SPOIL(ER) SPORT: GREG RUCKA ON WONDER WOMAN #210

[MattBrady]

All told, there have been better times to be Wonder Woman. Maybe like when she and Steve Trevor were jetting around and the pleasingly plump Etta was hanging around to, and no one every really put up that much of a fight, or maybe, at worse, there was some spanking.

The Wonder Woman of today is probably wishing she could go back to 1940s era worries about hair, dreamy Steve Trevor, and the rather wimpy villains, rather than have to deal with the events of this week’s issue #210 – “Stoned, part 5.”

As mentioned in our chat with Ed Brubaker about this week’s Captain America #1, we caught back up with Greg Rucka to talk about the events in this week’s issue of Wonder Woman, with an eye on the implications of…oh, we better get this out of the way first…

SPOILER WARNING

There. Better. And if you want to catch up on our earlier interview with Rucka about Wonder Woman, click back there.

Anyway, with an eye (no pun intended) on the implications of making a substantial change in a DC icon, that is, (and again – SPOILERS!), Wonder Woman, Diana, is now blind due to her battle with Medousa.

On with the show.

Newsarama: Issue #210 – this is what you’d been building to, both with this arc, and even farther back…

Greg Rucka: Yeah, and the idea actually came out of something that Phil Jimenez did. He had a wonderful story where Circe was trying to goad Diana into killing her in front of the world, and she did it by essentially calling her out. Then, through the use of Circe’s considerable magical powers, was broadcasting the battle around the world. Diana trumped her in the end by pointing out that she wasn’t the one working out of hate, and there was no reason to kill her. It was a wonderfully demonstrative moment.

That was part of it, and the other part was that Medousa came back, and came back with a real mad-on for Athena, but since it’s hard to go after a god, int eh great tradition of ancient Greece, you go after the god’s champion. Athena’s champion on earth is Wonder Woman, so Medousa, with her two other sisters – the immortal gorgons, Medousa is mortal – basically put into motion a plot that will lead to the death of Diana, as well as an adequate revenge on Athena.

In #210, Medousa kills someone very close to Diana, the child of one of the people who works for her at the embassy, and Diana goes pretty close to postal. Medousa then issues a formal challenge, and in the paradigm in which these characters exist, it is a challenge where Medousa invokes the right to a trial governed by the gods that have influence on them.

NRAMA: That’s something similar to what you did in The Hiketeia, that there are certain things that cannot be ignored when invoked. Diana couldn’t pass this off, could she?

GR: Not at all. Once ritual is invoked, ritual is everything. Everything. It’s really less a question of whether or not you want to honor a ritual more than it is the law. When these laws are broken…well, there’s a long string of Greek tragedies that show what happens when the laws of ritual are broken. The laws are broken – bad. Things. Happen. Bad, bad things, like Troy gets taken or Oedipus ends up tearing out his eyes. There’s a long list of instances where, if you break from ritual, your life turns down this path from which there is no return. The Greeks had an incredible sense of destiny and of fate, to such an extent that fate was a living concept in the form of the women who worked the loom and sewed the threads together. Their classical history is rich with examples that practically scream out, “Don’t screw with ritual!”

So – no, Diana didn’t really have a choice when Medousa invoked it.

NRAMA: So, professor, sidebar concluded, let’s get back to the story leading up to the battle…

GR: Right. At the end of #209, this boy, Martin Garibaldi has been turned into stone by Medousa. Diana attacks Medousa, and Medousa invokes the right of trial by combat to be governed over by Ares who is not one of Diana’s friends, being that he’s the god of conflict, if not war. So Diana willingly accepts the challenge, and Medousa picks the location, and this is where things get interesting. She picks Yankee Stadium, and she’s done that because Yankee Stadium, coincidentally enough, is wired for transmission very, very well. With Circe’s backing, they plan to broadcast the fight around the world.

So, Medousa’s ultimate goal is not only to kill Wonder Woman, but also to turn everybody watching this battle to stone. Since they’re broadcasting around the world, they’re figuring the world will have about 48 million more statues come the end of the day.

