So...PG News

I agree.

Artists value in my experience comes largely in attracting casual fans or generating interest in those outside of comics. A cool image of a character can get traction and have people say "Who is this character?" so at the very least it raises awareness. For example if someone drew Power Girl really well in a cool pose it could go viral on a site such as Reddit or imgur.

Writers are there to sustain a character for us fans, giving us compelling narratives to follow and come back to month after month. A great story can often sustain a character for years, while a terrible one can burn fans. I was a huge Spider-Man fan as a kid, but several terrible story lines over the years made me give up on the character to the point I barely care about him these days.

Honestly, I'm not as bothered by the mechanism to introduce her as I am how she is handled personality wise. I am fine with alternate Earth and having her cross over. If people can suspend disbelief for so much of super hero aspects, I don't think that is a bridge too far.

Cinematically I'd want a strong stand alone film first, similar to what Wonder Woman just received. I think the safest way would be have her in alternate take on DC so the director could take real chances. Maybe in her reality certain things went differently that demonstrate the value of various characters. They may have Superman died and stayed dead so she had to step into the mantle as the main hero of her world. Then at some point they could hint about multi-verse if they wanted a way to have her cross over into main DCEU. Again, I think so much of this is secondary to getting a script and director that care and sell the audience on Power Girl.

In terms of appearance if they wanted to fit Power Girl into Snyder's vision to the left is a possible design that mirrors Superman's "Man of Steel" look with the gauntlets and hip design. I'd be okay with, if they'd just turn up the saturation a bit as my biggest issue with how DC characters looked in "Batman vs. Superman".

In regards to costumes I am very much in the camp of design over function when discussing flying aliens shooting laser out of their eyes.

To the left is an example of someone who redesigned Power Girl's outfit to be "realistic" or "practical" thus robbing it of all visual interest and personality.

1. Muted colors - Even the white is dull with greys and the blue has a grey hue as well. Everything here blends and fades, there's no red or yellow to draw contrast and no element to draw the eye. They even mad her expression, and by extension first impression of personality, bland.

2. Generic design - Seriously, nothing about this gives a Power Girl feeling. I could easily swap heads with about any character and it makes no difference. This is a soldier or grunt design, not the heroine or protagonist design.

3. Empty, yet busy - With the lack of design and color the artist attempts to mask this with a bunch of lines. So we have vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines breaking up the form into all these little cells. Shows how more work can actually make a costume less appealing.

When you see a costume it should make an impression within seconds. It shouldn't be minutes of inspection to break down elements. Every iconic hero I can think of has clean design that pops and can be identified easily due to being memorable. Show me the Justice League or Justice Society group shots and every character should make an impression. If one doesn't, would suggest go back to the drawing board.

@mraugen said:

In regards to costumes I am very much in the camp of design over function when discussing flying aliens shooting laser out of their eyes.

To the left is an example of someone who redesigned Power Girl's outfit to be "realistic" or "practical" thus robbing it of all visual interest and personality.

1. Muted colors - Even the white is dull with greys and the blue has a grey hue as well. Everything here blends and fades, there's no red or yellow to draw contrast and no element to draw the eye. They even mad her expression, and by extension first impression of personality, bland.

2. Generic design - Seriously, nothing about this gives a Power Girl feeling. I could easily swap heads with about any character and it makes no difference. This is a soldier or grunt design, not the heroine or protagonist design.

3. Empty, yet busy - With the lack of design and color the artist attempts to mask this with a bunch of lines. So we have vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines breaking up the form into all these little cells. Shows how more work can actually make a costume less appealing.

When you see a costume it should make an impression within seconds. It shouldn't be minutes of inspection to break down elements. Every iconic hero I can think of has clean design that pops and can be identified easily due to being memorable. Show me the Justice League or Justice Society group shots and every character should make an impression. If one doesn't, would suggest go back to the drawing board.

Er, ugh, yes. No disrespect to whoever made that, but it sort of misses the point. I suppose a generic grunt costume would be fine for like half an issue of an origin story, if that's where you went with her, but you have to get to the colorful costume sooner rather than later. I would say that for now, Injustice 2 has stretched the boundaries of how PG's costume should look about as far as they should go. As for Snyder...I don't think anyone BUT him likes his color saturation. To be fair, that's the responsibility of his colorist, but also to be fair, he's the director, so everything on the film is ultimately something HE owns.

