What’s your pettiest DC opinion? Like, a little detail that arguably Doesn’t Really Matter in the grand scheme of things story wise but seeing it or not seeing it still annoys you? (Mine is Jim Gordon’s wife AND daughter both being named Barbara. No. There is one Barbara Gordon don’t do this to me.)
I mean I guess he and Barbara are just kind of weirdoes like that because their firstborn is also named... James...
But I dunno how good a gauge I have on how petty my DC opinions are--like there's fandom complaints (AKA "Clark having his DNA stolen when he was fucking dead doesn't automatically make him obligated to be a father figure to a clone that was literally designed to co-opt and profit off of his image, you weirdos") and then there's writing complaints ("What the hell was Final Crisis's actual goal with Mary Marvel--like how is this a character arc if she's like at least 40% possessed the entire time--is this some kind of weird extended metaphor for superpowers as addiction--why are there so many upskirt shots") I think a lot of the writing complaints can be shrugged off just by virtue of the naturally nebulous and writer-dependent nature of comics, y'know, "If you don't like it, you can find another run."
I guess... this isn't really 'petty' per se, but I feel like when it comes to their Elseworlds and Multiverse stuff, DC's kind of put itself into a hole where, like, because Elseworlds isn't the canonical universe, they feel this need to take things in as dark and shocking directions as possible and honestly that's gotten really tired and redundant. Dark Nights Metal, Tales from the Dark Multiverse, DC vs Vampires--like, if you look back at older Elseworlds titles, sure, you had some dark, high-body-count, end of the world stuff (Like Distant Fires---BOOO DISTANT FIRES, BOOOO WE HATE YOUR PUSSY), but for the most part a lot of the Elseworlds titles were about exploring how major setting changes and role swaps and shifts in characters' lives and development could affect familiar and well-known DC stories (Like Superman Inc and JLA: The Nail--YAAAAY SUPERMAN INC AND JLA: THE NAIL YAAAY WE LOVE YOUR PUSSY). I haven't read Dark Knights of Steel yet, but that one seems like a refreshing pump on the brakes from all the grimdark shit. But anyway, yeah--basically the assumption of, "If we're going to make this Elseworlds story memorable, we have to kill off SO MANY beloved characters"--like after a while it starts to feel like a child throwing a tantrum and kicking his toys around rather than telling a story.
Also bruh how many times are you going to kill off Martian Manhunter I mean REALLY. LEAVE HIM ALONE. JUST LET HIM HAVE HIS CHOCO COOKIES AND STOP SETTING HIM ON FIRE. BRO WHAT DID HE DO.
I love Diana and Clark together, but I found it oddly hard to track down a coherent list of when and how they were canon in the comics, so after consulting multiple lists that were each missing some iterations, I decided to make one myself.
This list turned out very long, because I included pictures of every SuperWonder kiss/one highlight moment from each run as well as brief reviews and warnings (deaths and triggers) to each, so here a TL;DR for those who only want the titles:
1974 - Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane, #136 *
1981 - DC Presents, #32 *
1983 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 #300 *
1985 - Superman Annual #11: For the Man Who Has Everything **
1987 - Superman, Vol. 2 #05 **
1988 - Action Comics, Vol. 1 #600
1996 - Kingdom Come (4 issues)
1998 - Distant Fires (oneshot)
1999 - The Kingdom (2 issues)
1999 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 2 #140 & #141
2000 - Created Equal (2 issues)
2000 - Act of God (3 issues)
2001 - JLA: Riddle of the Beast (oneshot) **
2002 - The Dark Knight Strikes Again (3 issues)
2003 - Red Son (3 issues)
2004 - New Frontier (6 issues) **
2005 - All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder (10 issues) **
2009 - Thy Kingdom Come (18 issues from the Justice Society of America Vol 3) **
2012-2016 - New 52; Justice League + Superman/Wonder Woman
2013-2016 - Injustice: Gods Among Us (73 issues)
2013-2014 - Justice League Beyond 2.0 (24 issues) ****
2014 - Justice League: War (animated movie)
2015 - Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (animated movie)
2016 - Justice League vs Teen Titans (animated movie)
2016 - Justice League: Action (animated show) **
2017-2018 - Injustice 2 (38 issues) **
2020 - Golden Child (oneshot) ***
* fake relationship or a magical dream sequence
** very brief (< one page/one episode)
*** Clark/Diana are absent; their children are the main characters
**** I can’t explain the caution for this one in one sentence, sorry
If you know any issue/run that feature SuperWonder and that is not listed here, drop me a title so I can read it and add it onto the list!
