TALKING WONDER WOMAN WITH JODI PICOULT, 1

[MattBrady]

by Zack Smith

It took almost seven decades, but Wonder Woman will finally have a high-profile run written by a female writer – novelist Jodi Picoult, who takes over as writer from Allan Heinberg with Wonder Woman #6 in March 2007. She will team with current artist Terry Dodson and Drew Johnson, who illustrated a large portion of Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman run. (note – Johnson’s art here are pre-production sketches, not actual art that will be seen in the series)

Picoult, a Princeton graduate, is already known to legions of readers as the author of several critically-acclaimed bestsellers, including My Sister's Keeper, Second Glance and most recently, The Tenth Circle. Two of her books, The Pact (dealing with teen suicide) and Plain Truth (dealing with murder in an Amish community), were adapted into films for the Lifetime cable network that respectively starred Emmy-winners Megan Mullally and Mariska Hargitay, while My Sister's Keeper is in development at New Line Cinema, with Nick Cassavetes directing.

The Tenth Circle, which includes a section done as a graphic novel (and name-checks comic gossip columnist Rich Johnston), brought Picoult to the attention of DC editor Matt Idelson, which led to her upcoming five-issue run on the book. In the first of a two-part interview, Picoult discusses how she's approaching the assignment, and drops a few hints about her top-secret storyline.

Newsarama: Why did you want to work on this project?

Jodi Picoult: First of all, my kids wouldn't let me say no! [laughs] I have three kids, an 11-year-old, a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old, and I have what I refer to as my "real job," which is writing novels. It's extremely time-consuming, and different from writing comic books, which is partly why I said to myself, "maybe I want to do this."

Also, it's a lot of fun to flex your muscles and do something a little different. I got a nice taste of writing comic books for The Tenth Circle, which is how DC Comics found me, and although writing novels is a very solitary pursuit, writing comic books is not. You're working as a writer with your illustrator and your editor, and you're working within a framework and a history of what's been done before you and what's going to be done after you. And in that sense, it's a real challenge, and I like challenging things.

NRAMA: You've talked about how you want to have all five issues done in time for your next tour. How's that coming?

JP: It's coming well! (laughs) It's going to all be fine. My goal was to make sure my artists [Terry Dodson and Drew Johnson] had all of the books before I leave on tour, and I'm very well set to having that done.

NRAMA: You've talked about how your son is a comics fan. Has he provided any input on the scripts, and if so, what kind?

JP: No, he does not, because of how top secret the scripts are! I can't show them to anyone yet! (laughs) When I first sat down, I wanted to review what I knew about Wonder Woman, and I wanted to make sure I hadn't left anything out, so I asked my son Jake, "Tell me what you know about Wonder Woman?" He kind of gave me this look like, "Mom. Wonder Woman?" (laughs )

And that was an interesting thing too, because I think she's a very intriguing character, and that she's certainly quite an icon, she's been around forever, but her readership--- who's actually reading her? To me, that was a very big question, when I sat down to write my incarnation of who she should be.

In part, it was looking at kids like Jake, kids who do read comic books, and should be attracted to a character like her, and trying to figure how to bridge that and attract adult readership as well -- without alienating the people who have been her long-time fans. She's been around since the 1940s, and a lot of people have been reading her for a long time.

NRAMA: Some of your books, such as The Pact, have a strong following among teenagers. Are you writing more toward a teenaged/younger audience, or are you writing toward the same audience as your usual group of readers?

JP: Oh, I can tell you flat-out I'm not writing to my usual group of readers! (laughs) My books are very different from my Wonder Woman issues - and yet I hope my readers recognize some similar themes and character development, within a new framework - my fans have been very excited about my upcoming run on the comic book. But then again, with Wonder Woman, I'm not writing exclusively to teenagers either. Ironically, bridging the two demographics is also what I do as a novelist. I have a huge young-adult following, but I never label myself as a young-adult writer. What I try to do is write about issues that are pretty sophisticated, that have sophisticated humor or sophisticated problems, and teenagers will read themselves into the books, either through teenager characters or through some of the moral and ethical problems that I'm addressing.

If you're talking about a mother-daughter conflict, for example, you can look at it from the mother's point of view or the daughter's point of view, which is why you can attract a variety of age groups. And that's something I consider when I sit down to write Wonder Woman.

