The Relationship of Ferdinand and Leslie

[sailorlibra.insanejournal.com]

Bluefall's recent WWwA posts got me to thinking about one of my favorite and highly unappreciated couples. The best two Wondie supporting cast characters ever and I had to create both of their comicvine pages myself. It's a crying shame, that's what it is.
But here I am, ready to educate the masses on the awesomeness of their relationship.

An introduction to Ferdinand's character: he is awesome. Also, he's not a minotaur.


Leslie doesn't quite manage to achieve the amazing first impression Ferdinand gets. She's the best friend of Veronica Cale, Diana's newest enemy. But things get better.








So Leslie agrees to help and moves into the embassy. Where she promptly runs into Ferdinand.



Ferdinand's fondness for Leslie soon becomes apparent.


The bird is a creation of Medusa's, whom our lovely couple will soon run into.





Diana jumps in and saves the day; later, Leslie comes to Ferdinand with questions. One of the boys living in the embassy was turned into a statute by Medusa, which, naturally, has her upset.


The kithotaur is clearly falling in love with the brilliant scientist. But at this point, it appears to be the sad, one-sided type of love.


Things don't look any better after he comes to her right after her discovery of Veronica Cale's deception.



Leslie's apparent rejection leads him to make a drastic decision later on.






It takes Diana a while before she's able to rescue the helpless Ferdinand.




Unfortunately, the Gods are picky about what boons they choose to grant.


Ferdy needs a hug. Luckily, Diana's there.



Leslie comes back to see Ferdinand again after Diana's execution of Maxwell Lord.



Aww... Aren't they adorable?
Sadly, due to the events of IC and the cancelation of Wonder Woman, we never get to see a real conclusion to their relationship. However, when Diana cancels the embassy, they can be seen packing up together, which I take to be a good sign.


I just hope that, wherever they are now, they're happy and that they have a lot of little kithotaur/human babies that are just as smart as Leslie and can cook like their daddy. *crosses fingers*

Comments

[khamelea.insanejournal.com]

I think it's the first time I notice the cinderblocks under the kitchen table's legs.

[scottyquick.insanejournal.com]

My reaction:

-scrolls up

"pffthahahhhahahHahahaHAHAHAHAHA!"

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

One of these days someone has got to take all the Wonder Woman supporting characters she's had over the years and put them back in one comic.

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

But they never meet!

It will be some stupid post-modern commentary on hergrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltbgrblbgblglbnbrlbhbggblrlbglrllrbgbglrlbrgglrggblrghlrbglrlrlbbglrglltllggnnllrlrgbnlltb

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

*Backs away slowly*

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

Diana has a large enough forgotten supporting cast to populate a small town.

[amazingman.insanejournal.com]

And that's not even counting the various villians she's had over the years who've never shown up again.

[aaron_bourque.insanejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Batman's had more of those. If only because his villains haven't been subject to as many retcons/reimaginings-to-make-them-"relevent."

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

I dunno - Batman has had a hell of a lot of lame-o villains, 'tis true, but most of them have a tendency to stick around for a little while. I mean, there are characters like the Polka-Dot Man and the Condiment King who are members (though seldom seen ones) in good standing of his rogues gallery. Does Wondy still have the Crimson Centipede and the Blue Snowman? I don't think so.

[fredneil.livejournal.com (from insanejournal.com)]

The DC universe is a much poorer place without the Holiday Girls, though the DC universe as it is now doesn't deserve the Holiday Girls.

I would like to see a book where Etta Candy -the real Etta Candy, not the character who just happens to have the same name- babysits Wonder Tot.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

That would be... interesting, I'll grant you. Talk about the continuity nightmares, though, given that the two are from separate eras, each of which basically ignored the other, and also given that Wonder Tot, as a character, shouldn't even exist.

[lieut_kettch.insanejournal.com]

So, Ferdinand's his real name? I always thought it was given to him at the Embassy because of the cartoon bull of the same name, and that he had a proper Greek name as well.

