When Wondy was Awesome, part 22 (Trial of an Amazon)

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Once Rucka's run was over, there was, mostly, pain. INFINITE CRISIS pain, Heinboot pain, Shamazons pain, it was a dark time for Wondy fans. We snarked, we cursed, we railed, we wept, we prayed for some benevolent god to save us.

There was one small, bright candle in the darkness, though, and his name was Marc Andreyko - the writer of the then-ongoing MANHUNTER, a true gem of a series about a lawyer named Kate Spencer who strapped on a costume when the Law just wasn't enough. Much in the vein of Slott's SHE-HULK, Kate dealt primarily in metahuman crime. Unlike Shulkie, Kate worked very much on the edge of Acceptable Vigilante Practices, killing those rogues whom she perceived to be too dangerous to live; she spent much of her series defending metahuman criminals in order to get close enough to effectively take them down.

Guess who, thanks to Brother Eye, was considered a metahuman criminal after the OYL jump?

Kate, of course, does not choose to defend Diana just to get close enough to effectively take her down. In fact, Kate wouldn't even have gone near Diana if Diana hadn't, one day, walked into her office out of absolutely nowhere and inquired after her services.



Gah blue eyes dammit why aren't they grey razzum frazzum argh mutter





Kate is a bit bemused - no fight? really? - but happily takes Diana on, pro bono. Diana doesn't like the idea of not paying for Kate's services, but Kate says she can pay her by training her.

Naturally, because this is a superhero universe, Diana does this by dragging Kate out into the woods and trying to kill her.



... I'd make a comment on that final panel, but the sheer volume of choice has left me paralyzed.







I like how much Diana likes a good friendly fight, but I like even more the way she always likes a good friendly fight. Kate is not a match for her, not even close. Neither, for that matter, is Dinah, or Bruce, or any of her amazon sisters, or just about anybody we've seen her spar with on a regular basis, short of Clark (who is not a recreational fighter at all and clearly does it to humor her, which is sweet of him) or maybe Donna. But Diana is delighted to spar anyway, pretty much without fail. It's not about winning or competition, not when there's no challenge or question of the outcome if she went all out - it's just a really fun thing that she likes to do with her friends, like getting lunch at a good coffee place or taking a walk in a pretty park. That's how you know you're an amazon, when fighting is as natural as eating and you do it with the same range of attitudes and reasons.

Anyway, before there can be a trial, the grand jury has to decide whether it's worth the taxpayers' money, so off Diana and Kate go, to watch the prosecution present his case before the court. The prosecution plays the old "Lookit Diana snap a bound man's neck!" video that Brother Eye broadcast. Kate objects, and the judge reminds her there are no objections in a grand jury hearing.





Diana's reaction here actually says something kind of impressive about her, if you think about it. She is, after all, an incredible diplomat - it's as much a part of her definition as bending steel - but she doesn't really do deception or emotional manipulation any more than the average superhero uses a gun. Sure, she basically knows how, and she'll use it if it genuinely is the best tool for the job at the moment, but she's seldom going to perceive it to be - she has better, less harmful ways, and besides, it's just not her style. Which removes a huge part of any normal diplomat's arsenal. That she doesn't even need half the toolbox to be twice as good says a lot for her.



Nothing super-relevant on that page, I just think it's pretty.

Anyway, they go back to the courtroom after lunch, do more legal circus work, and the prosecutor spits at Diana a little bit. Kate gets angry, but Diana's just puzzled.





The press conference wears on a while as Kate continues to spin like a master and Diana continues to be silent and look regal (well, regally nonplussed), until it's suddenly interrupted by A Thing In The Sky!



I'm going to save you a lot of suspense and tell you right now, that's Everyman, masquerading as Ted Kord, at Circe's behest. See, most of Diana's defense is that Max demonstrated a dangerous pattern of behavior, and a large part of that pattern is the killing of Ted Kord, so if he's not dead, it hurts her case a great deal.

Diana knows this - in fact she's the one who explains it (to Fake!Ted, theoretically, but mostly to us the readers) - but she still clearly wants very badly to believe it's him, and heads off with Kate in the Bug with him to try to figure out what's up.