NRAMA: Your novels also deal heavily with real-world issues and internal, ethical conflicts. What's the challenge of doing an action-based, visual story with fantastic elements?

JP: It's not as big an adjustment as you'd think, because writing a novel for me is a very visual medium. I've always said it's like seeing a movie in my head, and then somehow translating it into words for people who aren't seeing the same film that I'm seeing.

Writing a comic book to me is very similar. It's very visual, obviously, and pacing is incredibly important. What I find harder in a comic book script is that instead of sticking with one character and one situation and one point of view for, say, an entire chapter, you wind up switching between many different points of view in the course of one issue. So the pacing feels a little different, it's choppier, and that of course contributes toward making it feel more action-packed.

But like any novel, I think just as a chapter would have a beginning, a middle, a cliffhanger at the end, you would feel the same way about a comic-book issue. I want my comic-book issues to have a beginning, a middle, and a cliffhanger at the end to get you to pick up the next one.

NRAMA: You've done a lot of research for your books, such as living with an Amish family for Plain Truth and going on a ghost-hunting trip for Second Glance—

JP: Are you asking me if I've whipped out my lasso?

NRAMA: Well, beyond reading back issues, what type of research have you done – or can you do - for your run on the book?

JP: Well, I read almost anything I could get my hands on that had been written in the past about her some of which I'd read before, and some of which was new. I spoke extensively to the people at DC Comics, who are, as far as I'm concerned, the gold standard in terms of information.

And then I just tried to think about what issues I wanted to bring forward during my run, what I thought was compelling about the character, and what I thought other people should find compelling about the character. That was really where I started.

There was also a lot of spot research. For example, I'm used to being able to do just about anything I want to when I write a novel, but you can't always do that in the comic books. If I'm writing an issue and all of a sudden I want to have another superhero in it, or a villain -- you have to figure out their history too, before you weave it into your storyline. And you have to get permission from the other editors, and the other writers. Writing comics isn't done in a vacuum; you are constantly reviewing what's been done before you arrived. Much of the research that I've been doing has been the on-the-job training about what it's like to write in this industry. Practical research is a little harder...I mean, you can't really go and visit Paradise Island, so I haven't been able to do that, and yet, if I were able to, I would have been the first one in line.

NRAMA: What are your thoughts on the history of the character, her creation, almost as an ideal, and her creator, William Moulton Marston?

JP: I know a little bit about him. What I find the most intriguing about Wonder Woman's history is that women have not really written her. I know that William Marston's wife, Elizabeth "Sadie" Moulton Marston, was one of the co-creators and there was another woman before me who wrote her - Mindy Newell, who scripted three issues of the original series and co-plotted several issues of the George Perez run. But that seems ridiculous to me! ( laughs). Half a century - and only a handful of women were involved? Honestly, to me, that's the no-brainer here! I think that surprised me the most.

Wonder Woman is also a very interesting character from a comic-book standpoint. I think about her like Superman, because she's larger-than-life, slumming in a human world, as opposed to someone like Batman, who obviously is human and ended up elevating himself to the rank of superhero. In that sense, she's slightly different. And I think, in a way, that's put a little bit of distance between her and her readers. It's hard to relate to someone who's stronger, and more powerful, and more iconoclastic than anyone you'd run across in your daily activities.

NRAMA: Without offering too many spoilers, how do you plan to try to bridge that gap?

JP: Well, one of the things that we're doing now, and you're seeing some of this in Allan's run, is that Diana Prince is now an alter ego for Wonder Woman, and she's working among these humans that she wants to be with so badly. She's working at the Department of Metahuman Affairs, which brings up a whole new set of problems; because you can want to defend humans and be with humans, but that doesn't necessarily make you one of them. And it's all the little things that trip her up - things that you and I do as a matter of habit , but that would be unfamiliar to Wonder Woman -which are making her, in my mind, more human, a little more relatable to the people who read her. There's a lot of humor in the stuff that I'm writing.

The other thing that I want to bring out is how hard it is for her to maintain this secret human identity, which is something you've seen before in other superhero characters, but, except for the time she was running some dress shop or something ( laughs) she hasn't really been doing that!

NRAMA: Right, efforts to give her an identity in the past have usually involved depowering her…

JP: Right, and that takes me back to the guys who were writing her. I don't know why she's always victimized, because to me, that's one of the most attractive things about Wonder Woman – she is the most powerful woman! And that's an amazing and wonderful thing.

