187. Wonder Tot (Includes Bonus Story)

Information on the 200 Character Challenge is here- [link]

Heheh... And we break out of "Not much to say about this one so let's discuss the work it came from" ghetto with Diana. ^^ Got a ton to say about her.

The idea for her picture came from way back.... As I said, me and Martin typically write ideas back and forth between each other and one night he put me up to this story about Diana being told by DC editorial that she was going to be re-imagined into a toddler for her latest re-vamp. Being the geek I was, I wrote the story and quickly turned it into a meanspirited jab at DC's editors, and the proposed prototype-cover for the new book described in the Quickie became the idea for the cover.

But an extra twist, which was Martin's idea, was that we do a kind of double-cover (which come to think of it we should've done with... Well, plugging the comics is his job ^^). Since Wonder Girl was on the list too, we figured we could do them in tandem; draw one really big cover and split them down the middle. Worked out great, and the combined efforts can be seen here.

[link]

On other topics, I tried to get the "Wonder Woman" logo similar to the cover to her book in the 70s, when Wonder Tot was popular. I think I also used Iron Will as a basis for the minotaur seen here.... Appropriate since I used Tyrek for the centaur in Wonder Girl's book. Martin, your thoughts? ^^

Martin's Comments: Heh. Think Adam covered most of the details on this one; if memory serves, right after he wrote that story he mentioned wanting to use the cover mentioned there for this. We were both very eager to get to this one for a long time, but I'm kind of glad it popped up as late into the challenge as it did, given how dramatically the art and coloring have improved over the course of this; go back and compare Sakaki's coloring in her pic to how she looks in Kiki's, or put Wrath's pic against Al's. Some definite progress there for both of us. Granted, this pic predates the Kiki and Wrath ones a good bit. See, because of the nature of this in combination with the Wonder Girl one, Adam drew them together; I just waited to color it for a good while after that, and I only sent it to him to be lined up for when it'd be posted once someone called it.

Y'know, we really should have a character in the sort of spirit of Diana sometime. None of our characters in and really bleed into that kind of territory yet; not saying she should be ripped off or anything, but a character sort of depicted in a similar light to her could make for an interesting dynamic.

Unrelated, why is she getting two New 52 outfits in Injustice? There's the one that was part of the Collector's Edition set with Batman and Superman (speaking of, hoping they put that up soon and put up a classic Superman while they're at it), but they're now teasing a second one. Is there really any reason for her to have two? She kind of has too many outfits compared to a lot of characters as it is. Actually, what they really need to do's a Wondertot costume. I'd use the hell out of that

If nothing else she'd better be in Scribblenauts. Terry McGinnis should be too. Though even if neither of them is I'll still probably get it because being able to call upon Mogo at any time is in itself worth it.

And Now, for your pleasure, the story involving her regression. We didn't want to sit on it until we got enough Wonder Tot-related stories to submit as a bunch, so here it is! Enjoy! ^^

"Ughh... Not again..."

Diana seated herself across from the execs in DC's headquarters, a migraine already growing as she heard that same dreaded word for the umpteenth time, "Re-invent? Again?"

"We have some solid ideas," remarked the first head, flipping through his power point presentation. "We just wanted to run some stuff by you on each of them."

"First off, one question..." Calmly sipping her tea, the princess asked, "Are any of these plans involving bringing Gail Simone's run on the series back into continuity?"

"No! No bringing back the Pre-New 52 Canon!" cried one exec, slamming his fist on the desk, "That's gone, understand?! It had no artistic vision!"

"One of the most popular and celebrated runs on my series in recent memory had no artistic vision?" Diana's unimpressed response received no reaction from the men across from her, leading her to make a defeated sigh, "Very well. Best to get this over with."

The first suited man hit a button on his power point remote, and the screen behind him flickered to life. On it was a new, potential cover for the Wonder Woman title, featuring her in a white, kung-fu suit karate-chopping a menacing scuba diver.

"First idea is that we go back to the white-suit era-"

"No, no, no!" Diana Pince slammed the desk herself, feeling a sting as it banged against her mortal fist. "I can't remember the last time I got much hate-mail! Feminists everywhere were enraged!"

"It was meant to empower women!" defended the second executive. "You're not just some super-powered goddess- you're someone everyone can strive to be!"

"You're empowering women by literally taking away the powers of the most recognizable female super-hero," summed up Diana bluntly. She reached for what was once her tea-cup but was now a water bottle filled with a sports drink. "At least in the 70s it was understandable- you were trying to cash in on Charlie's Angels. Now it's just painfully dated."

