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  1. #1
    Moderator Nyssane's Avatar
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    Default The Giganta Problem

    Giganta is arguably the second most iconic Wonder Woman villain, but the character's comic book history is just plain messy. She was an evolved gorilla in the Golden Age, a doctor who transferred her mind into a circus performer with growing abilities in the Post-Crisis continuity, and now in Rebirth is a scientist who experimented on herself to cure a terminal illness and ended up getting her powers that way.

    I particularly loathe her Post-Crisis origin as it is so bizarre and convoluted, even for comic books. I think her Rebirth origin is fine, but really I don't see the need to have her be a scientist/doctor in addition to being a bruiser. Her intelligence is rarely utilized... I'd rather the focus be placed on just exactly how strong she is. She should be able to take a punch from Diana easily and keep on going. But sadly she's often punched out almost immediately as if her power is simply to grow, not also superhuman strength and durability.

    What do you think should be done with Giganta? Should she remain a "frenemy" of Diana's, or should she be portrayed as a straight-up adversary? Do you think her intellect and science background should be used more often, or should they focus on her strength and growth powers?

    I personally love the character and have since watching reruns of Superfriends with my father. It's just such a shame that she is so poorly-used.

  2. #2
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    Don't forget about the problem of artists drawing her as a dainty woman who is more of a pin up model than a legitimate powerhouse (I mean there are times where she's not even TALL before becoming a giant)

  3. #3
    Ultimate Member Gaius's Avatar
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    Think I saw this in one of the villain revamp threads but one origin proposal change I liked was for her to be revealed to be a descendent or last survivor of the Giants from Greek myth.

  4. #4
    Ultimate Member Phoenixx9's Avatar
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    This is something I have often "wondered" about Nyssane, so glad you made a post for it.

    I do not like the doctor/scientist angle. Not sure I like the circus bruiser angle, but it is different, especially for a woman bruiser, lol. The 1940's idea of an evolved gorilla worked fine, but for today, I do not think that is good.

    But like you, I always wanted to know just how strong Giganta is and she should be quite strong. She has taken hits from WW and Superman without being knocked out, but when they want to conclude the show or story then she does get knocked out usually by one hit.

    I came up with 3 ideas but not sure how good they are:

    1) Maybe make her from another planet? She is evil and has escaped. When she arrives on Earth, she learns just how weak Earthlings are compared to her. Her growth should definitely make her stronger and more durable. Or does this sound like one of WW's 1940's stories, lol?

    2) What about someone who steals a strength/growth formula? She breaks into a building at night but has no idea there is a lab inside. She finds notes and formulas. The one she chooses gives her strength. Somehow, she can also grow (which she does not find out right away).

    3) Maybe she learns of Colossal Boy of the Legion and somehow not only gets his powers but at an increased amount? She might even be from the future.
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  5. #5
    Ultimate Member SiegePerilous02's Avatar
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    I've never liked her post-COIE origin all that much. Diana already has more than enough villainous doctors and her intellect and pre-villain field of science is so underutilized anyway that it's kind of redundant. I'm vastly in favor of the gorilla origin and making her a brute, albeit a very cunning one who shouldn't be underestimated. Either that or make her a size shifting member of the giagantes or a Norse giantess. Or even if we have the gorilla origin, she could get her size shifting from a mythical source tied to one of those options.

    Circe could maybe be responsible for transforming a gorilla into Giganta. Maybe she could be a top tier beastiamorph Circe morphs back and forth, but if she rebels and strikes out on her own, Circe can "mode lock" her in human shape as punishment. She would then gain the size shifting from another source.

  6. #6
    Ultimate Member Gaius's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SiegePerilous02 View Post
    I've never liked her post-COIE origin all that much. Diana already has more than enough villainous doctors and her intellect and pre-villain field of science is so underutilized anyway that it's kind of redundant. I'm vastly in favor of the gorilla origin and making her a brute, albeit a very cunning one who shouldn't be underestimated. Either that or make her a size shifting member of the giagantes or a Norse giantess. Or even if we have the gorilla origin, she could get her size shifting from a mythical source tied to one of those options.

