According to series artist David Finch, the writer of "Wonder Woman" -- who happens to be his wife, Meredith -- has been "in his ear" for a while about designing a new costume for Diana. She was interested in a look that was not only keeping with what someone would wear to fight crime in the real world, but one that truly represents the iconic DC Comics character in her three roles of superhero, queen of the Amazons and the God of War.

To discuss the new look -- revealed in-story in last week's issue -- CBR News connected with Meredith Finch to ask why the new costume is more fitting for the character than the classic outfit that's been used nigh-religously since the William Moulton Marston creation debuted in 1941.

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Finch also shared her thoughts about Diana's challenging relationship with Donna Troy, which is currently tangled by horror and distrust, and why a semi-obscure '80s villain is the perfect character to overhaul and use to challenge the newly-battle ready Wonder Woman.

CBR News: Diana's new costume was revealed in "Wonder Woman" #41. In her own words, it was finally time for her to leave the 'girl behind' and embrace then woman that she's become. What can you tell us about the new design and why it represents Diana as a god, a queen and a warrior for justice?

Meredith Finch: One of things Dave and I discussed was that the initial costume that she wore was the one that she put on when she left Themyscira and went into the world of men. At that time, she wasn't part of the Justice League. She was just herself. I wanted the costume to be more in line with what other members of the Justice League are wearing. I also wanted it to be in line with the fact that she is a queen now. If you look at the costume that Hippolyta wore -- traditionally, queens tend to put on much more ceremonial costumes. And, she's also a warrior, so I wanted to be a really strong, solid costume. It hints at the Amazon culture but also fits in the modern world.

When making a major decision, like changing an iconic costume, how much credence lies with fandom and those that have loved the costume since the days of the Linda Carter TV series and the George Perez miniseries and what serves your story and new readers of the title?

If you look at the sketch designs that Dave did (published in "Wonder Woman" #41) for the new costume, first and foremost, they are all intended to be reflective of the character. And when you find something that works, it's like a title for a book: It just works. Dave did quite a few costume designs, and once he did the one that we landed on, it worked instantly for both of us. Getting approval from DC Editorial was fairly easy, because looking at it, the costume just has a synergy with the character. It's strong and reflective of who Diana is, and is still very recognizable as a Wonder Woman costume.

Does the costume have any special properties, or is Diana powerful enough that she does not need any extra protection?

The nice thing is that because it's a new suit, if we decide that we want to add something to it, we'll be able to do that. But looking at who she is right now, she's not just Wonder Woman and an Amazon princess -- she's Wonder Woman and the God of War. As a god, she really is invincible. The suit is much more a reflection of who she is than an addition to who she is. But to be fair, it was designed by Hephaestus, so I am sure there is something special in there because he does love her.

Another major happening in this issue is Diana's face-to-face meeting with Donna Troy, who is now imprisoned. While she may not be a monster, she has done some terrible things. You can answer for yourself or Diana, but why does she deserve a second chance?

If you look at where she came from, when she came out of that cauldron, she was like a baby. We would never punish a child for doing something wrong when they truly didn't know any better. And that's Donna's redeeming factor. She really didn't know any better. This was the story that she was fed by Derinoe. This is what we will explore in "Wonder Woman" #41 and #42. Did she do a terrible thing? Absolutely. But it's hard to truly fault her for it when she did it not knowing what she was doing. She only had one side of the story. We're going to look at how she was manipulated and used.

Also, Diana, being the loving, forgiving person that she is, wants to be able to redeem Donna. We'll hint at the fact that she feels a connection to her. She doesn't know that Donna was created from her mother's clay remains, so we're going to hint that Diana is feeling a connection to Donna and doesn't know why. She just strongly feels the need to help her.

"Wonder Woman" #41 also reveals what appears to be a new villain for Diana, and the final pages of the issue definitely give off a bit of a Sith Lord/master and apprentice vibe. What can share about these new force or forces of evil?

I can give you his name: The new character is Aegeus. We looked in [Wonder Woman's] past and talked about the coolest [villain] to draw from, and we really liked Aegeus. So we decided to bring him back. He is definitely being manipulated, but he knows what he wants too, so it's a win-win situation for him and the person behind the scenes.

Originally, when he was created [by Dan Mishkin, Gene Colan and Frank McLaughlin], he was an eco-terrorist. Wt but we're not portraying him as an eco-terrorist, but we are definitely keeping some of his back story. He had a bow and arrow. He rode a Pegasus.

One of the great things that Brian [Azzarello] did is that he really made the gods very vulnerable. And we're playing with that. He's killed Ares. He's killed Apollo. So we're asking, what does it mean to kill a god?

Wonder Woman has, of course, rode atop Pegasus before -- perhaps most famously during Greg Rucka's run in 2005. What's the flying stallion doing with a supervillain?


Wonder Woman is such a strong character right now, so it's really important that her adversaries be strong adversaries. We're always thinking about things that can put her adversaries on par with her so that's a meaningful battle. Our Pegasus has some special abilities. so Aegeus will be able to get away by flying just like Wonder Woman will be able to get away by flying. We're trying to create some situations with Pegasus and Aegeus that make it a challenge for her and make him a villain worthy of a hero like Wonder Woman.

She's giving Donna a second chance. Might she give Pegasus a second chance too?

The thought has definitely crossed my mind. [Laughs] Never say never. I'm not sure that it's going to happen in these next six issues, but once it's introduced, you never know what's going to happen.

"Wonder Woman" #41 by Meredith and David Finch is available now.