What would you like DC to do with Wonder Woman in the JSA?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

While Superman & Batman played such negligible roles in the original JSA comics, their removal has never really been much of a problem following the merging of Earth-1 and Earth-2. However, Wonder Woman played a pretty major role in enough of them that keeping her out of the JSA has always been an issue.

Given the popularity of the WW1-set movie, the best solution to me would be to establish that, at some point early in her superhero career, Diana was thrown back in time where she secretly fought in various historical settings ranging from the Trojan War with Achilles & Hector, in Camelot against Morgana LeFay, alongside Mulan against the Hun invasions in China, the Napoleonic Wars, WW1 and WW2, where she joined the Justice Society for a few years, before being returning to the present day, having retroactively added a centuries long legend of a "Wonder Woman" who had appeared at various key moments in history.

This would also let DC have its cake and eat it by keeping Wonder Woman's origin and her first meeting with Steve Trevor in the present day, while also allowing her a vast history that spans the history of the DCU--or just the 1940s if they don't want to mess around too much. Replacing the Golden Age Wonder Woman with Hippolyta was an interesting notion, but it ended up diminishing Diana's importance within the DCU by making her a precursor to her own mother, who often ended up being a more interesting character because she wasn't saddled with Perez's virginal stick up her butt characterization.

If DC doesn't want to do this, they have three other options from what I can see if they want to keep the JSA on the same Earth as the modern age superheroes.

A) Leave Wonder Woman's spot on the JSA empty, like they did with Superman & Batman. It leaves the JSA essentially a men's club until Black Canary joins in '47, but it doesn't change much. I think this probably the least interesting choice.

B) Fill Wonder Woman's spot with another established character like they did Post-Crisis with Miss America and Fury. Personally, I think neither of these characters work for me because they simply aren't Wonder Woman-esque enough to really fit the bill. Even Fury, who was created by Roy Thomas to be a replacement for the Golden Age Wonder Woman, is too visually distinct from the classic Amazing Amazon archetype.

C) Create a new Wonder Woman-type heroine to take her place called "Suprema". She could be visually similar to the early Wonder Woman, but different enough from the modern version to not cause too much confusion. She could be an Earth girl raised on the alien planet Zamaron by its immortal female rulers in the ways of love and granted extraordinary abilities during her time with them. Suprema could, of course, heroically sacrifice herself to save the JSA prior to 1950 or simply head back to Zamaron.

Granted, option C has some of the dangers of the Hippolyta retcon, but since Suprema's "Wonder Woman" moniker would only be used similar to how Superman is referred to as the "Man of Steel" or Batman as the "Caped Crusader", Diana wouldn't be viewed as a legacy character or subordinate to her Golden Age counterpart.

Does anyone have any other options that DON'T involve separating the DCU back into Earth-1 and Earth-2 again? I agree that's a very simply solution, but I don't think it's the angle that DC is planning on taking with the JSA once they return.

[MajorHoy]

Does anyone have any other options that DON'T involve separating the DCU back into Earth-1 and Earth-2 again? I agree that's a very simply solution, but I don't think it's the angle that DC is planning on taking with the JSA once they return.

Too many variables without first knowing what exactly DC plans to do about any return of the JSA and if DC plans to bring back any other Golden Age characters as well.

One other possibility if they bring back a WWII-era JSA and they're on the main DC Earth is to also consider another character that was put out by Quality Comics: USA, the Spirit of Old Glory.

[Ascended]

Why not just leave Diana's involvement in the JSA intact?

Diana could make her first trip to Man's World during the early 40's as the threat of WWII got the attention of the Amazons. After the war she could return home, or just live a quiet life out of the spotlight until Clark's arrival prompts her to go public again. You could even include the white jumpsuit/super spy era as her continuing her heroic career in a more covert fashion.

