Thoughts on How Steve Trevor Should Be Written?

[Bosch]

When WW was created, Marston was trying to have a character who challenged society's beliefs about women's abilities and male/female relationships. Steve Trevor was necessary as a personification of the "power" that Diana was speaking "truth" to. It was not an adversarial relationship, because Diana came to teach, not to fight. But it was important that Diana's primary relationship was one that furthered the purpose of the character.

Just as Lois Lane existed so that Superman could have someone to save, since he was essentially a savior. Steve Trevor (and the Holliday Girls) existed so that Diana could have characters to teach.

So Steve should be written in such a way that his relationship with Diana is central to the theme of the book. Or else, he is simply a secondary replaceable character.

The romance with Golden Age Steve Trevor may have been written in a clunky fashion, but seeing a typical Alpha Male having to come to grips with the idea that his girlfriend was superior to him in every way was just as (if not more) important as the woman to woman empowerment messages in the book.

I don't know how well that dynamic could translate without making Diana much more left of field than she currently is.

[Jim Kelly]

I don't know how well that dynamic could translate without making Diana much more left of field than she currently is.

And Diana shouldn't be left of field?

I understand that DC is part of a big corporation and there are political considerations behind everything, but Wonder Woman has become a bloodless character thanks to this desire not to offend. Marston stirred up controversy and that's what's so good about his work. If writers have to restrain themselves and not allow WW to go beyond the fringe, then she doesn't stand for much.

[Bosch]

And Diana shouldn't be left of field?

I understand that DC is part of a big corporation and there are political considerations behind everything, but Wonder Woman has become a bloodless character thanks to this desire not to offend. Marston stirred up controversy and that's what's so good about his work. If writers have to restrain themselves and not allow WW to go beyond the fringe, then she doesn't stand for much.

I agree with you, I just don't see the likelihood of it happening. DC's attempts at replicating her original role as a messenger without giving her an actual message fall pretty flat. It's how we end up with her writing a controversial book that we never learned the contents of, or that bit about tactics vs. mendacity in the Lois Lane interview from the anniversary special. Not always the most compelling stuff, in my opinion.

[brettc1]

I actually like the way that Steve is written in the New 52 and currently by Rucka.
He's assertive and caring with a noble sensibility that is selfless and earnest.

@brettc1 I like your points about Nemesis as Diana's significant other. About Steve being too good, the romantic in me understands that this is fiction but so far it's nice to see a guy that isn't a jerk in some respects.
He's respectful, devoted, and dedicated there just isn't much of that and it's nice (For me anyway). I wish ideals like this were more socially acceptable so we could see it represented more often.

You can have respectful and devoted without being bland and insipid though.

Seeley Boothe, the character played by David Boreanaz in the tv show BONES, is an excellent example of the Steve Trevor archetype.

[Agent Z]

And Diana shouldn't be left of field?

I understand that DC is part of a big corporation and there are political considerations behind everything, but Wonder Woman has become a bloodless character thanks to this desire not to offend. Marston stirred up controversy and that's what's so good about his work. If writers have to restrain themselves and not allow WW to go beyond the fringe, then she doesn't stand for much.

Bloodless? Desire not to offend? Have you read any of the post-Marston WW books?

[SiegePerilous02]

Bloodless? Desire not to offend? Have you read any of the post-Marston WW books?

Most of the post-Marston books are bland and/or terrible, though. That's the point. The Silver/Bronze age because they were products of their time and didn't know how to write a female driven narrative. The post-Crisis books were far better in that regard, but also sanitized a lot of Marston's controversial decisions that were part of the character's DNA. Perez and Rucka were highlights, but we've rarely seen what many consider to be the real, undistilled Diana since Marston's run ended.

[Frontier]

Most of the post-Marston books are bland and/or terrible, though. That's the point. The Silver/Bronze age because they were products of their time and didn't know how to write a female driven narrative. The post-Crisis books were far better in that regard, but also sanitized a lot of Marston's controversial decisions that were part of the character's DNA. Perez and Rucka were highlights, but we've rarely seen what many consider to be the real, undistilled Diana since Marston's run ended.