TV? Yeah, I'll buy into what you say....if they do it on the CW, which we know they're not. Otherwise, I'd like to see something on either Netflix or Amazon....those guys get bigger budgets, (at the expense of shorter seasons). Storywise, I'd go pretty much as I would in a comic book or movie, bright, optimistic, with a hero who has that apparently old fashioned desire to actually save people rather than simply kill the bad guys. With that CW Earth 2 look as I've said, I think that would make the world of Power Girl stand out from a lot of the others. I've gotten a bit tired of seeing either Burtonesque Gotham Cities or real cities standing in for the fictional ones. I'd like to see that bright, hopeful retro-future/Googie world of Earth 2. And yeah, I'd populate either a TV series or movie with the other great old school JSAers, like Jay, Alan, Ted Grant, Kent, a GOOD version of Mr. Terrific....

If however I was just going to do a movie that fit in with the Snyderverse, (shudder), I'd go with that empty pod, and Kara as an ancient explorer who either just recently woke up and left, or is somehow immortal, (not unprecedented with Kryptonians in the comics). And make her an El. Then just transplant the personality of the good comic book versions of PG onto her, and there you go.

Honestly though, I don't see them doing any of that. If she appears in other media at all, it'll be in more games and perhaps animated appearances IMO.

Looking back at my earlier post today regarding Ennis...yeah, I think he maybe could do it. I took a look at his opening arc for Dynamite's The Shadow, and it was a very good, very focused story, with strong characterization throughout. He didn't just pop on the characterization for The Shadow himself and call it a day, but put some real effort into Margo, the stupid clueless spy guy, and the villains, and even provided a very nice twist ending that fit in perfectly with the concept of The Shadow. Now if he can do THAT, and provide us with classics such as Zombie Night at the Aquarium from Hitman....yeah, he maybe COULD do a good Power Girl. Whether he'd want to is another question.

Back at Injustice 2, I've looked at some of the other characters, and was struck by how well the writers nailed so many of them. Jay Garrick for example was spot on, (and so was his voice actor). Vixen...was IMO better than the one we get on Legends. PG of course was pretty spot on, much better than nu52 girl or Harley's sidekick. John Stewart, (was that the guy from JLU), was great, as was Beetle and Firestorm, (again, better than the one we get on Legends). Black Adam, Darkseid, and Brainiac were all first class characterizations, as well as voice work.

The big problem I have with Injustice as a whole is that it's basically a copy of Kingdom Come...taken to a different end. The set-up at least was very similar. And I don't really like seeing Superman or Wonder Woman or Hal or Barry as villains, even if they think they're in the right. I got enough of that sort of thing long before Injustice Gods Among Us ever came along. Maybe that's just me though.

@mraugen: I find your take on her introduction fantastic and I agree with you on the personality angle. It would be a tragedy if they just cloned SG. Although I am not a fan of the suit provided, like I don't care for it at all. I'd prefer if they stayed as comic accurate as possible. (Sorry that I am using this again) Maybe something like the Injustice 2 concept art.

To me Kingdom Come was more a commentary over bronze age (80s-90s) heroes and how cynical we had become as fans and an industry. I remember back then how golden age heroes were laughed at and called lame with focus on "extreme" elements of shock moments with gritty anti-heroes. I actually really love that story because it was one that reminded me why I love heroes and why they have a place in our zeitgeist. Injustice is a dark timeline story of heroes fighting and that I have seen quite a bit. I don't quite see the grander commentary in it, just writers being able to take new risks because it is a "what if" type story similar to "Red Son" and others. I agree the whole "heroes vs. heroes" angle has been done quite a lot, I guess I just found Kingdom Come's take to have more resonance than other attempts.

Keep in mind I think Injustice is fine and I plan on buying the game eventually when a "complete" version is released.

I agree whole heartedly with that sentiment, I really like it as well.

Well, that was sort of what I meant, though I didn't put it very well. But for me, while the storyline frames Injustice well enough, it merely rips a basic premise from KC but fails to follow through as well. I'm a bit on the fence about getting the game myself, primarily because I'm not a gamer, and don't even have a platform to play it on, so there'd be a fairly substantial outlay in both money and time for me to come up to speed. Basically, it'd take me forever to stop getting slaughtered....

Concept art, production art, I'm generally good with them both. It seems from a character and art standpoint at least to be a well done game.

