I say Diana should use a sword and shield as frequently as Thor, and nothing more. Her lasso is deeply symbolic of her view of the world, and her super strength should be ateast 2/3 of Superman. A sword is antithetical to her true personality and also makes it seem like her super strength isn't enough even tho she is incredible strong.
It looks increasingly so that it can't be avoided. Especially given the propensity to default to the trite and cliched warrior woman trope when it comes to Diana these days.
My issue with the over presence of the sword is not only that it has become so overused, it is that it undermines the fact that Wonder Woman literally IS the weapon. With the sword and shield, she is just another generic warrior charging into battle who can maybe fly at times. When she is using just her iconic arsenals of bracers, lasso and tiara, we get to see her strength, her skills, her agility, her ability and her capability. Not some generic warrior. We get to see what makes her a powerhouse. When Diana used the sword in the past, it used to be significant. It signaled that she was dealing with a high level threat. Now the sword has since lost that significance due to it's over presence and overuse to the point of being underwhelming. It is the usual lack of balancing act by DC and it is frustrating and off putting. I sincerely hope that the sword and shield would disappear for a long time, but given DCs tendency to default to the trite and generic warrior when it comes to Wonder Woman that is probably a long shot.
I’ve always felt that Wonder Woman was a happy medium between Batman’s high skill high tool use style of super-heroics and Superman’s low skill low tool use but high power use style of Super-heroics. The sword never bothers me because it’s a skill set that seems natural for her to have. All the other Amazon’s are always shown using spears and swords. They trained Diana, so it makes sense that she would also share that skill set. I don’t think it takes away from the Lasso either. Wonder Woman has always been a difficult character for the average fan to to get into, sometimes using familiar tropes can help with that. Wonder Woman is a warrior woman, but she is One with an interesting twist.
The sword/shield even when it's present largely doesn't much of an important role in the good runs/depictions of Diana imo, so it's largely a placebo that's only really purpose seems to be catching casuals attentions. Though it does usually indicate the makings of a bad Wonder Woman writer imo (Johns, Taylor).
Even the movie made it clear the sword was red herring and Diana was the source of power but somehow that went over people's heads.
Last edited by Gaius; 02-13-2021 at 12:20 PM.
So true. She's just gotta use more martial arts in the movies (and comics too honestly) and then group of people who get upset that she's not using a sword will stop. Honestly, I though most people didn't mind that she didn't use the sword in WW84, they just wanted more action.
In the next movie, I would love to see Diana get that glazed look on her face of "ok, I'm done with this." and go full hand-to-hand combat on someone like she did when she was fighting Powergirl.
And I think we should really get away from the warrior archetype. I think the perfect translation of the original idea behind Wonder Woman is Wrestler in the greco-roman sense of the word. She seeks to dominate, not to attack. If you understand this notion then you understand why a sword makes no sense, whereas a lasso can be an extension of her hands. A shield also gets in the way of her true approach.
Last edited by Alpha; 02-13-2021 at 01:34 PM.
I believe Patty mentioned that for WW84 when Diana and Cheetah fighting each other, she didn't want the fight to be a contest of "who can hit each other the hardest", but a battle of one woman trying to physically dominate the other. I thought that mostly showed in the film, especially in their Whitehouse fight and when they got knocked into the water at end.
I personally would have liked to see Diana use more grapple moves in the film, fingers crossed the next one perfects the fighting. Patty at least has the right mindset.
The sword and shield have done nothing to bring bigger sales to the title. And they have not made the character more "unique" or to stand out. On the contrary. The generic warrior woman image is anything but special. WW used to be far more capable and badass in combat, before she needed a sword and shield to get the job done. And she was no less of a warrior. She was a powerhouse and a warrior with codes, that fought without using lethal weapons(aka a sword) for as long as she could avoid them. Her powers used to be big enough for her to stand on her own against big threats. Nowadays, they will keep saying how powerful she is, a Goddess and all. but the damn sword and shield get in the way, and she is just seen as a super human warrior woman. In a vast sea of characters with that same approach. WW ussed to be far more unique, far more powerful and interesting before warrior woman became the status quo.