Wondering About Wonder Woman...

I was thinking about Wonder Woman today, specifically how excited I am to see Gail Simone take over, but started to think about the uneven portrayals the character seems to suffer sometimes.

I've never really understood why it seemed so hard to write Diana. She's not really a very contradictory character, not like say Guy Gardner or anything, she's just a dignified woman who thinks of her duties first.

I wonder if maybe the problem is that some of the writers don't consider what role "Princess" would really play into Diana's character. Diana's a character that for all she's the first child born in centuries, that has always had duty and honor weighted onto her shoulders. Ideally the duty of royalty is to serve the people and at least on Themyscira, that ideal is upheld. Everything Hippolyta did as ruler was for her people. When she served her personal interests, replacing Diana with Artemis, among other things, she was abandoning her duty and she left for a while to atone until she was able to serve again.

I think it might be hard to relate because we don't really have a model of inherited power/status to look at in this country. Socio-economic factors do have a huge impact on our lives, of course, but we don't tend to be born with our roles immediately defined for us. With one path as our only path, barring very bizarre incidents. We don't really have an archetype readily available to base our characterizations off of, except for simpering twits and gallant idiots in Fairy Tales.

I think that to really get into what makes Diana tick, we really do need to look at what it must mean to be born the child of a king or queen. To have your path laid out at birth. To have your life completely aimed in one direction. To have the rules and restrictions drilled into you at birth, and to know that your life is essentially meaningless outside of your one specific role.

Themyscira of course does have many differences. The Amazons are functionally immortal. Hippolyta wasn't going to die any time soon (and dissolved the monarchy before she did anyway), but the element of birth and duty still upheld. Probably even moreso for Diana. As the only child born in millenia, she had social obligations to every woman there. Hippolyta probably wasn't the only Amazon to yearn for a child, so Diana would have had to take it upon herself to be the child of everyone. To alleviate all of their maternal instincts and bring that joy into their lives.

The pressure must have been enormous. Imagine the upset if she were unhappy. A sensitive girl like Diana would probably realize that her emotional state impacted so many people that she would have learned strict control.

Diana as an ambassador would have been the representative of her entire people moreso. Control and dignity are vital. Even doing the most casual thing, she has to be aware that what she does reflects upon not only her culture but her government as well. She can't afford to look weak or ignorant or clueless. Even if everything's very strange.

Actually, you know who I think would be a good model to look at when trying to write Diana of Themyscira? Prince Charles of England. At least his public persona.

He already has children, so his role in fathering heirs is finished. But his mother, the Queen always appears spry and healthy. Considering HER mother lived to be a hundred, it's probably going to be a long time before inheritance is an issue. He was however born and raised to his role, indoctrinated in his duties from birth.

He's the first member of the English royal family to be educated with non-royals. And is the first to graduate from college. This is a pretty big deal considering how isolated royalty tends to be. That could very well be compared to Diana, as the first Amazon to leave Paradise Island.

Well, I guess with the Infinite Crisis reshuffle, Hippolyta was actually really out in the world during WWII. But that could be a parallel to Queen Elizabeth attending school and taking part in the war effort as a young adult. Rather than the more extreme perspective change of an actual schooling experience. Hippolyta was a visitor to America, Diana was stationed here.

Like Diana, his public role tends to be diplomatic. He also does a lot of charity and environmental work that tends to get overshadowed by his villainization during his divorce as well as other scandals. Diana's many good deeds also tend to be overshadowed by unfortunate circumstances. Snapping the neck of Max Lord and having it broadcast to the world is a bit beyond any real world situation, but then, it IS comics.

Of course Diana is very different from the Prince as well. But I think if someone were trying to write a good Wonder Woman, using a stoic, dignified, polite, duty-minded, distant, and somewhat socially awkward persona similar to his would not be a bad foundation to start with.

As long as she still gets to punch things, of course.