It’s time to welcome DC Comics’ Wonder Woman into the LGBT circle of superheroes.
Greg Rucka – the head writer for Wonder Woman’s DC Universe Rebirth series – recently confirmed speculation about the sexuality of Wonder Woman, aka Princess Diana of Themyscira, aka Diana Prince. As many fans have suspected, the female hero is in fact queer.
Wonder Woman, who is currently celebrating her 75th anniversary, originates from the women-only paradise island of Themyscira. So is it any surprise that these Amazonians would naturally form pair bonds and develop romantic as well as sexual interest in one another?
Here’s what Rucka had to offer in response to that query:
“Yes. I think it’s more complicated though. This is inherently the problem with Diana: we’ve had a long history of people – for a variety of reasons, including sometimes pure titillation, which I think is the worst reason – say, ‘Ooo. Look. It’s the Amazons. They’re gay!’ And when you start to think about giving the concept of Themyscira its due, the answer is, ‘How can they not all be in same sex relationships?’ Right?
“It makes no logical sense otherwise. It’s supposed to be paradise. You’re supposed to be able to live happily. You’re supposed to be able – in a context where one can live happily, and part of what an individual needs for that happiness is to have a partner – to have a fulfilling, romantic and sexual relationship. And the only options are women. But an Amazon doesn’t look at another Amazon and say, ‘You’re gay.’ They don’t. The concept doesn’t exist. Now, are we saying Diana has been in love and had relationships with other women? As Nicola and I approach it, the answer is obviously yes,” explained the writer.
Aside from the obvious logic, the comic book writer also said that one of the main reasons for Wonder Woman‘s queerness is to give the character a medium outside of her heterosexual with Steve Trevor, the soldier she falls in love with after she nursed him back to health when his plane crashed and ends up on Themyscira.
“It needs to be yes for a number of reasons. But perhaps foremost among them is, if no, then she leaves paradise only because of a potential romantic relationship with Steve Trevor. And that diminishes her character. It would hurt the character and take away her heroism. When we talk about agency of characters in 2016, Diana deciding to leave her home forever – which is what she believes she’s doing – if she does that because she’s fallen for a guy, I believe that diminishes her heroism.
“She doesn’t leave because of Steve. She leaves because she wants to see the world and somebody must go and do this thing. And she has resolved it must be her to make this sacrifice. So, it’s a thorny question. And I understand as best as I can the desire to see representation on the page. I don’t object to that at all. But my job first and foremost is always to serve the characters as best I can. For me, all other questions aside – and there are many legitimate reasons to ask the question – the answer first and foremost must be yes, because otherwise it takes away from Diana’s heroism,” Rucka added.
It remains to be seen if Wonder Woman’s sexuality will be addressed in the upcoming solo adventure of Gal Gadot’s “Wonder Woman”. Either way, Wonder Woman is still a badass superhero and she can whoop your butt any given day.
“Wonder Woman” comes to theatres on 23rd June 2017.
Sources: Movie Web, Mashable, Huffington Post.