I think that there's a difference between having insecurities at an emotional level, and having insecurities at a physical level. And that becomes a very interesting conundrum. What if you can punch a hole through a wall, and you can get yourself out of any physical mess necessary, and you are strength-matched to someone like Superman, but you are a little unsure about who you are, deep inside, and how you want others to see you?

NRAMA: Superman was raised among humans, but Wonder Woman came to our world as an adult, and was initially very public about who she was…

JP: Yeah, it's a very interesting thing. And to me, it's really made her a puzzle.

NRAMA: What have been some of the biggest tricks in trying to solve that puzzle?

JP: I've been trying to clean up are some of the unresolved issues between Wonder Woman and her mother. And that becomes, of course, problematic, because her mother is dead. And I can't say anything else, or I'd have to kill you. ( laughs) But that will become an issue in my run.

Also, as she develops this secret human identity as Diana Prince, the people who she is working for want to bring Wonder Woman in for questioning regarding her role in killing Max Lord. And that winds up precipitating a much larger mess…

In Part 2, Picoult discusses more of her thoughts on Wonder Woman, offers more hints about her storyline, and tells us of Jim Lee's college days. Look for it tomorrow.

[matchesmalone]

Boy, nothing says "new and different" like using the same penciller that drew the book about 8 issues ago.

Johnson is a fine penciler - his issue of 52 was the best - but, given that people either loved or hated Rucka's work with him on this title, it would probably be better to go with a new artist.

Nicola Scott would be great - her pencils on Birds of Prey #100 were astoundingly good - bodies properly proportioned, characters distinct from each other, clothing that draped and wrinkled like clothing, fine action shots...

[skeletorjr]

Originally Posted by matchesmalone

Boy, nothing says "new and different" like using the same penciller that drew the book about 8 issues ago.

Johnson is a fine penciler - his issue of 52 was the best - but, given that people either loved or hated Rucka's work with him on this title, it would probably be better to go with a new artist.

Nicola Scott would be great - her pencils on Birds of Prey #100 were astoundingly good - bodies properly proportioned, characters distinct from each other, clothing that draped and wrinkled like clothing, fine action shots...

Well, he's new to me. And what difference does it make that he worked on the book with Greg Rucka?

[Laughing@U]

I have to think that the choppyness of WW's success lies in her sons reaction.
I mean theres no doubt that males (if not always Men) make up the vast bulk of comics readers, and most men simply aren't that interested in WW, especially not the "superfeminist" version most writers go with.
Maybe its sexist, maybe its understandable, but WW is not a character that has ever appealed to me or most Men I know, excpet for Gays.
Maybe DC needs to simply accept that she will never be as popular as Superman or Batman unless and untill more gay/females become comic fans.

[Crump's Brother]

Great sketches! This sounds like fun. Unfortunately, I feel like any steam this title had has been lost due to the title's tardiness. What issue are we even on?

I will wait for the trade(s).

[hadez]

[quote=Crump's Brother]What issue are we even on?
QUOTE]

I Believe Issue 3.

[Colossus2420]

FINALLY! At least on paper, this should be the breath of fresh air that WW needs. Let's just hope that The Powers That Be at DC give Jodi the leeway she needs to script a decent and engaging yet powerful female lead and don't restrict her to a heavy-walled box of superfeminine-to-the-point-of-masculinity cookbook. No slight to Mssrs. Rucka and Heinberg, but WW needs a woman's touch, a female perspective. I only hope that Jodi's result is more along the lines of Gail Simone's vision with Birds of Prey and less those of Tamora Pierce's White Tiger, otherwise the female arm of DC's trinity is going to continue her slide into the back-issue bin of obscurity.

[LaughingJak]

This sounds great, but I can't get past Dodson's artwork. It just still feels too cheesecake for the style of stories I think she's getting at - that Johnson work is gorgeous though.

[Scarlet Mage]

[quote=Laughing@U]
Maybe its sexist, maybe its understandable, but WW is not a character that has ever appealed to me or most Men I know, excpet for Gays. QUOTE]


I have to agree with most of what you said except the gay part. The character's never appealed to me either and I'm gayer than hell. If it weren't for creators on the book that appeal to me I don't think I'd ever buy the book. I was as as hocked as anyone that WW was a gay icon since neither me or any gay comic fan I knew thought she was that great.