NRAMA: So the televised version of Medousa’s gaze hits you with the whammy as well?

GR: Right. One of the things we established is that while the reflection of the gaze does not turn you to stone, meeting her gaze as it’s “living,” meaning live, meaning live transmission, will do the job just as well. Look into her living gaze, and you’re turned to stone – that’s the curse Athena put on her.

NRAMA: But you weren’t worried about the readers of the comic book being turned into stone?

GR: It’s a comic, Matt.

NRAMA: Right, right…you hope it’s not real…

GR: …

NRAMA: Alright, alright…so they have the fight…

GR: And this is a fight Diana went into weakened – she’s clearly not at the top of her game. Medousa’s serpents got a nice bite in on her, and as a result, Diana is hurting.

NRAMA: Moving to the endgame – there was only one way for Diana to win this…

GR: Right, and yes, we did take certain liberties. Nowhere in Greek mythology does it say that “if you look at Medousa in a live transmission, the power still works.” Sadly, nobody in ancient Greece wrote that story, so I’ve got nothing to back me up on it, but we think it makes sense. As for the battle with Diana, there are indications that she could compel you to look at her – and that’s what Medousa does in the end – she’s put a bad hit on Diana, and says, “Look at me.”

Diana knows that she will have to do it – and can only resist it for so long, does the only thing that is left – not just for her, but for the 40-odd million people that are now waiting to see how this will end.

The other thing to point out here is that the nature of the ritual is such that Ares seals off the stadium to preserve the integrity of the battle between the two combatants, and prevent any interference. So – no, even if Superman is watching this happen, he cannot get in. It comes down to what these two are doing. Nobody else can stop it.

Knowing what she does, that if she looks at Medousa and is turned to stone, Medousa is next going to look directly into the cameras and kill almost 50 million people, Diana does the only thing she can think of – she destroys her eyes and kills Medousa.

NRAMA: When you pitched this story to your editor on the book, Ivan Cohen, what was his reaction?

GR: I think his first reaction was “Holy shit,” but obviously, the second and third reactions allowed it to progress. We went about this very carefully – I talked toa lot of the writers that I really respect in the industry, and I wanted to hear what they thought about how best to do it. It was important that if we were going to do it, we’d do it in a way that was dramatic and appropriate. I have no interest in mutilating Wonder Woman for the sake of hurting her. It was very important that in this story the reason she is doing this, and it is her choice to do this. Being blinded wasn’t something that came out of the blue – a bomb she was defusing blew up in her face. No. She chose to do this – this was her last move. There was no other move for her.

That was what we worked on most. We wanted to make that clear – this is one of the most defining moments for the character in our run thus far. As far as I’m concerned, Batman wouldn’t do it. Superman wouldn’t do it. It’s not an option they would see. I’m not saying they wouldn’t get out of it, but this wasn’t their story. But when Diana makes her decision, she does it without hesitation – “If this is the way I can win this fight, by blinding myself, then blinding myself is a fine option.” She gave her vision willingly. And so she did. This isn’t about what Medousa did to her – this is about what Diana was willing to do to herself to defeat Medousa.

NRAMA: Going back to DC – when there are changes made to characters, even ones that are…and I don’t think we’re surprising anyone by saying this is transitional, rather than permanent…

GR: Yeah, I think anybody who looks at this and thinks, “Oh dear lord, DC has let Rucka blind Diana forever and ever!” – is high.

NRAMA: Sure, but still – this is something along the lines of breaking Batman’s back, or, even though the world at large wasn’t sure of his return then, killing Superman – a fairly substantial change in the character. Were there more hoops for this storyline compared to a regular one?

GR: Yeah, definitely. When we hit this point – and this is just the first stop in a larger arc, and it should be. You don’t have a character do such a huge thing, and then just go, “Ah, forget it!” It now becomes a factor in, if not everything the character moves toward next, certainly a factor in the plots that come next.

Ivan and I presented this to Dan [Didio], and Dan presented it to Paul [Levitz], and Paul said, “You know, I think that you should do it, do it carefully, and don’t dishonor the character.” And that’s always the point. It’s an ironic thing to say when you’ve blinded Wonder Woman, but as I’ve said before, the goal is always to serve the characters as best as you can, and that’s what we’re trying to do.