Now, more detailed recommendations and some pictures under the cut!
1974 - Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane, #136
The first time Clark and Diana are dating in canon, though brace yourselves - it’s only a Fake Relationship Trope. A ploy to protect Lois from Clark’s obsessive stalker and they part again at the end of the issue.
Still, the comic gives us a brief date-scene, two SuperWonder kisses and the entire plot is told through Lois’ POV, who keeps narrating just how well Diana and Clark fit together. So while not a real relationship, it still gives a good first visual and narrative representation of what their relationship would be like.
Definitely recommended, especially as a starting point into this SuperWonder journey.
1981 - DC Presents, #32
Again, not a real relationship - this time, magic made them do it. The god Eros is rejected by Diana and, to punish her, makes her and Superman fall in love.
They try to fight it, but the pull is too strong at times, giving us (including the cover) three SuperWonder kisses, jealousy and tension. It’s a good one for visuals, but the fact that it was all due to magic and is resolved in the end, having them part and go back to Lois and Steve, puts a damper on things.
1983 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 #300
The first of three instances where it’s all just a dream. Oblivion holds Diana captive in her own mind, trapping her in various dream-scenarios where someone not Steve lands on Themyscira. Among them, a few pages long dream-sequence where Superman crashes onto the island.
Despite being a dream, it gives a wonderful pitch for a What If, showing how they could have fallen in love had Clark landed on the island. They even get married in the dream. Sadly, even in the dream, they break up before Diana wakes up. I still appreciate seeing this take on how they could have fallen in love though.
1987 - Superman Annual, Vol. 1 #11
The story For The Man Who Has Everything features Diana and Bruce (and Jason Todd) as they free Clark from a mind-prison, a plant that induces a dream of your heart’s greatest desire.
And while the story itself resists the “SuperWonder are canon in a dream”, Clark and Diana do kiss in the end, outside of the dream, back in the real world. Though instead of acknowledging what a splendid idea that is, DC is being strangely winkey about it by having them call their getting together “too predictable” and end it there.
Truly not a lot in here, but a SuperWonder kiss is a SuperWonder kiss, I suppose.
1987 - Superman, Vol. 2 #05
While the very brief scene itself is only a dream, this is simultaneously the first instance of actually making Clark’s feelings for Diana canon. This is not a magic-induced dream, it is fueled by Clark’s real, actual feelings for Diana that are blossoming. While I don’t consider it worth reading if you’re reading for the ship - since it is truly only the first few pages of the issue - it is still an important instance to note in the overall history of SuperWonder.
1988 - Action Comics, Vol. 1 #600
The natural way to celebrate fifty years of Superman; by having Clark and Diana kiss on the cover and them, for the first time in actual canon, admit their feelings to each other. They kiss, for real, with no ploy or dream or magic, and agree to go on a date.
The best first date for two heroes their size is, naturally, to save Olympus from Darkseid. The issue beautifully illustrates what a great team they make and also just how well they already know - within seconds recognizing when a doppelgänger takes the other’s place.
Sadly, in the end, they agree to just be friends, Clark claiming that he does not stand equal with the Gods and that Diana is thus out of his league and Diana needing more time to settle into man’s world. Despite that agreement, it is a wonderful issue showing just how well they work together and having them share their first canon kiss and go on their first actual date.
1996 - Kingdom Come
Earth-22 is the holy grail of SuperWonder. We will revisit this Earth’s timeline two more times in this post, but let’s kick it off with its first run.
Lois is dead and Clark mourns alone. Diana lures him out of retirement and Clark has to face a world he has failed. Though they edge on over the course of the story, they remain each other’s most important pillar through this upcoming war. And, when the dust settles after the fight, they find each other.
In a brief epilogue, the two meet with Bruce to tell him that they are expecting a child, marking the first instance of endgame SuperWonder getting a happy ending; neither of them dead and both starting a family together.