[matchesmalone]

Originally Posted by skeletorjr

Well, he's new to me. And what difference does it make that he worked on the book with Greg Rucka?

Did you read what I wrote? People tended to either love or hate Rucka's work. So it would be better to go with an artist not associated with that run because the people who didn't like that will be more inclined to think this is more of the same, at a point where they're trying to revitalize the franchise by bringing in new characters, identities, etc. (can't be sure yet where Heinberg's story is since it's so late).

[Ye Olde Iowa]

I've been a little worried about Jodi Picoult taking over Wonder Woman for an arc, but it looks like she is doing her research and has a genuine affection for the character. Plus, it looks like she is concerned about reaching her deadlines, which will help the book tremendously. The relaunch has really missed the mark for me, even though I love the character, as do many other male readers who are not gay (in response to the ridiculous comment a few posts up). I just don't really get what Heinberg is shooting for and I don't get why its taking so ridiculously long (especially with such a huge lead time).

Johnson's artwork looks strong though and Picoult is a good writer. I've got my fingers cross and I'm hoping for the best here.

[Laughing@U]

[quote=Scarlet Mage]

Originally Posted by Laughing@U

Maybe its sexist, maybe its understandable, but WW is not a character that has ever appealed to me or most Men I know, excpet for Gays. QUOTE]


I have to agree with most of what you said except the gay part. The character's never appealed to me either and I'm gayer than hell. If it weren't for creators on the book that appeal to me I don't think I'd ever buy the book. I was as as hocked as anyone that WW was a gay icon since neither me or any gay comic fan I knew thought she was that great.

Well obviously I am not saying all gays like it. Just saying that at my LCS, the only guys who buy WW are gay.
Not all of the gay patrons read WW. But all the male WW readers are gay.

[Darthphere]

Originally Posted by Colossus2420

FINALLY! At least on paper, this should be the breath of fresh air that WW needs. Let's just hope that The Powers That Be at DC give Jodi the leeway she needs to script a decent and engaging yet powerful female lead and don't restrict her to a heavy-walled box of superfeminine-to-the-point-of-masculinity cookbook. No slight to Mssrs. Rucka and Heinberg, but WW needs a woman's touch, a female perspective. I only hope that Jodi's result is more along the lines of Gail Simone's vision with Birds of Prey and less those of Tamora Pierce's White Tiger, otherwise the female arm of DC's trinity is going to continue her slide into the back-issue bin of obscurity.

Seems to be the leeway theyre giving her is by rehashing plot points that have been done with Wonder Woman to death. Mother issues, bring up Max Lord again etc.

[Kevin T. Brown]

Originally Posted by hadez

I Believe Issue 3.

3-ish..?

[Kevenn]

Storywise, I'm excited about this run.

Artwise, I am NOT looking forward to Drew Johnson's return. I think he really needs to improve on his storytelling abilities.

It's like when Don Heck returned to Wonder Woman time and again in the Pre-Crisis Era, god love him. Not the best art they could have gotten for Wonder Woman.

[Effect]

Originally Posted by Laughing@U

I have to think that the choppyness of WW's success lies in her sons reaction.
I mean theres no doubt that males (if not always Men) make up the vast bulk of comics readers, and most men simply aren't that interested in WW, especially not the "superfeminist" version most writers go with.
Maybe its sexist, maybe its understandable, but WW is not a character that has ever appealed to me or most Men I know, excpet for Gays.
Maybe DC needs to simply accept that she will never be as popular as Superman or Batman unless and untill more gay/females become comic fans.

I also found that interesting when she talked about her sons reaction to her asking him about Wonder Woman. I do feel better at least that was touched on by a writer and that she recognizes that type of reaction. The very fact that majority of the comic readership is male and you have a character like Wonder Woman, the relationship to that has to be address head on.

I've never been a big Wonder Woman fan but while I did enjoy the old TV series it always felt to me that she was pushed the way she was because she was there in the beginning and there needed to be a female charater to balance things out. She was the middle ground between Superman and Batman on a number of levels. However I never believed she was as popular as we were lead to believe. Now I don't have a problem reading female characters, however I will agree that the superfeminist direction many people go with in terms of the character is a huge turn off and very off putting. That's what really stops me from getting into the character majority of the time. The whole thing just comes off bad for me. To a degree in the past it made me somewhat bad at times due to being a guy while reading issues I picked up from time to time or read. However this could be due to jumping into arcs at wrong times or something and not getting context, however that was the feeling invoked at times in the past. I never got that to be honest from the TV show. Then again that could just be nostilgia playing a factor there and it did cause the feeling but I was to young to realize it.

