really do need to read this again and pay better attention
spoilers:

Glancing back on it I now realize the theatre Hippolyta was bringing when Diana was challenging the Amazons to try and catch her. Hippolyta "HOW DAREYOU!"........... "YOU WEAR THE MASK OF THE OPPRESSOR" ............... "THE FACE OF OUR NEMESIS !"

end of spoilers
First reading, I was not paying attention to the bolded words and there impact. But now, I think I have a better understanding
and for sure will be more attentive to this when I read the book again (heck.... I should be pay attention to details all the time

[SiegePerilous02]

I really do need to read this again and pay better attention
spoilers:

Glancing back on it I now realize the theatre Hippolyta was bringing when Diana was challenging the Amazons to try and catch her. Hippolyta "HOW DAREYOU!"........... "YOU WEAR THE MASK OF THE OPPRESSOR" ............... "THE FACE OF OUR NEMESIS !"

end of spoilers
First reading, I was not paying attention to the bolded words and there impact. But now, I think I have a better understanding
and for sure will be more attentive to this when I read the book again (heck.... I should be pay attention to details all the time

You're not the only one, I missed a few details on my first reading as well. Considering this is a Morrison comic, we should probably consider it a plus that we even understood most of it the first time around. This was definitely very straightforward for him.

[Aioros22]

spoilers:

A rich story filled with great ideias and beautiful artwork, but I`m still ambivalent about using Hercules as nothing more than prop. In this world, the Amazons are technological adept and we barely, if any, get any actual mentions of the divine being active in this reality. It`s genetic empowerement in the real world to give us a super hero. My issue with this is that in such a context how does Hercules make sense in being propped like this? Morrison has said in interviews that just like the Marston origin, this Hercules is a genuine man, he`s not mythical, he`s not a demi-god, he`s not divine. It`s a deconstruction of the myth that schoolars have debated over and over: who was the man behind the stories? Did he or did they exist? It`s a nice experiment, but as Wonder Woman needs to be more than just a woman or Superman more than a man for their stories to be told, does Hercules make sense if he`s nothing more than a man? If you don`t use the character as his stories are told - and having no divine elements in the same, it takes away from it and makes this character no different than any other general out there. It`s pretty much using an extremely recognized name as mere stage prop and loses it`s value because it lack elements to it. In a way, it`s preferable because it would probably be worse if he was indeed divine because it opens a can of worms in terms of characterization, but I`m not sure making him just "a man" makes more sense if Morrison`s intent is only to ilustrate the failability of Men`s world, which you can do with about anyone else, anyway.

end of spoilers

[superduperman]

Neither my LCS nor the Barnes and Noble where I live had it. Of course by the sound of it, all I have to do is hang around here long enough and read all the spoilers you guys post and I won't have to read it!