1998 - Distant Fires
Oh boy, do I have mixed feelings about this one. Listen, if you just stop reading at page 49, this is basically perfection. And I am in love with it.
The premise alone is an intriguing one; man-made catastrophe wipes out basically all life on Earth. Lois is dead, and so are Clark’s friends. He thinks he is the sole survivor of the apocalypse, before he finds Diana - and she shows him an entire village of survivors. All heroes have lost their powers in the apocalypse and they now have to adjust to this new reality. As they rebuild a society for themselves, Clark and Diana fall in love, get married and have a son, Bruce Kent.
Instead of exploring this intriguing premise of powerless superheroes rebuilding their own society after the apocalypse, the comic introduces a twisted Billy Batson who is obsessed with conquering the world - and conquering Diana. Ultimately deciding that if he can’t have her, no one can and so he kills Diana. As a rage filled Clark fights Billy to avenge Diana, the Earth literally comes apart and Clark barely manages to send their son away from the exploding Earth, mirroring his own origin stories.
Not only is it incredibly disgusting to see Diana die in such a manner - killed for such a motif - but also to see Billy, of all people, as the antagonist. Yet I’d still recommend it because it’s very intriguing. And if you stop reading at page 49, you get to pretend it has a happy end.
1999 - The Kingdom
Here we have a direct sequel to Kingdom Come. We revisit Earth-22 in time for the birth of their son, Jonathan Kent. But we only get a brief moment to be joyous before a villain comes crashing the party (read New Year’s Evil: Gog from 1998 as a prologue and villain origin story). He ends up kidnapping baby Jonathan and Clark, Diana and Bruce find themselves on a time-traveling adventure trying to get Jonathan back and defeat Gog.
The comic does have a happy ending for our heroes and they are reunited with their son - not just the infant-version though; it is revealed that Jon will grow up to become a hero like his parents and protect the multiverse under the alias Hyperman. Clark and Diana’s past selves, from a time before the triggering disaster from Kingdom Come, wonder if this adventure has changed their timeline too, or if Jon will be born (and, consequently, Diana and Clark will end up together) in their timeline too, to which Jon gives a cryptic answer.
Personally, I enjoyed this as a sequel quite a lot. It gave us a glimpse into their happiness, it teased that their son would grow up to be a hero and it gave a potential of a changed, alternate timeline where just maybe, the heroes of the past manage to avoid the great disaster... and still get their happy ending.
1999 - Wonder Woman, Vol. 2 #140 & #141
I do quite love this two-parter. The premise is a similar one as 1983′s Wonder Woman #300, where Diana is captured in a dream. She dreams of world peace, but it is not enough to keep her captive, because she is lonely.
So to keep her trapped, Oblivion also captures Clark and Bruce - who had come to rescue Diana - and traps all three in a shared dream-reality.
Prior to being captured, we get a look inside Bruce’s thoughts and see him worry if Clark’s romantic feelings for Diana will jeopardize this mission, seeing as there are no other Justice League members as “buffers” (quote), not only driving home that, yes, that Clark has real feelings for Diana, but also that Bruce knows this.
Inside the dream, Diana and Clark are in love and happy - unlike in #300 where their relationship within the dream comes apart. They get married with Bruce as their best man (and, though I try to limit the amount of images in this post, I can’t not include a SuperWonder wedding) and Diana finds out she is pregnant. But even the most beautiful of dreams has to end and while both Clark and Diana express how much they enjoy this dream, they confront the fact that it is not real and break out of it.
While the relationship itself only happens in a dream, Clark and Diana’s feelings are very real and so is their yearning. We end with a shot of Diana, accepting reality but being sad that it was just a dream. The story very beautifully shows the Amazon princess’ lonely status as Wonder Woman and it also shows the potential of Superman as her equal, it also serves to show that they both still have feelings for each other in their reality, while also giving a beautiful dream-sequence of what their life could be like.
2000 - Created Equal
I wasn’t fully sure whether or not to include this one. They’re not explicitely stated to be together, though Diana’s feelings for him are evident and it is heavily implied toward the end that the two of them will end up together. So see this as a warning of sorts. I would still count it, even without the expliciteness.
