What would you do with the concept of a "Wonder Boy" type character?

[Darius]

I don't see how Batwoman wasn't a sidekick. Not sure about Bat-Girl, if I had to guess I'd say somebody figured Batwoman needed her own Robin.

Barbara Gordon on the other hand, she exists because somebody thought it would be a splendid idea to put another babe in skintight spandex on the Batman tv show. She appeared in the comics first, but the character was created for the show.

Side show perhaps, but she wasn't really a true sidekick ... Firstly she was a grown woman, secondly she was used (IMO) more as a device to illustrate BM being an alpha male who was better than a woman trying to do a man's job. He wasn't her mentor like he was with Robin, she was just a different spin on a love interest back in those days.

[Mel Dyer]

Side show perhaps, but she wasn't really a true sidekick ... Firstly she was a grown woman, secondly she was used (IMO) more as a device to illustrate BM being an alpha male who was better than a woman trying to do a man's job. He wasn't her mentor like he was with Robin, she was just a different spin on a love interest back in those days.

Batwoman was not and is not a sidekick, generally speaking, but did function as one in a few stories. Like Batgirl, she was more of an ally or lieutenant, standing in for Batman on cases that he wasn't available, for whatever reason. She was also sort of a rival, in some stories, which was amusing.

I think Champion was a good and timely addition to the mythos, conceptually speaking. While the 'Wonder Boy' idea seems a little obsolete, I would like to see WW gain a super-powered, adult male ally, who is somehow related to the Wonder Family. Mr. Champion, before going bad, was basically an adult ally or lieutenant to Diana - not a sidekick - and fit organically well into the family, never feeling like a tacked-on Mary Sue. Like Batwoman, Champion was ally and rival, and that deviation from the fawning, neutered males in her comic ..made his brief stint in the comic something truly refreshing.

I think it'd be great, if king Virbius was that guy, but, a similar character, like Champion, would do just as well.

And before anyone goes there..NO, Big Blue doesn't count.

[Tayswift]

I think it's partially because originally Wonder Girl was just a teen version of Diana ... Donna only really got created because the writer screwed up and had to back track into a new separate character. Also, I kind of feel like Batman only ended up with some female side-kicks because they wanted to look less sexist (total personal opinion).

As to what I'd like to see ... a few options:

An Amazon's son, maybe someone can dust off Donna's dead son Robert or resurrect him him into a young teen with Amazon powers and have him be tutored by Diana

A Transgender Amazon ... I've brought this up before, but I think it would fit nicely into WW's theme of equality and acceptance to have a young Amazon realize she's Trans and then have her go out into the world with Diana as Wonder Boy, alternatively have a young meta-human boy from man's world become Diana's sidekick because he's Trans and eventually have him use the Purple Ray to become an Amazon girl

OR given what's going on in Rebirth, have the new John Kent (SM and Lois son) find a mentor in Diana and become Wonder Boy. I kind of like this because it pays a bit of homage to the SM/WW relationship from N52 and allows Diana to be a mother-figure to SMs son.

homage smww? nopes

I think that wonder woman can have her own son with steve and he be called wonder boy.

[Mutant God]

I say either a prince from another land, maybe Vlatava where Count Vertigo is from, who wants Wonder Woman to train him how to fight to protect his people.

Or

Billy Batson who lost his Shazam powers or needs to be train to get the powers back.

[Sacred Knight]

Never really interested me in main canon. Save that stuff for future tales when an older Diana and Clark get together and have kids. If they ever had the desire to go the canon route of motherhood with WW, like they have with Batman and Superman, maybe a son she has with Steve or something.

[rayray1127]

Never really interested me in main canon. Save that stuff for future tales when an older Diana and Clark get together and have kids. If they ever had the desire to go the canon route of motherhood with WW, like they have with Batman and Superman, maybe a son she has with Steve or something.

Yea, I'd wanna see the title go to a son she has with Steve. In the future tales where Di has kids with SM, those kids are always depicted as more "Super" than "Wonder".

[Mel Dyer]

I say either a prince from another land, maybe Vlatava where Count Vertigo is from, who wants Wonder Woman to train him how to fight to protect his people...

I like that. Sounds interesting.

...future tales where Di has kids with SM, those kids are always depicted as more "Super" than "Wonder".

Really getting annoyed, by that.

[Javier Velasco]

Not a fan of Bobby Barnes, as the character appeared as a gimmick in one issue only as a way for a writer to thank one specific fan. He is also attached to a character (Trevor Barnes) who I do not believe is in canon anymore (thanks to the return of a young Steve Trevor).

If there IS a Wonder Boy, I would prefer that he bring something new to the WW playset. An empathic healer. Or a telepath. Or an illusionist. Something that adds to storytelling possibilities, rather than just doubling down on another warrior character.. A "grounded" demigod or cherub. Just someone who can shift the tone of things when he interacts with Diana.

