Wonder Woman is getting a daughter! Again! It was big news today when Tom King (Batman, The Vision) and Daniel Sampere (Dark Crisis, Trinity of Sin: Pandora) both introduced, on their social media pages, Lizzie, aka Trinity. Set to make her debut in the upcoming Wonder Woman #800 (out June 20, 2023), Trinity’s story is said to set in motion the new Wonder Woman title, relaunching with a new #1 by King and Sampere. How Trinity ultimately ties into that new story remains to be seen, as preview pages hint that the new volume takes place in the present, and Trinity’s story is set about twenty years in the future, as per King. (Then again, King did juggle multiple timelines with his Batman work, showing us his take on Helena Wayne in a future-set timeline there, so it’s probable that something similar is at play here.)
While there’s still a lot we don’t know about Trinity beyond her codename (which is probably based on the fact that she seems to be in possession of three lassos) and her proper first name (Lizzie, probably in honour of Elizabeth Marston, who with her husband William Moulton Marston and polyamourous life partner Olive Byrne, was involved in the creation of Wonder Woman), we do know one thing for certain: what she looks like! So let’s talk costume, let’s talk hair, let’s talk inspiration and homage, because just by glancing at the pics that Sampere and King released this morning, I can spot at least five probable references/homages to other looks pulled from Wonder Woman lore, so let’s dive into it!
The first thing I noticed is how superheroic Trinity looks. The pose, the expression, the colours of the costume. Though she’s in the traditional red/white/blue/gold that’s become associated with her mother, the most interesting thing about this look is how the blue is emphasized over the red. In most incarnations of Diana’s look – and going down to both Donna Troy and Cassandra Sandsmark, as well as Diana’s Earth-Two daughter Lyta Trevor (aka Fury), red generally tends to be the dominant colour that these character wear, with blue playing a more supporting role whenever it makes an appearance. Here, though, Trinity’s dominant colour is blue, with red playing a supporting role. It’s a refreshing change, and it really makes the shining gold detailing of her costume pop. Come to think of it, I think the only other prominent character in the Wonder Woman mythos who has blue as a dominant colour is Nubia.
Apart from the colour scheme, the first reference I noticed was the fact that this costume is a jumpsuit, instantly calling to mind Wonder-jumpsuit queen Donna Troy, who has rocked a jumpsuit since Nick Cardy put her in one back in 1969. While Donna’s was more of a traditional jumpsuit, the one Trinity sports has something of an athleisure vibe to it with the colourblocking and the red stripe down the side. Athleisure-as-superhero-gear is something that’s been a bit maligned in recent years, just as jeans-as-superhero-gear was maligned in the late 90s to early 2000s when characters like Superboy and Wonder Girl started incorporating them into their costumes, but unlike jeans, athleisure at least has some sort of athletic cred to it. It’s suitable and, in some ways, a fitting update to the original inspirations for superhero costumes – circus outfits, like ones that strongmen wore. (But I digress.) I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the athleisure styling of the look also calls to mind the look that Diana sported in some DC Animated films, as well as Cassandra Sandsmark’s second Wonder Girl look from the Young Justice animated series. (Of course, Cassie’s look seemed inspired by Diana’s DC Animated look.) Cassie also wears a similar, though slightly busier, look as Wonder Woman in the alternate DCeased universe.
The second thing that I immediately noticed about Trinity’s look is the breastplate. The styling of it immediately called to mind the last new member of the Wonderfamily – Yara Flor, the latest woman to be called Wonder Girl. Her own costume has a similarly styled breastplate (except her palette is a darker, richer one than the one that Trinity sports here) though it should be noted that Yara’s breastplate is a more intricately designed one than Trinity’s. While Yara’s look is bolder and more modern, Trinity’s is a little more streamlined, a little more classic superhero, which makes sense given that she’s the daughter of one of DC’s Big Three. The breastplate also calls to mind some of the looks that the second Wonder Girl, Cassie Sandsmark, has worn over the years, especially in the 2003 relaunch of the Teen Titans. There, while she started out sporting the classic =W= design, it soon morphed into an upper W design, with more of a V design underneath, making the design seem a little bit like an abstract bird. Since she wasn’t Wonder Woman, I suppose it made sense for her emblem not to be the double =W= symbol, and that sentiment seems to be echoed here in Trinity’s breastplate design. Look closely, and you’ll see the hint of a bird-like design in the breastplate, calling to mind the classic eagle design that has been emblazoned across the chests of various Wonder Women over the decades, but never once does the breastplate or the belt try to emulate a =W= design. Diana’s daughter she might be, and a wonder too, but she’s not reflecting that in her design, and rightly so, given that she’s calling herself Trinity.