Now, to the story itself. Lois dies. Again, she does that a lot. Also all men aside from Clark and Lex die of an unknown plague. It’s a pretty interesting two-issue story, I think, though the approach is very... man-hating in how it’s executed. Lex becomes the king of incels and all men are implied to be inherently bad by nature, so if that’s not your cup of tea, maybe steer clear.
2000 - Act of God
This one comes with actual trigger warnings, because it includes themes of alcoholism, depression and nearly attempted suicide. It also comes with a hearty recommendation though.
Remember how, far up above, I complained that Distant Fires didn’t deal with the more interesting elements, such as the power-losses? This three-parter features a so-called “act of god” that caused all super-powered beings to lose their powers and then deals with what this would actually mean for them. Clark and Diana are not the vocal point of the story; the comic focuses on other heroes and how they cope with the loss too.
Lois divorces Clark, because she realizes she “loved the Super more than the Man”, when she can’t deal with Clark’s depression and self-pity anymore. He can’t deal with all of this on his own though and seeks out Diana, someone he feels will and can actually understand what he is going through. Though their relationship is bumpy and they break up in-between - Clark a heavy alcoholic and Diana suicidal - when they hit rockbottom, they find each other again and they pull themselves together again.
Despite Clark sobering up and picking up the pieces of his life again, including his work at the Daily Planet, he does not get back together with Lois; the two reconcile as friends and Clark and Diana get to raise their son together, presenting the second instance of SuperWonder endgame with a happy ending. It also teased the potential for a sequel, revealing their son to have powers.
2001 - Riddle of the Beast
I’m not entirely sure how to describe this. It’s like how I imagine it’d be if the Justice League sat down together and played D&D.
The story is a Lord of the Rings-esque high fantasy setting and all characters are... very far removed from what they are in canon while still echoing their canon selves in certain ways.
In it, Diana and Kal are king and queen of warring kingdoms. They were once engaged but the engagement came off. The main plot happens - it’s centered around Tim Drake and Zatanna mostly, who are on a quest to slay the Beast - and changes both Kal and Diana’s situations.
At the end of the battle, Kal and Diana are reunited and at the very end of the comic, agree to give each other a chance, romantically. Though their interactions are very brief and they are not explicitely shown as a couple, as a fair warning. But they do end up together.
2002 - The Dark Knight Strikes Again
Don’t read this comic. I just... I can not stress enough how much I recommend everyone to not even touch it. The Millerverse is atrocious, obnoxious and misogynistic enough as it is, but this one also comes with horrendously ugly art - and that’s not just in the sense of objective taste; there is no anatomy in this hastily scribbled-looking comic (just look at the proportions below; Clark’s thumb is as thick as Diana’s arm).
Sure, they’re technically canon in this universe, but... at what cost... Clark is a better sperm-bank, purely sexual and not a romantic partner or equal to Diana, who is honestly quite the bitch in this story. They’re a very small fraction of a very large, overall mess. The comic can’t even be recommended for the SuperWonder content, much less for the actual plot.
Here, I’ll spare you the time of going through it for SuperWonder and will provide you with their kiss, which is basically the peak of whatever is going on between them in this comic:
2003 - Red Son
While the premise of “what if Clark grew up in Russia and became an important pawn in the Cold War?” is incredibly intriguing... the execution is sloppy and whacky. Lex Luthor is the good guy and though Kal and Lois literally only exchange one glance once, the story still kind of acted as though there was some romantic will they wont they going on between them - just to reveal (and no, I am not making this up) that Kal is a direct descendant of Lex/Lois who was sent back in time when Earth exploded.
Diana is introduced as a potential match made between Stalin and Hippolyta, but the comic never actually pull through with them. Diana is canonically in love with Clark, but no only does Clark not return those feelings, he also remains oblivious to them, ultimately ending up ruining Diana’s life.
Personally, I wouldn’t recommend it, not just because of the onesidedness of SuperWonder, but also because... seriously, I can not stress enough just how weird not just the ship of Lex/Lois but the fact that Kal is their descendant was and how even more weird the tension between Lois and Kal was, under these circumstances. The whole comic is just... weird.