NRAMA: So this isn’t a “the next day, Diana awoke to find that Athena had magically replaced her eyes as she slept!” type of thing?

GR: Oh, no. There’s no magic wand coming up.

NRAMA: But you know that Wonder Woman fans are going to say…

GR: “Purple Healing Ray!” They already have. But – as we’ll find out a wound inflicted by a god’s curse isn’t the same as someone burning themselves in the blacksmith shop. So I’ll see your Purple Healing Ray, and raise you a curse of Athena.

Seriously, one of the things we do establish is that these were demigods fighting here – they’re not mortals. They’re not human. The things they can do, and the damage they can take isn’t as simple as anything the Amazons have seen before. But they do try – we wheel the Purple Healing Ray out pretty quickly to address it, but in the end, the wound was delivered through a divine curse, then the wound is going to have to be removed by the divine.

NRAMA: So the battle explains the covers that have come out since the solicitation for #210 – you didn’t want to give away the surprise of the battle’s end?

GR: Yeah – we tried to do it as best we could. We tried to obscure her face when possible, but #213 is the first cover that shows her blindfolded. It wasn’t not so much to have a “bum-bum-bahhh!” surprise, but why spoil it? It’s part of the story.

NRAMA: So – implications – you have a cover coming up for issue #212 with Diana fighting the entire JLA. Is this an instance where they don’t think she has what it takes to be a member anymore?

GR: Yup – that’s exactly what happens. #211 is fallout from #210. #212 is about a week after, and one of the things that happens is Batman, more than anyone else in the League says, “Let’s see if you can still be a member of the League.” Diana’s of two minds about this – she resents the fact that they want to test her, and isn’t surprised that it’s Bruce who pushes for it.

#213 leads into events on Olympus, and then #214 is the second half of our Flash crossover. Then, from there, Diana, Ferdinand, and Wonder Girl – Cassie, end up having to undertake a quest for Athena, because things on Olympus have changed. It looks like Diana is embarking on this quest for one reason, but ultimately it will be revealed that she has embarked upon it for an entirely different one. And there will be some tension…obviously. But along with it a lot of excitement – trust me, what happened in #210 was just the start of something much bigger.

[Aquaboy]

it's been awhile since I've posted on the 'Rama , but this article was worth it. i've really been enjoying Rucka's run and have loyally stayed on for the duration. things that were slow to boil finally paid off!

while every reader knows that Diana's affliction won't be permanent, this storyline should prove interesting. Rucka , via his current run, has given utmost respect to Diana as a character. i think for the most part, he's been very good about his continuity as well.

i'm very much looking forward to more of my favorite 'Kith-otaur', Ferdinand as well. I'm glad that Rucka will finally get a chance to pen the dynamics of Diana and Cassie. She was sorely missed in these pages while she was hanging with the Titans.

the only things I would eventually like to see is some more revamped villians or new ones for Diana. We've been treated to Circe, Silver Swan, Dr. Psycho, and will have a chance to see the real Cheetah back in action. I'd like to see more super baddies in addition to texan belle, Veronica Cale.

any chance we will see what happened on Paradise Island since 'the Toppling' and is there a way i can shoehorn Themyscira's appearance in the 2nd Bat/Supes arc?

[John Osen]

GR: "Right, and yes, we did take certain liberties. No where in Greek mythology does it say that “if you look at Medousa in a live transmission, the power still works.”

Greg, I agree with this!

[TopJack]

It's Steve Trevor, not Steve Rodgers.

Great. First Diana's mother is killed. Then her sister (with zero mourning). Now she's blind.

Terrific. Rucka certainly loves abusing the females he fetishizes.

There's a reason I stopped buying this book.

Women in Refrigerators, indeed.

[MattBrady]

Originally posted by TopJack
Women in Refrigerators, indeed.

And Rucka killed Wonder Woman's mother when...? And sister, when? You were speaking in plural, indicating that Rucka did both...

I missed both of those points in his run.