So if you guys were to see another partnership series with Power-Girl, who would you have be her companion? Personally I would like to see how PG and Starman could work together after or during their experiances as part of the JSA. I remember when reading the '07 JSA series and loved the way they had worked off of eachother. Albeit they were minimalistic interactions.

I'd have to think about that one. Off the top of my head, I'd say it would depend on what her setting and role within the DCU are. For example, if she's set on main DCU Earth as a standard hero, I might go with any of her Justice League buddies, especially Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, or Booster Gold or even Wally, (the unmarried version). That's the JLE/JLI angle. Set in space, she could work with any number of characters, but I'd love to see her with Vril Dox, Captain Comet, and Lobo---and the rest of the LEGION crowd. Seeing them crack heads would be fun. Earth 2, obviously it would be JSA related, and maybe not Huntress. I never really liked that. Nor do I like either Harley or Atlee as her BFF. I'd like to see her interact more with characters like Diana, Batman, SG, and yeah, Superman himself. Possibly tie her up with Canary for a bit to see how that works?

Interesting question, it'd take some thought.

@teliporter334: Wonder Woman maybe. She would get a nice boost if she looks competent next to one of the Trinity, plus it would sell decently if it were co-starring Wondy.

I'd like to see her team up with the Birds of Prey and see a re-imagining of the personal issues she had with Babs.

Obviously, a book with some of the older members of the JSA would be great. I always like how she looked up to Alan, Jay and Ted (I saw them like her adoptive uncles), but they still respected her as an equal.

A lot of people like comparing her to Nightwing. Since both are among my favouirte characters, I'd be down for that. Though, I don't want them in a romance.

A Superman team up would be good, but the idea doesn't feel very fresh. I guess it would have to depend on the writer and the story.

I'd keep her away from Supergirl. That story's been done to death and DC would probably make PG look like crap next to one of their (out of nowhere and without justification) new favourites.

Well, Winick included Nightwing, (as Batman, at a time when there were Bruce was also Batman), in his run on Power Girl. But...his own rather IMO off take on her character, which to me centered around her inner monologue and her way of speaking more than anything else, might have scarred that encounter...

I wouldn't actually want a romance for Power Girl for some time if she got her own series. I'd want to establish her as a character first.

You're right historically about SG, DC HAS had PG job to her continuously, but then PG has jobbed to and for a lot of characters. It doesn't have to be that way.

Speaking of Supergirl, the latest Warner Brothers DC cinematic universe rumor is that DC executives have decided that the success of Wonder Woman is due to the fact that she's a female superhero, and evidently has nothing to do with quality of the movie, and will now incorporate....yes....Supergirl into Man of Steel 2 to get more heroines out there on film, (along with the dubious Whedon-helmed Batgirl). Sigh. It's just a rumor at this point, but boy do I believe it, based on their track record. No, guys, no reason to actually expand your filmed character list by using Power Girl instead, just go ahead and use Supergirl again.

@achilles100: I never felt romance was needed in any Power Girl stories. There are just certain characters I think work better without getting them involved in romance.

TBH I was never expecting PG to show up in a movie (hoping, but not expecting) with how DC sees the character in the last several years. It would have been better than SG because, not to insult any of her fans, but I never found SG interesting in comparison to PG. To me SG is has either been shown as the female, teenage, emo version of Superman in the comics or weepy, melodramatic and annoying in the TV show. PG at the very least has been shown to be capable and mature.

At least, I'm pretty sure the DCEU version of SG won't be as awful as the TV version of her. (silver lining, I guess)

Yeah, the romance angle isn't one I think should be a priority for PG. She has other things to do.

That pretty much IS how Supergirl had been portrayed by DC. In fact, that was one of the reasons for the creation of Power Girl; that Supergirl was viewed as being to bland and submissive at the time, (the other of course was that they wanted to inject some youth into the All-Star Comics line-up). And yes, that is one of the distinctions. Whatever else she is, Power Girl should never be bland, or weepy like Johns made her, or ineffective.

As for the movie rumors, no, I wasn't expecting anything for PG, but that's just disheartening. She remains one of the most prominent DC characters who has no live action appearances, and almost no animated ones. And it doesn't speak well for her chances in the comics, either.