2004 - New Frontier
While the story itself is more or less entertaining, if you came solely for the SuperWonder, this is not the right comic. They have a total exchange of three pages over these six issues and it ends with them sharing a kiss... right before Diana nearly dies. She does survive, but even as they reunite, the kiss is not spoken of again and they are not romantically involved after.
2005 - All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder
More Millerverse. Still, can not stress enough how much I dislike this verse, but at least the art is pretty this time. But if you’re really only here for the SuperWonder, this is even less recommendable. They barely have one scene in this that lasts only if I remember right three pages or so.
And for the story itself? Again, it’s the Millerverse. It’s weird, and not in an entertaining way; in a disturbing way. So here, have the one obligatory SuperWonder kiss Miller put in there and move on to better comics:
2009 - Thy Kingdom Come
We’re back on Earth-22... more or less.. in this kind-of midquel to Kingdom Come. This one does require some explaining.
Clark is pulled out of his own reality and sucked into a parallel world, one where Clark Kent has died a while ago and where the Justice Society keeps the peace. An enemy appears who echoes Clark’s own past from his Earth.
But if you came here for the SuperWonder, you can safely skip this one - or at least skip to the final issue’s last five pages, where we are treated to a beautiful, art-style keeping redrawing of Clark and Diana’s getting together scene, as well as brief shots into what their future looks like, including a confirmation that Clark and Diana have four children in this reality.
Though that is really it when it comes to SuperWonder in this comic; it fully takes place on the parallel Earth and even there, Clark’s entire focus is on facing the ghosts of his past - in the form of Lois. He spares no thoughts to Diana or has real interactions with this world’s Diana; he grieves Lois and confronts her, his dynamic with Kara is also explored marginally. As a whole, I’d still recommend it though, because it’s very compelling; the storyline is interesting and well-executed, the characters involved are very compelling and the “man out of his world” plot presented an interesting angle on it all. Also, at the very least, it doesn’t undo anything about Kingdom Come, though it also doesn’t necessarily add much to it either.
2012-2016 - New 52
I have such mixed feelings and with this being the longest run of SuperWonder, there’s a lot to unpack.
For one, there is a lot of SuperWonder in here, which makes sense considering there is an aptly named Superman/Wonder Woman series in the New 52, which I definitely do have to recommend. But maybe stop early, if you aren’t into heartbreak, because Clark dies in the end. And he gets replaced by a Clark who comes with his wife Lois and son. They really just... replace Superman like you’d change a lightbulb, and I’m mad about that.
I do think that the SuperWonder relationship in New 52 is very beautiful. It highlights all their strengths and what makes them work. It also gives them some domestic moments and dates and really quite a lot of kisses and gentleness. If they hadn’t shit the bed with the ending, this could be such a beautiful, contained little SuperWonder universe.
The tricky part is knowing where to find it, outside the SM/WW run. Their relationship actually starts out in the Justice League run, in volume 2, and is also featured in volume 3. If you are only here for the SuperWonder, those are the only two times that their romantic relationship is really acknowledged in Justice League. So if by volume 3 the story is still not doing anything for you, I’d say stop reading there, because if if at that point, SuperWonder is still your driving force, you don’t really need to bother anymore.
Instinctively, you’d go to the separate Superman and Wonder Woman runs too. And you’d be wrong. The Superman run manages to, somehow, be C/ois bait, putting them very close, physically so too, and much in a “will they/won’t they” situation, which seems strange and uncalled for since Clark is with Diana from the get go and stays faithful with her and they quite literally have to kill this Clark off and replace him with a whole new Clark who is in love with Lois. Aside from that, Wonder Woman is an absolute mess and if you are invested in Greek mythology you too might feel personally offended by this as I did, and the Superman storyline wasn’t... the writing wasn’t after my taste, at one point I just started skipping through it for the SuperWonder tidbits.
