Originally Posted by
Mel Dyer
Cassie was infinitely cooler and more impressive, when she was kinda funny-lookin'. I think.
I think she was a better character and brought more to the Wonder brand (so to speak), when she was this skinny, satchel-mouthed, tomboyish sprite, whose courage surpassed her superficial imperfections - namely, her looks. Everybody's going on and on about diversity, now; well, here was diversity! The whole point of having Cassie become Wonder Girl and showing the audacity of asking Zeus for powers ..was that she was, in our eyes, an unlikely successor of picture-perfect, pageant natural, Donna Troy. Being conventionally good-looking, in the way that Donna Troy is, shouldn't ever have become one of Cassie's wonder-powers.
I liked her better, plain. There was something challenging about that - something disquieting to the status quo of spit-curled, six-packed, bubble-butted demigods, ..with their shiny trick-belts and tiaras flickering in the wind. Here, in Cassie Sandsmark, was truly a hero, who could be you or I ..or any little girl or boy, who ever felt awkward and uncelebrated in their own skin. Here's the funny-looking girl-next-door, whom you don't look twice over, ..and she's WONDER GIRL!!! That felt great...
But, God forbid we suffer a plain-looking Wonder Girl. Plain-looking people shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the hallowed, alabaster halls of superheroics..is that it?
Anyway, if Cassie is brought back, I hope she's brought back, just as John Byrne created her, ..a plain, though refreshingly uncommon, jane, who is an inspiration to us all. I hope we see Superboy or whoever fall in love with a plain-looking super-heroine, with imperfect hair and imperfect bod, and be uplifted by that, a little, ..imagining ourselves being worthy of being in her place. I think it was the ruin of this great character, when the editors allowed her to be drawn, like a generic super-Barbie, so much that she and Supergirl, except for their hairstyles, are entirely indistinguishable.
Maybe, that can be fixed.
And for crying out loud, lets get King Hippolytus (or Virbius Rex) into this comic, somewhere, ..as a recurring superheroic ally for his cousin, Wonder Woman. He needn't be in every freaking issue, but, get him in there - his own powers and armor and everything! Give little and not-so-little boys something to cheer on, after all these years of loyalty.