With a new arch-villain and a new status quo, Wonder Woman has once again become one of the lodestones of the DC Universe. Ahead of May’s Wonder Woman #9, series writer Tom King sat down with Screen Rant to talk all things Diana, including what sets her apart from Batman and Superman, the role of the Wonder Girls, the inherent hilarity of Trinity’s backup story, and much more.

Wonder Woman’s status quo was revamped in fall 2023 with Wonder Woman #1 by King and Daniel Sampere, an issue that not only brought Diana back to the forefront of the DCU but introduced a number of new characters and elements to Wonder Woman lore — including the chilling new villain known only as the Sovereign. As of Wonder Woman #9, Diana has been captured by this villain — the only question is if she’ll survive his psychological torture.

As promised by the issue summary, Wonder Woman #9 not only includes the Sovereign’s nefarious plans, but also a “reunion” with Diana’s longtime ally and historic love interest, Steve Trevor. King spoke with Screen Rant about that romance — but also about Diana’s new villains, what it means to listen to fans, the influence of comic strips, and so much more. Read on for the full interview below, edited lightly for clarity.

Wonder Woman Writer Tom King Gives Diana Her Own Mission

Why Is the Sovereign the Perfect Wonder Woman Villain?

Screen Rant: I really want to dive into the juicy stuff right away, which for me is the villain — is the Sovereign. Who, of course, is the secret king of the United States, which is absolutely wild. It’s a really radical idea with a lot of inescapable allegorical weight. And then we also have AXE [Amazon Extradition Entity], established by the US government and led by Sergeant Steel. So this book is not shy about depicting the government figures as the hero’s enemy. Can you talk a bit about why these characters in particular — so the Sovereign, Sergeant Steel, and these entities — make for the perfect Wonder Woman villains? And also why these characters strike such a chord as villains for this particular cultural moment?

Tom King: I mean it comes from just, in the beginning, thinking of trying to differentiate Diana from Clark and Bruce. And having written Batman extensively and Superman quite a bit, it’s hard on paper to be like: what makes her different? Why is she somehow— you know, she does all the right things. So does Superman. She never gives up. Neither does Batman. What makes her different from those two figures? And makes her distinct and cool and relevant today?

And my answer, and going back and reading her comics over the years, is she’s a rebel in a way they aren’t in. In some ways, Batman is about justice. He’s about enforcing the law. He works with the cops. He’s about that. And Superman, who I absolutely adore, and he’s my favorite character in comics, I think Superman is for the status quo on some level. There is some part of him that is boring and stodgy, which is wonderful! It’s why I love him.

But Wonder Woman is against the establishment. She’s rebellious, she stands up. She doesn’t want to enforce the system. She wants to make the system better for other people. And I think that distinguishes her. Out of the Trinity, that gives her a separate mission. So when I first conceived this book, I wanted to put her against an authority. I wanted to show how her values could triumph over values that were being forced upon other people against their will. And so, using the old tactic of the United States government standing in for that ultimate authority was where we started, and that’s where the Sovereign came from and AXE and all of that stuff.

As to why it’s relevant for today, you know— I say this as a guy who spent the first half of his life working for the government. Seeing my kids and one of the things I most admire is that they don’t accept what’s given. That they want to create a better world. That they want to constantly question the way things were set up. And I admire that in them, and I think that’s a little bit of Wonder Woman in them.

SR: The more time I spend reading this Wonder Woman run, the more I’m struck by how radical that idea is: to see Wonder Woman as a rebel. When I was prepping for this interview, I brought up the Comics Code Authority, because I was thinking about that one entry, which I have written down: “policemen, judges, government officials, and respected institutions shall never be presented in such a way as to create disrespect for established authority.” So it’s interesting to me to have that Comics Code Authority on my mind while thinking about Wonder Woman as rebel.

TK: Comic books, especially superhero comics, they’re an outsider’s medium. They’re made by people and for people who don’t fit into the regular establishments. It’s what I’ve always loved, and that’s why I’m always online calling people nerds, because I’m so proud of the moniker by now. I mean, we now have cool kids, but we weren’t always the cool kids! We were the isolated, we were the estranged, and this is our medium. It’s an alternative medium, it’s a rebellious medium, and to say that Wonder Woman, who’s always been the most prominent female superhero in that medium, embraces that ethos — I think it’s a natural fit.