What about Morrison's Earth-One, since that intentionally goes back to the Marston-era's more controversial elements?

Or are we just talking about main continuity Wonder Woman?

[K. Jones]

What about Morrison's Earth-One, since that intentionally goes back to the Marston-era's more controversial elements?

Or are we just talking about main continuity Wonder Woman?

See, this just makes me want to get into Rucka/Morrison compare/contrast stuff. Their work is usually incredibly complimentary even when they're not trying. For a while there they were the only two using some of the crazy ideas each other was casting about in the DCU. I have vague memories from earlier this year that Rucka had talked about Earth One - he's a guy with strong ideas so I seem to recall he didn't like 100% adhere to that depiction, but I'd be curious to know what he took from it, and what he didn't. But I'm going to need some more Rebirth Wonder Woman storylines to wrap and move into phase 2, and maybe some more retrospective Morrison interviews about Earth One and his volume 2 in the future before I can really get into the meat of that topic.

Not to derail the Steve Trevor thread. Back on that track, I really like how Steve is being written now, and I really like how Larry Hama wrote him in the Convergence: Wonder Woman two-parter. I didn't mind all the JLA liaison ARGUS stuff, but man, was it ever a Nick Fury and SHIELD knock-off in the most obvious of ways. What Rucka is doing with Sasha and Etta and Steve feels a lot more like his absolutely fantastic Checkmate run.

[Agent Z]

Most of the post-Marston books are bland and/or terrible, though. That's the point. The Silver/Bronze age because they were products of their time and didn't know how to write a female driven narrative. The post-Crisis books were far better in that regard, but also sanitized a lot of Marston's controversial decisions that were part of the character's DNA. Perez and Rucka were highlights, but we've rarely seen what many consider to be the real, undistilled Diana since Marston's run ended.

It's not like you can't find a number of controversial stuff in later WW comics like Diana beheading people, pretty much anything with Dr. Psycho, Heracles as a rapist, the Max Lord stuff etc.

[SiegePerilous02]

What about Morrison's Earth-One, since that intentionally goes back to the Marston-era's more controversial elements?

Or are we just talking about main continuity Wonder Woman?

I think I'd count Morrison's Earth One as being among the WW stories with teeth that gets people talking. It certainly seems to have upset a lot of people, but as an unfiltered look at Marston's weird ideas, I think it did its job.

See, this just makes me want to get into Rucka/Morrison compare/contrast stuff. Their work is usually incredibly complimentary even when they're not trying. For a while there they were the only two using some of the crazy ideas each other was casting about in the DCU. I have vague memories from earlier this year that Rucka had talked about Earth One - he's a guy with strong ideas so I seem to recall he didn't like 100% adhere to that depiction, but I'd be curious to know what he took from it, and what he didn't. But I'm going to need some more Rebirth Wonder Woman storylines to wrap and move into phase 2, and maybe some more retrospective Morrison interviews about Earth One and his volume 2 in the future before I can really get into the meat of that topic.

Not to derail the Steve Trevor thread. Back on that track, I really like how Steve is being written now, and I really like how Larry Hama wrote him in the Convergence: Wonder Woman two-parter. I didn't mind all the JLA liaison ARGUS stuff, but man, was it ever a Nick Fury and SHIELD knock-off in the most obvious of ways. What Rucka is doing with Sasha and Etta and Steve feels a lot more like his absolutely fantastic Checkmate run.

I would absolutely love if Morrison and Rucka worked on a project together. If a push-and-pull balance could be struck, we'd get something magical. Morrison would go full Marston with all sorts of kinky, colorful and controversial ideas, but Rucka could balance it out with the more political and feminist themes the character lends herself to. They were both responsible for revamping Egg Fu into Chang Tzu weren't they?