[retro_nouveau.insanejournal.com]

Ferdinand is cool, all right. I can see how Diana is vegetarian if she wasn't before she met him, how could anyone eat a steak after looking in those eyes?

But I can't float that ship. If (a) he's a Tauren, and (b) he thinks he's a human, and (c) there ain't no more Taurens? He's doomed to hang out with J'onn, who's also the last of his kind - oops, J'onn's not the life of the party these days, never mind. Well, he can hang out with Diana then, since her love life has been nonexistent for years and apparently will be for years to come.

[seriousfic.insanejournal.com]

Ferdinand is cool, all right. I can see how Diana is vegetarian if she wasn't before she met him, how could anyone eat a steak after looking in those eyes?

With barbecue sauce. Side of steak fries. Some garlic mashed potatoes...

[greenmask.insanejournal.com]

OMNOMNOMM

[seawolf10.insanejournal.com]

Oops, let's elaborate on that a little more.

"how could anyone eat a steak after looking in those eyes?"

Easily. Cows aren't sapient. Not even close. Ferdinand is a fully sapient being who just happens to have a bovine head.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

her love life has been nonexistent for years and apparently will be for years to come.

You know, I don't really know why people say this. She gets as much play as Bruce ever does.

[retro_nouveau.insanejournal.com]

*GASP* Bite your tongue! Bruce is in a wholesome, stable, lifetime commitment with one person! ... Ok, I got nothin'. But I squeed this week when I picked up Hush, wherein I saw Talia recognizing that Bruce is in love...

Well, this person won't stop obsessing until all his favorite people have an OTP, especially the amazon at the top of his OTPless list.

[scottyquick.insanejournal.com]

Well, when you have a conversation with a Wondy fan and they all say

"NO, she NEVER dated Mike Schorr. And no, Trevor Barnes was just a NIGHTMARE that NEVER HAPPENED. And Nemesis is NOT a DATE."

it must confuse you.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

... Fair point. XD

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Considering that Diana is still in canon as a virgin, I can't thoroughly agree with you...

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Oh, come on, that is such bullshit. Nowhere in canon past about mid-Perez is there anything that remotely establishes Diana as a virgin. Even Jimenez put his dumbfuck inanity about that in the mouth of Circe, part of a rote and meaningless-in-any-literal-sense insult from a completely unreliable source.

And even if she were, Bruce is equally viable as a virgin, so you're still not contradicting my point. Damian was made from frigging stolen sperm! Never has a male lead been given so many excuses to keep his pure temple of a body out of the grip of those tricksy corrupting wimmins.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Wasn't there something just recently about Diana asking a guy to take her virginity so she could get pregnant? I don't know WHY she would ask someone to do that, but I distinctly remember someone mentioning such a plot point, either here or on the old board. There was squawking about it.
And given that Bruce Wayne has a reputation as a wastrel of a playboy to keep up, a VERY IMPORTANT reputation, without which his work as Batman would be imperiled, I find it difficult to believe that he's still a virgin. I mean, he already dumps women left and right, rarely keeping a girlfriend for more than a few issues - why would the gorgeous women keep going out with him if it was well-known that sex wasn't even in the offing? I can see him not being particularly EXPERIENCED in such matters, but surely he must have boffed a few socialites here and there to keep up the disguise.

[kamino_neko.insanejournal.com]

Things That Bug Me Probably More Than They Should #346: Minos was a person, not a place - the Minotaur was the son of his wife (who had copulated with a bull). Minos was the king of Crete. (Or, you know, so the story goes, what with him being mythological - or at least more myth than man - and all.)

Is Ferdinand messing with Jonah? Is his smugness in correcting Jonah misapplied, given the rather huge booboo? Is Minos actually a place, rather than a person, in the DCU? Perhaps he meant Minoa? (Still either an error or a rather odd (IMO) change from reality, as the Minoans are named after Minos, and it's a modern coining, but still...)