The Wonder Girls Take Center Stage in Wonder Woman’s New Story

Tom King Reveals Why He Decided to Include Donna, Cassie, and Yara

SR: I love that you brought up your kids, and thinking about the kids who are reading these books as well, and that kind of rebelliousness of Wonder Woman as role model — because, simply as a fan, beyond my role in this professional capacity, I love that the Wonder Girls are part of this.

TK: Of course!

SR: My teenage self is just overjoyed to see the Wonder Girls! You really made a point to reintroduce them as important supporting characters in Diana’s story in particular. So why do these three women, Donna and Cassie and Yara, matter so much to Diana’s story? Both the one you’re telling now in this run and also Wonder Woman lore more broadly.

TK: I should admit at the beginning that that was not my plan.

I wrote a little bible at the beginning of things I didn’t want to be in the book. I put, like: no swords, no gods, those kinds of things. I wanted to ground it. And one of the things I put was no Wonder Girls. Because I wanted this to be a very Wonder Woman-focused book. I thought sometimes her title had wandered from making her the title character, and I wanted every line pointing to her.

I just saw the fans’ reaction and how much they wanted these characters to be in this book, and they wanted to see these relationships. And sometimes even a writer as arrogant, as stupid as me can admit that they made an error in their bible. I was like: “Oh, you know what? Why am I swimming against the tide?”

My job as a comic-book writer is not to deny joy. My job as a comic-book writer is to give you joy. And putting them in the book really brings an element of joy to the [fandom]. It’s incredibly exciting to write. So that was really a fan-driven decision. That was people writing and saying let’s see the Wonder Girls and me being convinced by their incredible arguments. I like to think that I can make a good argument, but I also like to think that I’m someone who can change their mind and be convinced. And I was convinced that they were right.

SR: Not to stir the pot, then, but after you’ve spent some time writing the characters, do you have a favorite Wonder Girl?

TK: Ugh, you are stirring the pot!

SR: [Laughs]

TK: They each have a place in my heart. I gotta say, Cassie is just the most fun to write, probably. I don’t know, she just jumps out of the page at me. As a fanboy who gets to do the job he loves for a living, Cassie is kind of a fangirl who’s doing the job [she loves] for a living. I like that part of her.

But I’m not saying she’s my favorite! I’m saying she’s really fun to write. That’s all. I’m not trying to start. I’m not stirring the pot.

SR: I’ll make a point to emphasize that. [Laughs]

TK: Yes!

SR: But Trinity also recently made her debut as Wonder Girl, technically, in the backups—

TK: A future Wonder Girl! She’s taking no one’s crown.

SR: Yeah, exactly! I mean, she’s been Robin now, she’s been Wonder Girl, she’s been Trinity. I love that we’re really moving through time. [Both laugh] She’s been through a lot.

TK: [Laughs] She’s been through enough!

Tom King Discusses the Influence of Comic Strips on New Wonder Woman Character Trinity

How Has Peanuts Shaped Wonder Woman’s Daughter?

SR: I mean, the backups with Belén Ortega have been an absolute joy to read every month, especially the tonal balance between that story and the action/thriller stuff going on in the main story. So beyond simply, like, writing the characters — Lizzie, Jon [Kent], and Damian [Wayne] — what’s it like, as a writer, writing humor alongside and right after the action/thriller stuff? What’s so funny about these characters?

TK: What’s it like? It’s the best! I cannot tell you. The weeks I get to write— because I don’t write the Wonder Woman story and then write the backups. I write the backups all at once. I write three backups at a time. And so the weeks I get to be on backup duty are just super fun weeks.

I have a 10 year-old and a 14 year-old, my kids, and it’s the one time they care about what I do for a living, because they love those stories. Wwe talk about it at the table, and I pitch jokes to them, and they’re like, “No dad, that’s not good,” or “Let’s do this!” And if I’m making them laugh, I know it’s good. Yeah, it’s my favorite. It’s literally my favorite writing week of the year. And Belén Ortega just kills it on that, everything I’m bringing her.

I grew up a huge comic strip fan. I probably read comic strips before I read comics, just given the paper in the morning, because that’s how old I am. So this is like, you know, my reach out to people like Watterson and Schultz and Breathed, the comic strips of my youth that really just made me laugh. It’s a chance to flex that muscle.

