Why is the character of WW so difficult to write for?

[Robo Ape]

It seems over the history of the character be it in the comics or other media that all to often the character of WW isn't written as well as she should be.

For some reason writers seem to find her a hard character to write for. Hence one of the reasons why I believe a WW movie has so far never got off the ground.

What is it about the character that makes her so hard to write for?

[BnL]

I honestly have no idea. She's pretty easy to understand, to me.

[joshmc]

In terms of film I think half the reason is her origin story is more complex than that of say Superman or Batman, it has a lot of details and back story that kinda have to be told which results in problems when trying to design a film, it kinda limits your options.

[Vigo the Carpathian]

I suspect it's that people are blinded by their preconceived notions of the character.

[Robo Ape]

In terms of film I think half the reason is her origin story is more complex than that of say Superman or Batman, it has a lot of details and back story that kinda have to be told which results in problems when trying to design a film, it kinda limits your options.

I sometimes wonder how high a priority a WW film is to WB anyway, but that's a whole other issue.

[Gothos]

I think the "outsider culture" thing makes it difficult for a lot of writers to write her. It's easier to fall back on stereotypic Amazon-talk than to interpret her (admittedly-confusing) character and background.

The Sub-Mariner's another WWII-era character with similar problems: both characters were popular in the context of their being foreigners helping fight the war but neither has been crazy-popular since then.

[cockrumfan]

Superman's not easy to write either. The touger the character is, the harder it is to write them. Maybe its because she's hard to humanize, or maybe its something else. With Wonder Woman, its hard to come up with a situation that she can't get out of. As strong, smart, quick, and sneaky as she is/can be, at a certain point it gets hard to put her in "life-threatening" danger. Half the stories about Superman involve Kryptonite and it gets old after a while. I think its the same problem.

[lariatofhestia]

Superman's not easy to write either. The touger the character is, the harder it is to write them. Maybe its because she's hard to humanize, or maybe its something else. With Wonder Woman, its hard to come up with a situation that she can't get out of. As strong, smart, quick, and sneaky as she is/can be, at a certain point it gets hard to put her in "life-threatening" danger. Half the stories about Superman involve Kryptonite and it gets old after a while. I think its the same problem.

You are right. Superman is very hard to write because he has become a victim of his own iconicity. In fact to me Superman is good when he is allowed to face situations where he does not always have to use his strength or super senses etc and placed in new situations...cause he is well in a kind of boring rut. He has everything,nothing worth striving for. Got the woman,got the good job,got the respect,got the power,got the looks,got the friends...unlike Bats who stills struggles with relationships or his own loneliness despite being a billionaire. You can empathize. Right now I see superman and feel what the frick has he got to whine about? Get over your self.


WONK is wonderful and the elseworld titles like KC or Red Son are great cause they dare to tell something new and challenge him but keeping his core principles.

Diana to me has been written very well by some and not so well by others. I think you have to challenge Diana. Fighting a villain is not the only way to make a character cool. She is ultimately a political figure too she will never get away that's why I thought Rucka's run was so interesting. Plus adding some consistency to her cast needs to be done. I was pretty happy with the embassy and just wished we see some of the Kapatelis etc and then DC just dumped them all for DOMA. A cia type agency who WW of all people would never really have much to do with imo. And let's please not have Diana begin to whine and mope there is nothing worse.

[The Mirrorball Man]

These iconic characters are easier to write for when you can go back to very simple, very strong core elements. Batman is the avenging creature of the night. Superman is the alien saint. You can always get "back to basics" with these characters.

Wonder Woman is the product of a unique, very singular vision, one that is not that easy to emulate. William Moulton Marston had unconventional views about many things, including sexuality and the rehabilitation of criminals, and he used Wonder Woman to express these values. When he died, nobody could write the character the same way he did, so she wandered off her core elements and has been looking for a new set of defining characteristics ever since, every writer trying to add their new angle.

[MinaRho1]

I'll repeat what I said in other threads. Its the same problem with the amazons. The writers have a hard time seeing them as people. They have to find devices to "make them human" not realizing that they already are. What is a thinking, feeling human being? Someone who thinks and feels, right? It has nothing to do with clan, living area, clothing, powers, and whatnot.