@achilles100: I mean if Nether Realms knew enough about her to make her character in thier game (with unique dialog, voice and build) then maybe there is hope. And if you think about it, eventually there might come a time where a JSA film comes out and maybe she will be there. The thing I always loved about PG was how she wasn't trying to fit in with the house of El (for the most part, she still turned to Supes as a shoulder to lean on) but was trying to pave her own path. This was part of the reason why I hated the New 52 version of her. After she went back to eath 2 she became SG. Completely insulting the character and missing the point of PG. Also, having a romance for PG would be awkward. With how she's always fighting for more gender equality and speaking about "girl power". Unless she's part of the "LGBT" (which is something that we will NOT be discussing here )community it wouldn't make very much sense.

Well, I'm pleased by how well Nether Realms got her, (and sundry other of my favorite characters), but not so pleased that THEY seem to get her and other better than her actual publisher---though Netherrealms IS a subsidiary of WB, so I don't know why they'd know what to do and WB itself or DC wouldn't. And that THEY showed more interest in her than DC or WB themselves. As for the JSA, baring some huge change I don't see happening, I doubt we'll see a film for them, not in the next decade, maybe ever. WB remember releases it's film schedule years in advance for DC, and while we have a slate of Justice League movies, we don't have anything unrelated, (unless you consider Cyborg a TT character like I do). TV is where anything non League is coming out, and nothing's been mentioned about a JSA series, and if it was, their use in Legends plus the Supergirl show spoiled them and PG for the Arrowverse, and neither Black Lightning nor Teen Titans seem to be places for those characters to interact with and form another DC TV universe. And all of the animated stuff also appears to be League, Bat, Super, or old story related, (even considering a revival of YJ). Either as a show, or as a DVD, they don't seem to be doing anything not related to those properties, unlike Marvel, which was willing to risk major movie money on properties like GoTG, Ant-Man, and others who weren't really huge certain hits at the time.

Neither DC nor WB seems to have learned a thing from that, and the vast majority of their huge stable of great characters seems certain to go unmined in other media, and under-represented in comics. LEGION/REBELS, LOSH, (well, maybe something in the next like five years for them, but I wouldn't hold my breath), JSA, (ditto there, the pace they're going at to reintroduce them after so long...years away I'm guessing, and I have no hopes as to the form), Power Girl, dozens of other characters/minor teams they're ignoring.

@achilles100: I always preferred the JSA over the JLA. The relationships between the society members had always felt more intimate. Where as with the JLA didn't really focus on building a super powered community within their team, rather focused primarily on the missions that they would go on. Speaking of the JSA, I have a strong feeling that they will be returning to comics soon. For if you read "The Button" ,crossover arc between Bats and Flash, you can see Jay struggling to find a way out of the same prison that had held Wally. With DC pushing for more intimacy in their new DC Rebirth titles I think that the first (successful) team of the DC Universe will return. And with this PG is bound to make a return.(Hell, she was chairwoman of the JSA for a time.) Like Bat-Man said, "The Justice League is a stike force, the Justice Society is a family."

@teliporter334: Yeah, I also liked that about the JSA. The JLA is DC's big guns united, but the JSA feel more like a true team. I especially liked Johns' era where they expanded to be a multi-generational team. Since they brought the team back (with their own book) in the 70's, it always kinda been the case. But, Johns made it the official mission of the team to have the older heroes train the younger ones rather than separating them by ages like the JSA and TT always have. I loved having 3 generations of heroes (gold, bronze and modern) interacting in the same book.

I agree that DC wouldn't just have Jay show up for like a few panels and not do anything with it. We know that Johns is spearheading Rebirth (as opposed to Dan Didio who brought us N52) and he does have an affinity to the team. So, here hoping we get to see the proper JSA in the coming months. I would like to think (and I really hope) that Power Girl will come with them considering she is one of the team's most popular members. If she has a good showing in the book and make readers remember how awesome she is, it could lead to her own book.

@rdclip: Exactly what I was thinking.

JSA > JLA

Good question. I would say any partner needs to bring a particular dynamic. Here's my rough summation of ones I've seen
Atlee - Sisters
Harley - Odd Couple
Huntress - Brain/Brawn (I confess I didn't get into World's Finest as much)
Supergirl - Twins/Sisters
Superman - Uncle/Niece
Wonder Woman - Peers
JSA - Teammates

The classic way would be to give her a mentor or have her mentor someone. I think either could have merit, its all in execution and what both character gain from the experience. Where is Power Girl going and how does this partnership aid in that direction?