That balance needs to be found and the fact has to be accepted that majoirty of readers most likely will be male. Hell even some female readers can be put off by it. You have to be careful not to alienate your readers with the tone of the book I think. Just how you have to be careful when doing stories with a character that happesn to be non-white. It's very easy to turn off readers no matter their race by going to far in one direction, being to sterotypical, etc.

I just wish more of these writers would actually sit down with actual readers of these characters, of various ages, and get real and honest feedback on feelings directed at these titles and characaters before they start writing.

[skeletorjr]

Originally Posted by matchesmalone

Did you read what I wrote? People tended to either love or hate Rucka's work. So it would be better to go with an artist not associated with that run because the people who didn't like that will be more inclined to think this is more of the same, at a point where they're trying to revitalize the franchise by bringing in new characters, identities, etc. (can't be sure yet where Heinberg's story is since it's so late).

Yeah, I read what you wrote. Did you read what I wrote? Johnson's art is new to me, and it may be new to other readers as well. If you don't want to read it because it makes you think of Rucka's work, that's your problem.

[Not From Around]

A woman writing "Wonder Woman?" Now there's an idea!

I've never read any of Jodi Picoult's works (which are very popular at our library, by the way), but I have looked in on Tenth Circle's graphic novel sequences. They're clearly written by someone who knows a good bit about recent American comics.

[Laughing@U]

Originally Posted by Effect

I also found that interesting when she talked about her sons reaction to her asking him about Wonder Woman. I do feel better at least that was touched on by a writer and that she recognizes that type of reaction. The very fact that majority of the comic readership is male and you have a character like Wonder Woman, the relationship to that has to be address head on.

I've never been a big Wonder Woman fan but while I did enjoy the old TV series it always felt to me that she was pushed the way she was because she was there in the beginning and there needed to be a female charater to balance things out. She was the middle ground between Superman and Batman on a number of levels. However I never believed she was as popular as we were lead to believe. Now I don't have a problem reading female characters, however I will agree that the superfeminist direction many people go with in terms of the character is a huge turn off and very off putting. That's what really stops me from getting into the character majority of the time. The whole thing just comes off bad for me. To a degree in the past it made me somewhat bad at times due to being a guy while reading issues I picked up from time to time or read. However this could be due to jumping into arcs at wrong times or something and not getting context, however that was the feeling invoked at times in the past. I never got that to be honest from the TV show. Then again that could just be nostilgia playing a factor there and it did cause the feeling but I was to young to realize it.

That balance needs to be found and the fact has to be accepted that majoirty of readers most likely will be male. Hell even some female readers can be put off by it. You have to be careful not to alienate your readers with the tone of the book I think. Just how you have to be careful when doing stories with a character that happesn to be non-white. It's very easy to turn off readers no matter their race by going to far in one direction, being to sterotypical, etc.

I just wish more of these writers would actually sit down with actual readers of these characters, of various ages, and get real and honest feedback on feelings directed at these titles and characaters before they start writing.

You know a saw a quote on another board which kinda summed up my feelings.
(paraphrased based on my memory which is not ifallible)

How is a woman from a colsed society with one sex, one political and religous philosophy, who comes from an island in which the only recorded internal conflict led to a complete splintering of that society, have the balls to come to "mans world" and lecture us about sexual equality or peaceful conflict resolution?
Its like a virgin teaching sex ed to porn stars.

Then theres the whole "Betty Freidman" on steriods personality most writers seem to like to saddle her with, seconded in popularity by the "pacifist warrior" oxymoron.

IDK somehow I always saw Batgirl as a much more realistic strong woman (or GRRRL0 character than WW.

[Dreighton]

OK...the last issue I read had Donna Troy as Wonder Woman, and Diana going by Diana Prince was not. But this interview says that Diana will be the secret identity of Wonder Woman. Granted we all see that one one coming from a mile away....but thanks for giving it away 100%

I've always like the potential of Wonder Woman. She's a female. Which should make her have a different feel..tone. Like the female voice Gail gave to the Birds of Prey. It's very subtle difference, but most straight guys will tell you that women DON'T think or act/re-act like guys do. (Life would be SO much easier if they DID). I'm hoping we get that female voice in this arc will give Wonder Woman a uniguess, she so needs and deserves, and not just Superman w/ Boobs and long hair

Note: New arc starting w/ #7 in MARCH? I don't think we will get issue 4 by March....