And because the New 52 are horribly confusing to keep track of with the different series and how they interact, here is a short, chronological order in which SuperWonder are actually featured (for completion’s sake, all Justice League volumes not featuring SuperWonder are also listed but set in braces):
Justice League Vol. 1: Origin
Justice League Vol. 2: The Villain’s Journey
Justice League Vol. 3: Throne of Atlantis
(Justice League Vol. 4: The Grid)
Superman: Unchained
(Justice League: Trinity War)
(Justice League of America: Survivors of Evil)
(Forever Evil)
Young Romance
Superman Vol. 4: Psi War
Superman/Wonder Woman Vol.1: Power Couple
Superman Vol. 5: Under Fire
Superman: Doomed
Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 2: War and Peace
Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Casualties of War
(Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League)
Justice League: Power and Glory
(Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 1)
(Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 2)
(Superman Vol. 7: Before Truth)
Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Dark Truth
Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 5: A Savage End
Superman: Savage Dawn
The Final Days of Superman
If you don’t want to see him die slowly, don’t read the crossed-out issues. If you don’t mind the death, or just want to get to the SuperWonder bits in between, that’s how the story goes and Final Days is where it ends.
2013-2016 - Injustice: Gods Among Us
This is gonna be one of these more complicated reviews again, because there is actually relatively little SuperWonder in this (considering the length of the run), but even so I would wholeheartedly recommend it because I am deeply, madly in love with this universe.
It takes an alternate turn on Kingdom Come, in a way: If you came out of that, thinking “Damn, I wish Clark hadn’t retired to farm in isolation after Lois dies but instead had murdered the Joker” - you have come to the right place. Again, Lois dies. This time, Clark kills the Joker for it and decides “no more”. No more unnecessary death. And what... starts out as a good cause slowly, very slowly and gradually, slips. This is an incredibly well-written slowburn thought-experiment on a corrupted Superman who becomes a tyrant and dictator to the world and I absolutely adore it, seriously, it is so well-written, even when juggling so many sub-threads and characters, it really fleshes their stories and motivations out so well.
The SuperWonder is just a bonus. And a relatively small one, at that, hence the opening of this being a more complicated review. They’re heavily implied to be a couple, Diana definitely is in love with him, there is a beautiful though short dream-sequence where they are happy together. There’s SuperWonder continuously sprinkled in between the story, but well, it’s not the main focus, so if your goal in reading these is to only focus on the SuperWonder, this might be a disappointing read. (The above image is not from the dream sequence; the below one is though.)
2013-2014 - Justice League Beyond 2.0
I’ve tried to write the briefest of warnings in the summary, but this one is too complicated to break down in one sentence, so if the summary note confused you and you ended up here for a full-length dissection of what is going on, take a seat.
This story takes place in the Batman Beyond continuity. Clark is a vocal point of the new Justice League, with a young team. Together, they saved a young boy named Zod-Ur from the Phantom Zone and Clark basically decided to adopt the kid, help him find his footing as a Kryptonian on Earth.
It later turns out Zod-Ur is actually Clark/Diana’s biological son. Only not this Clark.
Diana from the Beyond reality left many years ago to a parallel Earth where Lord Superman and Lady Wonder Woman rule as evil dictators and she went there to fight them. Along the way, she fell in love with that other world’s Bruce Wayne. Other Bruce and other Diana die in the continuous war between Bruce/Diana and Clark/Diana in what might be the strangest ship-war-metaphor possible.
Beyond!Diana then agrees to get married to Lord Superman; a political alliance to bring peace to their people. But they hate each other.
And still, they decide to have a child together because... they want to project all their marital problems onto the kid, I guess. However, the Brainiacs from both their worlds work together to steal the child and hide it away in Beyond’s Phantom Zone, where the boy grew up to become Zod-Ur.
You... can see how this is a bit more complex than a one sentence break-down? A biological child of SuperWonder is one of the main characters (he is a delight and getting to know him is definitely worth the read to claim him in later... better... takes on SuperWonder, since we rarely ever see their children beyond the baby stage). And technically, SuperWonder are married, but... they’re not happy or in love or... even like each other.
Meanwhile, Beyond!Superman... doesn’t have his Lois either, this part confused me because usually Lois being dead means SuperWonder is endgame. But there don’t seem to be romantic feelings between the Beyond versions of Diana and Clark either, though they do... kind of... end up as co-parents to Zod-Ur, since the boy already took to Clark and Diana is here to stay and trying to rekindle her relationship to her son.
