by Edgar Miraculous Dyer
Wonder Woman fans talk about her enemies, the most recurring chuckleheads of her rogue's gallery, ..a lot. There are a lot of them, frankly, but, I think her worst enemy, her arch-nemesis, should be special.
Not just another bloody bank-robber...y'know?
Wonder Woman's archenemy should be a specific threat to what is most important to Wonder Woman, on some personal or cosmic level, ..and not just a bad lady. The arch should be doing something that puts her squarely in the path of the hero's mission. These two have to come to blows. Theirs is a fight that must happen. There must be a universal understanding, among fans or the audience, that their enmity is inevitable, and that the consequences will be far-reaching and ultimately will change a status quo. It should be understood by all that they were born for this singular conflict, such that it takes on an almost meta-mythical importance, in the world. The archenemy is the villain, our hero was born to battle and destroy...
Or be destroyed by.
We get this impression from all of the great superhero comic arch-enmities. Thor against Loki, Superman against Luthor, Batman against Joker, Spider-Man against Doctor Octopus, Green Lantern against Sinestro and Flash against Grodd--they've all got that inevitable thing, about them. These conflicts must happen, and the combatants were born to them, ..like stars to Heaven!
Wonder Woman against Cheetah (should audition for 'Cats') or Doctor Cyber (against whom, resistance, futile) ..or Ares (Marvin the Martian) ..or Cale (mad pharmacist)...not feeling the meta-mythical inevitability, here, right now. Not the kind that earns the recognition of being classic.
There are flickers of brilliance on the horizon.
For a hot minute, called the New 52, Wonder Woman had an evil half-brother arrangement, like Marvel's Thor's. (Victor Ibanez Ramirez art)
While I favor a female arch-nemesis for Wonder Woman, the First Born, the Kurgan of her rogues gallery, checked all of the other boxes for a natural enemy, ..and I think a revised Queen Clea, a Xena-Ming the Merciless lovechild, could be plugged into his role, very well. Ironically, having argued against (in online forums) myth-inspired sorceress Circe's over-exposure, for almost fifteen years, I now find Circe having the most arch-potential, ..considering her new motivation in James Tynion's Justice League Dark. I think Myrina Black, the Magneto of the Wonderverse, also has untapped potential, beyond her 'Darkseid War' outing. Presently, Clea, Circe and Myrina Black ..present us, with certain hope for this comic...
One day, having a classic arch-villain of its own.
I have given up hope that Myrina's daughter, Grail - avatar of Anti-life, comic legend Jack Kirby's cosmic end of universal free will - will ever be written properly. That is because most writers don't understand what Kirby's Anti-life Equation is, why Wonder Woman is uniquely motivated to fight it, and haven't historically shown any interest in figuring all of that out. Were any writer so motivated to give her a second look, they would see that she is Diana's perfect natural enemy. Perhaps, using her as a model, they would clone her, in a new character, possessed of ALL of her qualities, ..except being any offspring of Darkseid.
I have a problem, with DC Comics' never-ending battle to mix Darkseid's peanut butter, with Wonder Woman's chocolate. The chocolate almost always comes out, ranked lower, than the peanut butter.
Wonder Woman, uniquely among her heroic comrades, is a champion of love and freedom. Her archenemy must embody, in every way - backstory, powers, etc - the worst imaginable (the WORST) threat to the love and freedom, Diana is sworn to protect. I just don't think Wonder Woman's editors are committing enough effort to the sort of long-range development, such an antagonist needs to become instantly recognizable, ..as classic.
Classic is the goal. Archenemies must be instantly recognizable, as classic. I am waiting.
Look alive, Kangaliers.
Mel Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues
a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of
Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture
Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.
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