tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post4569388363464509552..comments2024-03-27T19:04:14.544-05:00Comments on The Absorbascon: Least Likely to Change: Wonder WomanScipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-89315057393251698162007-09-10T18:03:00.000-05:002007-09-10T18:03:00.000-05:00Re: the increased mammary-size:Take a look at the ...Re: the increased mammary-size:<BR/><BR/>Take a look at the Andru/Esposito WW of the 60s some time. They were definitely going the way of the Big Bust Out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-91323488955389878682007-09-08T05:52:00.000-05:002007-09-08T05:52:00.000-05:00All I know is that *I* haven't changed when it com...All I know is that *I* haven't changed when it comes to Wonder Woman... All I care is that she wears that costume and keeps looking hot. (Never was interested in her stories.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-35657975440457981902007-09-04T15:16:00.000-05:002007-09-04T15:16:00.000-05:00Great piece. I liked modern Wonder Woman stories m...Great piece. I liked modern Wonder Woman stories much, much less after seeing how awesome they were in the Golden Age.<BR/><BR/>I think there's a fundamental problem with Wonder Woma when you remove her from the World War II Era...her whole origin/point starts to fall apart. Jimenez and Rucka played up the ambassador of a better way here and there in their runs, but only occassionally, and not well enough to counteract this prevalent idea of WW as an ass-kicker, like she has to over-correct for being female by being tougher than everybody else.<BR/><BR/>While I'm looking forward to Simone's run, she doesn't strike me as a writer who knows all that much about the pasts of the characters she writes (I have a hard time believing we're going to be seeing much Golden Age influence in her run, for example) and in interviews, she's really played up the idea of Wonder Woman as the ultimate warrior.Calebhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01391759187396994380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-84332434960836296882007-09-04T13:37:00.000-05:002007-09-04T13:37:00.000-05:00“I also resent the loss of her nerdy identity as D...<I>“I also resent the loss of her nerdy identity as Diana Prince. I thought the whole point of the superhero's nerdy identity was to give the reader something with which to identify? What girl can identify with, or become invested in, or even like a totally perfect woman?”</I><BR/><BR/>You know, now that you bring it up, nerdy Diana Prince really appeals to me. I think the idea of a nerdy woman on the outside hiding the beautiful woman inside (and I’m not just referring to looks here) is a great metaphor people could relate to. It’d be the female equivalent of Clark Kent/Superman, though obviously, Diana Prince wouldn't merely be a female Clark Kent.<BR/><BR/>Also, I'll add props to Rucka's <I>Wonder Woman</I>: got "The Hiketeia" for my birthday last month and I thought it was wonderful.Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08806565171767967754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-19585138852862436712007-09-04T09:21:00.000-05:002007-09-04T09:21:00.000-05:00I'm looking forward to Gail Simone on Wonder Woman...I'm looking forward to Gail Simone on Wonder Woman - she wrote a great WW in her Justice League Classified arc, one who, when the JLA is at its lowest point, regrouping at the Watchtower, things looking dire... she *bakes*. And it's the right move!<BR/><BR/>One unremarked change that's a little problematic with Wonder Woman is "power level." A lot of stuff that makes sense for her as a solo character doesn't really if she's part of "the Big 3." As such, it's basically stipulated that she has to be in the same weight class as Superman (punching way, way *above* his weight class is Batman's shtick.) But... that makes fun bits like the "bullets and bracelets" trick just party stunts. (Any explanation I've seen that makes her able to take a punch from Superman *and* still be vulnerable to an errant .38 slug, IMO, doesn't pass the smell test, even for the low standards of explaining impossible superpowers.)<BR/><BR/>I think it might serve her better as a *solo* character if she was depowered a bit - say, "Spider-Man" level strength or thereabouts. But her "DC Universe" status kinda requires she be more powerful than that somehow.David Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16985574193396205518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-37834115338274511972007-09-03T11:32:00.000-05:002007-09-03T11:32:00.000-05:00I, too, liked Rucka's Wonder Woman.I, too, liked Rucka's Wonder Woman.Scipiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-84610284599708523432007-09-03T11:08:00.000-05:002007-09-03T11:08:00.000-05:00I'm open to the Simone Wonder Woman, of course, bu...I'm open to the Simone Wonder Woman, of course, but for me the Rucka Wonder Woman run (I wrote a <A HREF="http://collectededitions.blogspot.com/2007/05/wonder-woman-missions-end-trade.html" REL="nofollow">look back</A> at it, for interested parties) is when the character really made sense to me. I loved Rucka's <I>West Wing</I>-like take on the character, but moreover I think Rucka did a great job examining Diana's "peaceful warrior" dichotomy--how she could preach peace while at the same time knock bad guys through walls. We see how Diana's really a stranger in a strange land--trained to battle mythological threats like Medousa, and then dropped amongst the human threats in Man's World, and how that can and can't work. <BR/><BR/>All in all, I was impressed, and my guess is that if Rucka had still been at the helm when <I>Amazons Attack</I> came out as intended, the miniseries might have some out a little different.collectededitionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14698269790653953645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-6895143267782059752007-09-03T03:46:00.000-05:002007-09-03T03:46:00.000-05:00Well said again.To be honest, I would be happy if ...Well said again.