Because I write these sour, sad comics where everyone’s crying and committing suicide all the time. So it’s just fun to release that other side of what I love about this medium.

SR: Yeah, it’s kind of funny: last month, we had the panels of the Sovereign pouring wine on Diana’s head, and then the backup like [laughs], immediately after that, it’s rip-roaring laughter. It’s a funny two-sides-of-the-same-coin.

TK: [Laughs] It is a weird dynamic! But I mean, we always say comics are for everybody, but then I write these comics that are, you know— they’re really for people who love comics but are looking to dissect them and looking for huge themes. But I also want to write comics that you can pick off the shelf, like [Diary of a] Wimpy Kid. I think it’s important.

I’m jealous of everyone who works in comics. This is me being jealous of Dog Man, basically.

Wonder Woman’s Romance with Steve Trevor Is Reignited in Upcoming Issue

Why Is Romance an Essential Part of Wonder Woman’s Story?

SR: In the same kind of genre of vein, it’s also no secret that you love romance in your stories, from the Batman run, to even your work on Love Everlasting [with Elsa Charretier]. And then Wonder Woman #9, which will be coming out in a few weeks, explores a bit of Diana’s relationship with Steve Trevor.

TK: That’s the weirdest one. Thank you for reading. [Laughs]

SR: Yeah, it was definitely a trip. [Both laugh] It took me a second to really figure out what was happening. But what’s the role of romance in Wonder Woman’s story and character? Especially as, in this run, you’re kind of establishing her as almost stubbornly independent? What does romance have to do with it?

TK: I mean, it’s a good question. Kelly Sue DeConnick has a great line that I quote all the time. People ask her, “How do you write women so well?” And she says, “The first thing I do is pretend they’re human.” And I think, just to be alive, for many, many people, romance is part of your life. With whoever that partner is, the person you find who you love becomes a part of your existence and your soul. And I think to make Wonder Woman a complete character and a complete person is to give her that dimension.

Not to make it all of her! Because there are times in history where [her title has] been treated as very much a romance comic or something. That’s not all of who Diana is, but it’s part of her. It’s a part of her, and it’s right at her origin. Because, you know, part of her story starts with Steve crashing that plane and opening her world. So to me, it’s part of what Kelly Sue [says]. It’s treating Wonder Woman as a human being, as a person who exists in the world, and people who exist in the world fall in love and both derive joy and sadness from that.

Wonder Woman’s Iconic Costumes Take the Spotlight in Stellar Art

Tom King Celebrates the Artists Who Bring Wonder Woman to Life

SR: I have one last fun question for you. Hopefully it’s a fun one! But everyone who’s been covering Wonder Woman at Screen Rant, we’ve been really loving the costume variant covers by Julian Totino Tedesco. They’re just awesome. I love looking at them every month.

TK: [Laughs] Yeah, they are. We have incredible variants on this book! Shout out to our editor Brittany Holzherr, who does that stuff. It’s incredible.

SR: Yeah, great art, and Daniel Sampere has been doing unbelievable work.

TK: Uh, Daniel’s the best! Blows it out of the park every day. Yeah, I just saw pages come in from today. Incredible. He’s doing Cheetah pages? Oh my god.

SR: It’s really beautiful. Do you have a favorite Wonder Woman costume from her history?

TK: Do I have a favorite? Oh, I should say Daniel’s, because I think Daniel’s is perfect. Yeah, no, I’ll suck up to my artist and say he freaking nailed it.

I don’t know! Do you know what actually goes into my stupid head? Do you want to know what goes into my stupid head?

SR: I absolutely want to know what goes into your stupid head. [Laughs]

TK: I see Mike Sekowsky in the ‘70s doing the karate-chop mod Wonder Woman. I don’t know! I did a comic book with Doc Shaner, and [we] used that outfit of her doing that late-60s mod thing, and I thought it was just absolutely delightful.

I like them all, but alright: Daniel’s for the actual suit, but I do have a little part of me who loves mod Wonder Woman.

SR: There’s nothing else like it!

TK: There really isn’t.

Thanks again to Tom King for speaking to Screen Rant about all things Wonder Woman, from Trinity’s future adventures to Diana’s 1970s mod lifestyle. For fans still living in the present, Wonder Woman #9 is available May 21st from DC Comics.