Princess Diana of Themyscira is synonymous with Wonder Woman mantle. But the Amazing Amazon is far from the only heroine to don the identity of ambassador to Man’s World. And more often than not, her fellow Wonder Women haven’t been given adequate time to shine in the role.
Other heroes like the Flash, Batman, or more recently Superman have had their legacies carried on by successors like Wally West or Dick Grayson. And each of these shakeups have yielded new insights into these heroic identities and the characters that serve them. Unfortunately, the same can’t really be said for Wonder Woman, as it seems Diana is the only one that DC Comics truly recognizes.
Over the years, plenty of Amazonian heroes have invoked the name of Wonder Woman to bring peace to Man’s World. Artemis of Bana-Mighdall briefly replaces Diana during “The Challenge of Artemis,” a storyline which also sees the younger Amazon’s death in the role. The most obvious successor to Diana, the original Wonder Girl, Donna Troy, takes on the mantle as part of DC’s “One Year Later” era, but that brief stint only lasts a few short issues. And when Donna’s fellow Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark has been portrayed as Wonder Woman, it’s as a murderous member of the Titans Tomorrow, alongside Conner Kent’s Superman.
Meanwhile, Diana’s counterpart Nubia, considered by many to be a Wonder Woman in her own right, frequently goes decades at a time without appearing in published books, with her latest resurgence only happening in the last year. Most recently, the Future State Wonder Woman, Yara Flor, has been on the track to the limelight only for her solo series Wonder Girl by Joelle Jones and Leila Del Duca to be abruptly cancelled at issues #7. In fact, outside of Diana, only Hippolyta has gotten the chance to shine in the role of Wonder Woman. Diana is undoubtedly one of the greatest heroes in comics, but each of these other heroes have long since earned a shot at a longer turn to grow with the Wonder Woman mantle.
Artemis’ time as Wonder Woman comes just a few issues after her debut, but it almost immediately ends in her death just a few short issues later. While she is later resurrected, her time as Wonder Woman is all too frequently forgotten. Meanwhile, Donna Troy’s time as Wonder Woman is even more obscured. While her Titans contemporaries like Wally West and even Dick Grayson got the opportunity to replace and sur the legends who mentored them, Donna never got that same opportunity to truly fill her mentor’s shoes. And now, Cassie’s time in the role is likely never to with the introduction of Yara Flor, leaving her Wonder Woman’s redemption in limbo.
Recently, Diana opted to share the Wonder Woman title with Nubia, the new Queen of the Amazons. And though she’s been serving both stations irably in Nubia & the Amazons by Stephanie Williams, Vita Ayala, and more, it’s unclear if her elevated status will continue after the miniseries concludes. Likewise, the same can be said for Yara Flor - the character positioned to replace Diana during her absence in the “Death of the Justice League.” Whether or not her impending status as the default Wonder Woman was the motivation behind her series’ cancellation remains to be seen, but either way, DC Comics’ track record for fill-in Wonder Women doesn’t bode well for Flor’s time in the role.
With the “Trial of the Amazons” event around the corner, DC is poised to elevate each of these Wonder Women in a way that will have a lasting impact. But the real question is whether the publisher manages to maintain the spotlight shone on each of these amazing Amazons. Because regardless of what DC Comics’ publishing history has shown, there’s more than one Wonder Woman worthy of respect.
