Comment Policy
Offensive, harrassing or baiting comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted at my discretion.
Comment spam will be deleted.
Please leave a name and either a valid web-site or e-mail address with comments. Comments left without either a valid web-site or e-mail address may be deleted. Atom Feed LiveJournal SyndicationLOLcats feed
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Wonder Woman #300, Part Two
When last we left Diana, she had just fallen asleep in the throne room on Paradise Island. In her dreams, her mind drifts back to the day that she first met Steve Trevor, when he crashed his plane into the waters off the coast of the island.
A romance quickly develops between Steve and Diana as she nurses him back to health, much to Hippolyta's annoyance. She declares that as soon as Steve is healthy, he must return to Man's World, and a contest is held to determine which of the Amazons is most worthy of the honor of escorting the uninvited guest that no one really wants there in the first place back to where he came from.
It's a sequence we all know and love, with Diana of course beating out all other competitors. But, what's this? Heretofore unrevealed romantic complications as Diana's friend Mala reveals that she, too, is in love with Steve?
Diana shows her usual tact and sensitivity and makes time with Steve until it's time to leave.
Wait, he hasn't even bothered to learn her name after all this time? Cripes.
Hippolyta, distraught over the prospect of losing her daughter to Man's World, consults the patrons of the Amazons about what she can do to keep Diana in Paradise. Very little, it turns out, as "love must conquer" and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Unless, of course, there's a more vital role that Diana could fulfill than ambassador to the outside world...
Oh, dear...does that mean...
Steve isn't really very quick on the uptake, is he?
Steve really isn't very quick on the uptake, is he? How many hints can Diana possibly drop? "Everybody whose girlfriend's mother is still alive, raise their hand! Not so fast, Steve..."
Eventually Steve figures out what Diana is talking about. He's a bit put out that she won't be taking him back home, and not terribly taken with his consolation prize, an escort with Mala, runner-up in the contest and the understudy Wonder Woman.
See, redheads look good in the outfit. That explains Artemis, a little.
And he finally learns her name. And the healing begins, as he doesn't entirely shoot Mala's suggestion down.
Steve and Mala head to the United States, and Diana does her duty to her people and her gods and takes the throne in her mother's absence, shedding a single, solitary tear as she mourns the loss of the life she could have led with a chauvinist who'd barely have time for her.
It's very reminiscent of high romance tales of chivalrous love, where duty separates the lovers. Except that the guy is a total tool.
Diana awakens from her dream and goes to talk over her disturbing vision with her mother. Hippolyta's not particularly helpful, revealing that, actually, she almost did just what Diana dreamed she'd do, but changed her mind at the last minute. I guess Polly was more committed to letting her daughter make her own mistakes than we thought. Diana also talks about the Sandman's recent visits, and mother and daughter both agree that the guy's kind of a creep. To cheer her up, Polly suggests that Diana go and check and see how plans for the wedding are proceeding.
Putting the men in their place? That's putting a bit of a fine point on Marston's intent with the character, isn't it?
That's right Diana, it's utterly impossible for women to be sexist. Or racist. Or homophobic.
Tomorrow, Wonder Woman learns what her life would have been like if a different man had come to Paradise Island. Meet Trevor Stevens...
Atom Feed