I would recommend it still, because I found Justice League Beyond quite engaging and I think it is worth it for Zod-Ur alone if you want to get to know the possibilities of a SuperWonder family more, but if you read it for the ship itself, don’t, because the ship’s not a happy place in this. (Below, Beyond!Clark with Zod-Ur.)
2014 - Justice League: War
This is actually what started all of this for me; my first introduction to SuperWonder. Unlike all prior to it, this is not a comic - it’s an animated movie. And Clark and Diana aren’t (yet) actually together. Though they heavily flirt during multiple instances and their voice-actors brilliantly deliver on the inrigue both characters feel toward each other.
This movie marks the first in a multiple-movies spanning shared universe that I’m personally very fond of; I enjoy the characters’ characterizations, the constellations and the animation, as well as the stories.
2015 - Justice League: Throne of Atlantis
The next movie in the shared universe. And it directly opens up with SuperWonder sharing a kiss over Athens. Over the course of the movie, they bond, go on an actual date and banter throughout.
Aside from being heavy on SuperWonder, the movie introduces Aquaman to the universe - and to this Justice League - and explores the dynamic among this JL lineup more thoroughly. Seriously, I recommend these movies.
2016 - Justice League vs Teen Titans
The third (and last) of the Justice League movies in this universe (though there are more movies set in this world). This time, the Justice League has to face Trigon - in a rather different way, as the demon takes them over and the Teen Titans need to save them.
We see Diana and Clark preparing for a date and later coming from said date, just before Clark is taken over. In the final battle, it is Clark who brings Diana back from her possession.
Now, while I do recommend this universe, from a SuperWonder point of view, I’d advise you to stop after this movie; it is followed by the first Superman solo movies (Death of Superman and Reign of the Supermen) and the first Wonder Woman solo movie (Bloodlines), which... break SuperWonder up for... literally no given reason, just to have them in their usual endgame romances for their solo movies (also the final entry to this universe, Justice League Dark 2: Apokolips War, is simply an atrocity and a gorey mess). Still, that’s a total of 11 animated movies, even without those four. (Not that you can’t watch those four too, it’s just a well-meant warning, particularly if you don’t want to see Clark and Diana broken up for no reason whatsoever.)
2016 - Justice League: Action
This show SuperWonder baited me. It’s a cartoon series that, in theory, has SuperWonder as a canon ship in it, but... they’re only actively seen as a couple in one episode and mentioned in passing one more time. Not that I need a romance at the forefront of a cartoon series, but even for a background ship of two of the main characters, you’d expect it to come up casually more often, through small gestures shared or something.
The one (out of 52) episode that does focus on them is episode 12 Repulse!, where we see them on a date, having a good time, just to be interrrupted by a villain. There is a total of not one, not two, but three (3) interrupted kisses. Which is absolutely ridiculous, seriously if this was a mlm or a wlw ship I would understand the homophobic censoring of preventing them from an on-screen kiss but seeing a man and a woman kiss on screen in a cartoon is... really not that unusual. This cartoon is so strange to me in that they are canon, but they never get an uninterrupted kiss and they don’t even get casual background relationship behavior. It’s treated like a heavily censored queer ship would be treated in a cartoon and that’s just wild.
I’d still, on the overall, recommend the cartoon though, because the animation is cute, the stories are funny and quirky and explore the different members of the Justice League nicely. But if you only came for the SuperWonder... just watch episode 12 and move on, there is literally nothing more in it than that.
2017-2018 - Injustice 2
This is where things get complicated in the recommendation department again, because... there virtually is no SuperWonder in this. As indicated in the table of content/short-list at the top, it amounts to one page, really. And that one page is Black Adam referring to Diana as Clark’s love.
However, that’s not due to, say, them shelving the ship or something. They kind of... shelved both Clark and Diana in the sequel? Clark spends all of this in prison and only appears in the first and last issue of the run, Diana is also imprisoned for a huge junk of the comic. But seeing as it very much sets up a sequel and is itself a sequel to a comic where SuperWonder is canon, I would still recommend it - if you came out of Injustice: Gods Among Us really loving the story, the world and the other characters too. If you came out of that one already only liking the SuperWonder, then there is absolutely nothing in this run for you, aside from the one panel below.