[Tayswift]

Yea, I'd wanna see the title go to a son she has with Steve. In the future tales where Di has kids with SM, those kids are always depicted as more "Super" than "Wonder".

pretty much this. But I don't understand the need to shove superman and wonder woman, that is so against what WW stands for.
Steve and diana can have kids, Fury is a great character (also great name). The only other hero that I would be up to her gettiing kids would be Orion, and he isn't exactly a superhero cape.

[theoneandonly]

pretty much this. But I don't understand the need to shove superman and wonder woman, that is so against what WW stands for.
Steve and diana can have kids, Fury is a great character (also great name). The only other hero that I would be up to her gettiing kids would be Orion, and he isn't exactly a superhero cape.

also isn't he married or has that been retconned?

[ssupes]

Yea, I'd wanna see the title go to a son she has with Steve. In the future tales where Di has kids with SM, those kids are always depicted as more "Super" than "Wonder".

Well they are a product of the times and more recently there was wonderstar which was hinted at being there child from the future but turned out to be magog in disguise. There is always hope for jonathan as well.

[Tayswift]

also isn't he married or has that been retconned?

Orion? no, never was since new 52. Before new 52 it was pick and choose, sometimes he was, sometimes he wasn't.

[L.R Johansson]

Not a fan of Bobby Barnes, as the character appeared as a gimmick in one issue only as a way for a writer to thank one specific fan. He is also attached to a character (Trevor Barnes) who I do not believe is in canon anymore (thanks to the return of a young Steve Trevor).

If there IS a Wonder Boy, I would prefer that he bring something new to the WW playset. An empathic healer. Or a telepath. Or an illusionist. Something that adds to storytelling possibilities, rather than just doubling down on another warrior character.. A "grounded" demigod or cherub. Just someone who can shift the tone of things when he interacts with Diana.

I don't know that he has to have wildly different powers from WW - if you look at the Bat-family, they all more or less do the same thing as Batman, just with a twist of some kind - same more or less with the Super-family. (the Shazam-family is of course the original measure-stock here - which originated the trope) Same thing can be said about the Green Lanterns - hundreds of characters who all more or less have the same powers - you just emphasize other aspects of the characters, and their powers.

How about a potential Wonder Boy actually does have the same powers - but the emphasis is on different aspects? Wonder Woman CAN do more than just fly and lift heavy stuff, y'all...

I also don't think there needs to be an effort to necessarily make Wonder Boy cherubic or effeminate or anything like that - mainly because that kind of changes the whole point of the character, now doesn't it?

Instead, whatever a WB would be, should, imho, be a character which reflects a POST-FEMINIST young male! : D Now, for some of you, who don't live in for instance, Scandinavia, where post-feminism, or perhap FOURTH wave feminism is actually a thing, this is hard to grasp - but this is actually a real, true development - the role of the male, in relation and comparison to the role of woman, is different now - and the change is still happening! Accelerating even - some talk of a similar confusion regarding the male role in Scandinavian countries as the dramatic changes that the female role went through in the 60's.

A young male character signifying the changing role of the male in society, would, imho, be something fresh, new and interesting.

Now, this doesn't mean that there for instance can't be a trans Wonder Boy as well, because let's face it... if Batman can have 3 Batgirls and Superman 3 Supergirls, then I don't see why Wonder Woman can't have more than one Wonder Boy.


Hmm... what would a gender-neutral Wonder-person be called btw? Something short. And snappy. Boy and Girl are easy and simply knowledgable names... I suppose... a new WONDERSTAR could be a good name, yes?

[L.R Johansson]

also isn't he (Orion) married, or has that been retconned?

You know, that's a curious thing... It's one of those facets of the character - Bekka being Orion's wife, which is so obscure and rarely referenced that I actually keep forgetting it - and I'm a New Gods buff!

Bekka was, btw, the Wonder Woman of the Gods and Monsters universe in the recent animated movie from DC.

Tell you the truth, I haven't been following the New-52 variation of the New Gods very closely... mainly because I was pretty p*ssed when it became clear how much they were deviating from Jack Kirby's vision - but reading up on her on Wikipedia... it doesn't seem as if they are actually married in the new-52 continuity? And since the New Gods-parts of New-52 are part of Geoff Johns vision, I'm going to guess that's the version which will still be present in Rebirth and going forward as well...


Sideote: I really, really, REALLY don't think Fury is a good name for Wonder Woman's daughter... I seriously don't. A name like that is so far from Marston's vision, that I don't think it belongs to such a potentially important character. That's not what Wonder Woman is about - what WW is about is what can be seen in Marston's comics, and imho, in the excellent Wonder Woman Earth One by Morrison.

[Tayswift]

Sideote: I really, really, REALLY don't think Fury is a good name for Wonder Woman's daughter... I seriously don't. A name like that is so far from Marston's vision, that I don't think it belongs to such a potentially important character. That's not what Wonder Woman is about - what WW is about is what can be seen in Marston's comics, and imho, in the excellent Wonder Woman Earth One by Morrison.

I don't think Morrison earth one is excelent, it has many problems and seems very the opposite of what Marston did or what WW mythology should be for the modern world of today;
I think rucka and de liz are doing far better jobs