Grant Morrisson has some more thoughts on Wonder Woman

[Hypestyle]

I remember a commentary from Christopher Priest, about an aborted storyline he pitched for DC, it involved a European despot engaging in military aggression, the JLA gets involved and the villain promised that he would end the conflict if only Wonder Woman would sleep with him, "indecent proposal" style.. Priest ended up getting stonewalled by editorial and had to change the story drastically, even though in the original pitch, WW chose not to give in to the villain.. http://www.digital-priest.com/comics/wonder_woman.htm

[BnL]

The only reason I brought up Cry for Justice is that it was marketed as all-ages fare and was po-faced idiotic attempts to be mature and challenging and gratuitous as could be. Neither truly adult or remotely all-ages.

Morrison, on the other hand, has managed to write relatively mature work about superheroes, including the Big Three of DC, and he hasn't turned them into porno jokes, so the idea that he's somehow going to try turning in a seventy page OGN of Wonder Woman being perverted is a silly fear.

The difference is, I don't recall Morrison talking about Superman and Batman in almost exclusively sexual terms. I don't expect a Morrison Wonder Woman comic to be pornographic, but it's a little strange that the topic of Wonder Woman's sexuality is what he talks about most when it comes to the character. As I said, I'm just reacting to what he's said about the project so far. Assuming the topic of Wonder Woman's sexuality comes up in the comic in proportion to the amount of time Morrison spends discussing the topic in interviews, it may not be the kind of story that I can get excited about. That's all.

[T Hedge Coke]

I'm the only person who liked Wonder Woman ending Darkseid's control by tying him up, aren't I?

I do wish she'd have got two issues separate from the mini to show her version of things, as Batman and Supes did, but I like her part of that comic, even the Wonder Warthog nod.

[T Hedge Coke]

The difference is, I don't recall Morrison talking about Superman and Batman in almost exclusively sexual terms.

Hairy-chested love god.

[BnL]

Yes. All that is true. But you're ignoring the fact that WW fans are hateful of anything, anytime. It could say that Alan Moore and Phil Jimenez are going to do a run on WW, and people would be crying foul, screaming about sexism, and tearing the run to shreds before a single issue had been written.

Forget the fact that Morrison has written some of the most fascinating comics of our day. Forget the fact that he is as talented as anyone who as ever worked in the medium. Forget the fact that he could bring a massive amount of coverage to Wonder Woman, coverage that she has desperately needed for a long time.

Forget all that.

He's Grant Morrison. He's bad. He wrote Final Crisis, so he should be castrated.

That's the typical WW fan reaction.

And here we have the typical Aaron reaction, which is to viciously attack Wonder Woman fans for expressing any negativity about a Wonder Woman-related project.

YAWN.

[BnL]

Hairy-chested love god.

I don't know what that's a reference to. Has Morrison referred to Batman that way? Assuming he has, I doubt that he normally refers to Batman that way.

And no, I'm not suggesting that Morrison is sexist, or trying to exploit Wonder Woman in any way. I wouldn't have cared if he mentioned Wonder Woman's sexuality if he has talked at equal length about her compassion and wisdom, the themes of redemption, etc etc. But it seems like Wonder Woman's sexuality is pretty much his focus when discussing his plans for the character, and as someone who finds Wonder Woman appealing for numerous other reasons than that, I am actually kind of lost as to what his vision really is.

[Halo Jones]

I'm the only person who liked Wonder Woman ending Darkseid's control by tying him up, aren't I?

I do wish she'd have got two issues separate from the mini to show her version of things, as Batman and Supes did, but I like her part of that comic, even the Wonder Warthog nod.

Nah, that was okay, but it never really seemed like much to me. It reminded me a lot of his JLA run, where everyone of the big seven was getting these epic, defining moments, and Wonder Wonder did some stuff, but nothing nearly as awesome as everyone else (Honestly, I can't even remember a time in that run where she did much of anything. I'm sure she did, but nothing that really sticks out like Superman punching out a Bull Angel, Batman taking out the White Martians, Aquaman summoning a giant zombie whale, etc.). But yeah, that aspect isn't even really all that negative, per say.

At first I really didn't like her role in FC, at all. Frankly, I put it up on there with Amazon's Attack as 'Ways to please never use the character again!', but after FC in his big interview, when Morrison was talking about her role as kind of meant to flush out his negative opinions and reactions to the character, I think it helped...I don't know, 'appreciate' her role in that a little more. Part of me wishes he'd saved that for another project, and gave all three of the Trinity their truly epic shining moments to make FC, but I was less distraught by it. I was hoping he'd utilize the fact that Diana had fused a piece of her soul with Darkseid in, I believe, Jimenez's run. Man, there could have been someway truly epic to utilize that I'm sure.

[Groovie Mann]

I don't know what that's a reference to. Has Morrison referred to Batman that way? Assuming he has, I doubt that he normally refers to Batman that way.

If I remember right, he mentioned it in regards to Batman dozens of times right before he took the title.

Anyway, Morrison writing WW is something I've been wanting to see since Rucka left the title.

