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When Wondy was Awesome, part 4 (Patriarch's World)
From as far back as Marston, Wonder Woman's defining short phrase, her version of "Caped Crusader" or "Man of Steel" or "Scarlet Speedster," has been "Amazon Princess." Which is fair, because that's what she is in the most literal sense - the daughter of the amazon queen (well at least until they dissolved the monarchy, but at this point I think I'm going to have to admit I've lost that one) - but for most of her pre-Crisis history, was nevertheless a relatively empty phrase. Diana was a princess because girls like princesses, as any Disney exec can tell you, and that was it. Occasionally the authority was useful, but basically it was a purely meta thing that was merely convenient shorthand for her specialness.
Part of Perez' genius was to actually consider what being a princess means for Diana, especially from the mythical perspective of this very mythical character. Mythic royalty isn't about tiaras and castles, after all. It's about stewardship, struggle, king sacrifice; about servitude and symbiosis and taking your people's burdens for your own. Diana, as Athena's champion and essentially a demigod, is an avatar of the Olympians, yes - but as heir to the throne, she's also the avatar of the amazons, and that responsibility is as integral to her character as her duty to her gods. She bleeds when her people bleed, they win when she wins, their story is hers and hers theirs. And Perez' run was saturated with that understanding, in a constant intertwining of Diana's mission and the activities of the Amazon Nation as a whole. She's not just one of them, she's not even just the best of them; she is them, full stop. That concept underpins the particular awesomeness I've got on offer today - this is the story of Themyscira and how the Amazon Nation reconnected with Man's World. Because Diana did, and so that Diana could. And because it's a damn good story.
Also, Diana v. Lois action. You know you want to see that.
( Man do I love that cover. )
Next time: Perez attempts to pre-empt strawfeminist portrayals of the Themyscirans with some strawfeminists of his own for Diana to oppose. And because he is Perez, they end up completely fascinating anyway.
Tags: char: epione of themyscira, char: eris/dc, char: etta candy, char: euboea of themyscira, char: hellene of themyscira, char: hermes/dc, char: hippolyta of themyscira, char: iphtime of themyscira, char: lois lane, char: menalippe of themyscira, char: mnemosyne of themyscira, char: niobe of themyscira, char: oenone of themyscira, char: penelope of themyscira, char: philippus of themyscira, char: silver swan/vanessa kapatelis, char: steve trevor, char: superman/clark kent, char: timandra of themyscira, char: wonder woman/diana of themyscira, creator: george perez, group: amazons, publisher: dc comics, series: when wondy was awesome, series: world of wondy, title: wonder woman
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