Like many great and long lasting characters in pop culture Wonder Woman has a nice big helping of paradox. She is indeed the Amazon's Ambassador of Peace, but she is also it's greatest Mistress of War. The question when if comes to characterization is how do you present her as a character that OWNS her contradictions in some way. How does the Amazon culture, a warrior culture, also be one that espouses peace and enlightenment? Is it a case of a culture that uses the honing of warrior skills, martial arts if you will, as a tool of self actualization? That they have at their core a philosophy of complimentary opposites? These are the sort of questions I would be asking myself if I were writing stories for Wonder Woman in this modern age.
Hell yes I expect to see the tough minded Warrior Princess that is fierce, skilled and determined in combat, especially against the forces of willful darkness, chaos and injustice in the world, even to the point of using deadly force. Let us remember that she would have mores and ethics that might well be very old. An ancient warriors ethic that prizes honor and that while it is not without holding mercy as an ideal, it may be looked upon by some modern people as perhaps a little too black and white.
But she is also the Daughter of Wisdom and of Peace. The advocate of negotiation first and conflict second. Compassion for all is one of her guiding principals. She sees, if it's there, the validity of both sides of any argument. She controls the Lasso of Truth, and it is an ideal she is always sensitive to, and will always seek out. She will always side with the powerless against the powerful.
For myself I see her as a modern day Angel With A Flaming Sword. The power of the divine that gets to work in the world of mortals dispensing both Justice and wisdom.
Now to be all this, all things to all people does make for a tricky writing assignment. It's a little too perfect, and thus I think that too often we get one over the other. I actually disagree that we have only gotten a Xena lite version of her recently. True, in some of the wider seen media portrayals like some games or the atrocious JUSTICE LEAGUE WAR DTV that has been the case, but more often than not I think writers have tried to strike that balance and get to that sweet spot, even in stories or runs of the comic book I don't like I would say that there is an attempt at least to make her well rounded but with a distinct voice. Actually for myself I have felt for some time that WW's greatest defining feature should be... Competence. It sounds like a small issue, especially for a super hero, I mean we expect them to be competent, but for Diana, a spiritual Daughter of Athena, the wisdom, the "competence" of knowing what side of herself to draw on at any given time is to me a key characteristic so that she never appears to veer too far in any one direction. That can also be a key way she can inspire others as well, as an advocate of Wisdom, Truth and Self Discipline. That's my view anyway.
Oh... I also REALLY dislike the weapons in bracelets thing. Sorry folks. I want old school fantasy warrior stuff.
) I said before and I'll say it again, I want her to be able to go toe-to-toe with Superman.
