I wanted this to create an open dialogue for fans
as to where the Big Three are headed in the DC Universe. I hope I don't sound
like an egotistical rambler, but feel free to tell me if I do :) Flame away, I
am impervious!
__
I think it all began with Batman: Return of the
Dark Knight.
Maybe I'm wrong, I really didn't get into DC Comics too
much until I was older, but the idea of Superman as a na�ve pawn of the American
government suddenly made perfect sense to me thanks to Frank
Miller.
Superman is a very idealistic fellow. Batman is a very practical
one. Wonder Woman is a warrior.
These are the themes that were explored
more in-depth in the limited series Kingdom Come. For those of you that haven't
read it, I urge you to pick it up. It's a great piece of characterization that
shows how the best of friends can become enemies.
As I said, I really
hadn't read much of DC, but I watched the Batman: The Animated Series and
Superman: The Animated Series faithfully. I think that Paul Dini & Co. did
great justice to two of the greatest characters ever presented in comics, and
Warner Bros. animated "The World's Finest" really brought home to me the
differences between the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight.
The missing
equation in all of that is Wonder Woman, but hopefully they will cover that in
their JLA cartoon that is in development for Cartoon Network.
But
we'll get to her later.
Let's start with the hero to end all heroes,
Superman.
---
Superman even started out in creation as the
ultimate ideal of human achievement. Whether or not the aspect of him being an
alien was intended for depth of character, or to just make him cool, at this
point is moot.
What makes Superman an interesting character to fans
of today is, I believe, his duality...the very thing that is more obvious in the
creation of Batman, but to me is much more personal in the creation of Clark
Kent. An alien sent from a dead planet who is raised by two human parents in the
American mid-west that instill their moral values in him, and raise him as their
own.
Clark Kent is Superman is Kal-El, Last Son of Krypton: a man
with the power of a god, but at the core all too human.
It seems to
me that many of the writers have honed in on this concept as of late (Elseworlds
abundant!) and focused mainly on the aspect of Superman falling prey to losing
his humanity.
It's a very interesting concept, taking the thing from
Superman that truly elevates him above all the heroes in his pantheon. It's the
human side of him, Clark Kent that makes him truly worthwhile. Without it, he
would be just another super-powered fellow who we would wait, issue after issue,
to find an opponent who could kick his ass for once.
Oh, wait. That
was the Death of Superman. Well, that's what happens when you run out of stories
to tell...but I digress.
Where is Superman headed? I would like to
think that Clark and Lois will be married happily ever after, but this is a soap
opera in illustrated form, is it not? No intent to belittle the medium, so let's
just call it modern mythos.
There is no drama without tragedy, as the
Greeks have taught us.
So what happens when all of Superman's ties to
humanity are gone? Will they give him human after human girlfriend, or will Lois
live as long as Clark? It's a nice idea, but not very effective when you've been
telling a story for over fifty years.
Where else is there to go with
this character? JLA Babies? A new Superman? (Oh, wait...that's been done)
Perhaps a more mortal Superman?
What I like about the current writers
on JLA is their focus on Superman's relationship with Wonder Woman and the
Batman. Superman and Wonder Woman are best friends, but it's easy to look at
these two characters and see why an attraction would exist between them. They're
equals in every way.
And it's exactly the same reason why they'll
never end up together (except in every other issue of
Elseworlds).
The brilliance of this concept is the very fact that I
think many fans want them to be together. It's the ultimate boyfriend/girlfriend
relationship. Superpowered babies for decades...and equality in a relationship
of ultimate physical perfection.
But if you really think about
it...how interesting would it be if they got together? It would be exciting for
the first few issues, and then it would be totally boring and soon Diana would
be interchangeable with Lois.
Maybe even more boring than Lois because
Wonder Woman doesn't have the dramatic passage of time that Lois Lane does.
The clock is ticking for them. It makes it
poignant.
