Wonder Woman and Superman
Jul. 2nd, 2010 12:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jasonandrewWhy are these characters do difficult to write for?
I used to think power creep caused it to be a problem. Superman can spin the world on his finger and so what can challenge him.
Joe Michael Straczynski is working on a revamp for the both of them that really makes no sense.
You can read about it here:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=26929
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/jms-superman-grounded-100623.html
Really? This is the best you can do.
I almost think only Grant Morrison should be allowed to write for these character.
Sure, he is a crazy Scottsman that needs an editor to watch for the crazy, but he seems to be the only one that gets these characters.
Superman is a lonely god figure. He is supposed to be crazy powerful. Alien. An adopted son of our world. He is supposed to fly and give hope. Superman isn't supposed to be an emo bitch trying to walk the world like Kane from Kung-Fu.
Wonder Woman is a golem. A woman made of clay by a Queen that could not have children. Immortal, mysterious, powerful. She is an image of the allure of female empowerment. She's not a street hero. She doesn't live in the ghetto. She's not batman.
Characters get stale because you won't let them grow. Do you know the difference between growth and change? One happens randomly.
Superman started getting interesting when he married Lois Lane. Suddenly there was a new dynamic true to the character. Many of the aspects of the character grew over time. Does anyone remember when Superman was blue for a while?
Do you know why so many comic movies are always origin stories? The best comic stories always return thematically, like a greek myth, to the basic themes of a character.
End of geeky rant.
I used to think power creep caused it to be a problem. Superman can spin the world on his finger and so what can challenge him.
Joe Michael Straczynski is working on a revamp for the both of them that really makes no sense.
You can read about it here:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=26929
http://www.newsarama.com/comics/jms-superman-grounded-100623.html
Really? This is the best you can do.
I almost think only Grant Morrison should be allowed to write for these character.
Sure, he is a crazy Scottsman that needs an editor to watch for the crazy, but he seems to be the only one that gets these characters.
Superman is a lonely god figure. He is supposed to be crazy powerful. Alien. An adopted son of our world. He is supposed to fly and give hope. Superman isn't supposed to be an emo bitch trying to walk the world like Kane from Kung-Fu.
Wonder Woman is a golem. A woman made of clay by a Queen that could not have children. Immortal, mysterious, powerful. She is an image of the allure of female empowerment. She's not a street hero. She doesn't live in the ghetto. She's not batman.
Characters get stale because you won't let them grow. Do you know the difference between growth and change? One happens randomly.
Superman started getting interesting when he married Lois Lane. Suddenly there was a new dynamic true to the character. Many of the aspects of the character grew over time. Does anyone remember when Superman was blue for a while?
Do you know why so many comic movies are always origin stories? The best comic stories always return thematically, like a greek myth, to the basic themes of a character.
End of geeky rant.
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-02 08:56 pm (UTC)Using time travelling gods to destroy Paradise Island and wipe out the Amazons when Diana is a child has a lot of problems. First, it affects the entire DC universe. Will Hypolita be written out of Justice Society? Will her new background affect books like Justice League or the continuity of the Superman and Batman books or will it remain an insular "what if?" story within the pages of Wonder Woman?
I'm not a fan of time travelling in extensive continuities to begin with. Star Trek drives me crazy for how much it is used. If it is to be used though it needs to affect the entire continuity though.
Whenever an iconic hero changes costumes my first instinct is to dismiss the story out of hand. We've seen it so many times and only in the case of Spider-Man has it had any longstanding durability and then only because the costume became a character in its own right. At the end of each one the story is forgotten, the hero returned to their original state. It is rarely worth my time.
What I would rather see is something modern wipe out Paradise Island while Wonder Woman is not strong enough to defend it. She goes into mourning, giving a good excuse for a temporarily darker suit. Her dealing with the new dark seed of grief within her would be a great story. Does she try to deny it? Does she embrace it? Does she go to Batman for advice on how to deal with the crippling sadness? Does she become more violent and unstable? Does Batman have to stop her from killing some villain who truly deserves it? Run the story out over a couple of years as she falls to her lowest point and then finds the strength within to recover. Then leave Paradise Island destroyed.
Superman going on a journey of personal discovery doesn't bother me so much. It is a gimmick, yes. But it could be compelling if it isn't just Superman looking at the world in a snapshot fashion. If there is some underlying plot going on to drive the story it could be worth reading. Yes, Superman is a god, above humanity and almost all powerful. He is tied to humanity through a few fragile individuals. But Superman is also Clark Kent, a midwest farm boy raised with a host of people who loved him. Superman remains that farm boy at heart even if his powers and superstardom force him to retreat from humanity. The king seeking to walk anonymously through his subjects in order to better relate to them is an old story. If he goes as Clark Kent it will be very interesting. If he goes as Superman, less so to me.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-03 12:11 am (UTC)He doesn't need to walk amongst the people as Superman to get to know them. He does that every day.
Superman is about inspiring people to achieve greatness. The adopted son that has embraced the culture of his new world.
Maybe it will turn out good, but I think it will suck.