In the first issue of Wonder Woman Black and Gold, Batman poses serious questions to the Amazon Princess about her true motivations.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from “I’m Ageless” in Wonder Woman Black & Gold #1 by John Arcudi, Ryan Sook, Michael Heisler, on sale now.
Batman has always been vigilant, almost to the degree of paranoid. He can’t help but to examine the worst in others as a defensive measure. And he recently turned that perspective on Wonder Woman, asking her how, with her immortal lifespan, she could possibly understand and come to love humans when they’re barely a moment in her life. Wonder Woman’s answer though, revealed that her long life has given her a perspective that Batman lacks and even more important, why she truly fights to protect humanity even though she knows they will barely live even a century.
Batman spoke with Diana aboard the Watchtower, curious about how exactly she views humanity. From his perspective, he can’t understand how she could possibly view human beings as equals when she will eventually outlive them all.
Batman likened humans to mayflies in comparison to her, not understanding how she could still come to feel empathy and love for humans after all this time. He even said he occasionally believed her time with the Justice League was merely sport for her. It was a very convoluted way to get around to asking her why she fought for humanity.
Wonder Woman seemed amused by his speech. She hinted that the way Batman compared humans to mayflies said more about his views of humanity than her own. But she wasn’t angry, and she instead took the opportunity to explain her reasons for fighting alongside him and the other heroes of the world.
Wonder Woman understands that the world is not a fair place. She may believe in the gods but that doesn’t mean she believes they make everything fair and just. She doesn’t believe that the Justice League can do that either. But that is the benefit of her long life. Yes, she will outlive everyone in the end, but that experience has granted her the wisdom to understand how to build the world they all want to see one day. And it isn’t because she has her hands on the wheels of shaping the world, it is because she protects those who will change the world.
Batman’s concerns came from a present perspective. He sees things in the here and now, but Wonder Woman’s life has taught her to see the bigger picture. To both of them, every life is precious and worth saving. Wonder Woman’s immortality has helped her understand why those lives are important. Every life she saves goes on to bring the world closer to a state of true peace and justice. She protects humans because she knows that even though their lives are so short compared to hers, they’ll make the most of that time by putting a little bit of good into the world.
It’s a slow process, but she’s seen it work. The world is much better than it was when she first left Themyscira during World War II and it will only continue to become so because of the efforts of her and other heroes.
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