Notes on Timeline in Wonder Woman 226

[caiusbackup]

In the latest (& last of this volume of) Wonder Woman, Rucka does a retrospective giving the number of years ago each scene took place.

Thus, we have a timeline:

9 Years Ago: Wonder Woman has debuted, and is living with the Kapatelis family; Fire is already in JLI-era costume. Real time: Nov 88 at earliest. Rucka time: 1997

6 Years Ago: Wonder Woman opens Embassey (refs to Booster Gold in pre-Doomsday costume, Titans Tower) but from dialogue (Neron), must be post-Underworld Unleashed. Real time: perh. end of 1995. Rucka time: 2000

5 Years Ago: Artemis takes on Wonder Woman's identity (late JLA v2 by my reckoning, but dialogue implies early JLA v3, with Superman and Batman on the team; however, I'm pretty sure Diana had the title back by then!). Real time: sometime during 1995, and very possibly should take place before the previous conversation (anyone more familiar with Wonder Woman continuity than I am?) Rucka time: 2001.

2 Years Ago: (Luthor president or campaigning) Just post-OWAW, Hippolyta dead. Real Time: after October 2001. Rucka time: 2004.

1 Year Ago (!): Identity Crisis #1 (Sue Dibny's funeral.) Real time: August 2004. Rucka time: 2005.

Make of that what you will.

Comments

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

IC1 was 2004? Jebus. Time flies when your fandom is monthly.

[caiusmajor.livejournal.com]

It's the part where it was a whole year ago comics time that makes my head spin (on general principles; it's probably good that the characters are getting to take things slow!) but yeah. I was a bit surprised there, too.

[badficwriter.livejournal.com]

(I interpreted the Big Two on the team as just visiting reserves type stuff)

Lessee. Underworld Unleashed was after Hal was dead but before Jim Corrigan bit it. So...Kyle's been a rookie for...roughly 6 years? And that's how long Hal's been dead, less a few. But I can't see Ollie being alive again that long. Maybe we should consider timeline's individually for each hero, as cracktastic as that sounds.

[caiusmajor.livejournal.com]

(I have trouble picturing the Big Two visiting that era of the League, much less Batman sitting down for it, but, well. It's probably the less brain-breaky option.)

The thing with Ollie is that Quiver was 2001-02, so he's only *really* been back since then (2 years, Rucka time, which is probably about right) but there's a big handwave for the part where Parallax resurrected him just *before* dying. So either Quiver happened earlier than its publication would indicate (and I'm not clear enough on what was going on then to work out what that would mean), or that leaves Ollie floating around for >4 years, by this timeline. *shrugs*

I tend to use a version of "to each hero his or her own timeline!" myself, anyway; for example, the problem here for Batfans is that Jason died roughly 9 years ago by this timeline--which either makes Tim a lot older than he should be or extends the between-Robins period quite a bit.

[badficwriter.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, I dearly love the Homeless Man Defender of Trashcans! I wouldn't mind that period having lasted awhile, and then Ollie *snapping* out of it without a problem, the way superheroes always do. Kinda like Daredevil, where his breakdown periods and the friends he makes simply vanishing immediately after he recovers and moves on.