[batcookies.insanejournal.com]

While Gail Simone and I don't always see eye-to-eye when it comes to Wonder Woman, I respect her right as a talented writer/creator to go in her own direction... except for one thing, where I maintain she's just flat out wrong. I'm referring, of course, to her stance on Ferdinand. She won't use him. She thinks he's too much of a Rucka character (even though Rucka himself encouraged her to use Ferdinand), and also the Gorillas fill too much of a similar role.

Incidentally, I hate the Gorillas, for that very reason. Every time I see them, I make a little growl. I will never EVER forgive them for being a roadblock to Ferdinand's return. He's a fun individual, a walking example of the difficulty of accepting who you are, and most importantly a creature of myth, making him a perfect fit for Wonder Woman's supporting cast.

They're characters whose origin is all tied up with Flash and a Flash villain. They AREN'T perfect fits for Wonder Woman's supporting cast.

He's the best Wonder Woman cast member to be dreamed up since Artemis, and Simone says she won't use him. She's basically letting one of the best things to happen to the character in years fall on the cutting room floor.

Yeah, she's just plain wrong on this one.

[red_cyclone.insanejournal.com]

I had really liked the gorillas, and I still so, but now I've read these posts I would prefer Ferdinand, he's lovely. I'm so glad that at least he probably got a happy ending.

[janegray.insanejournal.com]

Frankly, I'd much rather writers only write characters they feel comfortable with, rather writing characters they don't get. Limbo is much, much better than character assassination/derailment.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Eh, I'd say that depends on both the character and the author. F'rinstance, take Alfred. Say you're writing BATMAN, and you get and love Bruce and Dick and Selina and the whole crew, but Alfred just doesn't click for you. Well, you probably shouldn't do a whole Alfred-centric story, then. But you can't leave him out entirely, he's Alfred. He's way too centric to the Batman mythos to just vanish for the duration of your run. So you have him pop in every now and then for a panel or two... not enough to even get to characterization, much less get it wrong, but enough that he's there, providing continuity and flavor to the story, satisfying the audience's sense that it's not Batman without Alfred.

Then there's the fact that working with a character is often the best way to start getting and being comfortable with him. IIRC Gail's said that about Barda, in fact, that she didn't really see the point of her on the team but came to really enjoy writing her. Not every writer is capable of doing that, obviously, and even those who are aren't capable of it with every character, but initial disinterest is hardly a death knell.

Plus with the Wondy franchise, honestly, character assassination is better than limbo for pretty much anyone outside the royal three. If you can't make it through two consecutive runs as visible cast, odds are astronomically against you ever being seen again, in-character or not. :/

[janegray.insanejournal.com]

Point taken.

I guess I'm just still bitter over Cassandra and Jason :(

[retro_nouveau.insanejournal.com]

Aw, I love the gorillas. I'd be against having Diana to start palling around with Solovar, but Gorilla City's a big place, and these guys don't know Barry Wally very well. They're warriors, and there's only one warrior in the world worthy for them to follow out of loyalty. Plus there's the one who lost his life to Genocide.

But I do agree that Ferdinand should be back -- I don't see the gorillas as a block. (I'd also like to see Jumpa and Pegasus, let's have a party now that we have a vegan caterer.) :)

[batcookies.insanejournal.com]

It doesn't matter if they're Solovar (who's dead, anyway), they're characters based on something from the Flash books. Wonder Woman deserves to have her own world, not to go borrowing ideas from other characters' books. They'd be okay for a short while, but they don't work in the longterm, and they're certainly not worth blocking the return of Ferdinand.

And Gail has flat-out said the gorillas are one of the things preventing his return.

So I find myself wishing for their deaths every time I see them. Sorry guys, you're in the way.

[strangething.insanejournal.com]

Was there ever a story on how Ferdinand ended up at the embassy? Does Diana just collect every decedent of Greek mythology she comes across?