MattB

[gwangung]

Originally posted by TopJack
It's Steve Trevor, not Steve Rodgers.

Great. First Diana's mother is killed. Then her sister (with zero mourning). Now she's blind.

Terrific. Rucka certainly loves abusing the females he fetishizes.

There's a reason I stopped buying this book.

Women in Refrigerators, indeed.

Given that two of these things weren't done on Rucka's watch, I'd have to say you never bought the book in the first place.

Not worth a whole lot in the first place (not to mention invoking Gail's name in vain).

[TopJack]

Originally posted by MattBrady
And Rucka killed Wonder Woman's mother when...? And sister, when? You were speaking in plural, indicating that Rucka did both...

I missed both of those points in his run.

MattB

Doesn't matter. The damage was already done. He inflicted more. Inflicting pain upon females is all Rucka can do. I mean, why give Diana a momentary emotional break when you can blind her?

Such progress.

Just read his Elektra run, which was essentially a year-long torture session that ended with the title character even more of a mess.

Not to mention, this book is written at a pace that makes Bendis' lethargic "Daredevil" look speedy. Rucka has to come out every few months in interviews and reassure people, '"stuffs gonna happen. I promise. Diana is a badass!"

Yeah right.

Perhaps dismemberment will be his next "character" arc.

[MattBrady]

Originally posted by TopJack
Doesn't matter. The damage was already done. He inflicted more. Inflicting pain upon females is all Rucka can do. I mean, why give Diana a momentary emotional break when you can blind her?

Such progress.

I'm sorry you're having such a bad time reading his work, then.

MattB

[blue13]

i like rucka's work, and i apologize if someone is offended, especiallly long-time WW fans...but i wish DC would allow her to be paired up with someone.

i have a hard time endearing myself to diana because she's not human (emotionally). she's like this machine or some other object -- sexless. it's like they're saying she can't be both a woman and a hero at the same time.

even batman needs selina or talia, for example, to ground him.

follow the animated version's example.

[gwangung]

Originally posted by TopJack
Doesn't matter. The damage was already done. He inflicted more. Inflicting pain upon females is all Rucka can do. I mean, why give Diana a momentary emotional break when you can blind her?

Such progress.

Just read his Elektra run, which was essentially a year-long torture session that ended with the title character even more of a mess.

Not to mention, this book is written at a pace that makes Bendis' lethargic "Daredevil" look speedy. Rucka has to come out every few months in interviews and reassure people, '"stuffs gonna happen. I promise. Diana is a badass!"

Yeah right.

Perhaps dismemberment will be his next "character" arc.

Actually, that seems to be your job, given your hacked up recollections (which bear only the slightest resemblance to what was actually written).

You might be taken more seriously if you actually read the books.

[Tonguedevil]

Originally posted by TopJack
Doesn't matter. The damage was already done. He inflicted more. Inflicting pain upon females is all Rucka can do. I mean, why give Diana a momentary emotional break when you can blind her?

Such progress.

Well, there truly is no accounting for taste, I guess.

Far as I'm concerned, Rucka might presently be writing the greatest run on Wonder Woman ever. He's raised the stakes high, given Diana villains who have truly threatened her, and what he's done here that's most impressive---he's given the book some much-needed 'balls' for lack of a better term.

The Wonder Woman comic has now transformed itself into a rich tapestry of violent intensity, and I hope Rucka refuses to let Diana up for air and keeps the powerful villainy and the shocks a comin' for the entirety of his run.

[HulkSmashNow]

All right, please bear with me.

Medusa (or Medousa) is supposed to be dead, already, right? Didn't Perseus kill her in the myth?

He used the magical weapons the gods gave him, including a curved, sickle-shaped sword, a helmet (or cap) of invisibility, and a magic shield in which he saw Medusa's reflection, and was unharmed by it.

He snuck up on the Gorgons as they slept, and looking at his shield's reflection, he reached behind himself and cut her head off with a downard backward blow.

Now, why couldn't have Diana just did this, instead of stupidly blinding herself? Medousa may not have been asleep, but Wonder Woman could've still used a magic shield and hit her with a backwards blow, right?

