The Wonder Woman Conundrum

I've always wanted to be interested in Wonder Woman, I've tried reading her books but I've never been able to stick with them for very long. She has such a great iconic image, but her stories, to me always seem to be lacking or severely dated.

I understand Superman. I inderstand Batman. I get Catwoman, Batgirl, Black Canary, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, Supergirl, Power Girl, Big Barda, Manhunter. I understand these characters. I understand what attracts me to these characters (or other fans to these characters). I feel that I have a good idea of what they would and would not do, say and would not say.

But Wonder Woman? I have no idea who her character is.

Is she an ambassador of peace or is she a warrior princess? Is she here to learn or to teach? She’s an experienced fighter, but a virgin (loaded word, that) in human interactions? I understand her appeal as an icon, a symbol of women's power. I understand the appeal of a wonder woman, a being who steps out of myths in the "real" world, bringing a era of gods and monsters with her. But the character's aspects confuse me. She’s not as strong as Superman, but she’s a better fighter, and regal, so…what does all this mean? What is her definitive role?

If you look back to the early years, every character has a primary, fairly timeless template. Superman is a mythical heroic figure blended with an immigrant fairy tale; Batman is the ideal of vengeance-driven pulp detective heroes like The Shadow. But Wonder Woman was created in a much different mold; Marston built Wonder Woman with some very specific goals: to introduce a female superhero that reflected his own interests in polyamory, lie detection, and, bondage( yes you heard me right that was one of his stated goals).

Not only is that not exactly a timeless basis for a character – it was pretty unusual for the time of her creation. Marston was using his creation as a Trojan horse for his own philosophies, making the character’s motivations, unlike Superman and Batman, very specific to her creator’s intentions.

Since then, some great writers have professed to not knowing just how to write for her. Grant Morrison – who somehow managed to craft a definitive version of Plastic Man, for pete’s sakes –couldn’t get a handle on her (evident by the fact that she’s a minor player in both his Justice League run and his DC magnum opus, Final Crisis).

Bruce Timm and co. similarly couldn’t quite crack her in the “Justice League” animated series. The go-to female POV went to Hawkgirl, who was written as everyone’s favorite tom-girl.

Greg Rucka had a good take by literally making her an ambassador, with diplomatic credentials, a staff, and even a book deal espousing her philosophies – but DC took it all apart when he left.

Mark Waid used his “Kingdom Come” to play with the post-Marston contradictions in her portrayal – a warrior sent to teach peace – to examine the flaws in her system. Which doesn’t exactly make for a workable character template either.

Oddly enough, considering her 70’s repurposing as a feminist icon, “Get a woman to write her” hasn’t been the cure-all you’d expect. Popular novelist Jodi Picault took a shot a couple years back, and the results made you wonder if Picault had ever met a woman OR read a comic before in her life.


Wonder Woman is frankly missing the "great event" that defines her. And it's hard for writers to create one because of her lack of a template. A major problem with Wonder Woman is that the original, defining version of the character or series can't be used as a touchstone by its current creators.

Assigned to Superman? Make it like Siegel and Shuster, filtered through Weisinger/Binder.

Batman? Kane/Finger/Robinson, seen through the lens of O'Neill/Adams.

Fantastic Four? Do it like Stan and Jack.

And so on.

But Wonder Woman? Marston/Peter is just too weird and kinky to use. So you're left with a pell mell of variations because you have to stay true to cannon, but the cannon is just plain weird.