I finally decided to check out the definitive comic (supposedly) about Wonder Woman's daughter, Trinity, aka Elizabeth "Lizzie" Marston Prince, 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman'.
'Daughter of Wonder Woman'...and Wonder Woman barely appears in it, and we never see her as part of Lizzie's life at any stage of it.
Instead, it is about Lizzie and her relationships with the men and boys in her life.
The only female characters she interacts with for more than a few panels are herself - as a toddler, a young teen, and an older teen, as a timestream trinity (I see what King did there) - and Selina Kyle.
Ultimately, 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman' is about Lizzie bringing back her dead father, Steve Trevor, who she never knew and yet misses anyway, and, inexplicably, seems to respect more than her mother.
Her mother being Wonder Woman. The Wonder Woman, the world famous feminist superheroine icon, who, again, is barely in the comic (except to die dozens of times in one issue...it's played for laughs), but apparently she raised Lizzie and trained her in the ways of the Amazon. Though you'd hardly know it from reading this misleadingly-named comic. That part is all tell-and-no-show.
Yet despite all this, against my better judgement, against everything I believe in when it comes to female representation, I enjoyed 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman'.
There is no doubt that King had some terrific ideas here, and seeing as the whole thing is executed in a much more comedic and playful tone than you'd expect from him, he does a commendable job there, too. 'Trinity' is a legitimately funny superhero comic. It brims with the Fates' threads' worth of possibilities that are not squandered (except when it comes to mother and daughter interactions).
There are corgis. Lots of superheroes-turned-corgis, who get lost in different timestreams. There are time travel shenanigans, and revisiting and capering about with past DC events, both classic and modern. And there is well written and believable banter between the three versions of Lizzie, and between them and every other character. The dialogue exchanges are a hoot.
Lizzie herself is a very interesting character and young superheroine, whatever her age. She is brash, impulsive, scrappy, abrasive, naïve, and moody, and makes a ton of mistakes. She certainly has a titan's step's worth of growing up to do, and is still learning the ropes (and lassos) of superhero-ing. She is funny and sensitive as all Hades, to boot. Her catchphrases are "Hera's hearth" and "Crap on a tiara".
King goes out of his way to show how Lizzie is not "perfect" like Wonder Woman, and how that isn't a bad thing. She is Steve Trevor's child, too.
But like, does anyone actually care about that side of her parentage, when her mother is freaking Wonder Woman!? Like, seriously? Daddy issues is what 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman' is about?! Why?! She didn't even know him! She scarcely thinks of her mother over half the time! Why is she obsessed with her dead father? To show he is special, remarkable and loving, despite not being a superhero? To show a more human side to her existence? But why did Lizzie's solo comic - titled 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman' - have to feature her whole universe revolving around a man - multiple men, in fact?!
But she is cool as a superhero. She owns three lassos!
She is absolutely precious, adorable and hilarious as a little girl superhero, called Wonder Robin.
Well, that's 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman' - imperfect and messy, like Lizzie/Trinity herself, as both her mother and her father's daughter.
But really, she should be primarily seen as her feminist superheroine mother's daughter. Though I will admit that Steve Trevor, when we see him, is well written here, despite his dead-arse having no business taking up so much of the comic.
Okay, a few more noteworthy points:
As fun, funny, wild, and cute as 'Trinity' is, it is also a DC comic of Tom King's that showcases how much he likes to play around with continuity, either through ignorance or just ignoring some key details, especially when it comes to time travel.
One corgi-finding timestream subplot has the young teenage Lizzie meeting and falling in love with Jason Todd as Robin - yes, this happens, and it is surprisingly touching and kind of sweet; I blame my heterosexual arse for finding it endearing. Anyway, a big deal is made of Jason eventually dying, and there is no changing that, and so their love story is a tragedy. Yeah. Complete and total BS. The fact that Red Hood is never mentioned once confirms that this is an example of King cherry-picking and shrug-LOL-ing which continuity/timestream he is writing for to suit his own story direction.
Speaking of Lizzie and Jason - behold! in a comic titled 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman', there is a page where the Mad Hatter defecates right in front of them in a Christmas shop to prove a petty point.
Comedy superhero comics, I tell ya.
I had no idea Tom King had it in him.
What am I doing with my life?
Oh, yes, and the artwork is great. I really like Lizzie's design at every stage of her life and development. Her hair and facial expressions suit her personality perfectly. She contrasts superbly with Wonder Woman.
You might want to read another DC comic, 'Trinity: Generation S', if you choose to read 'Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman'. In whatever order, it doesn't matter. They almost, sort of complete each other, and give each other context.
It's nice to read further Lizzie/Trinity/Wonder Girl/Wonder Robin/Wonder Woman's daughter stuff, even though her stories are unfortunately male-centred (and Gotham-centred) and have virtually nothing to do with Diana and the Amazons. In 2020s DC Comics.
What has become of me that I still like these?
Well, recommended!
Final Score: 3.5/5
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