Is Wonder Woman Losing Her Popularity? Part One: Possible Cause: Her Origin

by Book Girl

I recently read an article that stated the decline of Wonder Woman's popularity during the San Diego Comic Con. The article also suggested that the iconic character has started to slip in popularity mainstream as well.

I don't understand why Wonder Woman is seen as difficult to understand. She has a rich and interesting history that if told right will have readers wanting more. I would say Marvel's Thor has a complex origin yet that doesn't stop the character from being popular.

However, according to DC Comics they said fans thought her origin was too complex and complicated, so they changed it by making Zeus her father and turning her into a demigod. They also changed the once proud and dignified Amazons into blood thirsty murderers who rape then kill sailors in order to procreate. Not to mention they trade their unwanted sons to Hephaestus for weapons. And as if DC Comics would let anyone forget that she's now Superman's girlfriend. This "relationship" with Superman is also making Wonder Woman lose popularity among fans. Despite what the executives over at DC think, a lot of fans see this relationship as a promotional gimmick. They have rewritten Superman and Wonder Woman's history to include a lackluster romance that hardly anyone seems to be enjoying, including the characters.

So, how did all of these changes improve upon the Wonder Woman story? If anything, they have made it worst. Wonder Woman's original origin was rather simple. She had been crafted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta who wanted a child, which was then given life by the gods. That's far from being complicated and fits perfectly within the realms of Greek mythology in which the character was based on. For instance, in the tale of Prometheus, he created man through the use of clay with the Goddess Athena giving life to his creations.

By changing her origin, they have taken away what made her special. There is nothing special about being a child of Zeus. He has so many children that Diana is now one of many. She is the female Hercules. Where are all the things that made her different and unique? And her home world is no longer her safe haven because it's full of murderers.

And by making Superman her love interest it's seen as a shallow relationship built on fear. They are both too afraid to date the people they really want to be with (Lois Lane and Steve Trevor) and instead have gravitated to each other because their lonely. That doesn't make for an interesting relationship because they are constantly thinking about the person they would rather be with. 
 
Changes are good and needed but when they made such drastic changes to Wonder Woman's origin it stopped being the character and story that William Moulton Marston created. Despite all the changes within the new 52, Superman is still an orphan from Krypton who was raised by the Kents and Batman is still an orphaned billionaire whose parents were murdered and was raised by Alfred Pennyworth. While Wonder Woman's new origins are far from how she was first presented.

I wonder why it's okay to change Diana's story but not Clark or Bruce's?