[MattBrady]

Originally posted by HulkSmashNow
Now, why couldn't have Diana just did this, instead of stupidly blinding herself? Medousa may not have been asleep, but Wonder Woman could've still used a magic shield and hit her with a backwards blow, right?

depends - what did she have with her at that point in the battle, how much strength did she have left, etc, etc..all things covered in #210, right?

And as for her being dead - read the other WW article the above one links to.

MattB

[drumore]

Huh,
Kinda cool that in her FIRST series, WONDER WOMAN 212 started her trial to be reinducted as a member of the JLA. Nice coincidence.

[I-Ching]

well this is a daring storyline but it does NOTHING to develop Diana as a character which is the precise problem that every...yes EVERY writer...since Perez has had huges problems doing.

I've enjoyed a lot of Rucka's idea but it's his execution I have had problems with. Dragged out pacing hasn't helped. This development is just another "shock" aspect that seems more appropriate in the 90's.

[Koolaid]

Uuum, I may have missed something in the description of the story, why does'nt she just put a blind fold on? Tearing out both eyes is a tad extreme.

I'll check it out. I have'nt really read WW because, like another poster said earlier, after the Perez run the character seemed to lose any semblance of personality. She just seems like a sexless version of Superman. Not really much too like.

I'll give Rucka's take a chance. Seems at least interesting.

[GeorgeG]

I tried Rucka's Wonder Woman, dropped it at #200.

So someone who read this issue, tell me, did Wonder Woman have her bracelets on? And if so, couldn't those show Medousa's reflection? Couldn't that have been used instead of a blinding that's just going to be eventually reversed down the line?

In regards to JLA, I think she should step down until she recovers. It would make more sense. Plus, it could provide an opportunity for a new member or at least the inclusion of a former/reserve member.

[YourMaturity]

GR: Batman wouldn't do it.


Interesting that he says that...but I find it very hard to believe that batman wouldn't resort to blinding himself if he had too.

I think he most definately would.


Yawn...oh well...she'll be cured sooner than DC wants us to believe. I give it 4 months.

[John Osen]

Originally posted by MattBrady
depends - what did she have with her at that point in the battle, how much strength did she have left, etc, etc..all things covered in #210, right?MattB

Wrong, Matt. I read #210 today. Although Medusa (The Greek spelling is so pretentious. Medusa ) was not sleeping, Wonder Woman has a magic sword and shield, obviously would have been familar with the story, and would have used this strategy the first AND the second time, and at the least she could have blocked the snake's bite in the first fight. Also, Greg emphasizes that Diana can only be cured magically, but expects us to buy that Medusa's "live" magic works via electronic reproduction and transmission. How does Medusa or Diana know this for sure? Also, how does endless suffering lead to well-rounded character development? Since the blindness is temporary, is this really helping develope permanent change in the character or just a temporary Daredevil-like disability? Please. Simone's Birds of Prey #s 75-6 were incredible, I can only afford one of the two, and I'm dropping this for that.

[RobertTaylor]

Rucka is writing one of the best books from DC Comics right now, and as a person who has never read Wonder Woman before, I am continually surprised at how inventive and enthralling his work is month after month. Even more suprising is the fact that the Gods aren't boring every month.

I love how he continues to build things, one after the other to something much bigger while still taking time to make each issue enjoyable instead of acting like it is just marking time. We get payoffs at unexpected times while Rucka builds other storyarcs, in addition to building Diana's Rogues Gallery with plenty of cool villains.

And to say that nothing has happened during is run is plain idiotic, and to invoke the name of Gail is even more stupid. This is a book starring a female character and no major battle can be meaningful and last in the reader's memory unless there is some toll taken on the character, either emotionally or physically, and this time it was physically, just as one would expect Superman or Batman to be brought through pain and suffering during certain battles in their respective books. Does the fact that Chuck Austen has pummeled Superman almost into a coma, taken away his invulnerability temporarily and shot him full of bullets make him sexist against men? Diana has been portrayed since Rucka began as a strong independant female who speaks her mind and stands for female empowerment.

