Multiversal Algebra: Captain America = Wonder Woman???

I've read a few comparisons of Captain America and Superman and it's occurred to me that I don't always think they work. National symbol elements aside, the two characters aren't really all that similar. Even their roles as national symbols are different, Clark (in the Modern Age anyway) never specifically made the decision to be a national symbol. He just wore his costume as a way to save people while still maintaining a fairly normal life. There's a lot less of an element of "duty" involved. Clark as Superman acts according to his moral code and holds himself strictly to it, but it doesn't strike me as the same sort of duties and responsibilities that make up Captain America. Captain America is a very conscious symbol of America, the counterpoint of the Red Skull's terrorism, it's a role that's bigger than the man. Cap's idealism is quite a bit different than Superman's as well. He's occasionally naive, but he lacks Superman's open innocence. He's generally nice and polite, (when he's not brooding up a storm), but he's seen a lot more than Clark has, and it shows.

Cap's got a fair amount of similarities to Batman, being originally considered the "least powerful" (though by far the most effective/skilled) of the Avengers. His powers, depending on whatever Marvel's saying that week, are mostly reliant on the "pinnacle of human potential". But really, aside from that, the correlation's even worse. It's Batman. Further elaboration's probably redundant. Heck, even Bucky was far more of an equal partner/younger brother figure rather than the surrogate sons that the Robins became. Well, at least in the Silver Age flashbacks and later. I'm shaky with Golden Age Cap continuity.

It occurred to me though, there is one DC hero that has a tremendous amount in common with Captain America, who really ought to be considered, if anyone, his direct analogue. Wonder Woman!

I'm primarily thinking of the post-Crisis/Modern Era/Perez Reboot version of the character here, but they really do have a tremendous amount in common.

For example, they are both "fish out of water" with regards to modern American society more so than farmboy Clark or scary borderline psychotic masquerading as a floofy millionaire socialite could be. Diana is from Themyscira. Steve is from 1945. Both for that matter are from societies that are either militaristic (in her case) or in the grips of a messy war (in his).

Both of them are serving something greater than they are. Captain America isn't just some guy parading about in blue, doing what he thinks is right for the heck of it. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) He's got a cause. A calling, essentially. His idealistic America isn't necessarily reflected by the reality, but his devotion to those principles is absolute and nearly religious in quality. Superman and Batman don't have anything like that. Diana though, is not only the representative and Ambassador of Themyscira, she's also a servant of her gods...depending on what's going on in her comic at the time, of course. Both have had their loyalties tried and tested, and even found themselves at cross-purposes with their nations/deities/ideals, but the emotions remained.

There's even an interesting element of both of them being essentially created by the cause they serve. Clark was born a normal child of Krypton, only getting his powers as a result of Earth's sun. Batman always had his intelligence/money, but the drive and formation of the hero comes from his parents' death. Diana though was created by the Goddesses for a specific purpose(s) and given her powers as a part of that. Similarly, while Steve Rogers might have been born a perfectly ordinary (if sickly) kid in NYC, Captain America was created by the US Government's Project Rebirth, also for specific purposes.

Both Diana and Steve have a very pure sense of justice, and while both have a general aversion to killing and generally attempt to avoid it, they've both shown willingness and strength enough to use deadly force if they have to.

Their relationships to other characters tend to have interesting similarities. Both characters have, at certain times, ended up relying heavily on more worldly personalities to adjust to modern society/other upheavals. It's kind of interesting to compare Cap's relationship with the Falcon, especially during the time he lived in his office, to Diana's with Julia Kapitelis or to a lesser extent Helena Sandsmark.

Steve and Bucky's relationship really has a lot more in common with Diana's and Cassie's than it does Batman and (any) Robin. At least post-Golden Age. Cassie is not as much of a partner as Bucky tends to be portrayed as, but to be fair, she's also not a member of the US Military either. However, just like Bucky's training and abilities came largely from a source outside Steve, Cassie's powers were obtained in a manner that Diana had no part in. Bucky joined the army. Cassie asked for powers. Diana might have been an inspiration, but ultimately the decision and initiative were all hers. Also, where the Robins tend to end up surrogate sons, Bucky and Cassie really have/had more of a sibling relationship with their respective senior partners/mentors. They might lack the skill/powers/fighting experience of Diana or Steve, but they're also not as emotionally dependant on them. (In Cassie's case, it's probably helped by the fact that she has a mother, a very involved and formidable one. Tangentially, I really wish they'd do more with her.)

There's something similar in the way that the two use their secret identities. For Superman, he's just Clark Kent dressing up in silly clothes to save people. For Batman, well, Bruce Wayne is really mostly a tool to facilitate his work as Batman.

Cap and Wonder Woman are different. Steve is Cap is Steve. WW is Diana is WW. It's not the same as Superman, because being "Captain America" does mean more than being "Steve Rogers", "Wonder Woman" means more than "Diana Prince". Their primary identity is involved with the heroic role rather than the secret identitty. But they lack the disconnect of Batman and Bruce Wayne. I think for those two characters, it's really more like wandering around in civvies. Temporarily free of the constrains of their real job, but otherwise exactly the same person. (Heck, it's not like Diana had a secret identity at all for the longest time, and whether Steve did or not pretty much seemed to rely on whatever the writer felt like.) It's probably worth noting that both ended up temporarily working with law enforcement even in civilian guise.

It's interesting that both heroes managed to retain a lot more of their ties to the Golden Age than did Superman or Batman. Captain America's more obvious of course, what with the freezing. Can't have a Cap origin without punching nazis. But Diana too. Her origin might be separate from the Golden Age now, but the ties between "Wonder Woman" and the JSA/Golden Age ended up strong enough to warrant a convoluted time travel story sliding Hippolyta in her place. That seems like it means something, but I'm not sure what.

Ultimately though, it's really interesting how the two actually seem to correlate. They're not the same of course, but the similarities are there. Which means if they ever do another Amalgam Universe again, I wanna see "Captain Wonder".

Also, I kind of want a drawing of Cap in Wonder Woman's breastplate and panties. Because it'd make me laugh. And I'm a sick sick person. :-)