Okay, so I actually got around to reading this issue today, and, well...I have to take back what I said earlier.
Wonder Woman doesn't come off as naive in this. Nope.
She comes off as an utter airhead. Andreyko literally wrote her like she just stepped off the boat into the country. That might have been at the end of Perez's arc in the 80s or something, but these days it's just seriously off.
The scene in the courtroom...I can maybe stretch my tolerance and get that WW's just never seen a lawyer as slick and savvy as Kate in action, and doesn't get her tactics. But the whole "American justice system is so confusing!" angle still seem totally off. She should be one of the characters with the most understanding of the American justice system. Not to mention the wisdom of the gods capable of doing so. When Kate told her of her strategy, Diana should have nodded and absorbed it, fascinated...not gone "Durrrrr...what?"
Then the paparazzi; she wasn't just bewildered that they were taking pictures of her doing nothing, it seemed to me like she had absolutely no idea that they took pictures at all. It was like, "What? Photographers? Why are they here?" She's been in America for more than ten years now, and has been one of the most highly publicized figures in the world, and unlike a lot of other heroes she actively indulges in that sort of publicity. The idea that she's never encountered paparazzi before in her life and work is just absurd.
And then comes the most cringeworthy moment of the issue, where WW tells Kate how much easier it is when she's fighting Darkseid or some supervillain and how she likes to see the world as right or wrong, black or white. What? Seriously, what? That's just...WHAT?? I mean, my goodness, you only need to read the whole "Sacrifice" incident with Max Lord to get that WW's worldviews are anything, anything but "black and white!" Enough that the man seems to have never read a single Wonder Woman issue in his life, but considering that "Sacrifice" is what this entire arc is supposed to be about you'd think that at least he'd have an okay grasp on that! In dealing with politics, Diana has an intricate understanding of how complicated the world can be. In dealing with people like Superman and Batman, she's more than experienced with conflicting and often complicated philosophical views on morality. She's not a "there's no shades of gray!" character. She can be more understanding than Clark, and more ruthless than Bruce. That duality and contradiction is exactly what makes the character, and it goes back to even before the post-Crisis Perez take on her!
Wonder Woman then proceeds to face the photographers and news reporters with about as much grace as a deer caught in headlights might muster, as opposed to someone who's been shown doing this sort of thing for more than ten years. Which she has.
And finally, Diana's reaction to the prosecutor..."Why does he hate me? He seemed so nice when I met him before!" Dear Buddha...of all characters, Diana should have the least amount of illusions about how hypocritical people can be. She should have no illusions whatsoever about how other people think of her. And she should be amongst the most capable of "reading" other people's reactions. This has been shown time and time again.
Look, Wonder Woman is worldly, not naive. She's complicated, not simple. As good a writer as Andreyko is -- and, believe it or not, I actually enjoy Manhunter as a series quite a bit -- he obviously doesn't get that. I have no idea who these Wonder Woman fans are that apparently like to see her get written in a mix between "Durr...math is hard!" and "Huh? Wha?" expressions, but count me firmly out of that number.
[/nerd RAGE]