"But it was one of the first comics I ever read, and I thought-"

"It goes against what I was saying" interjected a third exec, who'd been quiet until now. "Our readers don't want empowered women. That's what led to my idea."

Diana didn't want to guess what was coming next, but she was sure she knew. The next possible cover had her in a tiny bikini, in an "Action" pose that was really attempting to show off as much of her body as possible while also dripping wet. The swimsuit that used to be her armor was so tight it was almost a second skin, and the princess was almost certain she could see the outline of her nipples through the top.

"Like... that's totally uh... Demeaning and junk!" Diana stuck her lip out in an alluring pout, bending forward in anger, which involved raising her butt out far behind her and thrusting out her bosom, "You total retards are all just making me like this for sexy idiots."

"It's what sells," replied the third exec, bluntly. "Ask Starfire."

"Yeahhh..." The first executive frowned, half-groaning, "That title's still getting a lot of hate-mail, actually-"

"Don't be an idiot, there's no such thing as hate-mail!"cried the second man.

"This's dumb!" exclaimed Diana, idly playing with her bra strap. She took another sip from her drink, which was still in a squirt bottle, albeit a more suggestively-shaped one, "Just.... like, gimme something else..."

"Dark."

The first executive tapped another button, showing another possible cover, this one primarily an eerie green, illuminating a grey Diana, who looked calmly, coldly at the camera. She was wearing a black-ivory version of her previous costume, a bloody scythe in one hand and a covered by a grey, tattered cloak.

"Everybody loves dark," continued the first exectuive, nodding."We've got one writer who really wants to do a story with you finding the grim reaper's scythe and going on a murder rampage against Morgana Le Fey's zombie army."

"Hmmm..."

Lady Dianableed leaned back in her chair, pensively considering it as she swished her wine about in her human skull. "In what manner would your new direction effect my supporting cast? Donna, my mother, and my sisters?"

"Well, the first issue has them all die gorily at the hands of-"

"Next!" roared the Empress, "NOW!"

The next button was clicked, showing a new cover. Now Diana was garbed in a scarlet-red costume that was a mixture of herself and the Flash's showing her zipping along between the ticks of a second.

"Those Flash fans won't stop complaining," explained the third executive. "I'm sure something like this would satisfy them. Merge your two books together."

"I still can't stand the idea," complained the second man, crossing his arms, "Barrry Allen was MY Flash, I think it's a terrible idea to displace him once we got him back. What're all his fans supposed to read?"

Diana nodded, fidgeting about and unable to sit still in her chair, "Wouldn'tthisruintheplansintheFlashbooks?"

"We outrank the executives in those books," explained the first leader. "If we ruin their story with ours, it's their problem. They'll just have to write around it."

"No.Somethingelse."

The three man looked at each other nervously, clearly running out of ideas. The first executive tapped the Power Point remote again, "Well, we did have this old idea from the sixties we were looking at..."

There was a cover of an adorable, smiling, three-year-old Diana wearing an infantile version of her outfit, with a red-and-gold tank top and blue, white-starred diaper. She was wrestling with a raging centaur weilding a mystical axe, which she was tying up in her lasso. Behind her, in the background, an enraged Kraken was emerging from out of a waterfall, ready for a fight.

"Yeahhhh, Wonder Tot," grumbled out the man, embarrassed, "See, the idea was you split into two forms for.... I dunno, however long the book sells. One is a mortal, powerless Diana Prince, and the other is the super-powered Wonder Tot, who continues having her adventures. We also do what the recent run was doing and play up the Greek Mythology angle, giving the whole story a mystic, swords-and-sorcery deal, only with some more accurate portrayals of Greek Myth."

"I don't know what we were-"

"It's perfect!" Diana's eyes were brimming with happiness in her highchair, a smile almost cutting her face in half, "It's jus' what I wanned! I getta be happy an' carefwee an' still getta kick butt wif' a serwious stowy an' neat pwots!"

"Is that really the kind of stuff that sells?" Frowning the third executive turned and suggested, "Maybe we should settle with that sex bunny-"

"No!"

Diana hurled her milk bottle at the man with such force that it easily knocked him to the ground and floated out of her highchair. Putting her hands to her hips, she demanded, "It's awesome! I can't waitta get st-"

Diana grunted, wiggling about in mid-air. Her diaper began to seriously droop under her, making her turn pink, "Ew.... 'Sgonna take some gettin' ussedta...."