And for the guy who asked, Diana began the battle with a helmet on and a blindfold underneath but as the battle continued the helmet, and later the blindfold were removed by Medousa.

And finally a shout-out should be made to Drew Johnson, who rocks that book onto a whole different level

[cncoyle]

Originally posted by MattBrady
Then, from there, Diana, Ferdinand, and Wonder Girl – Cassie, end up having to undertake a quest for Athena, because things on Olympus have changed.

OH, HELL YEAH! More Ferdinand!!!

And Mr. Rucka--THANK YOU. I've said this in Talk@ so much I'm a broken record, but screw it--You delivered on your promise. Diana is THE BADDEST MOTHERF$#KER IN THE DCU. Superman nor Batman would go to those means to win in battle. Plus, not only did she blind herself, she chopped the bitch's head off ON LIVE INTERNATIONAL TELEVISION!

I love the character of Batman & Superman, but both of them would be worrying about their image before they'd go anywhere near that level of ballsy. So, again, THANK YOU!

As for the haters, don't pay attention to the anal dip$#!ts on this board--that story was epic and kicked my @$$. I can't wait to see what's next!

Oh, and Adventures of Superman was a great read, too! More Mxy is always a good thing! "He's busy 'til page 8!"

[cncoyle]

Originally posted by Koolaid
Uuum, I may have missed something in the description of the story, why does'nt she just put a blind fold on? Tearing out both eyes is a tad extreme.

First, Diana DOES wear a blindfold under a helmet with blinders. Medousa kept coming at her and cutting away pieces of her armor/outfit.

Finally, Medousa rips off Diana's blindfold and is compelling her to look at her, which fits in with some of the Greek legends. So, even if she could use her bracelets for a reflection, she would have to have gone for the kill with her back to her. She was already weak from being stabbed through her abdomen!

So, in order to get in close for the final kill, she took the only option for a full-frontal assault. She slathered the snakehair's venom on her eyes (she didn't tear them out).

Originally posted by Koolaid
I'll check it out. I have'nt really read WW because, like another poster said earlier, after the Perez run the character seemed to lose any semblance of personality. She just seems like a sexless version of Superman. Not really much too like.

I'll give Rucka's take a chance. Seems at least interesting.

I highly recommend it. I've stuck with Wonder Woman over the years because I like the character. I can honestly say that Rucka's take on Diana is (imo) as good as the work by Perez & Jiminez. Very good stuff, with a slow burn that DOES pay off (a rarity in the slow-burn storytelling business.)

[Hannibal King]

Rucka has never failed to disappoint me in anything he has written. Sometimes it may be a little slow, but not every story can be slap-bang action all the time.

I especially enjoyed his Black Widow story from a while back, and am hoping to start picking up the Queen and Country trades.

[aphterburn]

Originally posted by I-Ching
well this is a daring storyline but it does NOTHING to develop Diana as a character...

Really? Seems to me to be a character defining moment if I've ever seen one.

Originally posted by TopJack
Doesn't matter. The damage was already done. He inflicted more. Inflicting pain upon females is all Rucka can do. I mean, why give Diana a momentary emotional break when you can blind her?

Listen to yourself. Why can't poor Diana have a break??? Because she's not real and it's not owed to her to get a "break". It seems you simply have a sensitivity problem and now want Rucka to take it easy on the title character to give YOU a break. There are plenty of other titles that will spare you these tense moments such as Powerpuff Girls.

[I-Ching]

Well there's a big difference in developing a character and defining one.

This act by Diana DEFINES her in either that she's not wasn't a capable enough of a warrior to take down Medusa without resorting to self-mutilation (just keep your eyes closed Wondy) or that she's willing to harm herself in order to avoid harm to others.

Okay...so Wonder Woman will battle to whatever end is necessary to save/help others...you think that is a defining moment and I agree but thats not really defining her since it's already been defined, it's just reinforcing it.

We knew this about Diana...blinding herself isn't that shocking after she's already died.

She needs to be DEVELOPED. Show us something new, explore aspects of her character that have been left untouched...this "blind" story arc does nothing to explore the potential the character has...but that's her unfortunate history so this just adds yet another page.