MichaelDoran
11-10-2002, 01:13 PM
<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/RRP/TRINITYCV1.jpg" target="_blank"><img width="175" height="255" align="right" src="http://classic.newsarama.com/DC/RRP/TRINITYCV1_t.jpg" border="0" alt="BATMAN/SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN: TRINITY"></a>As Newsarama reported in February from this year’s MegaCon, Matt Wagner is working on a three-issue, prestige miniseries entitled Trinity, which he will both write and draw for DC and due out next spring. The miniseries treads on some older, but surprisingly unsown ground – Wonder Woman’s first meetings with both Batman and Superman, set shortly after she left Themscrya and came to man’s world. Newsarama caught up with Wagner to get an update on the project, which was featured at this weekend’s DC Comics RRP meeting.
First, while Wagner said that the core, motivating action of the miniseries will be the meetings between the characters, labeling it as just a meet and greet between the three major players of the DCU just scratches the surface.
“Obviously from the title, what I'm really examining/presenting is what makes these three characters the major icons in the DCU,” Wagner said. “What it is that links them together so strongly because, really, this is the holy triumvirate of super-hero archetypes; the god of the light, the god of darkness and the goddess.”
Despite his comment, Wagner’s not putting such an “iconic” spin on the story as to loose its relevance to long-time DC readers. “This is set in continuity,” Wagner said. “It’s not Diana's first excursion to man's world, but it is early on and she's not used to interacting with men as of yet. She keeps trying to figure them out and then she's presented with these two extreme examples of the male of the species. Needless to say, that doesn't necessarily make it any easier for her.
”Part of my approach herein is that these characters will get to know each other as their costumed selves first,” Wagner continued. “Bruce and Clark already know each other's secret identities but there's very little of that depicted. So, Diana's the odd person out in regards to that equation. Still, I thought there needed to be a definite reason for their meetings to occur. I didn't want to just have some convoluted plot threat wherein Wonder Woman shows up, joins either of the other two in a battle and then introduces herself afterwards. I'm very story driven and so I needed a reason to bring all three of them together. And, with characters this big, it needed to be mythic as well...something with an overriding metaphor of their uniqueness. I needed a symbolic metaphor to spark their triple union. The title says it all.”
Given the main event, that is the first meetings, of the miniseries, Wagner confirmed that Diana’s meetings with Superman and Batman occur early on in the careers of the two male heroes, establishing that essentially, the three grew into “heroing” together over the years.
”At the time of Trinity, Superman's been operating in public just a bit longer than Batman, but you've got to remember that Clark has been slowly discovering his powers and responsibilities in an escalating fashion over the course of his young adult life,” Wagner said. ”Bruce has been pursuing his goals in a much more driven and methodical manner for quite a bit longer. Like I said earlier, Diana's new to the scene and hasn't really been covered much, media-wise, as of yet. Superman's the big celebrity at this point. And, of course, Batman's existence is hardly known of at all by the general public.”
Wagner said that of the various interpretations of Diana that have come up over the years, that is, a straight superheroine to pacifistic ambassador of a foreign culture to a warrior priestess, his view of Wonder Woman takes a little from all three. That view, he admitted, has shifted and twisted over the course of working on the miniseries.
“Of the three, Diana’s the one that I came to the table with the least opinion of,” Wagner said. “Obviously, I've already done a great deal of work on Batman and I've always had what I think is a good internal take on Superman. But, really though, I 'd have to say the entire process has helped me to understand all three characters better.”
A realization that Wagner came to concerning the three was that, while the story is about a trinity of heroes, there are multiple bonds between any given two members of the group – something that affects the overall dynamic and group relationship.
“When I really started to look at how the characters interacted and interwove, I realized that there were so many instances and attributes that linked two of them and excluded the remaining one,” Wagner said. “It’s like this: two are men and one is not, two are superhuman and one is not, two are orphans and one is not, two are earthlings and one is not, two are aristocrats and one is not, two are immigrants and one is not, etc, etc, etc... I found that this list can just go on and on.”
Finally, Wagner said that while his editor on the project, Bob Schreck, has already called Trinity a “crowd-pleaser,” he’s not ready to give it that badge until its release. Wagner said it was a thrill, as both a creator and long-time fan of the characters, to find this small patch of fertile soil in their collective histories, and plant a story which was new but would give readers a strong sense of familiarity.
“I'm thoroughly surprised and delighted that this story hasn't already been told in DC's continuity,” Wagner said. “I was halfway thru the first issue before I even quite realized was that I was trying to achieve was an overwhelming sense of familiarity. This should almost read like a bit of history that got lost. It should feel almost like this is a story you've already read, even though that's far from the case. So, it’s very iconic in its approach to all three characters and how they do their respective things. I know this is a book I would love to read and I think many other readers will feel that way as well.”