    Circe could maybe be responsible for transforming a gorilla into Giganta. Maybe she could be a top tier beastiamorph Circe morphs back and forth, but if she rebels and strikes out on her own, Circe can "mode lock" her in human shape as punishment. She would then gain the size shifting from another source.
    Yeah, tying her to Circe as her field operative might not be a bad idea.

  7. #7
    Fishy Member I'm a Fish's Avatar
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    I feel like Diana should be a frenemy with most of her rouges gallery, in the sense that she sees them as people and is always willing to help them and would rather just talk to them.

    I definitely would never want her to be stupid, but she doesn't have to be doctorate levels of smart though. Out of all Diana's popular rogues, I'm honestly the least picky with Giganta's origin. Gorilla-turned-woman or scientist-with-superpowers are both fine with me.

    I always though it would be fun to have her in a "breaking bad" position of making illegal drug that give people temporary super powers so she can make money.

    In terms of her powers, I would like for her to be a heavy hitter. I think out of Diana's reoccurring villains, she should have the strongest base stats in strength and be pretty high in defense. I would preferer less depictions of her having a glass jaw.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by SiegePerilous02 View Post
    I've never liked her post-COIE origin all that much. Diana already has more than enough villainous doctors and her intellect and pre-villain field of science is so underutilized anyway that it's kind of redundant. I'm vastly in favor of the gorilla origin and making her a brute, albeit a very cunning one who shouldn't be underestimated. Either that or make her a size shifting member of the giagantes or a Norse giantess. Or even if we have the gorilla origin, she could get her size shifting from a mythical source tied to one of those options.

    Circe could maybe be responsible for transforming a gorilla into Giganta. Maybe she could be a top tier beastiamorph Circe morphs back and forth, but if she rebels and strikes out on her own, Circe can "mode lock" her in human shape as punishment. She would then gain the size shifting from another source.
    I'd go with the gigantes origin.

  9. #9
    The Last Dragon Perseus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by I'm a Fish View Post
    I feel like Diana should be a frenemy with most of her rouges gallery, in the sense that she sees them as people and is always willing to help them and would rather just talk to them.

    I definitely would never want her to be stupid, but she doesn't have to be doctorate levels of smart though. Out of all Diana's popular rogues, I'm honestly the least picky with Giganta's origin. Gorilla-turned-woman or scientist-with-superpowers are both fine with me.

    I always though it would be fun to have her in a "breaking bad" position of making illegal drug that give people temporary super powers so she can make money.

    In terms of her powers, I would like for her to be a heavy hitter. I think out of Diana's reoccurring villains, she should have the strongest base stats in strength and be pretty high in defense. I would preferer less depictions of her having a glass jaw.
    That seems more up Veronica's alley given she's the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. Actually, this is a main plot point in both seasons of The Boys.

    The problem with power stats and Giganta and Diana's other rouges, is that she doesn't crack the top 10 of Diana's heavy hitting villains. Giganta is just gonna have a glass jaw given what Diana can do. You can have her be strong enough to hold Diana in her grip for a minute maybe, throw Diana like a baseball through Saturn from Earth, and even take a few hits from a holding back Diana, but frankly Diana should be able to KO Giganta in one hit.

    As for her origin, I would say, a willing test subject for one of Dr. Cyber's experiments involving unique giant DNA from a giant Diana defeated in Gateway City. Maybe Doris is down on her luck and she's looking to get payed for the experiment.
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  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by masterwitcher88 View Post
    That seems more up Veronica's alley given she's the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. Actually, this is a main plot point in both seasons of The Boys.

    The problem with power stats and Giganta and Diana's other rouges, is that she doesn't crack the top 10 of Diana's heavy hitting villains. Giganta is just gonna have a glass jaw given what Diana can do. You can have her be strong enough to hold Diana in her grip for a minute maybe, throw Diana like a baseball through Saturn from Earth, and even take a few hits from a holding back Diana, but frankly Diana should be able to KO Giganta in one hit.