[GeorgeG]

I tried Rucka's run and didn't like Johnson's work on it. If he's on it, I think I'll just skip this. Get a regular writer on the title and I'll think about getting it monthly. Right now, if anything, I'll just wait for the trades-- since that's how the arcs are being written.

[drastic_q]

Originally Posted by Laughing@U

How is a woman from a colsed society with one sex, one political and religous philosophy, who comes from an island in which the only recorded internal conflict led to a complete splintering of that society, have the balls to come to "mans world" and lecture us about sexual equality or peaceful conflict resolution?
Its like a virgin teaching sex ed to porn stars.

That's pretty damned insightful.

I'm not seeing any hook here in this interview that'd interest me in this run. Check out the old Adam Hughes All-Star interview. There's a writer who knows how to pepper an interview with intrigue and build anticipation.

Re-re-visiting the fallout from snapping Max Lord's neck makes me sleepy. Diana Prince is a somewhat boring alter-ego. I mean, how's that ever going to stack up against Wayne and Kent? I'm not reading anything here that shows me that this run will be bad, but it does sound like more of the same (except the author's a woman). Meh. I guess the proof will be on the pages.

[Mike Hayden]

Wonder Woman that said WONDER WOMAN!!!!!!!!! come on it's WONDER WOMAN. We all love her. Heck I do.

[diana_fan]

This sounds atrocious! (laughs)

Yes, let's Lifetime-ize Wonder Woman! (laughs) Sure! (laughs) That's just what the character needs! (laughs)

Wonder Woman doesn't know who she is? Huh? Since when? Where the hell did that come from? Is that supposed to be somekind of joke? Seriously, if that isn't a joke, then we have serious problems.

And I've said it before, but I'll say it again: This entire "relate-ability" ________ is nonesense.

Ugh. I usually don't bother writing about stuff I don't like. It's not worth it, not worth the energy. But dammit, I want my Wonder Woman back! Why, oh why do they need to completely screw her over at every turn?

And this whole "Why are guys writing Wonder Woman" schtick is just ... tired. A freaking GUY created the chracter. Another GUY, George Perez, wrote the best run in the character's history. Yet another GUY, Greg Rucka, wrote a run that was right up there with Perez'.

By this logic, I suppose that Gail Simone shouldn't be writing the Atom, since she obviously can't understand men. Right.

By next summer, this nightmare will be over. And maybe, just maybe DiDio will get an actual comics book writer to write this comic book. Maybe Grant Morrison will be able to do it. If I believe in god, I would pray.

[Effect]

Originally Posted by Laughing@U

How is a woman from a colsed society with one sex, one political and religous philosophy, who comes from an island in which the only recorded internal conflict led to a complete splintering of that society, have the balls to come to "mans world" and lecture us about sexual equality or peaceful conflict resolution?
Its like a virgin teaching sex ed to porn stars.

That right there is the true problem with Wonder Woman as a character. The very idea of Wonder Woman is pretty hard to accept I think or even like when you think about it just who Wonder Woman is suppose to be. Focus on her virtues you can but this major aspect you point out above should not and can not be ignored. Exactly what gives her the right to do what she does and why should anyone listen to her, especailly when writers present her with the whoel superfeminist persona they due at times or keep with that tone?

With Superman at least he was raised among humans, part of his struggle is finding that mix of using his powers and trying to have a normal life with friends, family, and a loved one. He inspires people, doesn't tell them what they should be doing but tries to keep the law by doing what he thinks is right to help others. Batman on the other hand was raised with a family, had them taken from him and vows to try and stop that from happening to others. To bring criminals to justice for the sake of others. Even with Bruce's rich background or Superman's alien background there is enough there for the average person to connect with I feel.

What about Wonder Woman? Where is the hook for the average person to be pulled in?

Strange enough, even though I really dislike the character as a result of what she's become, I think Wonder Girl (Cassie) has a better chance of moving beyond the level Diana has due to her background compared to Diana's. Her character can is in a better position I think to hook both female and male readers if given the proper push.