They get conveniently attacked by Madmen before they can question Everyman too closely, though.



Fake!Ted tells her just to pull the ripcord, and they jump out of the Bug, at which point Kate's parachute does exactly what you'd expect from a parachute handed over by an undercover bad guy.



What did I say a few chapters back about Diana catching people?

Anyway, they go to Fake!Ted's place and Diana has Batman come do a DNA test while she uses the lasso, and there's a really serious bout of plot-induced stupidity on all sides to prevent Everyman from blowing the game right there, but regardless, they leave him be and Kate goes home for the evening.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Sasha Bordeaux is watching the news.



Sasha is as unimpressed by people being skeptical of Diana's virtue as anyone should be.





So Kate, who apparently didn't know about any of this, goes to have a little chat with her client.





Ooookay, quibble time. First: it's ridiculous that Kate didn't know about this.

"Okay, so let's prepare our defense. First off, *why* did you kill Lord?"
"He was a danger to others."
"At that moment?"
"Yes."
"Well, how?"
"..."
"It couldn't be anything physical, you had him tied up..."
"..."
"But you do look pretty beat up in the video, so there had to be some kind of fighting..."
"..."
"... riiiiiight. Different tack, then. What was Superman doing there?"
"..."
"Can he at least testify on your behalf?"
"..."
"Well, do we need to worry about him being tried as an accomplice?"
"..."
"Lovely. You're very helpful. I'll just tell them to start researching magic-based lethal injection now, save us all some time."

And the argument itself is stupid. Superman gets mind-controlled all the bloody time, I'm sure the citizens of the DCU are used to it. If Starro hasn't ruined their faith in him as a symbol, if clones and white martians and he and Diana beating the tar out of each other on international television and Emoboy tearing up the planet haven't dented the public's sense of S-related security, I really don't think the knowledge that he beat up Batman at the behest of a guy who's now *dead* and can't do it again is going to raise a lot of concern.

Plus, doesn't everybody know this? How in the blue hell did Diana get an in absentia acquittal from the extremely hostile World Court without that detail? Absent the immediate danger of Superman, she has no defense. Was she just all pissed off at him at the time and didn't care during that trial, and now that they've made up post-ICk she's reconsidered taking the fall for him? I have a hard time believing even Diana would value a highly dubious prevention of a barely potential nick in Clark's reputation over her own life, given the death penalty is on the table.

That said, it's all a bit academic, because Kate calls the Daily Planet like, the second Diana is out of earshot.



Kate brings Clark, and the tape, to a closed meeting with the judge.



Good on Clark, here. Check out his phrasing. He's pretty effective at supporting Diana and avoiding any kind of condemnation while still not quite condoning a choice he feels was the wrong one.

Batman's news, of course, is that Fake!Ted is actually Everyman. Kate calls him over, confronts him, and ends up having to shoot him in the face with her boomstick, and he flies back home to Circe so she can set him up as Sarge Steel, who really should take out doppelganger insurance at this point. Fortunately for us, we don't care about any of that; we're just going to skip ahead to later that night and watch Kate and Diana have a heart-to-heart under the stars.



It's canon, people. Everyone's gay for Diana.





Aww, poor Kate. Cockblocked by Everyman. That's harsh.

Diana does show up the next morning to take Kate to court for the verdict, though. In a Humvee, no less.



"Um, you're Wonder Woman." Just sort of says it all, don't it?







Aww.

I will say that, regardless of how little sense it actually makes, I think I get why Andreyko did the whole "Diana won't rat out Clark" thing. With that info, after all, it's a completely clear-cut case of self-defense, and there's really no legal way she can lose given the facts, so the only question becomes "do the jurors take Diana's word for what happened" (which, of course, throw in the undoctored video and any sane prosecutor wouldn't even touch the case with a ten-foot pole). But if Diana sits on Clark's involvement, then it's no longer about what happened (which, after all, the readership already knows and has made their own calls on some time since), but about a) how persuasive Kate is, and b) how much people trust Wonder Woman just because she's Wonder Woman. The story here is that the case never even makes it to trial, because a randomly-selected assemblage of average joes willingly take Diana's word that a guy who needed killing, needed killing. For all that Diana thinks people look up to Clark, it's her place in the public consciousness that this arc plays up as significant, even to that world-shaping degree.