    As for her origin, I would say, a willing test subject for one of Dr. Cyber's experiments involving unique giant DNA from a giant Diana defeated in Gateway City. Maybe Doris is down on her luck and she's looking to get payed for the experiment.
    I don't see why she isn't a heavy hitter in terms of pure physical prowess? I feel Giganta should be the villain Diana can't just punch out, she'd have to use her wits with Giganta more often than someone like Dr. Poison or Veronica Cale.

  11. #11
    Extraordinary Member AmiMizuno's Avatar
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    I agree. I feel maybe Gignta also also have gotten her powers by trying to use the purple healing ray. That Diana tried to use it in the real world but it doesn't work.

  12. #12
    The Comixeur Mel Dyer's Avatar
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    I think Giganta is a great sci-fi supervillain for Diana to scrap with, every once in a while, and she should be left that way. Why does everybody in this comic have to be a freaking Titan or spooky ghost or whatever? Doris Zeul is a classic, sci-fi genre MAD SCIENTIST - no more, no less!

    Furthermore, what advantage does it create for telling WW stories. Taking a great, sci-fi super-villain, who is universally accessible and easy to use in stories, outside of the WW comic, and making her another magic-story villain, that most writers, outside the WW comic, will never touch - why would you do that? How does that help broaden WW's appeal?

    I am against an all-myth, all-the-time rogues box for Wonder-lady.

    I do think she should be a morally ambiguous, infrequent ally of Diana's; so, I don't want to see her, portrayed as a mass-murderess or purely evil.

    Honestly...maybe, if Giganta was armored up, sprinkled with Kirby dots and splitting open the universe - re-envisioned, as a cosmic or more serious sci-fi threat - I would want to keep her role, purely adversarial. Wonder Woman has so few fully developed, top-drawer supervillains, that I don't like to see any wasted or frenemized.

    If anything, the WW comic needs more antagonists, that writers can imagine terrorizing the surrounding DCU, in some big way. The Wonderverse is too isolated and too isolating, as it presently is.
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  13. #13
    Extraordinary Member Primal Slayer's Avatar
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    Id make her a villain and I know people hate to give into Dianas mythical side but...I'd tie her origins back to the Titans or Cyclops...one of those. Give her slower aging, power of growth/strength comes from her heritage. Have her be strong but the bigger she grows, the stronger she gets. So when she is doing more undercover work she grows 7/8ft tall. When she's dealing with WW, she maxes out which puts her on equal footing with Diana.

    Quote Originally Posted by Mistah K88 View Post
    Don't forget about the problem of artists drawing her as a dainty woman who is more of a pin up model than a legitimate powerhouse (I mean there are times where she's not even TALL before becoming a giant)
    I get what they are going for though.

  14. #14
    Extraordinary Member Dr. Poison's Avatar
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    I would change her origin to have her be a scientist from Gorilla City who tries to enhance herself in hopes of rivaling Grodd. Her experiment works - she gains the power to grow 50 feet tall but in turn, it also evolves her into a human. She loathes being a human and it makes her borderline unhinged. When stressed, her gorilla instincts kick in and she goes berserk, destroying anyone and anything around her which sometimes impedes her quest for a "cure". Now, she searches the world for a way to turn her back into a gorilla with keeping her growth powers. She is no friend of Diana's as she is ruthless and vicious when trying to find a way out of her human predicament.
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  15. #15
    Astonishing Member Koriand'r's Avatar
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    The problem with Giganta is that she never is a problem. She doesn't have big goals or interesting schemes, she's simply a one note adversary that can dealt with on a single page. She's usually tangled in or tripped up by the lasso and falls down and goes BOOM!.

    Though I like the proposed descendant from Greek giants schtick, broadening her origin won't broaden her appeal. What she needs is stronger motivation, more personality and diversified plans of attack. What is she after that Wonder Woman stands in the way of? Power? Love and acceptance? Wealth? Adventure? Respect? What does she want that makes her a recurring supervillain in order to achieve it?

    Personally like Mayfly I think she makes a better antihero and potential ally than a villain because she's never really done anything despicable enough to warrant the title. She's not truly evil, just misguided.

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