The gold detailing doesn’t just stop at the breastplate and belt, though. Go down to her feet, and you’ll notice that Trinity’s wearing the classic white-striped red boots that Diana has sported off an on over the years, though these ones come with a golden knee-pad situation, calling to mind Diana’s Rebirth-era look. It’s a great way of mixing together two of her mother’s iconic costume elements, while making it entirely her own. It also looks like there’s a gold cap on the sole of the boots, which is a new, interesting detail.
Going from boots to hair, above a tiara that follows the trend of most recent tiaras (ones with slightly more intricate designs than the simple, iconic ones Diana sported from inception through the Odyssey arc), Trinity is sporting a ponytail. While I love the practicality of it – superheroines in general tend to wear their hair loose, and while it makes for great dramatic effect, it’s not always the most practical thing, I have to admit that this specific ponytail very much calls to mind another Amazon – Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, who was Wonder Woman herself for awhile in the 1990s. Though Trinity’s hair is more of a warm cinnamon brown than Artemis’ flaming red-orange hair, the ponytail has a similar effect, even if it’s not as dramatically long and whip-like as Artemis’. While it’s not an out-and-out red, it is interesting to note that this marks a different colour from the pre-Crisis Lyta Trevor, who was blonde, and the Fury of Earth-2 in the New 52 era, who had black hair, sometimes with a red panel. Blonde, brunette, kind of a redhead.
There are two other iconic elements of a Wonder-costume design, and those are stars and bracelets. Trinity’s look seems to only consist of five stars – one on her tiara, two on her chest, and one on either hip. It’s a simple design, easy to emulate for cosplayers and other artists alike. I’m not sure if the stars on the chest were entirely necessary, but it’s nice to see a sleek, easy costume without all the unnecessary lines that some recent interpretations of Wonder Woman’s costume have had. Trinity returns to classic form with the bracelets – they’re large and silver, but unlike recent designs where Amazons have had underwrappings beneath the bracelets (to emulate the designs that Gal Gadot wore in live action takes as Wonder Woman) here Trinity just has the bracelets. Luckily, they’re long, vambrace-style bracelets, all the better to shield one from bullets and other weapons.
Speaking of weaponry, here is the first Amazon in a long while to be seen without a sword or shield of some sort. Hearkening back to her mother’s original designs, Trinity seems to only carry a lasso. Well, three of them, which is most likely why she’s called Trinity. It seems like her mother’s Golden Lasso of Truth, her aunt Donna’s Silver Lasso of Persuasion and…that black one definitely isn’t Cassie’s Lasso of Lightning, I wonder (sorry) what it is. Black Lasso of Darkness? Ebony Lasso of Lies? Shadow Lasso of Domination? The black design of it certainly calls to mind some sort of sinister intent, doesn’t it?
Online reaction to the costume (and to the announcement of the character) have been a mixed bag, though there’s certainly anticipation to see how the character’s introduction is going to play out, and how she’s going to be in contrast to her mother and the other women in the Wonderfamily, and also to see how she’s going to round out the future trinity that is comprised of Lizzie (Prince? Trevor? <Insert Last Name Here?>), Jon Kent, and Damian Wayne. As for the costume itself…there’s a lot going on, a lot inspired by disparate elements of previous looks we’ve seen over the years coming together to form a new look. It’s a good look, though perhaps one or two elements (like the stars on the chest) could be pared down to make it a bit simpler, but overall, there have definitely been worse costumes in Wonderfamily history. Personally, I like that it’s bright, shining, and visually superheroic, because that’s what it should be. She seems like a superhero instead of a warrior, which is a welcome direction to take this new character in.
The Mockingnerd 