LASSO OF TRUTH
A CONVERSATION WITH
DAN DIDIO
Dan DiDio serves in the role of publisher of DC Comics along with Jim Lee. DiDio first joined the company in 2002 as vice president of editorial after a career writing for animated television series before transitioning to the comic book industry. He has worked on a number of titles for DC, providing the scripts for series like Superboy and special issues and miniseries including DC Universe Presents. As publisher he has overseen major initiatives like the New 52 and Rebirth and generally is the steward of story development for the company.
Wonder Woman: Ambassador of Truth | What issue or run of Wonder Woman first made an impact on you as a storyteller?
Dan DiDio | There was a story line when she first received her powers back after that period of time where she was powerless in the sixties. She basically went through the twelve labors of Hercules, just to see whether or not she was still ready to take on the heroās mantle. The stories themselves arenāt that well done, but they have a rather charmingāat least for meāplace in Wonder Womanās history because of the way that she interacted with the other members of the Justice League, and the fact that at the end of the twelve labors, she was welcomed back to the team with open arms. She really resumed her mantle as the premier female superhero.
WW:AoT | As a publisher of DC, youāre a steward of all of these characters. What aspect of Dianaās character do you vigorously defend in editorial meetings? What is vital for you to see in any story line about her?
DD | For me, I like to talk about the balance between her humanity and godhood, and how she really straddles so many different personalities. She really is unique in her own right. When I think of her, sheās extraordinarily rational in thought, extraordiniry passionate in her opinion, and sheās not afraid to make a stand, which, I think, is something that is very essential to who she is. She is not a character that is passive in any way, shape, or form. She is someone who truly acts as an inspiration on those levels.
WW:AoT | What do you personally, as a reader, think defines Diana?
DD | For me, itās her ability to move among gods but move among men equally, and still be able to understand. Thereās a level of compassion and understanding, but also a level of strength and power that balances it all out.
WW:AoT | Do you see a difference in her as a character when sheās doing her own run, versus when sheās a player in a Justice League title?
DD | Iāve always considered her the most natural leader of the Justice League, and itās something that weāve never fully explored in any of our incarnations, because in Justice League we play her more of as the tiebreaker. Whenever the team is split, they always turn to Wonder Woman to really follow her lead, or to tip the scales in one direction or another. Iāve always felt that sheās been the natural leader. She has the most level approach to every situation, thatās fully thought out in ways that judge godhood against mankind simultaneously. She has the emotional sense of presence that the team can rally around. Iāve always felt she would be the natural leader for the team, but the role sheās played has been, for the most part, the social conscience of the team, the person they turn to when they need to confirm whether or not the choices theyāre making are morally right or wrong.
WW:AoT | Is there a narrative you feel that has really showcased that aspect of her character the most?
DD | In my time at DC, my defining period of time is when we were doing the lead into our Infinite Crisis story line, and Greg Rucka was writing Wonder Woman. He really got to the heart of the character and probably best embraced the sense of who the warrior was in a way that we hadnāt seen up to that time. It was interesting because I never perceived her to be a warrior until I saw Gregās interpretation and how clearly he explained it to me, and to all of us. We had to show that side of her because thatās also one of her guiding principles. Honestly, that goes back to your other question about the difference between her in her own book and in the Justice League. In her own book she was able to make those same leveled decisions, but youāre also going to have ramifications of the decisions probably not working as well as they might have in a team book. Sheās achieved her motivations, but she could also make her mistakes in a book and then learn from those mistakes as well, which I think makes her a more relatable character and somebody who you want to be rooting for in her stories.
Cover art by George PĆ©rez, Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #600 (August 2010).
WW:AoT | Especially with a godlike character, where itās easy for you to lose the reliability.
DD | Exactly. Thatās one of the things Greg and I used to talk about at great length. He always considered the character perfect in many ways. When you have a character that perfect, what you have to do is deconstruct who she is in a way to understand how she becomes that. How does she make the decisions to make her such a rounded character, and the challenges that occur by doing that?
WW:AoT | What are you looking for in a Wonder Woman story when someone is pitching? Whatās the process like for determining what stories get the green light?
DD | Iāve passed on Wonder Woman stories just because sometimes they go too far in the past. Itās interesting how many people will pitch you a story where they strip the character of her power. Thatās a nonstarter, because if you canāt work with who she is, then how can you really understand how to write the character?
The most interesting one for me was the one that gave me pauseāand actually I had him go through some hoops in order to get it approved. It was Greg Ruckaās story where Wonder Woman kills Max Lord [Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #219]. The idea that she consciously kills a character was a huge departure from anything that we ever did in that comic book storytelling before. We had created a story and situation where it seemed like she had no choice. We always say our characters always have a choice, but in this particular case we wanted to show that itās part of her warrior nature. This is part of an acceptable solution to her and her race. Therefore, it becameāand because the story worked so wellāit became part of her character and who she was. We didnāt make her do something that was out of character. Instead, we actually strengthened her character by doing something that would be so untouchable. When youāre able to find aspects of a character thatās been around for close to eighty years, and find a way to interpret the new but still be true to who she is, I think thatās when we create a win for us here in publishing.
WW:AoT | How do you see her right now, as a representation of modern society or looking forward into the future?
DD | The things that I find most intriguing about the interpretation of Wonder Woman today is how comfortable she is in herself and in who she is. How safe and secure she is in her own sense of being and presence, and the level of acceptance that she gives to other people for who they are. Thatās a really great balance, that level of confidence and security that she has in her own choices and her self that people should be able to emulate and feel good about themselves regardless of whatās perceived around them. And then, on top of that, to accept other people for who they are without any judgment is a very important character trait for Wonder Woman that I think people could ...
