Wonder Woman's Trinity Backups Prove We Need More Slice-Of-Life Superhero Stories

06/05/2024

Wonder Woman’s 2023 relaunch with Tom King and Daniel Sampere is creating buzz with a unique story involving a new character, Trinity.
Superhero comics traditionally focused on action are now exploring slice-of-life storytelling, appealing to fans of manga and anime.
The success of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures and Trinity back-ups in Wonder Woman indicates a growing demand for more slice-of-life superhero stories.

Wonder Woman’s 2023 relaunch saw the A-list writer/artist team of Tom King and Daniel Sampere join the book. Their run is turning a lot of heads; the book’s main plot involves Wonder Woman battling against the Sovereign, a villain who is no one less than the secret king of the United States. The story has a unique framing device, as it involves the Sovereign telling the story of his battle against Wonder Woman to her daughter, Trinity, at some point in the future. Trinity is a new character created for the story and has even been given a feature in the book.

This backup deals with Jon Kent and Damian Wayne babysitting the young Trinity in extremely entertaining stories by King and artist Belén Sanchez. These little slice-of-life stories with superheroes have made fans wish that American superhero comics would tell more stories like this. Slice-of-life manga and anime are quite popular, and many superhero fans would love to see their favorite heroes in more grounded stories, ones that don’t involve fighting villains but navigating the world with superpowers alongside their closest friends and family.

Superhero Comics Have Always Had Slice Of Life Aspects

wonder woman's trinity backups prove we need more slice-of-life superhero stories

Wonder Woman drawn by Wonder Woman

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Superhero comics have created their own storytelling language over the last eighty-six years since the debut of Superman in Action Comics #1. Superman’s life wasn’t just about putting on his suit and fighting evil; it was also about his job as a reporter and his relationship with Lois Lane. As more superheroes started to be created, they followed the path that Superman laid for them. Superheroes had secret identities and lives outside of being superheroes. Golden Age heroes were much simpler, so these aspects were usually not played up as much, but they were still there.

Superhero comics were made for children, so the superheroic aspects of the characters were played up the most. The Silver Age of comics also kept this up. Superman had Lois, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White, and Shazam had the Marvel Family. However, most of their stories still dealt with their superheroic adventures, with their lives outside being heroes mostly just acting as set-dressing. Books like Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen and Superman’s Girl Lois Lane were the closest that readers had to slice-of-life comics back then, but there wasn’t much realistic about the antics that the characters got up to in those two books. As with most superhero comics in the Silver Age, the rise of the Marvel Universe changed just how important the non-superheroic lives of superheroes were.

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #1 was the dawn of the Marvel Universe. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s style was quite different from the works of creators that came before, and they made sure to accentuate the lives of the Fantastic Four outside their adventures. The best Fantastic Four stories show every facet of the team, and their interpersonal relationships are just as important as anything else. Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm were a family, and readers enjoyed seeing the way they played off each other in the Baxter Building almost as much as they loved seeing them fight Doctor Doom. It’s safe to say that the Fantastic Four became even more popular because of the team’s lives together. This mixture of civilian and superhero proved to be a key part of the Marvel formula and would play a huge role in the success of Marvel’s most popular hero – Spider-Man.

Spider-Man Kicked Off A Huge Change In Comics

Spider-Man proved to be the character that put Marvel over the top, and a big reason for that was his life as Peter Parker. Early issues of The Amazing Spider-Man weren’t typical slice-of-life fare, as they still revolved around the superheroics of Peter Parker as Spider-Man. Still, Peter’s life at home and school is relatable to readers. Peter had an elderly aunt to take care of, had to work at The Daily Bugle to help with the bills, and had to duck bullies while trying to get the girl at school.

Peter Parker was just as important as Spider-Man, and The Amazing Spider-Man’s melodrama was integral to the equation. Fantastic Four and The Amazing Spider-Man used the personal lives of their characters to set them apart from the other superhero comics on the market. Soon, Marvel was playing up the personal lives of its heroes across its line, and DC followed suit, with the personal lives of the heroes becoming increasingly appealing.

Superhero comics are ever-changing. The Bronze and Modern Age would see comics get better than ever, with better writing and art, and the way superhero stories worked also changed. Superhero secret identities became even less important, minimizing the drama of their civilian lives. Spider-Man still had his supporting cast, the FF were still a family, and the X-Men were known for their soap opera melodrama, but it wasn’t the same as it used to be. Readers wouldn’t want more from the superhero comics they read until the rise of manga and anime in the US.

