In Reaction to Injustice's Wonder Woman: New Frontier's Wonder Woman!

[espanolbot]

AKa, how to do Diana in an Elseworld PROPERLY.

In the recently released prequel to DC's Injustice computer game, which has Superman deciding to take over the world following his suffering a series of tragic loses at the hands of the Joker, a lot of people were surprised to find Wonder Woman joining up with him usually quickly. Her being so supportive of a friend appearing to go slowly crazy is said by some people to be too out of character, even for an alternate universe storyline. But are there storylines where Diana and Clark get up to morally grey things, but rather than descending into supervillainy, they actually realise the way they're going and attempt to fix things?

The idea of Wonder Woman falling into step behind Superman's attempt to take over the world is sadly something that's appeared multiple times in the past. In Red Son, Kingdom Come and the Dark Knight Returns/ASBARTB-verses, it all happens oddly often for a character that's meant to be spreading a message of peace and freedom.

An Elseworld variation that sticks out in my mind would be in Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier, which has Diana taking extreme measures to fufill what she sees as American values, but stands on her own terms about it. Even if her rigid ideology in the good parts of the American Dream, which she picked up while fightin' the Nazis, doesn't really gel with the establishment of the 1950s and 60s.

To begin with, here is a prequel from the original story in which Superman and Wonder Woman are informally ordered to capture this pesky Batman character. Essentially what lead to this was, that as Superman and Wonder Woman had worked directly with the US government since the 1940s, they agreed to sign up with them when the McCarthy Hearings rolled around because, really, it's the government, right? Surely they have their hearts in the right place?

Wonder Woman refuses to arrest "a good and honourable man in the name of freedom and liberty", and Superman, not sure himself, goes to ask the President to make sure he's certain that he wants him to do this...





Shortly afterwards, an associate of Batman's hears about how the US government is coming for him, so she decides to give him a bit of an edge...



A little later Superman manages to track down Batman, and unfortunately for him Batman had time to prepare. This leads to Batman using an array of gadgets and semi-nonlethal (for humans) weaponry on Superman, which enrages Clark almost to snapping point... if it wasn't for the appearance of a sudden Diana ex machina.







And so, our Trio of heroes come up with a plan, a RUSE if you will. Batman and Superman will fake a convincing enough public fight to make the US government back off (especially when they reveal Batman has Kryptonite, so if he can take down Superman what can they do to stop him?). Then while Batman works to change the system from the outside, Clark and Diana will try to reform it from the inside out.





Back with the main story and some years later, the success of the public heroes to conform the US government to their way of thinking doesn't appear to be working. While in South East Asian doing "aid work" for the refugees of the war torn area, Diana seemingly disappears into the jungle, and Superman is sent to fetch her back...










Unfortunately, it seems that Diana's WW2 era belief in the American Dream has become a touch embarassing for the US government, particularly when the war in South East Asia isn't a cut and dry thing like it was in the last war they sent Diana to get involved in (World War Two).




And so Eisenhower, who Diana has come to respect and trust due to them working together in WW2... effectively has her exiled back to Themyscira out of embarassment.

She does eventually come back, in a pretty spectacular fashion, and she and Clark decide that working with a government with its own agendas won't make the world a better place, so they decide to do change the world by... leading by example, teaching younger people their values and working for greater diplomatic ties between nations to get world peace.

New Frontier's Diana is my favourite out of the Elseworld versions of the character, if only because there is an actual character arc there which isn't determined by her becoming Superman's second-in-command/mother to his spawn. She enters the world in a time when the world is engaged in a white that from the outset was a very black and white affair, which colours her opinion of both Man's World and the country she adopts as her second home.

BUT as things become more complicated with the rise of the Cold War, she comes to decide that just because they're the government and say that they're right DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE, and restructures her mission to spread peace accordingly. It isn't a case of siding against people who want to slave/exterminate the world now, it's a case of opposing views and finding a sense of balance in order to fufill her mission of peace.

I should probably point out though that it's implied (more outright stated in the movie adaptation) that Superman didn't sign up entirely out of a sense of comradeship and patriotism, like Diana did, or was just a tool of US foreign policy (like in... most Frank Miller uses of the character). Rather, he signed up because he thought that he had to set an example, and because he can't afford for people to be affair of him if he decided to outright refuse. Superman is here to help... and if people were trying to stop him because he wasn't overtly "a good guy", then helping people would be significantly hindered by it.