<BR/><BR/>To be honest, I would be happy if the Kanigher Wonder Woman returned.<BR/><BR/>THAT woman ran up against some pretty weird S@#$ and never even blinked!Marc Burkhardthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06949686463975572297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-28607663199674401592007-09-02T18:50:00.000-05:002007-09-02T18:50:00.000-05:00"What girl can identify with, or become invested i...<I>"What girl can identify with, or become invested in, or even like a totally perfect woman?"</I><BR/><BR/>I am pretty certain that this question is what inspired the de-powered white suit Wonder Woman of the 1970s. Like Superman, Wonder Woman was blessed with great power from her first moment on earth; she didn't have to do anything to earn or develop her abilities. The big difference between Superman and Wonder Woman is that Superman's character was formed by nurturing parents and an actual upbringing, while Wonder Woman was blessed with divine wisdom and grace in the same moment she was granted physical power.<BR/><BR/>That, combined with the nerdy secret identity you've already pointed to, makes a big difference. In Clark you had a kid (and sometimes adult) who had to put up with being picked on, and wrestling with what exactly to do about it. That's a dynamic all of us mere mortals can identify with. Not so much with Diana Prince, who was occasionally accused of being unattractive, but that's it. It's hardly surprising that a woman blessed with divine wisdom can withstand that sort of ordeal.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, if they were to revisit the de-powered phase today, they'd undoubtedly do a better job. Writers would make for damn sure that, while she maybe couldn't punch through steel any longer, her determination was far more potent than dumb brute strength.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-71242319090831187602007-09-02T18:06:00.000-05:002007-09-02T18:06:00.000-05:00I agree with you, Lonegungirl.I agree with you, Lonegungirl.Scipiohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16217376618860561999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-21674277403246233082007-09-02T16:35:00.000-05:002007-09-02T16:35:00.000-05:00The changes to WW bug me more than anything else. ...The changes to WW bug me more than anything else. When I was little, WW was a gleeful strong woman who could beat up on people and give a casual wink to the 4th wall while doing it. Occasionally she would fly around with younger versions of herself just for kicks. <BR/><BR/>Now she's this grumpy uptight woman who spends an enormous amount of time complaining about all the reasons why whatever they used to call Paradise Island is so much better than "Man's World." You constantly wonder why Batman doesn't just turn around and say "if you love it so much, why don't you marry it?"<BR/><BR/>I also resent the loss of her nerdy identity as Diana Prince. I thought the whole point of the superhero's nerdy identity was to give the reader something with which to identify? What girl can identify with, or become invested in, or even <I>like</I> a totally perfect woman?<BR/><BR/>Then I always feel that I'm supposed to think she's the total compassionate hero. In reality, I don't see her doing compassionate things, so much as getting pissed off and beating up on people she perceives as being non-compassionate. That seems messed up somehow.<BR/><BR/>Phew. OK, I feel better now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-4867155497385611672007-09-01T15:37:00.000-05:002007-09-01T15:37:00.000-05:00Anonymous: Maybe winning WWII was the worst thing ...Anonymous: Maybe winning WWII was the worst thing that could happen to the US psyche. Seems like the country has been trying to recapture that thrill since then, without success. It's never as good as the first time.<BR/><BR/>And Scip, I just wanted to chime in to say I'm really enjoying this new series of essays. You're cementing your place as the blogosphere's premiere mythologist.Siskoidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266365376486695812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-34000288296058058292007-09-01T12:20:00.000-05:002007-09-01T12:20:00.000-05:00I'd say we have changed in lots of ways since WWII...I'd say we have changed in lots of ways since WWII. The worst among them: our national preference for war instead of peace. That's not even just a post-9/11 thing; ever since Reagan there's been a sense that if we aren't kicking ass overseas, we're letting evil thrive, and it's all the hippies' fault.<BR/><BR/>(And yet, in today's wars -- allegedly the most desperate struggle our country has ever faced, such that anyone who opposes the war is coward and possibly a traitor -- the army is finding that enlistments are way down, even despite relaxing their standards. So yeah, the bullshit is at least waist deep.)<BR/><BR/>We're overall less bigoty, though, and that's a plus.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-2897338761096736592007-09-01T08:30:00.000-05:002007-09-01T08:30:00.000-05:00It just isn't Wonder Woman without the bondage, th...It just isn't Wonder Woman without the bondage, the spankings and the submission to loving authority.<BR/>Or without Etta Candy. Woo! Woo!The Mutthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09149977320388415139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11737441.post-34192309252249049952007-09-01T07:13:00.000-05:002007-09-01T07:13:00.000-05:00Interesting thoughts, as always. But I have to di...Interesting thoughts, as always. But I have to disagree with one point- WW became busty when Lynda Carter became the quintessential WW back in the late 70s.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com