Why Phil Jimenez Is A Genius

Just flipping through TITANS COMPANION 2 and came across his interview...

TTC: What did you think of [Donna Troy's] debut as Wonder Woman in “One Year Later”?

PJ: Not the direction I would have gone with that character, because, again, I don't believe any of those original Titans should ever become their mentors for the very basic reason that all that suggests is that you must become your parents. One of the things I loved about the Titans in their adult incarnations... Nightwing, Arsenal, Tempest, Troia... was that they were not that.

They took the best aspects of their older mentors, plus whatever else they learned, and then spun them into new identities that were linked to, but not lesser than, their mentors’ identities. That's the beauty of a character like Nightwing, is that he's not Batman, nor should he ever be Batman. He's something else.

So I think Donna as Wonder Woman doesn't actually make a lot of sense for that character, and I think it sort of backsteps her, because all you're gonna do is beat her up to show the world how amazing Diana Prince is. You know, you could never have a Donna Troy that's a better Wonder Woman than Diana, so you're immediately setting her up for failure.

TTC: What do you think about Arsenal becoming Red Arrow, then?

PJ: Same thing. I'm not a fan of it. I think it's actually a step back for that character, and not a step forward. The beautiful thing about Arsenal, I think, is that he's an incredibly unique character with ties to Green Arrow that is not following in his father's footsteps. I'm not very keen on Red Arrow.

One addendum from me: I do think that the "graduation" premise worked very well for Wally, especially upon Barry's death. Of course, now that's undone as well.