How should we handle Donna Troy’s complicated history? Known as the original Wonder Girl, Donna’s origins have been a topic of debate among comic book enthusiasts due to an editorial mix-up. For years, DC Comics writers and editors have attempted to clarify her confusing background with various attempts but often ended up making it more complex. The root cause is DC’s inconsistent management of the Wonder Woman and Teen Titans lore through retcons. However, a renowned comic book creator has finally given Donna Troy the credit she deserves by addressing this issue effectively.
Phil Jimenez, both an artist and writer, stirred up the comic book world by creating the first issue of Kelly Sue DeConnick’s “Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons,” which is often cited as one of the greatest Wonder Woman comics ever made. In the year 2025, Jimenez revealed his affection for Donna Troy through Titans Annual #1, where he aimed to provide the character with a definitive origin that resolves the various conflicting origins within the comic’s pages. This comic can be seen as a heartfelt tribute to Donna Troy, and instead of complicating her history further, the story offers a more streamlined narrative.
It All Started Because Wonder Woman Used Time Travel
The mix-up started when DC editors and writers chose to incorporate Wonder Girl into their freshly formed teen superhero squad, the Teen Titans. However, there was no established character named Wonder Girl at that time. It later became clear that the creators had mistakenly combined elements from Wonder Woman stories, assuming a pre-existing Wonder Girl character was present. In reality, those Wonder Woman comics depicted Diana collaborating with past iterations of herself, including a teenage version known as Wonder Girl. Despite this, the Wonder Girl character who fought alongside the Titans in ‘The Brave and the Bold’ was modeled after the teen Diana design from the Wonder Woman comics. Eventually, DC acknowledged their error, and writer Marv Wolfman created an original backstory for this new version of Wonder Girl.
Initially, Donna Troy’s origin story, created by Wolfman, was straightforward – she was an infant orphan saved from a fire by Wonder Woman and adopted by Queen Hippolyta on Paradise Island. This simple yet effective narrative held up well until the “Crisis on Infinite Earths” event, which dramatically altered Wonder Woman’s history. As a result of this alteration, Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman, no longer had a pre-existing connection with the outside world. Since Diana was a central character in The New Teen Titans comics, her backstory was rewritten to explain that she wasn’t actually the one who saved baby Donna from the fire, but rather mythical Titans who gave her memories of Wonder Woman instead.
DC Couldn’t Keep Things Simple
In the late 90s, Donna’s origins were revised, suggesting she was created as a magical duplicate to be a companion for Diana. Unfortunately, Donna met her end in the “Graduation Day” storyline but returned to life in “The Return of Donna Troy,” penned by Phil Jimenez. This comic marked Jimenez’s initial effort to harmonize Donna’s complex histories, presenting her as a survivor from the pre-crisis universe and a unique element within the multiverse. Consequently, every origin story became valid due to Donna’s status in the multiverse. However, this approach did not prove as effective as “Titans Annual #1” because “The Return of Donna Troy” delved too deeply into her intricate backstory. Ultimately, DC could benefit from streamlining Donna’s convoluted past by simplifying it instead of making her a multiversal anomaly, which might add to the character’s mystique but also potentially confuses and alienates readers.
In my perspective as a devoted fan, I was thrilled when Donna was brought back into the New 52 universe as a clay warrior, set to take Wonder Woman’s place. However, that new origin took an unexpected turn when the Titans Hunt mini-series emerged, revealing her surprising connection to the past Teen Titans team. The details surrounding Donna’s backstory remained unclear during DC Rebirth, but it was accepted that her golem origin from the New 52 was still valid. Fast forward to Infinite Frontier, where all DC history, including conflicting lore, was declared canonical, with characters carrying memories from various timelines.
Donna Finally Has Her Original Backstory Back
In writing and illustrating “Titans Annual #1”, Jimenez opted to simplify Donna Troy’s background instead of making every previously established origin story canonical. As an alternative to sorting through the intricate web of Donna Troy origin stories, including his own work in “The Return of Donna Troy” comic series, Jimenez chose to revert back to Donna’s original Wolfman-penned origin story where she was an orphan child saved by Wonder Woman and raised on Paradise Island. The “Annual” serves as a heartfelt homage to Donna Troy, delving into her various triumphs and challenges throughout her life, including the contentious marriage to Terry Long and the loss of her newborn son. Additionally, this comic resurrected dormant aspects of Donna’s history, such as her reunion with her previous adoptive family prior to living with the Amazons.
Jimenez skillfully crafted Donna’s life narrative, meticulously arranging the chronological milestones of her character’s past. The author-artist intelligently steered clear of delving into the contradictory backstory of Donna Troy, ensuring the story remained centered on Troy’s emotional evolution throughout her life. Only subtly did the confusing history manifest when some train passengers discussed misleading information about the Teen Titans overheard by Donna. Recognizing that attempting to rectify Donna could lead to further complications, Jimenez opted instead to revert to a tried-and-true origin for the character. This comic is a breathtaking piece of work that truly grasps the essence of a character like Donna Troy. While _Titans Annual #1_ carries the same risk of being retconned during a future major overhaul, we fervently hope that Donna Troy’s history will be given due consideration in future storytelling.
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2025-08-15 01:09