Wonder Woman as she appeared in the 2009 animated film Wonder Woman, voiced by actress Keri Russell (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I’m not what you would call a huge Wonder Woman fan. I only have a couple of comics if that. However, I do like the character. I enjoyed the TV series with Linda Carter. I liked her on both Super Friends and Justice League. This is how I know about her or the Amazons of Paradise Island/Themyscar…I don’t know how to spell that off the top of my head. At any rate I know her people aren’t treated like the traditional Amazon warrior.
In Greek myth the Amazons were mighty female warriors who didn’t like men all that much. While the DC version had similar traits they were also a compassionate group and were at points willing to get along with “man’s world” once they realized keeping cut off wasn’t an option. Still, they maintained the rule of “no boys allowed”, were a highly advanced society in a number of areas, and strayed from the Greek myths.
Brian Azzarello, the current writer of the New 52 version of Wonder Woman, however, seems willing to stick a little too close to the myth. Bleeding Cool posted spoilers for issue #7 and if you though making Zeus the true father of Diana was a problem wait until you see this.
Here’s the article I’m working with. And here’s a quick note about the Batman/Nighwing bit with the Court of Owls, lest you think I’m bypassing it. While the bit about Dick intended to be part of the Court and Haly’s Circus’ involvement is both unnecessary and stupid, there are at least elements that could work. I can see it getting worse but it’s not quite yet the betrayal of multiversal canon that the following is.
image source: Bleeding Cool
Orgy scene. Between this, Catwoman, and Starfire, I’m thinking the writers of the New 52 aren’t getting enough “action”. Anyway, this is in keeping with the myth…to a point. From Wikipedia:
In some versions of the myth, no men were permitted to have sexual encounters or reside in Amazon country; but once a year, in order to prevent their race from dying out, they visited the Gargareans, a neighbouring tribe. The male children who were the result of these visits were either killed, sent back to their fathers or exposed in the wilderness to fend for themselves; the females were kept and brought up by their mothers, and trained in agricultural pursuits, hunting, and the art of war. In other versions when the Amazons went to war they would not kill all the men. Some they would take as slaves, and once or twice a year they would have sex with their slaves.[9]
You’ll note from the article that Diana also learns (in a story where she apparently has a brother for reasons only the writer knows) that her people killed or enslaved male babies. Otherwise, the females were raised amongst the Amazons, thus keeping their population up. While this may be true to Greek myth, IT IS IN VIOLATION WITH ESTABLISHED WONDER WOMAN CANON! And I don’t care if it’s the “New 52”. This is not how the Amazons have been depicted. From the DC Database fan-wiki:
Points of Interest
In the Pre-Crisis Golden Age period, Amazonia was the name of the original Greek Island home of the Amazons. After their subjugation by the God, Hercules, the Amazons relocated to Paradise Island.
(and in post-Crisis, the more recent continuity, DC Database says)
The Amazons are the reincarnated souls of women slain throughout pre-history by men and given life by five Olympian goddesses — Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Hestia, and Aphrodite. Created over 3,000 years ago to teach the merits of virtue, love, and equality to the men of “Patriarch’s World”, the immortal Amazons are the primary residents on the island of Themyscira.
The Amazons were given gifts of physical strength, beauty, wisdom, and love, and were ruled by two sisters, Hippolyta and Antiope. The Amazons founded the city-state of Themyscira, in ancient Greece. Ares, the God of War, a chief opponent of the Amazons, manipulated his half brother Heracles to gather forces and attack Themyscira. Heracles seduced and ravaged Hippolyta, and his forces succeeded in ransacking Themyscira and enslaving the Amazons. Through strength and savage cunning, the Amazons freed themselves, slaughtering most of their captors. Soon after, Antiope led a force of Amazons off into Greece, seeking vengeance on Heracles. As decreed by the goddesses, Hippolyta led the remaining Amazons to a remote island, where as penance for their failures as teachers they became guardians of Doom’s Doorway, preventing the escape of the monsters beneath. Renaming this island paradise “Themyscira” after their fallen capital, the Amazons began their new lives, erecting buildings and monuments, perfecting their skills as artisans and warriors.
This is the reason Hippolyta, who wanted to be a mother, had to go the Pinocchio/Golem route and have a clay figure of a baby brought to life by the gods, who also gave her superpowers and surprisingly did none of their usual jerk moves (which was the norm for the Greek gods, by the way). The Amazons seem to be spending a lot of time dead these days, from JMS’s run to Flashpoint. I’m not sure what their status is in the New 52, but in trying to mimic Greek myth rather than DC “myth”, Azzarello is destroying the Amazons and Paradise Island all over again.
Related articles
- On Wonder Woman #7 (Graphic Policy)
- Wonder Woman #7 Review (IGN comics)
- First Look: Earth 2′s Wonder Woman by Jim Lee (Comicbooked)
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