Needed? Maybe not, but relationships if well done can add to a character. We see different dimensions from someone in how they interact in that space. It's pretty average aspect of life to date and find someone you enjoy sharing experiences. The obvious challenge for heroes is balancing regular life and super hero adventures. If I were to attempt to give Power Girl a love interest I think ones aspect I'd do is have the love interest not be a super hero. I find that to be an interesting dynamic of trust, and odd imbalances of roles with one person saving the world an another going to a job.

I might build on my prior idea of a bar tender in this thread and make that her way into a cover/secret identity and means of income. Has there ever been a super hero with a love interest that run a small business together? Maybe I'm alone, but I think that could be some interesting stories outside of her adventures and show she is an adult dealing with problems other adults relate to. Spit balling here, I like new dimensions to be explore din comics on small and large scales so appeals to me.

I don't dislike Supergirl, I just find her to be a safer character often restricted due to her image. When you're concerned with outside forces it stifles creativity. Need to have confidence in your stories and characters or arrested development sets in.

So Johns is spearheading Rebirth? Well, there goes any chance for PG. As I've said, I was on the old DC message boards back when they were still there, and when the creators were active on those boards. Johns was active in the JSA forum, and before Power Girl was brought onto the team, (she was in limbo at the time, confined for almost two decades to just guest roles after JLE/JLI ended). He was being pressed by PG and JSA fans to bring her back into the team, and replied that he never understood the character or her appeal. That led to a bit of fan backlash on the boards, and some months later, he announced that he'd decided to bring her onto the team. Which he did. But he also proved that he STILL didn't understand the character by having her job, lose, whine, and cry for most of her run, never really giving her any moments where SHE was effective, rather than say some of the male figures on the team.

Then DC goes on about how PG is one of their "new icons", along with a couple of other characters, including one of the Robins, I can't recall which, and she gets a few pages of ads in a few month's worth of comics...then disappears as her push vanishes. Her much vaunted "critical" role in Infinite Crisis turns out to be saved by her cousin from someone she shouldn't need saving from, crying for a bit, being immediately captured and turned into a statue for most of the story by Superboy Prime, then crying some more as her cousin goes off to stop Prime, allowing herself to be restrained by the Martian Manhunter to prevent her from following and possibly saving her cousin's life, then crying some more when he's killed. She keeps on crying for him long after that series was over, well into JSA itself.

So I don't hold much hope for her, still less when Johns himself is involved. And DC does stuff all the time and never follows up on it. Take the Kandor arc in SG, which implied a much better Power Girl story than we've ever gotten....completely abandoned. Neither Palmiotti/Gray nor Winick ever picked up on it....an arc that would have feature time travel, a real arch villain for PG, and an epic battle giving her the first chance she really ever had to shine---and an arc that would have solidified her role in the Superman Family.

As for JSA vs JLA, I personally prefer the JSA approach...but I think they're BOTH valid and good.

@achilles100: That doesn't really prove Johns harbours a disdain for the character like Didio had for Nightwing or the Marvel execs had for Peter/MJ. Yes, he may not have understood the character and probably still doesn't. but that doesn't mean he will hold her back. After all, he did give her a very prominent role in his JSA book.

He is spearheading Rebirth with his role as CCO. So while he is overseeing the creative direction of the company, he isn't writing or even devising every story. I'm not an expert on business, but I assume he just oversees everything and approves or vetoes ideas. That's why I want a writer to actually pitch something to DC because I don't think they will get off their ass and give PG a book.

I don't think Johns will be writing a possible JSA book. The dude is super busy nowadays with his executive job as well as working on the movies and he doesn't really write many comics anymore. So, there shouldn't be fear that Johns will get PG wrong again. Hopefully they get someone like James Robinson who really knows the JSA to write it, but with the weird way he left the Earth 2 book years ago there may be bad blood between him and DC. I can't really remember, but was PG on the team when Robinson was writing? If so, did he do a good job with her?

Yeah, I'm a little tired of superheroes hooking up with each other. A lot of comic writers nowadays just seem to ignore the normal out of costume lives of heroes and just focus 100% on superhero shenanigans. I like to see heroes with a life outside the costume and friends that are just normal people.

As for a romance for PG, I'm not totally against the idea. It would just have to be done very well to satisfy me since she has never been a character that dealt with romance and sex (other than the terrible n52 BS, but lets hope DC reboots her back to pre-flashpoint) But, i suppose I would be open to the idea.