__
What keeps the circle going is the Bat. Bruce Wayne,
a man hindered by time, but a totally unstoppable force of pure will that could
best almost anyone on any given day.
Bruce Wayne is like if Lex
Luthor was a good guy, and had convictions and dead parents and all that stuff.
Batman it seems, if we are to hold the characterization of recent
times true, is afraid of Superman but prepared to deal with him. In fact, Batman
is always prepared.
It's why Wonder Woman had him booted from the JLA
recently. Diana really is a rather dramatic creature, don't you think? As a
warrior, you'd think she'd take the old adage, "Keep your friends close, but
your enemies closer" to heart. Would she really rather have the Batman running
around in the shadows or in the light where she could keep tabs? But again, I
digress...
Bruce Wayne has become one of the most interesting
characters in comics today. On the outset, I would say his inception was far
more spectacular than Superman's due to the traumatic events of his origin. They
could've stopped there, and he still would've been cool, but we had those
wonderful writers that took an ordinary man and made him more powerful than gods
with the gift of his human mind.
And the writers, as of late, have
decided to make him Clark Kent's conscience. As other writers of fanfiction.net
have pointed out, Batman calls him Clark and Diana calls him Kal. Whether or not
this is a by-product of Kingdom Come, I don't know, but it certainly sets the
stage for a very explosive outcome.
Does Batman have feelings for
Wonder Woman? At this point, I'm a little confused. At first I thought that he
might be motivated by feelings of jealousy, Superman being a more superior
specimen and all, but the writers have made it more of a gamble by making the
Batman simply trying to keep his two friends in check. His POV being that
despite their god-like abilities, they are not emotionally equipped to deal with
the ramifications becoming romantically involved with one
another.
Which leads me to our final player.
Wonder
Woman.
If Clark were to become involved with her, would it cut off
his ties to humanity, as Kingdom Come suggests? Wonder Woman was sent to Man's
World to teach them and to learn from them in turn.
In a way, above
all others, she should be seeking out the humanity that Clark is in danger of
shedding.
It's why the Kingdom Come scenario does not sit well with
me. Notice Kingdom Come didn't have the Elseworld's stamp on
it.
Diana is a warrior, but at heart, she is the character who would
benefit the most from becoming as human as Clark is. However, I see the danger
in doing that...it would make her a female Superman.
And the writers
still prefer to set her apart from the rest and make her a princess, and then
kill her, and then make her a deity. All along, they hold the fairy tale idea of
the perfect romance over our heads and I believe they will continue to tease us
with it until the end of time.
The recent hints of a romance between
her and Aquaman make me go, "Blech". But I suspect it's merely a diversion until
they can find something else more clever to come up with.
It makes
things interesting in the meantime.
__
Wonder Woman is hanging out
in Gotham these days, despite the fact she booted Bats from the team.
Interesting.
What I'm wondering is, are we going to get a reversal
here?
Wonder Woman is nearly identical to Superman in many ways.
Superman has his mortal love. Diana had hers, but it never came to
fruition.
So I ask, will Wonder Woman end up with
Batman?
And if so, what will it do to Superman? How will it chance
the relationship of these characters in myths to come?
I think I
would rather have her end up with Batman than with Superman, and I think it
would be an incredible shocker to fans, but it would also keep the triangle that
we know and love so well intact.
Nothing lasts forever, but we all
know that psychopath Bruce bounces back rather well. He'll outlive them
all.
And it wouldn't interfere with any of the events of Kingdom Come
-- in fact, it would enhance them.
I hope these characters go on
forever.
More than that, I'd like to hear your thoughts as to the
direction these characters are taking. I only came to love them recently, but
I'm sure many of you have admired them for much longer.
What that
means is FEEDBACK, PLEASE!!!
Again, I hope my ramble hasn't put
anyone off, and I would like to hear your comments. These kinds of discussions
lead to lots and lots of fanfic, and I love the fanfiction.net community, and I
would like to share this will all of you.
