Six things Wonder Woman needs to compete with Superman and Batman

Ahhh, Wonder Woman. I love to pick on you. There is just something about a character with an unwarranted degree of popularity... By this I mean that Wonder Woman is undoubtably a major superhero icon and the yard stick by which all superheroines are measured, but she really has never really taken off with a popular comic or movie or cartoon. The best she's had is the campy TV show that helped young boys realize they were gay.

But I firmly believe that there are no poor characters, only poor writers. The fact that Wonder Woman has survived and thrived this long without quality material just goes to show that there is something about this character that people gravitate toward. The trick is to keep them there. Usually they just leave disappointed...

So what does Wonder Woman need to receive the same cred as her closest counterparts? Below are six things that are essential to making Wonder Woman a success.

6) A better secret identity

No, I don't mean the fact that "Princess Diana" goes by the alias of Diana Prince, although it's a worse cover than Clark's glasses. What I mean is that the princess needs to get a life.

Why do we identify with Superman? Because he was raised by a loving family on a farm in Kansas. He's as American as apple pie... literally. Why do we identify with Batman? Because if we were rich and lost our only family as a young child, we may have ended up just like him.

But there is nothing to identify with about Diana. She was raised on an island of ancient Greek warrior women worshiping Greek gods and living in a Greek sapphic paradise! Not that there is anything specifically wrong about this aspect of her character; it is pretty much essential to her character, but it marks her as being culturally alien. While Superman may be literally alien, his values and upbringing are solidly American.

Furthermore, a secret identity is used to contrast the heroic identity of the protagonist thereby creating a depth of character. The god-like Superman is mild-mannered Clark Kent. The dark, brooding Batman is playboy, billionaire Bruce Wayne.

But Diana Prince (in the latest incarnation) is a secret agent... Why? What does secret agent contribute to the character? That's like Thor's alter ego being James Bond. My recommendation: make her a college professor. First of all, it establishes her as an intellectual and accomplished professional woman. Second, it is a job that pretty much no other superhero has. Third, it gets her involved with a wide variety of people. Fourth, it creates an environment where you can comment on your themes directly (i.e. class discussion).

What should she teach? Women's studies and mythology? Too obvious and limiting. How about psychology? She was created by a psychologist and many of her themes fall into the realm of psychology (i.e. gender and truth).

5) Her own city

What else do Superman and Batman have that Wonder Woman doesn't? Their own city.

While the Marvel universe keeps all of their heroes in one overcrowded city, DC tends to invent a fictional city for each of their heroes. The advantage to this is that they wear their city like a second pair of tights. Gotham City defines Batman. It is dirty, violent, and corrupt, but with a good heart deep down. She is a whore with a heart of gold. Metropolis, on the other hand, is the city of the future just as Superman is the man of tomorrow. It represents the best and brightest of America, much like he represents the best and brightest of Americans.

But Wonder Woman has never had her own city. For a brief time, she was located in Gateway City. Apparently created for Mr. Terrific and the Spectre in the golden age, this city was a stand-in for San Francisco and was never distinct enough to hold anyone's interest, so Diana continued bouncing around to places like New York and Washington DC, but she never really had a home except for Themyscira. Consequently, when she "goes home," it isn't like Superman going back to Kansas or to the Fortress of Solitude. It's more like weekend trips back to Krypton; that is, completely unrelatable.

Personally, I would put Diana in Opal City. First of all, it has a beautiful art deco cityscape with Parisian influences in the architectural design. Second, it is a bit mystic and odd, much like Diana herself. It is a city that just sort of popped up in the middle of nowhere and it has no suburbs. Third, a lot of fans love it and since Jack Knight left it at the end of Starman, it's up for grabs. I say Diana should put down some roots there.

(Note: Pictures are of Opal City.)

4) A stable supporting cast

Along with Diana not having a city or a real alter ego is the fact that she doesn't really have a supporting cast. Except for her Amazonian mother and sisters, no one has been a constant presence in Diana's life. In the original comics, she had her romantic interest, Steve Trevor, and her chubby best friend with the appropriately inappropriate name of Etta Candy, but these were mere ciphers who only really made sense when Diana's alter ego was a military secretary... which only made sense during World War II. She has had a few main supporting characters since, but no one really stuck around. And it isn't surprising since nothing about Diana has remained consistent.

Superman has Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, and Ma Kent not to mention interesting minor characters like Bippo (his biggest fan), Cat Grant, and Steve Lombard. Batman has Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Robins 1-5, Oracle/Batgirl, Lucius Fox, and even kindly Dr. Leslie Thompkins.

No woman is an island, Diana. You need to get out more. Find a city to call home, make a life for you there, and surround yourself with interesting people. That's all any of us wants and we live vicariously through these comic book adventures.

3) Better villains

Who is Batman's arch-nemesis? What about Superman? Now what about Wonder Woman?

If you answered Cheetah or Circe, you are not only a geek, you are wrong. Superman and Batman have chemistry with their antagonists. They are perfectly incompatible figures. Where Superman is selfless, Lex is self-obsessed. Where Batman is relentlessly serious, Joker doesn't take anything seriously. In seeing these heroes battle their ideological counterpoint, the themes of their stories take on shape and develop a symbolism all their own.

Perhaps the one Wonder Woman villain who almost fits this definition is Ares. He is the god of war to Diana's princess of peace, but really, Ares isn't all that interesting and he certainly isn't original. Any fight between them will be little more than the usual examples of pure good versus pure evil.

There is no easy answer here. Old villains should be retooled and new ones should be introduced, but a good superhero comic depends on good villains. It's no surprise that the best comics have the best villains (Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men).

2) A personality

Oh sweet god in heaven, Wonder Woman needs a personality! I mean, Superman is bad, but Wonder Woman is worse. Superman is a boy scout, but Wonder Woman is bipolar. Her two states are maternal nurturer and hardened warrior. She will hold you while you cry, then snap your neck if you turn evil.

Seriously, does any one really believe this character? When a writer starts to write Wonder Woman, do they just think "warrior" and "woman" then start typing? Who is she? I don't even know. What TV shows does she like, or does she watch TV? Does she read? If so, what? What are her stances on feminist issues like abortion, pornography, and prostitution? Does she like Hillary Clinton or hate her?

Speaking of feminism, what type of feminist is she? Paglia or Steinem? If I use the word "bitch" around her, will she get mad? Does she get upset over objectification of women? In that outfit, I would think it somewhat hypocritical.

Even if every writer has their own interpretation of the character, there still should be enough consistency so that when the next writer comes in, they aren't just thinking "warrior woman" and starting from scratch.

1) One great comic

Ultimately, what Wonder Woman really needs but has never had is one great comic. If you want to make any superhero succeed, you need to have at least one definitive comic that I can hand to someone and say, "This is who [blank] is!" It needs to require absolutely no previous knowledge, illustrate the characters defining principles, and leave the reader eager for more.

The best comics featuring Wonder Woman are not Wonder Woman comics. Mostly, they are Justice League comics like JLA, Kingdom Come, or New Frontier. While these certainly help, Wonder Woman needs to learn to stand on her own if she is ever going to be in the same league with DC's leading men. While Wonder Woman may have a handful of good stories (maybe even really good stories), she has nothing that comes close to modern classics like Batman: Year One, All-Star Superman, The Dark Knight Returns, or Superman: Birthright.