In fact of all the characters in comics, PG would be one of very few I would accept making gay. Like I said, she never really had a relationship with a man (as far as the books I've read go) so her sexuality has never been addressed (unlike Iceman who was in several hetero relationships) and making her gay would distance her even more from the terribleness of N52. Of course, I wouldn't do anything cheap with it like hooking her up with Batwoman or Renee Montoya. Though I'm not married to the idea; just something to think about.

Agreed, part of what shows dimensions of characters is situations where they cannot rely on their powers to fix it. I'm not saying ignore the fun and fantastic aspects. I enjoy a balance in my characters to make them relateable and awe inspiring.

Agree again, it is not about forcing a relationship, and I'd be fine with her being single as well. I think doing it has to have a purpose and reveal her more. It could take many avenues, why does she seek it out or not? Who appeals to her? What is she wanting out of life? Saving people is great, but I can understand though someone desiring other parts of life for personal fulfillment.

Sexuality is a touchy subject because how malleable it is can come across as insulting if done wrong (ex: Iceman). If I had to guess I'd say Power Girl can come across as bi-sexual in nature. I admit, this is coming from a heterosexual male married to a bi-sexual female, so that may be just me seeing overlap in personalities between my wife and Power Girl. The thing is, sexuality doesn't define someone and I wouldn't like for that to be a focus. People are not census forms, they are three dimensional beings. If you define someone by their sex, race, nationality, orientation, etc. I find that is pretty poor characterization.

@mraugen: Yes, I agree. Character development and relationship (platonic and otherwise) come first with sexuality, gender, race, etc added to give a little extra flavour. I certainly wouldn't make her sexuality a major focal point or anything, just something to add to her personality without being a dominating trait.

@rdclip: It is a challenge in modern comics, because even omission of something does tell us something. What kind of person never lets anyone get close or ever has desires of companionship? Maybe friendship is enough and that is fine, but most character eventually do ask these sort of questions.

No, I don't believe she was, though he DID write her briefly before Flashpoint as part of the Brightest Day thing crossover between the JLA and JSA. He did decently by her, having her get controlled by the Starheart and go crazy on Dick's JLA team, stalemating Supergirl until Jade came into the picture with magic and koed her. But he did one nice thing with the character, (and SG), having both of them instantly understand Mr. Terrific's complex circuit diagrams to build a Starheart negating device, and be able to build it in seconds, thus being one of the few explicit references to her intelligence that actually makes her seem intelligent, (Levitz went to opposite way with his horrid Worlds' Finest of course). As for Johns....well then, his role regarding her doesn't seem certain, but yes, he definitely didn't like her. I omitted that he also mentioned he didn't actually LIKE the character either. His inclusion of her came as a result of his sensing her fan appeal, though he himself didn't like her or get her. It wasn't out of any goodwill he felt for the character. I'm fairly certain that approval of her solo title came from Didio in fact, rather than Johns for that reason. I also think that he might be responsible for her absence from other media, and her relatively sparse appearances in DC since Flashpoint, (WF being the awful exception).

@rdclip: I also hated her N52 version. I tried to get into PG and Huntress but just couldn't. I mean, by the end of the Earth 2 series she had just become SG. Thats how people were adressing her and she was sporting the "S" (which completely missed the point of PG). Since I didnt read much of her N52 run (Tried but couldn't.) did she ever get involved in sexual situations or things of the sort? Also I would also want her "significant other" to be an average civilian as it would indeed provide more depth to PG as a character. When it comes to sexuality I really dont have a preference. It wouldn't really make sense for her to be hetero as she talks alot about "girl power", so I suppose that she would be either bisexual or lesbian. IF they do go this route it will help differentiate her from WW and SG as both have been known to be hetero. But her sexual orientation SHOULD NOT be an integral part of her character, should just be like any other relationship.

Her sexuality HAS been addressed fairly often; she's straight. She's tried to have relationships with men, but because she's both a minor character, and very often a comedic character, they've always gone either awkwardly or comedically wrong. Aquaman was a crush for her in JLE. She tried to get intimate with one unnamed character, (normal human), off camera in JLE, only to have him run from the room because he was scared of her muscles, (her own comedic admission to a "girl's night out" in JLE, tried to get romantic with a guy in the same story only to be burst in on by the same girl's night out who thought they were rescuing her from the villain).

