Wonder Woman #7 Shopping For A Friend’s Birthday

[superfangirl1]

This shopping at a galactic mall story occurred between issue five and six.

Comments

[blues32]

Aw...that's real wholesome considering what else is happening in this series.

[huntleyhaverstock]

I get that King is changing up Diana's diction to emphasize her status as an outsider in Man's World, speaking a language not her own. Not a bad idea in isolation! But it's just not working for me. She sounds like she's had a head injury.

Also, as well drawn as the scene is, Diana tearing up doesn't seem right. Would King have Superman do the same if their roles were reversed? Seems like she'd already know, without a doubt, that Clark would be there if she needed it. That's just who he is, and who he's always been, and Diana, the truth-seer, shouldn't be surprised by it.

[shakalooloo]

Is 'hard trouble' even a thing people say?

I'm starting to think that King is just running the dialogue he wants for Diana through an English-to-Greek translator and back again, as when I did that for 'hard trouble', it came out as 'difficult problem'.

[numeronone]

Whenever I encounter a character who pointedly refuses to use contractions, all I think of is Croach the Tracker.

It's a lazy comedian's way of communicating "foreigner".

[metadronos]

What's more, English isn't even the only language which uses contractions, at least in everyday speech. It's not as though it's such a big cross-cultural leap, for someone learning English as a second language, to use contractions when speaking. So it's unrealistic to have such characters never use them.

On top of that, as huntleyhaverstock says, it makes their dialogue read like there's something wrong with them. Just as writing non-native anglophones' accents phonetically makes them come across as "funny foreigner" stereotypes.

Then there's the bad practice of having non-native anglophone characters speak English more or less fluently except for, conveniently, the only words the writer knows in those character's first language. These are nearly always the terms for "yes," "no," "please" and such. As the book How Not to Write a Novel puts it, "yes," "no" and "please" are among the very first English words an ESL student would learn.

[deh_tommy]

I thought it was cute for Starfire in Teen Titans. But to be fair there, her concept of language comes from whatever the biological equivalent of machine translation is.

[numeronone]

My favourite take on that will always be the one from Shortpacked!:

[sabertoothlotus]

"Bagropa!"

[numeronone]

"Hi all my buddies!" :~D

[superfangirl1]

Super buddies friends. ;)
.

[numeronone]

King's Diana suffers from the same problem as Gerry Duggan's Emma Frost or Polaris - she's an indestructible Barbie doll. She's tough, and capable, but always looks good and acts super stylish and polite and never gets those nice clothes dirty! Never is it more apparent than her expressing a non-photogenic emotion and telling a close friend not to squeal to their direst enemy that she has a vulnerability.

Not to mention - I might as well say it here - my pattern-seeking tendencies has me suspect he's trying to stealthily make her out as a TERF icon. Between the crowbarring of "No Thank You" as her catchphrase and that issue before last with the incredibly unsubtle message of "It's OK for a boy to like Wonder Woman and THAT'S ALL THAT IS"...and the generally rightwing leanings of the guy in general...I just get a vibe.

[blueprintstyles]

I would love to read a mini-series that's Wonder Woman and Superman having an awesome, platonic friendship.

[deh_tommy]

We’ve had so many Batman/Superman and Superman/Batman books, but there’s only ever been one Superman/Wonder Wonan title and I don’t think there’s ever been a Wonder Woman/Batman title. What gives?

[huntleyhaverstock]

I will say that I really like that Superman's pedicure involves a welder's mask and, presumably, a really tough angle grinder.

[super_fly]

Does the massage chair even do anything for him?

[shakalooloo]

It gives him something to hang his cape over?

[donnblake]

I've thought too much about this and the answer is, without textual indication, it's really impossible to say. He has nigh-invulnerable (blasting or not) skin and musculature, but he also has an array of incredibly enhanced senses. What does it feel like for Superman when you tap him on the shoulder or give him a hearty pat on the back? A massage isn't likely to really work any tension out of those Kryptonian muscles but it might still be a soothing sensation.

Then of course you have to consider that his neurology isn't necessarily evolved to keep him informed of threats to an *invulnerable* body, and there's an argument to be made that he could be experiencing discomfort and even pain at thresholds way below what's actually capable of damaging him, although that seems likely to be reserved for stories that want to provide a quick dose of extra angst.

(Have I seen a similar premise used Supermanlessly for less family friendly entertainment? I'll never tell...)

[bradygirl_12]

I enjoyed this. The Clark/Diana friendship is always fun. ☺️