Wonder Woman's Violent Act Threatens to Take the Spirit from DC's Trinity

The iconic trinity of DC Comics: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman have stood since the Golden Age as the foundational elements of DC's mythology. Batman, the mind, emboldened the power of intellect over might. Superman, the body, showed how a moral imperative combined with sheer strength could change the world, and Wonder Woman, the spirit, gave a higher power to DC's dynasty. However, developments in Infinite Crisis and brutal violence in Amazons Attack!, have created some doubt about DC's valuation of the spirit in their midst.

Wonder Woman appeared in 1941 as the ambassador of peace from Themyscira, formed of clay by her mother Hippolyta and blessed with the gifts of the Olympian Gods (The DC Comics Encyclopedia). Her devotion to Hera and her desire to bring peace to the patriarchal world of man carved a unique place for her among the super heroes and costumed villains of DC's lineup. Eventually her popularity began to rival Batman and Superman, creating an alliance between the three as pivot points for the Golden Age. Her strength balanced with a strong moral center and level head have long given a light of hope to the grim reality of Gotham and rest from ambition of Metropolis.

A Murder Most Foul

DC's decision to shake up their multiverse in Infinite Crisis called for a catastrophe of physical and spiritual proportions. Characters were getting new stories, directions and motivations. Some characters died, while others re-emerged from the other side of the multiverse. Of all the surprises and struggles to take place, none was less expected or more soul destroying than the moment prior to Infinite Crisis when Wonder Woman, princess of peace and Goddess among men, snapped the neck of Maxwell Lord, killing him purposely. Infinite Crisis is filled with the fallout from this event. Batman can't understand it. Neither can Superman. Neither can the rest of us.

The no-kill code has reigned supreme in the DC Universe for a long time. Villains may kill, but super heroes may not. It's the only thing the separates one from another. Wonder Woman's fall to the level of a common murderer forever tarnishes her ability to strive for a world of peace and justice. Her words about non-violent resolution seem hollow. DC's decision to create havoc and change some characters around is understandable. DC's willingness to dampen the Amazon spirit of its trinity is troubling.

A Violent Enslavement

Throughout DC's history the Amazons of Themyscira were women to look up to for their high level of thinking and spiritual lifestyle. The guardians of doom's doorway, they were granted immortality and we assumed that they gained wisdom from living eternally. However, the breakage of violent boundaries by Wonder Woman seems to have opened not only the doorway for doom, but a new era of violence for the Amazons.

Amazons Attack! by Will Pfeifer and Pete Woods, a six issue miniseries running concurrently with DC's Countdown, features a violent warrior nation of women indiscriminately killing men, women, and children. In a shameful homage to the history of the Diana Trevor, the pilot who crashed into Themyscira and gave her life to save the Amazons and gave Wonder Woman her name, Amazons Attack! issue number 2 (July 2007) features a female pilot brought down with an Amazon arrow through her throat. After her plane is downed the frames show Amazon warriors encountering the pilot struggling for her life and end it with a sickening stab in the heart. Never has such a noble story received such sorry second hand treatment.

A New Direction?

As Amazons Attack! continues and Wonder Woman works to resolve her feelings and legal entanglement with the murder of Maxwell Lord, readers are left to question whether this angry female annihilation of relationships and trust is a new direction for DC or simply a lost path in the forests of the multiverse. Hopefully the blood stained carnage of this series will bring a peace and resolution to the Amazon nation at its conclusion or end the Amazon dynasty entirely. Immortal beings who act with this level of unthinking rage shouldn't be allowed to live forever.

Every culture requires a balance of archetypes to maintain a solid foundation and moral imperative for its people. The body without the mind is an empty shell. A mind without a body is a disincarnated series of thoughts. The mind and body with no spirit is soulless. That's the worst part about this new direction DC writers have taken. By reducing their "spirit" to a murderer hailing from people engaged in warfare against the innocent, they have created their post-crisis multiverse on a soulless platform built on visceral meaninglessness and moral bankruptcy.