That causes a few problems with the supporting cast but there's ways to work around it. With Steve especially I think there's plenty of room to say he somehow gained a long lifespan. Perhaps he was exposed to some experimental serum or energy, perhaps the gods blessed him, perhaps he fell into a Lazarus pit once and got an extra century added to his life, who knows?

Etta is a bigger problem, but that character's been messed up and changed so many times this is hardly the worst of it. And really, all you need to say with her is that Diana took her to the Island, and Etta liked it so much she decided to stay for a few decades and the unique dimensional properties of the Island prevented her from aging.

Or hell, if you want to be really lazy, just say that Diana used the purple healing ray on them both and that's why they're still alive and active. I don't think that's the way the technology has been shown to work but it'd be a fairly minor retcon very few people would notice.

[CaptCleghorn]

I'd like to see Diana as part of a prime Earth (or whatever DC's calling it this year) JSA. If pre-Superman heroes are being used, then Diana shouldn't be a problem. When the JSA was bleeped out of the HUAC meetings, she went back to her island. I'd like to see her react more with the JSA and not be content with being "secretary". The movie has opened the possibility for a multi-generational Wonder Woman.

[Jokerz79]

I did enjoy Hippolyta being in the JSA during post crisis.

[mathew101281]

i've always thought the need to make WW's 1st journey off the island a recent thing was unnecessary. It was always a contrived mechanism that stemmed from the need to make Superman the first superhero (he's not by the way.)

[Robanker]

I did enjoy Hippolyta being in the JSA during post crisis.

I enjoyed this as well, but Rebirth rules dictate you can't return to Themyscara once you leave, so that either needs to be retconned or some dumb loophole has to be established.

[Assam]

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Wonder Woman doesn't need to be involved with the JSA at all, nor does there need to be a Wonder Woman stand in.

[Agent Z]

i've always thought the need to make WW's 1st journey off the island a recent thing was unnecessary. It was always a contrived mechanism that stemmed from the need to make Superman the first superhero (he's not by the way.)

I don't see how the two have anything to do with each other. Her leaving the island being a recent phenomenon occurred even when Superman wasn't the first superhero in post crisis.

[Restingvoice]

Does she have to be involved with the JSA? Wasn't she treated as a secretary during that run where she stayed home with the other wives while the men goes to war?

[Jody Garland]

The JSA had a rule that no member could have their own solo book, hence why Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman were not full members and why Flash and Green Lantern stepped down post-WWII.

[astro@work]

I say either time displaced Diana, or Liberty Belle as the substitute. Fills the patriotic bill without feeling like a ripoff of Diana.

[Jim Kelly]

Even if there were no JSA, I would still want Diana in WW II. The Marston era to this day remains one of the best times for Wonder Woman, so let her own that history.

The movies should do the same. And if WW was part of some justice battalion/all-star squadron, that would give WB a way to build a different super group of heroes, with the popular Gal Gadot as an anchor, for a film franchise unlike anything else.

[Jon Clark]

As a fan of All-Star Squadron I like the idea of Liberty Belle taking Diana's place. Or having Hawkman actually invite Hawkgirl to join as a way to keep the JSA from being a "guys-only" club.

I also can see the logic for taking a page put of the 1970's TV series and having Diana active in the 1940's before returning to Paradise Island after the war ends. Just skip the identical modern Steve Trevor stuff. Diana might have been under a royal command to return after helping defeat the Axis or as someone else stated maybe she left when the JSA went into limbo/retirement.

In fact the only thing mentioned here that I wouldn't want to see is any attempt to take Diana's human supporting cast and give them lives where they are the same age now as in the 40's. I prefer the idea that Diana's human friends are just that- human and prone to aging. She'll already have the JSA who span decades, she needs someone to connect her to the mundane world.

[mathew101281]

I don't see how the two have anything to do with each other. Her leaving the island being a recent phenomenon occurred even when Superman wasn't the first superhero in post crisis.

She's immortal, she could have came here during the 40's and still be around.