2020 - Golden Child
This one’s different because Clark and Diana aren’t even in it (well, Clark is, very briefly), but they’re still technically a very important angle to this comic - because their children, Lara and Jonathan, are the main characters.
It’s Millerverse, again, by the way. But honestly, I actually kind of liked this one. It was an interesting exploration of how a child would deal with these kind of powers and I find Lara and Jon rather interesting.
Stories where Wonder Woman and Superman have a child?
Kingdom Come and The Kingdom go hand in hand. Their first born is Jonathan Kent. Jonathan has the power over Hypertime. He was born outside of it, so can navigate it and guards it. Seems to be something akin to a Time Lord . This kid was created long before the one in Rebirth btw.
Justice Society of America #22 Five Children. We are not told their names. Two boys and three girls. This is Earth 22 so it is possible the eldest is a Jonathan as well and chances are the girl in Clark’s lap could be a Lara due to the homage to Frank Miller’s DK Lara costume. The first image has four children. But you can see all five children with Clark and Diana at Bruce Wayne’s funeral. The youngest is a girl.
Superman :Distant Fires. Bruce Kent. Who more than likely grows up to be a Green Lantern.
JLA Act of God. We don’t know the name of this child but he has telekenetic powers and seems to be able to bend the fabric of reality as well!
Dark Knight Strikes Again. Lara. A Kryptonian/Amazon hybrid daughter of Kal and Diana.
Dark Knight 3 The Master Race. Lara is a couple of years older and we meet little Jonathan. It is difficult to say what Jonathan’s abilities all are but he can fly as we can see at the end of the book.
Justice League Beyond. Born from the fusion of DNA of Lord Superman and Wonder Woman using Amazon and Kryptonian technology, Zod was to be raised as heir to the Justice Lord Earth. He was stolen by the Brainiac of the Beyond universe during his initial invasion of earth and was given to Jax-Ur a dangerous Kryptionian criminal in the Phantom Zone, to be raised as a weapon for both to use. He developed psychokinetic abilities, with the aid of a headgear, possibly provided by Brainiac, he was able to control Kryptonian technology all the way outside of the zone. It was with his help that Jax-Ur was able to disrupt Superman’s powers and causing him and the Justice League to enter the phantom zone to defeat him. After Superman got him out of the Phantom Zone he decided to call him Superboy. Zod does not get along with his mother. Unfortunately DC sort of allowed Dan Jurgens to recton these stories by Christos Gage & Iban Coello to force his Superboy as the Beyond Superman or some crap like that. So we may never know what happens to Zod and Diana etc etc.
Then we have Hunter Prince. A Justice League story called Legacy by Bryan Hitch that was changed by DC to force once again the Rebirth changes. Hitch on twitter admits the outcome was not as he intended. The son of Superman and Wonder Woman was most likely a what if AU child of new 52 but DC scrapped to force Rebirth Lois and Jon Lane Kent in. Hunter is Diana’s son but raised by Superman and Lois. It was too much to allow a child of SMWW while Rebirth was in swing even if alternate timeline…so they instead had Diana raped by a black gooey venom like substance called the Darkness, had her commit suicide, but give the kid to Superman to raise because?? No idea tbh. But Superman never told Hunter of his mother’s sacrifice and Hunter grew up thinking Superman and Lois was all that and Diana was a coldhearted bitch who abandoned him. Hunter also appears to have some of SM’s abiltiies even though his “father” is some black goo. Yeah don’t even ask how Hunter isn’t corrupted himself. But another wasted legacy character, like Zod, by DC.
Band: HeiressSong: “Unsettler”Album: Distant FiresRelease Date: October 1st, 2021Label: Satanik Royalty Records
Frontman John Pettibone comments:
“This song represents a personal struggle in witnessing the desecration of something one reveres and holds so close to the heart, relying on and celebrating the moments and memories from the past.”
Pre-order:
Satanik Royalty…
Band: HeiressSong: “All Ends”Album: Distant FiresRelease Date: October 1st, 2021Label: Satanik Royalty RecordsPre-order:
Satanik Royalty webstoreBandcamp
On making the new album, vocalist John Pettibone comments:
“This was a really incredible process making Distant Fires. We were very prepared and relaxed in the approach. I did half the vocals at MRX and then flew to Oakland to finish them at…