People also have so much BAGGAGE and misconceptions about feminism that cloud their idea of Wonder Woman.

I think Gail said it best. Just because the amazons are about building women up, does NOT mean that they hate men. (There are some trust issues, but that's different). So many writers fall into that very trap. I'll never forget Frank Miller's take on Wondie. She walks up to Superman, kisses him and then tells him men are horrible and storms away FOR NO REASON. But that was his idea of feminism, therefore its all he thought he had to know about Wondie.

At Wonder Woman's best, she is everything to everyone. Everyone has a story and a clearly marked time when they met and loved wonder woman as a character. Its different for everybody and the fact that she reached so many different types of people speaks to her power.

[Gail Simone]

It's weird, even some of her best writers have said how hard she is to write.

I haven't found that. STORIES with her can be difficult, but the character herself is pretty real to me and I love writing her like a kid loves chocolate!

[Spiffy]

I think the problem is more the PERCEPTION of how she's written than how she's actually written. I mean there have been at least 3 really competent writers who've done a decent job with her (in an ongoing book, I mean) over the past 20 years or so, and that's actually not that horrible an average (especially given how LONG those runs were... like... 8 or 9 years just between Perez and Rucka alone, and now a nice long run from Gail... adding up to a LOT of good issues overall).

Yet she's perceived as having sub-par writing.

Why? I think its because the people who try to CASUALLY write her, in other projects, can't get a handle on her. The subtleties all disappear and she often turns into a parody of herself.

That and all of the (reportedly) lame attempts at movie scripts. That's gotta hurt too.

Oh, one last element--but I bet I'll take some flack for daring to touch this sacred cow (I always do whenever I mention it). The TV show. Sure, it was fun, but it was cheesy. It's an acquired taste, which no doubt tastes bad to people who aren't into the camp aspects. That's eternally held against the character, and a good deal of that attitude casually drifts over to other versions of her.

Add it all together. People want to put the character in various boxes--the overagressive man-hater box, because she's a feminist icon, the "too camp to take serious" box, the "she's got an American flag on her ass" box, or worst of all the "she's a chick and I ain't" box. And that leads to a general inability of writers to casually approach her as a guest character, and aids the general mis-perception that she's never been well written otherwise.

Oh, and those wacky silver age stories? Don't help either.

[hichaec]

I think it's because some writers get too hung up on the "contradictions" of her character (which are actually not contradictions at all, and are in fact quite sensible). People see that she's a warrior who loves peace and it's like they turn into old scifi robots confronted with an impossible logic problem. It fries their brains!

So like Spiffy said, they want to just put her in a box and be done with it. It seems to me that the most common decision is to just take the part that's easiest to fit into a punch-'em-up superhero comic - the warrior part - and ignore her more reasoned, compassionate side. That's how we end up with the weirdly aggressive version that pops up in books other than her main title, I think.

[nightforce]

Is it the writers who have a hard time writing her? Or the fans who have a hard time reading and possibly understanding her?



They want her as a saintly, virginal, PERFECT do gooder who loves everyone even the evil people that when she does something "human" the fans go beserk and complain that the writer doesn't know what he or she is doing with the character hence "Why Is it so hard to write for her?"

Once we view her as we would view ourselves (to a degree) then we can relax and enjoy her comic book better

But that is just me


PS the tv show was awesome and did not hinder the character at all. Anyone who thinks that is sadly mistaken


And Gail you said it best. It is harder to tell Stories and SELL it to the audience than it is to write the character

[Hyperzoanoid]

These iconic characters are easier to write for when you can go back to very simple, very strong core elements. Batman is the avenging creature of the night. Superman is the alien saint. You can always get "back to basics" with these characters.

Wonder Woman is the product of a unique, very singular vision, one that is not that easy to emulate. William Moulton Marston had unconventional views about many things, including sexuality and the rehabilitation of criminals, and he used Wonder Woman to express these values. When he died, nobody could write the character the same way he did, so she wandered off her core elements and has been looking for a new set of defining characteristics ever since, every writer trying to add their new angle.

This is what I was thinking.