Bev’s Books recently featured a post about the new Superman/Wonder
Woman coupling. In case you hadn’t heard, DC Comics decided to create a
Superman and Wonder Woman romance, in effect creating a “…new
status-quo.” This latest story development was revealed in Justice League: The New 52 (#12).
Methinks “marketing stunt” would be more appropo.
Bev identifies the connection to the romance genre when she
asked, “Which brings us to the Superman/Wonder Woman cover. What story
is it telling us?”
Question of the century. Go read Bev’s post—lots of food for
thought.
The backlash of the SM/WW pairing has reached epic
proportions for a number of reasons, including but not limited to the following:
* It goes against the Superman/Lois
Lane canon in the most dismissive way possible
* The switch treats female characters as commodities (e.g., Superman
gets top billing in press releases; some media outlets have reported Wonder
Woman as Superman’s “New
Sexy Sidekick.”)
Pardon me for a moment while I hurl. ARRRRRGGHHHHHH! If this
is the way DC and Hollywood suits see Wonder Woman, no
wonder an empowering film about her never got the green light.
* It sends a message that humans are somehow inferior to
superheroes
Let’s circle back to the romance angle for a moment. One
thing that struck me is just how anti-romance this development is. Superman and
Lois have enjoyed a quintessential romance that is positive, touching, organic,
and empowering. Lots of (heterosexual) male comic book fans accepted and even
embraced their relationship—even though
it contained many of the traditional romance elements found in hundreds of
romance novels!
 |
| Image source: Softpedia |
The Superman/Wonder Woman relationship, on the other hand,
isn’t so much about romance as an official sanctioning of superhero fan
fiction. You know, the kind that spins a tale fantasy about Superman and
Wonder Woman having sex, because heretofore that hadn’t been part of
traditional storylines (i.e., not on a Lois Lane level).
You can read more commentary in this post at
DC Women Kicking Ass.
This move by DC reeks of desperation to no end. I wouldn’t
even be surprised if the negative reaction from fans even figured
into the marketing plan. Their goal was to get people talking about DC Comics no
matter what and that’s what happened—the same as Superman and Batman’s
“deaths.” Notice a pattern here?
 |
| Cover art by Brian Bolland |
How this change will affect DC’s bottom line remains to be seen. Makes me wonder if DC has plans to make a film about the Superman/Wonder Woman romance, especially with another Woman Woman TV show supposedly on the way soon.
How about yet another reboot—one that just involves decent
writing instead of short-lived stunts?
Joyfully yours (despite the DC fiasco),
Heather