Scans from MANHUNTER v3 #26-30.

Comments

[seriousfic.insanejournal.com]

You know, if you pretend that sparring is code for sex, that whole "Diana the virgin" thing gets rightfully blown right out of the water. And how else would an Amazon warm up for sex anyway? Go out to dinner? Not unless she caught and cooked it herself. (I wonder if an Amazon would have difficulty, culturally, respecting someone who couldn't compete as well as them. At the very least, I don't think Diana would be interested in someone who couldn't debate or reason well.)

Now I wish I could think of a canon incident of Donna and Kory sparring while Diana watches, because that would be really kinky in retrospect.

[gargoylekitty.insanejournal.com]

I'm liking this line of thought.

[majingojira.insanejournal.com]

...THIS IS NOW MY NEW CANON!

[scottyquick.insanejournal.com]

In response to your icon, I bought "Avril Lavigne: Make 5 Wishes" comics at my library (for 1$ each).

[skjam.insanejournal.com]

And again, Kate is a splendid example of what lawyers should not do.

[unknownscribler.insanejournal.com]

I'm still full of hate for the Bathing Suit, but I do like how the artist has atleast tried to make it look like osmething stronger/more substantial the the lycra nonsense it usually is.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Yeah, the multipiece ribbing makes a surprising difference. Not as much as shoulder straps or pteryges - not enough to quite redeem it - but it does help a lot.

[majingojira.insanejournal.com]

Diana is delighted to spar anyway, pretty much without fail. It's not about winning or competition, not when there's no challenge or question of the outcome if she went all out - it's just a really fun thing that she likes to do with her friends, like getting lunch at a good coffee place or taking a walk in a pretty park. That's how you know you're an amazon, when fighting is as natural as eating and you do it with the same range of attitudes and reasons.

That attitude is so common in Shoenen Manga that it's hillarious seeing that the only equivalent in western comics comes from Wonder Woman.

The fanboys shouldn't be arguing about Superman vs. Goku. They should be discussing how much awesome fun Wonder Woman and Goku would have sparring!

Diana's reaction here actually says something kind of impressive about her, if you think about it. She is, after all, an incredible diplomat - it's as much a part of her definition as bending steel - but she doesn't really do deception or emotional manipulation any more than the average superhero uses a gun.

This made me rethink my understanding of Diana and gave me somne WONDERFUL ideas. First it created a problem of "If Diana won't use lieing as a tactic, then how can she take over a Superhuman policing/spying agency?" and then it hit me: by being Diana, the only person everyone trusts.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Starfire has been shown as loving one on one. She and Donna used to be be at it all the time.

I meant sparring of course... what DID you think I meant? :)

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

"Ellen"? Is that what they're calling it now?

I find it hard to believe that Diana wouldn't know about paparazzi swarms or the American justice system by now.

[fungo_squiggly.insanejournal.com]

I can't help but find the image of mind-controlled Superman throttling Batman (while screaming "I'll kill you Doomsday!") to be kind of funny.

If that moment's history weren't so tragically embedded in the death of Ted Kord and the turning-evil-and-then-dead of Max Lord, I could see Guy Gardner playing that clip at every JLA Christmas party.

[vspope.insanejournal.com]

"That is never NOT impressive" is the correct response when Superman has his big red bulge pressed against your office window.

[fungo_squiggly.insanejournal.com]

Although Luthor has gotten really, really tired of seeing that over the years.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

I'm sure I don't know what you mean.

[strangething.insanejournal.com]

Now in scans-daily-vision:

[bariman1987.insanejournal.com]

Kate's a smart lady. If she wasn't distracted by the super-bulge, she might recognize him as Clark Kent! (Seriously, that's canon.)

[proteus_lives.insanejournal.com]

Question about Manhunter's lines about killing as a last resort. Didn't she straight-up murder Copperhead?