As for Steve, the Nick Fury thing was a solid idea in theory. It places him in a place of importance in the wider DCU. The bad thing is, much like a lot of WW stuff he introduced in JL, Johns never really got around to doing anything with it. I think ARGUS itself is a good concept that came out of the New 52. It's a good catch-all organization that can house the various military WW characters we've gotten over the years.

It's not like you can't find a number of controversial stuff in later WW comics like Diana beheading people, pretty much anything with Dr. Psycho, Heracles as a rapist, the Max Lord stuff etc.

But that's still stuff from the aforementioned Perez and Rucka runs. Beyond those, and the Azzarello run (for better or worse), what WW comics have really shook things up and gotten people talking the way her creator's output did? Not very many. The character is so much better than her publication history, which is on the whole very average or below.

[RickGrimes17]

The only problem I have with Steve as he is now is that he is almost too good.

It may be a bit of cliche in stories these days, but I think it's still true that you can't have heat without at least a LITTLE friction. The great thing about the character for Tom Tresser [for me] was that he hid his light under a pretty big bushel and it caused some grief between him and Diana even when they were obviously working well together.

I would prefer a Steve that does NOT agree with Diana all the time. He has to have a mind and opinions of his own. Sometimes his will end up being wrong, but maybe sometimes Diana learns something from him.

He has to contribute something to the relationship. Both personally and in the field. Again, a reason I liked Tom is that he could do things that Diana could not. She could rip the door off a bank vault with ease, but he's the one that could hack a computer system or defuse a bomb. Wonder Woman should be the star of her book, but if the purpose of Steve Trevor is to show that a man can have a girlfriend who is powerful then showing him as weak or redundant is self defeating. Its saying that only a weak or ineffectual man can be in a relationship with a strong woman.

Yeah so true. It's just like in that animated Wonder Woman movie when they kept on arguing about sexuality and culture. It gave it a sense of realism and it made us see the differences in the way Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor see the world. But it did give it alot of humour as well. Steven even tried to get Diana drunk but she had too much stamina for him.

[daBronzeBomma]

I wanna hear everyone's different points of view on how they feel like the character Steve Trevor should be best written?

Three words for how I'd want Steve Trevor done: Blonde. Dick. Grayson.

Physically and Mentally.

I'd like Steve Trevor to subvert expectations by being average physically (a lean 5'9"/5'10", 160-170 lbs frame) with minimal toxic masculinity (he's a positive, laid-back secure guy who is neither cocky nor crass, neither timid nor shys away from conflict). Yes, that means he'd be more than fine with a truly amazonian Diana who physically towers over him (a thick 6'2"/6'3", 180-190 lbs frame).

Really didn't like the Blonde Hal Jordan riff they went for him in the 2009 WW animated movie.

[Jim Kelly]

Just to be clear my "bloodless" was meant in the sense of being leaden, lukewarm or insipid. I haven't read all of the more recent stuff, but it seems like even the stuff that tries to be daring is overworked. Whereas, Marston put all of his own peculiar feelings into the work without editing himself. The best paralled to this for Grant Morrison is his Invisibles, I think--where he puts all of his own personal self into the creation.

The thing I've always felt about William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter is that they weren't immersed in the comic book world, so when they wrote and illustrated Wonder Woman they made up their own rules--and that's one reason why their work seems so out of left field. Whereas all the writers and artists since then (with few exceptions) have been folks who know how to write and draw comics, according to the rules of the time. So that work always fits within the borders of the medium.

[brettc1]

Yeah so true. It's just like in that animated Wonder Woman movie when they kept on arguing about sexuality and culture. It gave it a sense of realism and it made us see the differences in the way Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor see the world. But it did give it alot of humour as well. Steven even tried to get Diana drunk but she had too much stamina for him.

I totally agree with you, though I also know many hated that version of Steve.

[borntohula]

Like the "girlfriend" in the golden age stories.

Was he ever written like a Jimmy Olsen character? Would really like a spunky golden age WW story with Trevor basically being the Olsen Kirby wrote with 4th world.