CBR: Wonder of Wonders - Dec 31, 2009

[CBR News]

WONDER OF WONDERS closes out 2009 with a new edition of WAR & PEACE in which Robert Jones Jr. takes a look at the problematic history and various incarnations of Nubia (or Nu'Bia), also referred to as "the black Wonder Woman."


Full article here.

[knowwonder]

Aw, geez. More hell being unleashed.....

[jameslm]

Wow. That was magnificently written. Fantastic article.

[Gail Simone]

I've been waiting for this. Can't wait to read it.

Carol, Mars, Martin and Bobby, you absolutely do Wonder Woman proud.

[aegisbearer]

I can see why you said that this column could ruffle feathers, Bobby. I have to let it sink in before I offer a response (although my feathers aren't ruffled), and I will reread the column before I do that.

Thank you for spending the time to research the character and present information that not many people would know.

Aegis

[froinlaven]

What a great article.

It almost makes me sad in a way

Poor, poor DC Comics. It takes time, but they'll learn eventually.

[Kevenn]

What a fantastic article, Bobby. I really appreciated the opportunity to get your opinion and insight into the character - beyond what was posted in Gail's thread. I wonder if anyone has any contact information for Doselle Young to get his account on the stories - and if there were any editorial mandates that lead to some of the portrayals.

[Tori Pagac]

that was super informate thank you and well done

[jameslm]

For me, when "Nubia" first appeared, I just adored her. Even at the time I could see all the horribly racist aspects of it all. But the idea of having racial diversity in the Wonder Woman family (at last!) was so appealing, so exciting, that I loved her anyway. It's funny because the attempts at racial inclusiveness in comics were so often imbued with toxic bigotry. The Legion, for example, got Tyroc- a great character! Except, of course, for the fact that he came from a racially segregated island (where all the future's black population lived, apparently). You'd love these characters, even though the contexts they were presented in were SO gross.

I didn't understand the Nu'bia revamp precisely because it seemed just as racist- if not more so- then the original version.

Let's not forget all the superficial things. "Nubia" was So beautiful, and she had that AMAZING costume with the flame bird insignia. There was some lovely writing- at one point she describes herself as being, "as lonely as a star". She was an immediately sympathetic character, and I'm always amazed at how much love and affection there is for her, particularly given the fact that she only appeared in a few stories. None of this minimizes the racism, of course.

And at least Nubia was given a (dreadful) name! Diana Prince's two UN room-mates weren't even given that.

[Xeres]

That was very very good. I seem to be saying that a lot about these articles. I didn't know muh about Nubia or Nu'Bia beforehand. Thanks!

[Gail Simone]

One of the best columns yet.

Man, I hope these all get collected someday, they really are very useful and thoughtful!

[Free-Man]

Excellent work Bobby, though I don't believe that the earth that the alternate Nubia was from was one were "presumably everyone is black". The concept was similar to Earth-D, with the artist even giving Obama-Man the Earth-D Superman outfit. I don't know why Morrison used Nubia, as I believe Eath-D Wonder Woman was supposed to be from the Middle East.

[West Mantooth]

Now I wish I had read that Post-Crisis story cause I can't speak with any knowledge about what surrounded it.

-What exactly was this Gorilla War stuff? Was the label just tacked onto the WW book cause I don't see now the Nubia story plays into it?

-I really want to see that commercial. It sounds hilarious.

-Considering DC's multitude of of What if reversing species and gender. I hardly find that FC one to be a slight at anything.

- As for that "angry" black woman moment. I can't say anything cause I don't know if she was always portrayed like that in the entire meeting. The whole point of the stereotype is that black woman is just mad about everything. The article makes it sound like she lashed out in a moment of anger, not that she was angry. Context is everything. I could exaggerate and say that scene in ROTO with the black nurse was a magical negro moment but that would be twisting what was happening to fit.

[Free-Man]

And I found the statement interesting where Bob said that one could draw the implication that "a black girl could only be Wonder Woman in an earth where everyone was black", but isn't that a sad truth? Look at the poor track record for minority replacements. They tried an Asian Batgirl, and while her book was a success, many fans and writers (including Alex Ross) hated her and they eventually shipped her off to limbo in a demeaning way. They tried a blasian Green Arrow, only to have him strippe of his powers and sent into limbo. And all of the OYL replacement books ended up flopping before the 40th issue.

FC was very big on metacommentary about comic book fans and the industry, so could it be possible that this was what Morrison was commenting on?

[Mart]

Enjoyable piece, Bobby. I'm not sure, though, that had Nubia been used regularly she wouldn't have gotten a proper superhero codename, deemphaisisng 'Nubia' as Wonder Woman downplays 'Diana'.

That commercial sounds awful - it does make a person think the manufacturers looked at Nubia and thought 'black = bad'. I suspect they never actually put that much thought into it, simply basing their concept on the original covers, with Nubia fighting Diana. DC really should have put them right before things went so far.

I've never read the annual that introduced Nu'Bia, was she actually likened to a gorilla or is being introduced in a gorilla storyline a case of guilty by association? I wonder if Doselle Young is out there and able to comment. I think he deserves the benefit of the doubt - at least he brought a character named Nu'Bia into the modern mythos, took away the antagonist aspect (even though it popped in for a second there), gave her a power Diana never had and took away the idea of her being a child so meaningless to Hippolyte that she never even looker for her after the kidnapping by Mars.

Is she back patrolling Hell then? I thought she was at Oxford. Same thing, really.