Ewoks Ruin Everything

Well, I’m back. Been busy through the summer. And when I wasn’t busy, I was being lazy—so I hadn’t been giving much time to the ol’ Void here.

Anyhoo, as you might have deduced from this blog’s title, I’m going to talk about Star Wars a bit.
More specifically...those damn Ewoks.

Good, Old-Fashioned Ghost Story

Okay, let's break away from Wonder Woman topics.
Although there's still plenty to discuss about the character, I thought I'd shift gears a bit

And since the majority of my posts pertaining to Wonder Woman have been pretty negative and pessimistic, I thought I'd switch it up with something a little more upbeat. Something a bit more positive and lighthearted, and discuss a character that actually cheers me up....

Stop "Fixing" Wonder Woman

I’ve written a lot of criticism about the portrayal of Wonder Woman in this blog. I’ve taken issue with she being portrayed as a sword-wielding barbarian. I’ve ragged on the idea of her being Superman or Batman’s girlfriend. And I’ve harangued over the retconning of the Amazons into rapists and Zeus into being Wonder Woman’s father.

A common response I've encountered to such complaints—as other fans have as well, I’ve no doubt—is that Wonder Woman as I believe she should be, Wonder Woman as I want her to be, simply “doesn’t sell.” And therefore, the justification for all the things done to/with Wonder Woman that I hate are, not only necessary, but needed in order to make her relevant and popular.

Essentially, the Wonder Woman I know and love doesn’t work, won’t sell, and needs to be fixed.

This is where I call bullshit on that.

Daddy Issues

Seeing as I already devoted a post to the so-called “Deconstruction” of the Amazons, and I made a passing reference to it when DC Failed Me, Yet Again, I should weigh in on the other major Nu52 retcon Wonder Woman’s been subjected to.

Zeus is now Wonder Woman’s daddy.

For decades, the circumstances of Diana’s birth were that the gods told Hippolyta to mold a child out of clay and they then made it a flesh and blood, living girl.
One of the big “shockers” of DC’s Nu52 reboot is that was a lie. The truth, it turns out, was one day Hippolyta and Zeus met and banged…for some reason. I guess no reason is really necessary—those who follow Greek mythology know Zeus was notorious for his inability to keep it in his pants, as it were.

The clay origin, in actuality, was a ruse to prevent Hera—who had a tendency to take out her frustrations with Zeus’ man-whoring on everyone except Zeus—from swearing eternal vengeance on the Amazons, and Diana in particular. 'Cause them bitches be crazy, I guess.

Sigh.

The Star-Spangled Bathing Suit

Well, I suppose I might as well throw in some thoughts on Wonder Woman’s costume. That does tend to be a hot-button issue that always seems to come up when discussing her.

The subject of her costume has been a point of contention especially for the past couple of years.  Notably, the Odyssey story arc that had the audacity to put Wonder Woman in (gasp) PANTS. The pants/no pants issue was also a sticking point with the failed pilot from David E. Kelley. And right now, there’s the coming Wonder Woman XXX porn which features a very accurate translation of the costume that’s been fairly well-received.

And as the prospect of a future Wonder Woman movie—or more likely, an appearance in a Justice League movie—looms over the horizon, the debate of her costume and adapting it comes about more and more.

For Want of Rogues part II: Nemeses

As we know, the villain in a story is just as—and sometimes even more—important than the hero. Often, when dealing with a hero that faces a variety of foes, there is one that emerges as the villain of them all. The Shadow, the arch-nemesis, the antithesis. Sherlock Holmes has his Prof. Moriarty. Neo has his Agent Smith. And in superhero comics, Batman has his Joker. Reed Richards has his Dr. Doom.

I've talked a lot about the lesser known, less used Wonder Woman rogues. But who stands above them all as the Amazon's greatest enemy?

You Fail Me Yet Again, DC

Okay, I was working on my next post when I came across this and felt obliged to stop what I was doing and rant about it.

It’s just been announced a new DC video game titled Infinite Crisis is being worked on. Some kind of MMO or some-such, I don’t really know or care—my gamer days have been over for some time now.
What I want to discuss is the little bio the developers have created for Wonder Woman:

"Born of Zeus and Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons, Wonder Woman protects those in need with sword and shield.
"The Amazons lived in isolation until pilot Steve Trevor crashed on their island paradise and Diana fought to accompany him back to civilization as Wonder Woman. Expecting a world of peace and prosperity, she instead discovered war and hate, vowing then to enact change. Viewing conflict as an ugly necessity, Diana offers opponents mercy if at all possible."

I want you to soak this in.
If you’ve been following my ongoing ramblings about Wonder Woman, you might not be surprised to find I am at a loss. This little blurb here, this little summation of who Wonder Woman is, illustrates so much of what I’ve been saying is wrong with how Wonder Woman is portrayed and advertised by DC Comics.

And I’m going to break it down, piece by piece.