Comics in Japan were a more respected art form than in the US; despite the maturation of the Bronze and Modern Age, comics were still considered a low art medium. Manga in Japan was an important part of the entertainment culture, and they told all manner of stories, much like television does in the United States. Slice-of-life manga came to the United States, and superhero comic fans soon realized something was missing from the monthly comics they read.

Fans loved the Marvel and DC Universe and wanted to see more stories set there, which weren’t just the same old heroes beating up on supervillains. They wanted slice-of-life comics, stories set in their favorite superhero universes of their favorite characters just living their lives. Then, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures dropped and changed the game for fans.

The Time Has Come For More Slice-Of-Life Superheroes

Composite image of Ant-Man, Magik, and Ms. Marvel

10 Marvel Characters Who Deserve Their Own Webtoons Like Wayne Family Adventures

Batman fans loved seeing a lighthearted take on the hero in Wayne Family Adventures; many Marvel characters could benefit from the webtoon treatment.

Batman always had a bit of slice-of-life to his stories, but it differed from other heroes. Batman didn’t hide his secret life from the people he loved and his friends; instead, he brought them into his superhero life. Dick Grayson would join his fight against evil in 1940 and Alfred in 1944. The ’60s would see Batgirl join him, and the ’80s saw Jason Todd become the second Robin while Dick Grayson became Nightwing. The ’90s and ’00s would see even more characters join up, and soon, the modern Bat-Family was born.

The Bat Family was unique in that they were actually a family of a sort. Alfred was Bruce’s “father,” and Bruce was the “father” to the Robins – having adopted Grayson, Todd, and Tim Drake and being the biological father of Damian Wayne. The Bat Family was perfect for a slice-of-life comic – they had a unique family dynamic among superhero families that made stories of them living in Wayne Manor and dealing with each other very entertaining. Batman is also the most popular DC character, and the rest of the Bat Family has starred in enough video games and outside media to be well-known. However, DC was never going to do a slice-of-life comic on its own. That’s where WEBTOON came in.

WEBTOON is a South Korean website/mobile app that publishes comics, manga, and manwha. WEBTOON has become one of the world’s biggest independent comic reading apps and has a huge selection of great comics. DC chose to publish Batman: Wayne Family Adventures on the app, tapping writer CRC Payne and artist StarBite, aka Rhett Bloom, to tell the story of the Waynes hanging out and living their lives. The WEBTOON became hugely popular among fanbases that didn’t always read Big Two superhero comics, making it a huge crossover hit.

DC has since started publishing the comic in physical form and has even started to put more of its characters on the app. On top of that, DC also has a huge YA line of graphic novels starring teen DC heroes living their lives, going to school, and falling in love. Slice-of-life comics are just another way to spend time with superheroes, and they’ve already proven popular with fans of manga and YA stories. Marvel and DC have spent years finding new ways to tell superhero stories, and slice-of-life comics are another aspect of that. DC’s success with WEBTOON and their YA graphic novels may not be with the typical superhero comic audience. Still, the popularity of the Trinity back-ups in Wonder Woman – DC is giving the character her own one-shot – shows that superhero fans are ready for more slice-of-life stories.

Everyone Loves A Nice Slice Of Life

Composite image: Beast Boy, Supergirl, and Blue Beetle in front of Wayne Family Adventures promotionals

10 DC Characters Who Should Headline Lighthearted Webtoons After Wayne Family Adventures

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures was a super popular webtoon, and fans want to see DC characters like Beast Boy and Blue Beetle get similar treatment.

Trinity’s childhood adventures with Damian Wayne and Jon Kent have grabbed readers’ attention. This backup story could have easily shown a more conventional superhero story with Damian and Jon training Trinity to fight evil, taking her on patrol, and things of that nature. And while there is some of that, the true highlight of the story is watching the young princess play with her “older brothers” as they struggle to keep up with the energetic little girl. Every parent who reads this backup recognizes what’s happening, and everyone who babysat has had the same experience. This comic rings true for everyone who reads it and uses what readers know about Damian and Jon to inform the story.

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures is successful but has a different audience than those who usually read superhero comics. However, that doesn’t mean there is no place for slice-of-life comics in the mainstream comic industry. The Trinity back-ups in Wonder Woman show that superhero comic fans can enjoy a great slice-of-life comic. While the Big Two doesn’t always listen to its fans, sales speak louder than words.

Maybe if DC sees that their Trinity one-shot sells well, they’ll do more mainstream slice-of-life superhero comics. If DC does them and makes money, Marvel will follow suit. Modern superhero fans are ready for more slice-of-life comics, and they could help the Big Two cross over into the manga market and open up all new sales avenues.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

One of the most beloved and iconic DC Super Heroes of all time, Wonder Woman has stood for nearly eighty years as a symbol of truth, justice and equality to people everywhere.
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