Most DC fans are familiar with Diana Prince’s Wonder Woman, but Teen Titans' Donna Troy also shares the heroic mantle. Donna Troy’s origins are closely related to the origins of the Teen Titans. Like with most comic book characters, there are many iterations and origin stories. The most common story for Donna Troy often revolves around a magical birth. One storyline illustrates that she was created through a magical mirror as a doppelganger of Diana Prince to be Diana’s childhood playmate.
Only her looks and abilities, however, mirrored Diana. Donna Troy had a personality all her own. After being cursed by Dark Angel to live countless tragic lives, Donna lived one lifetime as a Titan Seed on New Cronus, where she was raised by the goddess Rhea. When Donna came to Earth as a teenager from New Cronus, she experienced amnesia. Realizing she possessed powers, Donna took on the name of Wonder Girl and helped found the Teen Titans. She suggested the name from her faintly remembered time as a Titan Seed.
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DC's Donna Troy As Wonder Girl
There are many incarnations of Donna Troy in DC Comics, and her curse by Dark Angel makes the hero’s origins more complicated and tragic. She is often depicted as the protégé and sidekick of Diana Prince/Wonder Woman under the identity of Wonder Girl. Regardless of whether she is the adopted daughter of Wonder Woman or Hippolyta, Donna Troy is an Amazonian warrior-princess. Donna Troy in Titans:
"When Diana took me in, she showed me how to fill the hole that fire left in my life with love and with family. That's just what the Amazons do. They have a tradition of empowerment and self-discovery."
Donna’s superhero journey has given rise to many identities, including Troia, Wonder Girl, and Darkstar. These were before she replaced Diana as the Justice League’s Wonder Woman. Her time as Wonder Girl served as the formative years that allowed her to break Dark Angel’s curse with the help of her friends. She joins the Teen Titans to find herself as a hero outside of Diana's shadow and the paradise of the Amazons.
Donna Troy Joins Titans
Donna Troy debuts in the live-action series, Titans, in 2018. Her origins in the show are not entirely unlike the comics. Donna was adopted by Wonder Woman after a fire claimed the life of her father. Growing up with Wonder Woman as her mother and mentor, Donna was able to develop a close relationship with other Justice League sidekicks. Dick Grayson became one of her closest friends. Starting a team of their own was inevitable. Donna Troy to Dick Grayson in Titans:
"Things get dark and you need someone to talk to, I'm always here. After all, us sidekicks gotta stick together."
It's unfortunate her significance is not better represented in Teen Titans-based projects. While she plays a larger role in the live-action series, her appearances in the animated projects are minimal, if not also obscure. For instance, the animated series, Teen Titans, doesn't explicitly feature Wonder Girl. However, there is a brief cameo of a character that resembles her. Teen Titans Go!, on the other hand, does have an episode, "The Bergerac", featuring Wonder Girl and a sweet meet-cute with Robin. It's a different dynamic than the brother-sister relationship between the fellow orphans in Titans.
Portrayed by Conor Leslie, Wonder Girl's role in Titans was integral to finding the more popular member, Rachel Roth/Raven. She continued to serve a supportive role to Dick Grayson, who struggled to shed the vengeance that Bruce Wayne/Batman instilled in him. Donna, a mirror duplicate of Diana in many ways, was also the polar opposite to Nightwing despite their similarities as hero-adopted orphans. Donna's self-awareness, empathetic compassion, and combat skills make her a natural leader, and a suitable replacement for Nightwing.
Donna Troy is a superhero with a complicated, dark past that she refuses to let dim the light in her heart. Not unlike the other members of the Titans, Donna is constantly on the path of self-discovery. She understands more than anyone how the confusion and frustration from past trauma can lead to misguided behaviors. Tired of living as a reflection of Wonder Woman and the Amazonian warriors, Donna Troy seeks to know who she is outside of her culture, mentors, and foster-parent. Super-strength aside, repeatedly reinventing herself as a hero and bravely enduring tragedy after tragedy makes Donna Troy one of the strongest members of the Teen Titans.
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