[IamtheRock3]

sounds like it might be interesting

But there is a risk

see...

Thing is Crazy Morrison can be fun...but his craziness needs to be controled sometimes

Good Crazy Morrison- League of Batmen, Joker prose story, Lot of BATMAN RIP

Bad Crazy Morrison or WTF Morrison- RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE, final Crisis

[Halo Jones]

Eh, I can agree Final Crisis is a tad overblown by its rather slavish fans, but it was pretty good, and probably one of the most ambitious mainstream superhero stories in years. Can't really comment on ROBW.

And unleashed Morrison is stuff like The Invisibles, The Filth and Seaguy. That stuff is off the hook awesome.

[americanwonder]

That's the typical WW fan reaction.

LOL. Ah yes, I knew this was coming. Ever the dedicated and dramatic deciple. "Thou shalt not question Morrison on anything." Thank you for not disappointing.

[BnL]

If I remember right, he mentioned it in regards to Batman dozens of times right before he took the title.

Wow, he literally said that dozens of times? That's kinda gross, actually.

Still, I'm sure he had plenty of other things to talk about than just stuff relating to Batman's sexuality.

[americanwonder]

It is a major component that has been sort of shushed for the character and it's a big part of life, in general...

I'm not opposed to exploring sexuality in WW. But, from what I've read, it always seems to be the first thing out of his mouth and the main focus of his statements, as if it's the only thing, and not just a part of life. Sorry, but "strange sexuality" doesn't fill me with hope that he really "gets" WW. It feels like he may be over-focusing on just one aspect, and I'm not convinced he even gets that one right. Just my impression thus far. I'm waiting to see what he actually does with it.

... Remember when everyone was up in arms because of his statements re sex and the Fantastic Four or Jimmy Olsen? Well, 1234 and All-Star turned out pretty beautiful and not at all salacious, didn't they? And, yet, the sex stuff is still there, still integral.

No, what did he say? Was "sex" the focus of those interviews?

I love All-Star Superman; haven't read 1234. Love and hate his X-Men (his Magneto was terrible, and don't care for his Jean either, except the end). JLA is fun to read, though WW always got the sideshow and never the spotlight.

Heck, the last two times Morrison has used Wonder Woman, he's put the bondage stuff upfront and did great with it, even if she not a major character in either story.

Which two times?

If Final Crisis is one of those times, well, "great" is not how I would describe it. Really enjoy the story. But WW was far from great.

[Cardinal!]

I was hoping he'd utilize the fact that Diana had fused a piece of her soul with Darkseid in, I believe, Jimenez's run. Man, there could have been someway truly epic to utilize that I'm sure.

I would have loved it if anyone had picked up on that. Even Jeph Loeb in his crappy Supergirl/Darkseid story arc that Diana appeared in. Out of of the blows landed against Darkseid by any hero, Diana infusing a part of her soul into his was probably one of the best that's been; quite a bit more gratifying than watching Superman pummel him again, or chaining him to the Source Wall for the 3rd or 4th time.

The thing that annoyed me so much about Diana's non-role in FC was that, next to Superman and the New Gods themselves, she's one of few heroes in the DCU that has an established personal history with Darkseid, and ever since Byrne's run on the title I've always felt like there was unfinished business between the two, and their interaction in Jimenez's run later on antagonized that. While admittedly, Darkseid's forces slaying half of the Amazon population and Our Worlds at War aren't exactly classic storylines that writers feel the need to build off of, for Diana fans who've paid attention over the years and were waiting for Diana to get any kind of sincere come-uppance, watching her take such a passive role in FC only to have the Boys take care of most of the serious business was pretty irking.

[T Hedge Coke]

No, what did he say? Was "sex" the focus of those interviews?

It was, because sex makes good press, it generates interest, even if the way it shows up in the book is not salacious. I mean, Morrison once sold an issue of X-Men as being "the one where Jean Grey is covered in sperm." Of course, in the issue, she was, though they were giant and it was part of a rather moving rescue of Xavier's mind, but it sounded nasty and intrigued (and upset) people who had totally different ideas of what that would entail and had to buy the comic to find out. He sold another issue by saying Cyclops got drunk and woke up with Wolverine; also, true, but also misleading in its titillation (because it's advertising, not product).

He spent a lot of his 1234-related interviews talking about how Thing was an angry castrated baby and Sue and Johnny subverted their attraction to each other through Johnny marrying a woman introduced as Sue's near-twin and Sue's entanglements with Namor, another slim slick narcissistic pretty boy. He summed up Jimmy lots by referring to Olsen in drag or Olsen kissing men or monkeys; Jimmy Olsen as the boy who'll try anything twice. But, these weren't salaciously treated (except, maybe, dripping wet Namor in the doorway, but that should be). He talked about Superman the prankster or the spanking stuff, before he did All-Star.

Morrison used "hairy-chested love god" to describe his Batman, the Batman he wanted to write, in almost every interview concerning his Batman run.


(And, to whomever brought up the Darkseid/Diana connection from WW, I agree.)