It’s no secret that Wonder Woman’s family is filled with powerhouse women who have incredible stories, abilities, and personalities; but they deserve to be more than individuals existing in adjacent spheres. While the Bat-Family might be the most popular group of heroes and vigilantes in the world of comics, their popularity unjustly outshines Wonder Woman’s family dynamics, instead of being a blueprint of how to treat them.
The Bat-Family is given so much interpersonal development. Fans know how each member interacts with the other and how their personalities play into their dynamic; so much so that a Webtoon comic, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, has gained popularity recently. Wonder Woman and her Amazonian sisters, on the other hand, often feel disconnected while simultaneously fighting for the spotlight in DC’s lineup. The characters and fans deserve better.
Fanart alone proves that readers want to see more of the Amazons working together. Recently, artist Jasric created a breathtaking image of Wonder Woman and her twin sister Nubia standing side by side, proving that readers are craving more stories bringing them together. It’s rare that their stories merge and fans get to see them interact, and it’s not just these two either, it’s with most of the Amazons. Though all of the Amazons have interacted with Diana at one point in time, they don’t intermingle often. Even more so, they are rarely all seen together or put in stories that see their journeys overlap. This is unlike the Bat-Family whose paths cross so often it’s hard to keep track of all of their storylines. In reality, members of the Bat-Family probably interact on a more regular basis with the members of Wonder Woman’s family than the women do amongst themselves.
What’s more, Wonder Woman’s supporting cast is just as strong and varied as Batman’s. First, there’s her mother Hippolyta, co-founder and former Queen of the Amazons of Themyscira. Donna Troy has made her name as both Wonder Girl and a key member of the Teen Titans. Cassandra Sandsmark, another one of Zeus’ children (or grandchild in current continuity) and demigod, followed her up by taking the Wonder Girl mantel and becoming a key member of Young Justice. There’s also Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, who brings a sort of violent anti-hero, Red Hood adjacent energy to the mix. Then, this year DC introduced Yara Flor, the Brazilian Amazon, and if Future State is any indicator, a soon-to-be holder of the Wonder Woman mantle. Then there’s also Nubia, Wonder Woman’s twin sister and current Queen of Themyscira.
Each one of these women has their own background that unfortunately goes relatively underexplored. Nubia for instance was introduced back in the ’70s and made history as DC’s first female black superhero, but nevertheless, she went largely untouched for decades. She became a cult favorite but was still neglected as a character despite her relationship to Wonder Woman and untapped potential. It wasn’t until recently that DC has given her any prominence among the Amazons. Nubia’s recent resurgence can be attributed to the increase in diversity among comic creators. More women and people of color are behind the art and stories of fan-favorite comics than ever before. Nubia’s first step into queendom came from writing team Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad in Infinite Frontier #0, and soon, Black female writers Vita Ayala and Stephanie Williams will continue her story in the upcoming series Nubia and the Amazons.
Nubia also got her own graphic novel this year titled Nubia: Real One. In it, fans were lucky enough to see a bit more of the dynamic between her and her sister Diana, albeit in a more urban setting. Even with that though, Nubia deserves more. It’s great to see her get more traction as her own character, but her story started from her relationship to Diana and nowadays it’s rare to see them interact, fight side by side, or come to a head anymore in the modern-day. It’d be exciting to see them come together for at least one of those reasons. It would help make them feel more connected and also give more depth to their characters in relation to their history, relationships, and lore. After all, it’s impossible to think of Nightwing without thinking of his relationship to Batman… so why is it that these twin sisters can feel so isolated from one another?
Nubia isn’t Diana’s only noteworthy relative aside from her mother though. Diana is characteristically known for considering all Amazons her sisters and being extremely loyal to her comrades, so why is it that her direct relative, Cassie, or even her literal mirror image/magical clone, Donna Troy, barely seem to cross paths with the Goddess of Truth anymore? While Artemis has had a few run-ins with Diana and Donna has a complicated history with her mentor, too often these stories do nothing more than to explain some aspect of the characters’ complex backstories. The current run of Wonder Girl is the first time in recent memory that most of the major players in Wonder Woman’s world are colliding on their hunt for Yara Flor.
It’s not like these characters don’t have the pieces to be just as interesting as the Bat-Family. They have Wonder Woman as their Batman, the symbolic figurehead to coalesce around. Her mother Hippolyta acts as a sort of Alfred, sharing her wisdom, keeping everyone together, and placing herself where needed. Artemis of Bana-Mighdall has worked alongside, and very much mirrors, Red Hood in that they both have violent anti-heroic tendencies. Nubia and Nightwing have both broken off from their characters’ umbrellas in order to create their own names and legacies, while also taking charge as leaders: Nubia as a Queen of Themyscira and Nightwing as the leader of the Teen Titans (and at times, the Justice League). Tim Drake and Cassie have served on multiple teams together (from Titans to Young Justice), are of similar in age, and are right in the middle of the classic characters and newer ones. Then there’s Yara Flor as Wonder Girl and Damien Wayne as Robin. They’re both young, hot-headed, and looked to as inheritors of the larger mantels they’re connected to, either by blood or nature.
Overall, Wonder Woman has got one of the most dynamic and badass groups of supporting casts among all of DC’s characters. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be as deeply explored as the Bat-Family. Wonder Woman is already an icon in her own right, so why not highlight her extended family? The Bat-Family is admired for a reason. They’re a great bunch of characters that are all unique. It would be amazing to see more of Wonder Woman’s found family and give fans another group. Of course, each of these characters deserves to have their own stories, but their interpersonal relationships bring another level of interest, admiration, and empathy. So hopefully, with the growing popularity of Wonder Woman’s extended family, fans will soon get to see more stories where their lives and journeys collide.