She caught Crimson Fox looking at her boobs once though...so I suppose they COULD go that way. Given that it would be relatively out of the blue and contrary to her established cannon, and that I don't think that's a priority with her anyway, I'd be against it.

IMO, the priority should be establishing her as a character first before exploring her sexuality or any romantic angles. Most major aspect of her character are relatively undefined, and certainly unreinforced, and she's just spent years being written out of character for what we DO know about her, that I think at least two years of stories developing her as a character should happen first before any romantic angles with whichever gender should happen.

ONE of the things we DO know about her; as the first part of her solo, to the extent that it was about anything, was about this, is that she's famously BAD at living a life outside of being a superhero. And she's also famously bad at any sort of relationship, even if it's just friendship. That's been a recurring theme throughout her publication history. It seems to be a combination of anger issues, the chip on her shoulder, her physically intimidating personal style and mood swings, (even Wonder Woman commented on it to her once in IIRC a Gail Simone written title), and her general awkwardness with people when she's not punching them or saving them. I think the original implied explanation for that was a combination of being from an alien culture, and being raised by an AI which managed her dream relationships, rather than actually growing up with people.

I'm NOT opposed to having her paired with a superhero love interest eventually though---it's just as common and just as classic for comic book superheroes to date or marry normal humans. Superman and Lois being the most classic example. Spider-Man and Mary Jane. Batman and Vicki Vale. Animal Man and whatever his wife was called. Barry Allen and Iris. Wally West and Linda. Wonder Girl and her husband. Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor. Plenty of others. In DC, I think the recent emphasis on pairing Superman or Batman with Wonder Woman has been the thing that gives the impression that the other way around is more common.

She was f*** buddies with Mr Terrific in his book and it was terrible and she was a horny man-hungry idiot in her book and it was terrible.

I haven't read much of JLI/JLE series so I guess I missed that. At this point, that was 30 years, one (and a half) reboots ago and her sexuality hasn't been an mentioned for at least ~20 years. I'm not championing it, but if DC wanted to make any established character bi/gay, doing so with her wouldn't really piss many people off like it does with character who have had serious hetero relationships in the past like Bobby Drake and Alan Scott.

I actually meant that recently writers have tended to ignore the off-duty lives of superheroes. Traditionally, yes heroes have had non-powered love interests, but recently: Superman/Wonder Woman, Batman/Catwoman, Nightwing/Shawn Tsang (can't remember her alias), Tim Drake/Spoiler, Superboy/Wonder Girl, etc. Many of them are good couples, but it is a symptom of writers forgetting that heroes are real people with lives outside of their capes and masks. Not saying two heroes should never get together, but I want to see their outside life.

Good points here.

I think any changes to characterization have to be delicate and handled in a way that comes across as organic instead of forced. I don't think any changes have to be done, but I am open to possibilities.

I think having a regular person as love interests allows for more flexibility because it would be from scratch. I'm not sure what existing hero would make sense for her.

I also hated that nu52 bit of making her into SG. Wonder Woman BTW is now officially bi, so there's that. The "girl power" thing you refer of....is mostly in the video game, not in the comics. To the extent that she was into that in the comics, it was as an extension of her original character trait as a 70s era "feminist" character....as viewed through the lense of a male creator and writers' eyes, not as anything to be taken as any evidence one way or the other of her sexuality.

@rdclip: Yes, I'd prefer to ignore the nu52 Power Girl in every aspect, including "slutty PG", who was not only chasing Mr. Terrific, but basically everything male, from random guys to nuSuperman, (Val-Zod, not her cousin, which would have been...)

But she's also been shown to be very interested in guys pre-Flashpoint in the JSA series, and even her own solo, while she's never been shown to be interested in the ladies. It would be changing her character is what I mean.

I'm not sure either, shipping aside. I mean she's had flirtations with Aquaman, but that was shot down by Baitboy himself, and obviously would be very forced what with Mera and all, and it being all one-sided in the first place. Also one-sided was Wally West's attempted flirtations with her, and Booster's, and Ted Kord's....

She seems to have liked Captain Atom, but there was never anything definitive enough to build on----it would be almost out of thin air. She has no history of that sort that I know of with any other hero, male or female---outside of nu52's Val-Zod and Mr. Terrific. If you look at the totality of her relationships or one night stands, they mostly seem to be unnamed ordinary guys she finds cute.