Comments

[leoboiko]

I've never seen this series. The Golden-ish character design here is just gorgeous, especially Diana's.

[silverhammerman]

It's a pretty great series, and it was the first comic I ever read that actually made Martian Manhunter cool and compelling, which is quite the achievement.

[pyynk]

Yeah, everything about New Frontier is just...right. It's consistently one of the books I'll go back and read over and over, whether I'm enjoying the art, the storytelling, or the little cameos sprinkled within. Seriously, I can't recommend the series enough.

http://www.amazon.com/DC-New-Frontier-Vol-1/dp/1401203507/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365044743&sr=1-1&keywords=new+frontier

[mishalak]

Damn it, I just bought a new food processor and I should not buy another trade until after I have my backyard fenced in... All of you tempt me so very, very much.

[flash_fan]

This is my favorite elseworld Diana too, they've also got my favorite version of Barry Allen. New Frontier is a great story. That being said how is it an example of doing an elseworld Wonder Woman "properly"? The whole point of alternate universes is that they're different. To say Injustice is a crappy collage of other already done stories make sense to me. That's why I'm not a particular fan of it personally. It seems kind of silly to say that there is a proper way to characterize a superhero in an elseworld tale though.

[domino_blue]

I think the point is that well often in Elseworlds that feature Superman and Wonder Woman they almost always hook up. The problem is this rarely makes her her own character and rather just a alternative love interest for Superman when she should be her own unique hero. She's made to be used to act the whole angle because obviously they should hook up. Look at some of the solo Batman and Superman elseworlds where it's offers unique perspective on them but Wonder Woman is often just used to hook up with Superman. That's the problem.

[espanolbot]

As I said, most Elseworlds decide to take the route of having Wonder Woman as Superman's subordinate and/or love interest, her actually being subtly different from the regular DC version (this one is immortal and fought in WW2 with Superman among other things), makes her interesting on her own terms while exploring what she's about in new ways.

WW being demoted to Clark's girlfriend isn't just something that's come about because of the DCnU, but seems to be a reoccuring thing in alternate world stories (mostly because something unpleasant happens to Lois).

Stories such as,
Red Son
Distant Fires
Kingdom Come
Injustice
JLA: Act of God

And most of the time, MOST, the implication is that if Wonder Woman and Superman get together, it'll be a very bad thing. Seemingly because people in and out of universe seem to think that they can't be attracted to each other without having some kind of eugenic-based world conquesting dynasty in mind.

Which is another reason why I like the layered portrayals of Superman and Wonder Woman in this series so much. They're equals, and she is literally his best friend opposed to someone following Clark's lead the entire time.

[flash_fan]

Yes, I definitely see your points. These are explanations to why this version is enjoyable and dynamic version of Diana. Not why it's the "proper" version of the character.

[espanolbot]

The Injustice version of Wonder Woman is shown to be a woman who deliberately tries to be Superman's rebound girlfriend after the death of his wife, and gleefully enjoys responding with force to bring about the peace she was entrusted to bring about.

She's designed to be a deliberate contrast to the regular, proper version of Wonder Woman, as shown when the Diana from the "real" DCU shows up, and is as noble and compassionate as you'd expect the character to be. Injustice Diana even calls her weak for being like that, which implies that there was something "wrong" with the character in the first place.

[fredneil.livejournal.com]

"For an Amazon, there is no greater deed than overcoming anger and conflict with love." Reading that made my day, especially after the Injustice post. Every so often, it's good to be reminded that there are people writing Wonder Woman who get it.

[superfangirl1]

I really like this version of Diana.

[mortimerwclankitybritches]

Wait a second... I thought Diana was supposed to be a bloodthirsty manipulative sociopath tempting REAL heroes into villainy? what the hell is this!?

(Seriously though it is nice to see Wonder Woman given a decent elseworlds portrayal. The portrayal given to her in Injustice just makes me cringe)

[bradygirl_12]

I do love in the panel where Diana is telling Clark off that she's taller than him. :)

I love this series. I have the special edition of The New Frontier and it is my prized comics possession. Wonderful artwork, intriguing story, and great '50/early '60s ambience. :)

[grazzt]

I think Wonder Woman should be consistently taller than pretty much everyone else. She is an amazon, after all.

The one exception: Big Barda.

