Summary
Superstar DC writer Tom King has the perfect explanation for the difference betweenWonder Womanand her counterparts in what is commonly called “DC’s Trinity,” Superman and Batman. While the trio share many essential heroic traits, King states that there is one key aspect of Diana’s character distinguishing her from Bruce and Clark:Wonder Woman is anti-establishment, while both Superman and Batman reinforce the status quo.
In anexclusive interview with Screen Rant, King discoursed on the different approaches to bringing justice, security, and order to the DC Universe that motivate its top characters. Given that the author’s currentWonder Womanrun has positioned his protagonist at odds with the U.S. government, his perspective on the character is especially insightful for those seeking to guess the direction his story is headed in.
According to King, Diana Prince is defined by being “a rebel in a way [Batman and Superman] aren’t,” which castsher role as a Justice League mainstayand A-list DC hero in a fascinating new context.
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Tom King On What Distinguishes Wonder Woman From Superman & Batman
Diana Is “Against The Establishment”
The recognition of Wonder Woman’s status as the anti-establishment pillar of DC’s Trinity – a vital counterpoint to Superman and Batman – subsequently impacted how Tom King crafted his current ongoing run with the hero.
Speaking with Screen Rant, Tom King offered a detailed explanation of his approachto writingWonder Woman, the first step of which he identified as figuring out what made the character unique from DC’s other two most famous, most powerful heroes, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. With King previously writing both characters, he found himself in a particularly unique position to ask vital questions about the nature of all three. As he described:
I mean it comes from just, in the beginning, thinking of trying to differentiate Diana from Clark and Bruce. And having written Batman extensively and Superman quite a bit, it’s hard on paper to be like: what makes her different? Why is she somehow — you know, she does all the right things. So does Superman. She never gives up. Neither does Batman. What makes her different from those two figures? And makes her distinct and cool and relevant today?
Through this line of questioning, the author arrived at a classic answer: she’s a rebel.
Elaborating further, King put it this way:
My answer, and going back and reading her comics over the years, is she’s a rebel in a way they aren’t. In some ways Batman is about justice. He’s about enforcing the law. He works with the cops. He’s about that. And Superman, who I absolutely adore, and he’s my favorite character in comics, I think Superman is for the status quo on some level. There is some part of him that is boring and stodgy, which is wonderful! It’s why I love him.
But Wonder Woman is against the establishment. She’s rebellious, she stands up. She doesn’t want to enforce the system. She wants to make the system better for other people. And I think that distinguishes her. Out of the Trinity, that gives her a separate mission.
The recognition of Wonder Woman’s status as the anti-establishment pillar of DC’s Trinity – a vital counterpoint to Superman and Batman – subsequently impacted how Tom King crafted his current ongoing run with the hero.This led him tohis choice of villains, and plot, for the series, as well as informing the tone and the style of the series. Likely, it also has a great bearing on the overall trajectory of the run, even if readers will have to wait to find out where it all leads.
Wonder Woman’s Brand Of Justice Operates Outside The System
A Radical Approach To Superheroism
Wonder Woman’s approach to justice, liberation, and process will come outside the confines of any system of institution – not even the Justice League, and her DC Trinity cohorts Superman and Batman.
So far, the antagonists of Tom King’sWonder Womanhave all held power and influence, in one form or another. From thereturning Sargeant Steel, to thefreshly introduced Sovereign, to theU.S. government itself, each threat Diana has faced, in turn, has progressed the underlying themes of King’s story. He elaborated on this to Screen Rant, stating:
When I first conceived this book, I wanted to put her against an authority. I wanted to show how her values could triumph over values that were being forced upon other people against their will. And so using the old tactic of the United States government standing in for that ultimate authority was where we started, and that’s where the Sovereign came from and AXE and all of that stuff.
While the currentWonder Womanongoing currently contains a great deal of action,King positions it here as being a battle of ideals, suggesting that victory will likely not come for Diana through simply vanquishing her foes in physical combat.
This also indicates that the conclusion toTom King’sWonder Womanstory, when it comes, shouldn’t be expected to be a tidy ending, one where good prevails over bad simply through the clinking closed of a prison cell. Rather, Wonder Woman’s approach to justice, liberation, and process will come outside the confines of any system of institution – not even the Justice League, and her DC Trinity cohorts Superman and Batman. In this case,Wonder Womanwill have to stand alone as DC’s one true anti-authority superhero.
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is the superhero identity of Diana, Princess of the Amazons. Created on the island of Themyscira, Wonder Woman is a super-powered demi-goddess with extreme physical strength who utilizes magical gifts (like her famous Lasso of Truth) to defeat her foes. As mighty as her fellow heroes Superman and the Justice League, Wonder Woman is unmatched in her compassion and virtue.
