Wonder Woman is such an incredible character. It's sad how--in the comics--she's become so irrelevant, used more as a mallet in political games of whack-a-mole than as a vehicle for mainstream entertainment.
It's been said that Wonder Woman has never been a great driver of sales at DC, but she has the potential to. One of the issues with most characters that don't go over and have dedicated, monthly readership is a lack of convincing villains.
The epic George Perez run of WW in the 80s defined the character for generations. It delved deeply into the Ancient Greek lore of the Olympians, Titans, Demigods and others. It was amazing. I loved Diana Prince in that era.
One of the things I always said about DC was that if I ever took on work there, that I wouldn't want to get anywhere near titles like Batman, Superman, Justice League or any of the higher tier and more notable titles; I'd want to take on the characters that have untapped potential. Wonder Woman is extremely well-known but not a great seller. If given the opportunity, I'd do several things to increase her cachet.
1.) Bolster her rogue's gallery with new and exciting villains. Take the guy in the attached image, Captain Wonder.
I'd never heard of him before seeing Wonder Woman #289 in an eBay listing. What a cool concept! I'd build up Diana's villains and show how multi-faceted, dangerous, cunning and insidious they are. Make them her antithesis; let them engage in vice and disregard for human life. Let them think little of humans as Diana lives her life to protect life.
Ares, Cheetah, Silver Swan and Maxwell Lord are not enough to challenge Earth's most powerful woman. Look at Batman, Superman and Spider-Man and note the breadth and diversity of their rogue's gallery and afford her the same. Update characters like Captain Wonder, as well as adding a dozen more powerful challengers to her. Expand upon their origins, power sets, motivations and personal conflicts with Diana. Make the reader both loathe and respect them. A hero is only as great as their villains.
2.) Take away the sword. In recent years, Wonder Woman has been portrayed as a proud warrior. She is not a warrior. She abhors violence and the extinguishing of life. The Amazons train for the strength to protect others and not to take life. Her greatest villain, Ares, is a god of WAR. She would not bear an implement that validates her greatest villain's worldview. She doesn't even need a shield; her bracers accomplish the goal of deflective, protective utility. Her lasso is her greatest "weapon" as it is used to subdue and pacify for the purpose of negotiation. It embodies her nature.
3.) Put her through the ringer in a storyline called "The Gauntlet" that pushes her physical, moral and ethical boundaries to their limits. Have her fight a collection of all of her greatest villains the same way Peter Parker is occasionally tasked with confronting the Sinister Six.
4.) Return her to a simpler, stream-lined costume that evokes her traditional roots as a paragon of divine feminine beauty. Get rid of the armor. She's a goddess and not a super-soldier. Present her as being feminine and curvaceous but also agile, strong and exceptionally athletic. More Olympic athlete with super-strength and less Doom Slayer.
5.) Emphasize her intellect and greatest role as an ambassador for peace to humanity and her nations. Make her be the spokesperson for heroic metahumans around the world.
6.) To attract a female audience, put a massive emphasis on her romance with Steve Trevor. And this is important: create a new male character to vie for Diana's attentions. In wrestling terms, Steve Trevor is a white-meat babyface; a virtuous hero who plays by the rules regardless of his relative human vulnerabilities. Make the third part of the love triangle be a dangerous, alluring male who embodies other qualities that women find attractive. Make this love triangle the emotional core of the series and keep the reader guessing which man she might end up with.
7.) Allow Diana to explore her sexuality with Steve but keep it respectable.
8.) To sum it all up: Make the Wonder Woman monthly comic book one with a singular, coherent storyline that delivers big action, fantastical world-building, a diverse and imposing rogue's gallery as well as a unique and emotionally-tasking romance subplot that drives everything forward to attract male and female audiences the world over.
Wonder Woman is one of the greatest American icons and she deserves respect as well as high sales! If DC can't do this, I can't wait for the character to go into the public domain in 2035 so I can implement some of these ideas myself!
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I was not aware of the lackluster sales. I personally want another animated movie like the one with Nathan Fillion. As far as villains go combined with the love interest, Captain Wonder could be the bad boy, but they don’t reveal that connection until much later nor do they make it obvious. I hate obvious twists or those completely out of nowhere. Subtle hints. Like a good murder mystery almost.
But then the "new and improved" Wonder Woman wouldn't be a woke independent woman who don't need no man. And we can't have that, can we?