[scottyquick.insanejournal.com]

Depends how you define murder, I guess. Copperhead murdered a whole slew of cops, got off pretty easily and then went and murdered some more people, so Kate killed him.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Most of the people she kills, she straight-up murders. Copperhead murdered and ate some people, and Kate prosecuted, and lost the case. The defense was, basically, "he's not culpable, killing people is in his nature." Then, IIRC, he escaped from the van on the way to whatever cushy rehab place he was going to, and Kate decided, "well, if he's just been legally declared a rabid dog, might as well treat him like one."

Very amazonian, as Diana says.

[neotoma.insanejournal.com]

I do so love the wonderful writing of MANHUNTER, and the way Andreyko actually thought about the hard questions and didn't resort to the idiot ball.

The art is *wonderful* in this arc. I'm particularly impressed at how Diana and Kate have different body types (Diana is *muscular*, Kate is merely slim).

I wish I had known about this book when it was still an ongoing, but I am picking up all of the trades.

[thebigapricot.insanejournal.com]

Aw, I just love Diana in those sunglasses. I really liked Kate and Diana together. Kate is so cynical and earthy and Diana is so regal. And I like Kate's little crush on her too. I wouldn't mind seeing them team up again. You're right that they both have a similar viewpoint on killing -- I could see that as the basis of a good crossover story.

Between seeing this again and seeing Diana with Dinah today it makes me think Diana should have more friends than Etta and Kal (and Donna depending on which day it is).

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Silly, Diana's a girl, girls don't have friends. They have love interests.

(There's always Ferdinand. And she and Guy actually have a pretty great relationship too, though we haven't seen much of it in the last eight years or so.)

[kingrockwell]

She is, after all, an incredible diplomat - it's as much a part of her definition as bending steel - but she doesn't really do deception or emotional manipulation any more than the average superhero uses a gun. Sure, she basically knows how, and she'll use it if it genuinely is the best tool for the job at the moment, but she's seldom going to perceive it to be - she has better, less harmful ways, and besides, it's just not her style. Which removes a huge part of any normal diplomat's arsenal. That she doesn't even need half the toolbox to be twice as good says a lot for her.

I love that. Lying is as repugnant to Diana as killing is to Clark or Bruce.
I've had the last four entries off this series sitting in open tabs for the last few days and jut read 'em all in one go. Dammit, I've got one more Gail BoP trade left, and then I pretty much have to start collecting Rucka's Wondy, and whatever trade this story's in, too. I'm blaming you, Bluefall. This is all your fucking fault.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Gosh, I'm sorry.

No, wait, that other thing. Gleeful. That's the word.

[colonel_green.insanejournal.com]

Of all the things that disappointed me about the relaunch, the change in art style was probably the biggest one (Gaydos has his fans, and I won't say he isn't talented, but I much prefer the previous guys).

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Gaydos is great, he's just not suited to superheroes at all. Which worked awesomely for, say, ALIAS, which was about a woman who was an incredibly crap superhero, and who was at her most awkward and failtastic when being part of that life. MANHUNTER, though, was precisely the opposite - Kate was a disaster in her normal life who found an escape and a calling in costume. So the art that got across the expressiveness and awkwardness of Jessica Jones became art that neutered the clean impact of Kate Spencer.

[scottyquick.insanejournal.com]

So many other scans that need to get posted here, like the ADORABLE splash page of Ramsey in his Green Lantern pajamas, or the one of Di in her megabrick hummer.

Manhunter really was a pretty book. Jason Wright's coloring really, really worked with Pina.

Yeah, this was my first intro into Diana, and I saw that she can be fun and hilarious in addition to Amazonian and noble.

Naturally, because this is a superhero universe, Diana does this by dragging Kate out into the woods and trying to kill her.

Yeah, for some reason, I thought it would involve teaching her Amazonian martial arts. BUT NO, in superhero comics, you learn to fly by having someone throw you off a cliff.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

BUT NO, in superhero comics, you learn to fly by having someone throw you off a cliff.

YOU CAN'T PUSSYFOOT AROUND WITH THIS KIND OF THING. STRAIGHT TO THE REAL DEAL, SCOTTY, IT'S THE ONLY WAY THEY'LL LEARN.