@achilles100: What issues did she have these "interactions" with Val-Zod and Mr.Terrific?

Yeah, I am always hesitant to add or change such significant characteristics, especially on a dime. Why I said vaguely bi-sexual rather than treating it like a "switch" the way Iceman was handled. From my experience women in general are more open sexually than men. When I saw "Wonder Woman" with a group the women were all very open about how attractive Gal Gadot is, not a single guy mentioned Chris Pine.

@mraugen: I would also prefer if they went with the vague aproach.

@teliporter334: In writing in general showing and giving the audience credit is a better form of story telling than stating facts or characteristics. Some people are ambiguous, I mean I know people that I honestly have no idea what their orientation is, and I don't care because it makes no difference to me. I feel similar about politics and religion in regards to how they define people. Some wear it on their sleeve, some keep it to themselves. In either case in writing it has to feel natural with established traits of an existing character.

@mraugen: Also, I thought that PG and Terrific were just friends.

Ecch, at this point, I can't recall. As I recall, basically her whole appearance in Mr. Terrible, arguably the worst comic in the nu52...so don't waste your time looking for those in the bargain bins. But its made pretty clear she's sleeping with him. As for Zod...some of those issues it's implied that there's at least strong feelings on both parts. But during the end parts of the series (Earth 2), I gave up on it, so I don't know their relationship after the Darkseid fight arc, (though I gather it seems strained to say the least, I couldn't tell you why). Meanwhile, half of WF she's being chided by Helena for trying to hook up with everyone male, with a pulse, and under thirty. Maybe forty...

Very, very good friends in the nu52 series Mr. Terrific. Friends with benefits. Basically, the writer was screwing PG fans by having her sleep with him JUST to steal his tech. There, you wanted to know, now you know how bad it could get in terms of mischaracterizing her.

@achilles100: Atleast in her solo series she punched Vartox after he tried to bale after she helped inpregnate his planet. This showed that she didn't like being used by people. Here she does the exact thing she was against.

Yes, sigh, which is why I'd prefer to pretend the nu52 Power Girl never happened, even if it means losing basically the only moment where she ever has had a good showing against one of the heaviest of DC's hitters, (and curiously the only moment where she every fought him).

If a writer was to put PG in a relationship (gay or straight) it should have a long lead up. I don't really like how writers are so impatient nowadays. Like the (very good) Nightwing Rebirth book. Dick literally starts dating Shawn Tsang in one issue and the next (or the one after) there is a pregnancy scare with her and she gets kidnapped. The readers didn't get a chance to care about his new girl before they throw all that at us.

If I were going to get PG with another lady, I certainly wouldn't just have her declare in the first issue that she's gay and screaming it from the rooftops. I would perhaps introduce a lesbian character and show she has a physical interest in PG. She gets rejected, but they stay friends. After a year or so of developing the affection between them, there would be genuine romantic feelings and PG decides to act on them. It would be more about their relationship and intimacy rather than a big spectacular political statement.

@rdclip: That would be a great way to let PG grow as a character, maybe even build her circle of trust bigger than just superheroes. For instance, help her cope with and integrate PG into this "New World" in ways that the JSA can't. And it doesn't even have to be a romantic relationship, like you said it can grow into one, it can even be a person who is dealing with the same issue (of belonging/fitting in) who can help PG vent her anger and confusion in other ways than just punching. This would help PG deal with her anger issues when the writers start looking at her civilian side and how povital it is in shaping her alter ego. Maybe she becomes increasingly more cruel and remorseless as she becomes angrier, we saw how she cut Santana's arm off under the stress of looking for her one close friend. My point being that if writers look at her civilian side more, it would add depth to PG as a character while building her mythos with a close friend (or significant other) that she can relate to. This dynamic could work great if she does initially reject the lesbian relationship and developed a connection through sharing experiences with this friend. It would be a relationship built upon intimate experiences rather than being a throw away selling point.

I'm not opposed to anything off hand, but I do think some ideas can go bad fast if handled poorly. Everything needs to be in service to the story, as too often comics have fallen for soap opera type tactics of shock that it has lost all effect. Gimmicks fade, characters persevere.

Side note: I'm trying to catch up on certain aspects as New 52 lost me so filling in gaps now to have better understanding as it dovetails into Rebirth.