<a href=http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000039>CLICK HERE</a> to return to the main menu to read about more of DC’s upcoming projects.
Got something to say about this? <a href=http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=agree>CLICK HERE</a> to register and join one of comics' most active online communities. Registration is fast and easy.</font>
First, while Wagner said that the core, motivating action of the miniseries will be the meetings between the characters, labeling it as just a meet and greet between the three major players of the DCU just scratches the surface.
“Obviously from the title, what I'm really examining/presenting is what makes these three characters the major icons in the DCU,” Wagner said. “What it is that links them together so strongly because, really, this is the holy triumvirate of super-hero archetypes; the god of the light, the god of darkness and the goddess.”
Despite his comment, Wagner’s not putting such an “iconic” spin on the story as to loose its relevance to long-time DC readers. “This is set in continuity,” Wagner said. “It’s not Diana's first excursion to man's world, but it is early on and she's not used to interacting with men as of yet. She keeps trying to figure them out and then she's presented with these two extreme examples of the male of the species. Needless to say, that doesn't necessarily make it any easier for her.
”Part of my approach herein is that these characters will get to know each other as their costumed selves first,” Wagner continued. “Bruce and Clark already know each other's secret identities but there's very little of that depicted. So, Diana's the odd person out in regards to that equation. Still, I thought there needed to be a definite reason for their meetings to occur. I didn't want to just have some convoluted plot threat wherein Wonder Woman shows up, joins either of the other two in a battle and then introduces herself afterwards. I'm very story driven and so I needed a reason to bring all three of them together. And, with characters this big, it needed to be mythic as well...something with an overriding metaphor of their uniqueness. I needed a symbolic metaphor to spark their triple union. The title says it all.”
Given the main event, that is the first meetings, of the miniseries, Wagner confirmed that Diana’s meetings with Superman and Batman occur early on in the careers of the two male heroes, establishing that essentially, the three grew into “heroing” together over the years.
”At the time of Trinity, Superman's been operating in public just a bit longer than Batman, but you've got to remember that Clark has been slowly discovering his powers and responsibilities in an escalating fashion over the course of his young adult life,” Wagner said. ”Bruce has been pursuing his goals in a much more driven and methodical manner for quite a bit longer. Like I said earlier, Diana's new to the scene and hasn't really been covered much, media-wise, as of yet. Superman's the big celebrity at this point. And, of course, Batman's existence is hardly known of at all by the general public.”
Wagner said that of the various interpretations of Diana that have come up over the years, that is, a straight superheroine to pacifistic ambassador of a foreign culture to a warrior priestess, his view of Wonder Woman takes a little from all three. That view, he admitted, has shifted and twisted over the course of working on the miniseries.
“Of the three, Diana’s the one that I came to the table with the least opinion of,” Wagner said. “Obviously, I've already done a great deal of work on Batman and I've always had what I think is a good internal take on Superman. But, really though, I 'd have to say the entire process has helped me to understand all three characters better.”
A realization that Wagner came to concerning the three was that, while the story is about a trinity of heroes, there are multiple bonds between any given two members of the group – something that affects the overall dynamic and group relationship.
“When I really started to look at how the characters interacted and interwove, I realized that there were so many instances and attributes that linked two of them and excluded the remaining one,” Wagner said. “It’s like this: two are men and one is not, two are superhuman and one is not, two are orphans and one is not, two are earthlings and one is not, two are aristocrats and one is not, two are immigrants and one is not, etc, etc, etc... I found that this list can just go on and on.”
Finally, Wagner said that while his editor on the project, Bob Schreck, has already called Trinity a “crowd-pleaser,” he’s not ready to give it that badge until its release. Wagner said it was a thrill, as both a creator and long-time fan of the characters, to find this small patch of fertile soil in their collective histories, and plant a story which was new but would give readers a strong sense of familiarity.
“I'm thoroughly surprised and delighted that this story hasn't already been told in DC's continuity,” Wagner said. “I was halfway thru the first issue before I even quite realized was that I was trying to achieve was an overwhelming sense of familiarity. This should almost read like a bit of history that got lost. It should feel almost like this is a story you've already read, even though that's far from the case. So, it’s very iconic in its approach to all three characters and how they do their respective things. I know this is a book I would love to read and I think many other readers will feel that way as well.”
<a href=http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000039>CLICK HERE</a> to return to the main menu to read about more of DC’s upcoming projects.
Got something to say about this? <a href=http://classic.newsarama.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=agree>CLICK HERE</a> to register and join one of comics' most active online communities. Registration is fast and easy.</font>