I have read at least 10 different takes on the WW origin so far, so I need to give this a little time for consideration before I just up and declare it the winner for me. But it got me thinking:
Do you have a favorite version of a DC hero origin story? What makes it stand out to you from others you’ve read?
Include some panels if you feel so inclined! As someone just getting my feet wet in the wider DC universe, I’d love to hear your opinions on different characters!
I’m still in love with Golden Age Wonder Woman. It’s not like I have any other connection with WWII or that era, but there is something magical to me about the beginning of comic books, and for all his faults William Moulton Marston did it best. His writing and sometimes outlandish ideas together with H.G. Peter’s art created something that resonated with me immediately.
Can’t go wrong with the original. I have read the very first story but no further in her Golden Age stuff. It’s on my list! I get sidetracked a lot. >_>
One of my very favorite Wonder Woman tales, for exactly those reasons! Jorge Jimenez become an instant favorite from this arc. I collected the single issues, and they are very cherished in my collection.
I like Barbara Gordon’s original appearance/origin, but I also like Batgirl 0 from the new 52. In my head they can exist in the same universe/timeline with minor era adjustments.
For Wonder Woman, I actually like the clay origin.
The clay origin is absolutely my favorite origin for Wonder Woman, and I’m still quite angry that it was replaced.
My favorite character is Stephanie Brown, and she has two really nice origin stories that I love. Detective Comics #647-649, and Batman Eternal. I think that the original origin is a tad bit tighter as a story, and organically evolved into a wonderful character in the Robin series, but Batman Eternal really thrusts her straight into the action on a huge, city wide scale, and I love it as well (plus, it was heavily referenced in the recent Batwoman season 2 episode!)
My favorite origin of my favorite (or “fav’rit” as Bibbo would say) hero is The Man of Steel (1986).
It’s written and drawn by John Byrne, who’s an absolute icon in comics as a whole, but especially in DC lore, given how he relaunched DC’s #1 character in 1986, then chronicled Superman’s ongoing adventures for nearly two years afterward.
Byrne’s work on the Superman relaunch was a major influence in the Ruby Spears Superman TV series from 1988, as well as subsequent Superman-based movies and TV shows in the decades that followed.
Another favorite origin is Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s update of the Justice League, which kicked off The New 52.
Granted, they’re my favorite modern comic writer and all-time favorite comic artist respectively, so I’m a smidge biased, but a favorite’s a favorite, all the same.
Well it looks like I just came full circle, because the start of the 2018 Justice League series was the first thing I read when I came to DCUI (for the DC Book Club)! I’ll definitely go give it another look now.
Byrne’s “Man of Steel” is my favorite origin story for Superman. I also believe it is the definitive origin. Finally, after five decades, someone realizes Clark is the real guy and Superman is the disguise. It’s the only way the duality of this character works. If he is Superman 24/7, then eventually the weight of the world on his shoulders will crush him mentally and he will wind up like Hawkeye Pierce in the last episode of MASH. Look at how DC is writing him now–all Superman and no Clark. Boring, humorless, and one-dimensional.