[jaybee3]

I collected New Frontier when it first came out and it's still the best thing to come out of of DC in the last couple of decades? Why? Because it celebrated the heroes AS heroes and doesn't try to make them darker and grittier just because (in fact Batman actually lightens over the course of the series just as he did from the Golden Age to the Silver Age) and perhaps most importantly the heroes can have disagreements and fight each other without turning one or both into semi-villians, fanboy strawmen, mind-wipers, government stooges or the like (aka the way the they have during the Didio era to justify tension or heroes going rogue). It helps to remember it was also written during a period when the 3 main stars of New Frontier were either dead and the Spectre (Hal), dead and dead (Barry) or underused and undervalued (Martian Manhunter). Cooke's version of those characters, particularly Hal and Barry, have shown why they were so popular to begin with far more than the character revisions DC has put them through since being brought back to the DCU.

Also, the art is really, really, pretty and Wonder Woman is taller than Superman. Therfore it is awesome.

[aravis]

I have resisted buying this because all scans I've seen of it (like this one) has Superman be a Frank Miller like goverment stooge. I hate that characterization with a passion. But Espanolbot says that there is more to it than that. So how, as somebody who is first and firemost a follower of the Superside of DC, am I gonna take this? The art is great, much of what Superman says in here makes me go "That's not my Superman". I kinda want to buy this, but what I've seen makes me fear I might rage upon reading it...

[grazzt]

The Superman characterization is a bit on the "government stooge" side, but only gently and not to the extent of Frank Miller. He wants to work from within: there's a bit with Batman passing on some evidence of a crime he (Batman) can't deal with, which is pretty great (also serves as Superman's first meeting with Robin, which is adorable).

Beyond Superman, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are great in this book. Lois gets a few really awesome moments, like when she's on hand for a battle between the US Navy and the book's Big Bad. Jimmy also has this great moment with Wonder Woman:

"If you work with a gal like Miss Lane long enough, you stop thinking about all the ways there are to die. It'll drive you crazy. But here I am. This thing is going to eat me alive, and all I can think about is getting film into the back of my 35. I mean, if I can at least catch it on film...

"I swing my rig up and pull focus, expecting to be staring death in the face. Instead a masterpiece of glorious life fills my viewfinder. In that shutter's click, I see it all. The power...the beauty...the wonder.

"I'll always love her for that."

[espanolbot]

Oh yeah, have to post the Jimmy part tomorrow. :)

[jaybee3]

Superman (like WW and Batman) have a very limited role altogether in NF but his portrayal is nowhere as loathsome as Frank Miller's. Superman believes in the American Way and really is a big boy scout but when push comes to shove he's still Superman as some of the scans (particularly the story with WW and Bats) and the ending of New Frontier show and he's still the one everybody looks up to.

[espanolbot]

It seems that he's a stooge at first, but he's actually secretly working with the other heroes (like Batman) to change the system from the inside. When it becomes apparent that that's not going to happen, he strikes out on his own for the benefit of everyone, rather than just the US and its interests.

So not in a "Bwhaha! Let's conquer the world!" Frank Miller way. :)

[bj_l]

For all of Injustices faults, if it's an elseworld, I see no problems with how Diana is portrayed in it. Just like I think New frontier is pretty damn amazing, but, being an elseworld this Diana isn't any more valid (though she is more awesome) than the Injustice one.

[mortimerwclankitybritches]

I get what your saying, but I think the problem with what comics like Injustice do to Diana and other characters (ASBAR i'm looking at you) is that they imply the characters themselves are evil, manipulative, weak, deceitful, and any number of bad things, they just need the right "excuse" to be open about it. Sure it does nothing to the canon but it still messes up the character for the sake of creating pointless drama or (more often, see ASBAR again) propping up the writer's pet character. When a character is portrayed well/in character this is not the case.

With Wonder Woman, her portrayal in Injustice as a malicious whisperer in superman's ear, influencing him to do things he would not otherwise do and helping him slip to evil, not only pointlessly insults the character but harkens back to one of the oldest misogynist stereotypes, that of women being evil "seducers" of men as well as generally being manipulative and soulless beings, which is what Wondy in Injustice reeks of.

At least thats my interpretation of it. Could be im just overanalysing things

[halloweenjack]

New Frontier's Diana is my favourite out of the Elseworld versions of the character

FTFMe.

(Seriously.)