Issue 140 - Donna Troy - Capes on the Couch

Intro
- Thanks to all our Patrons: Humble Citizens Dan & Kate; Local Officials Frank, Rey, Jonathan; Mayors Angela, Chad, Devon, Maggie, Matt, Nyan, Ryan, Tasha; Presidents Ariel, Jeanine, Matt, and Ruby
Background (2:00)
- Donna Troy created by Bob Haney and Bruno Tremiani in The Brave and the Bold #60 (July 1965)
- Donna Troy was originally introduced as Wonder Girl, Wonder Woman’s younger sister, created in an effort to desexualize Diana and make her (and comics) acceptable to parents
- Given a name and backstory in 1969 – Donna was an orphan rescued in a fire by Diana, brought to Themyscira, and given Amazonian powers – took the name Donna Troy as a secret identity, and joined the Teen Titans #BecauseComics
- In 1984, Marv Wolfman & George Perez expanded the backstory in New Teen Titans – her birth mother was an unwed teen who put her up for adoption, and her adoptive mother put her back up for adoption after she couldn’t make enough money to raise Donna – she ends up being sold, but the sellers get caught in a fire, thus resulting in her orphaning #BecauseComics
- She marries a man named Terry Long
- After Crisis on Infinite Earths, the DC history is rewritten, so that Wonder Woman is newly introduced to the world – this necessitated retconning Donna’s history as well – now she is one of 12 orphans created by the Titans of Myth as “Titan Seeds”, who were named after ancient Greek cities and destined to become great heroes – the Titans of Myth erased her memory and sent her into the world – while battling her “sister” Sparta, the memories came back – Donna changes her name to Troia #BecauseComics
- Donna becomes pregnant with a child by Terry – a group of time-traveling Titans from the future reveal that her child is born as a god and destroys the world – to prevent this from happening, she sacrifices her powers and Robert is born normally #BecauseComics
- She joins the Darkstars and becomes an interstellar protector, but this splits up her marriage to Terry – Terry, Robert, and Terry’s daughter are all killed in a car accident, and the grief ends her brief relationship with Kyle Rayner
- Origin retconned again where she was created by an Amazonian sorceress as a clone of Diana to be her friend – the clone was kidnapped by Dark Angel, who tortured Donna, forcing her to restart her life repeatedly – later revealed that Dark Angel is in fact a Donna Troy from another reality #BecauseComics
- THEN it’s revealed that Donna is the only one who somehow retains memories of all the Multiverse pre-Crisis, and that every version of her origin story is simultaneously valid, because they are all alternate-universe versions of Donna #BecauseComics
- Following Infinite Crisis and One Year Later, Donna takes up the mantle of Wonder Woman while Diana serves in the US government
- In New 52, Donna is revealed to be created by an Amazonian sorceress to take over Themyscira from Diana, while also somehow having been a Teen Titan – she then joins the Fates after being killed in battle #BecauseComics
- Rebirth reconciles the discrepancy once again by saying she was created to destroy Diana, but the Amazons gave her false memories of being rescued to help normalize her #BecauseComics
Issues (8:07)

Identity issues
Relationship issues – 2 marriages, plus she loves Roy Harper (16:02)
Tragedy of loss of family in one fell swoop (23:22)

Break (32:04)
- Plugs for BetterHelp, Last Sons of Krypton, and Meredith Finch
Treatment (34:13)
- In-universe – Give Donna a bracelet made of threads from the Lasso of Truth
- Out of universe – Focus on addressing the immediate needs first, and build from there (37:25)
Skit (feat. Jeanine) (44:47)
- DOC: Hello Donna, I’m Dr. Issues.
- DONNA: Hi Doc, nice to meet you.
- DOC: So, what’s been going on that you came to see me?
- DONNA: I’m not exactly thrilled about this, but I’m having trouble turning the page in my life.
- DOC: Go on…
- DONNA: This is going to be a bit…complicated so try to keep up.
- DOC: You don’t have to preface anything. My job is to listen. You’re the one in charge of your life and how it unfolds.
- DONNA: Am I though? Anyway, I guess you can say it starts with family problems. I always felt like I owed everything to my sister, and I started to resent her for it. It’s not easy living in the shadow of someone like that.
- DOC: Yes, I could see how that could be painful. You do seem to have a strong presence, so if your sister shares the same trait, I’m sure there were some conflicts.
- DONNA: Of course. There was the time she saved me, but I can be guilt free about that. I was a kid! Then I tried to take over for her, then I tried to be her…you know how it goes.
- DOC: Wait…what?
- DONNA: Nothing, really. She’s just hard headed and gets emotional when I steal the spotlight.
- DOC: I see…I think. While I’m sure you know her well, I’d be careful to project your own interpretation of what someone else is feeling as pure fact.
- DONNA: Don’t I know it! I think that’s what a lot of people do to me!
- DOC: For instance…
- DONNA: I get rumors that people think I’m some sort of…I don’t know…difficult person to get along with. They just can’t handle a woman who’s able to dish it out as well as take it.
- DOC: Haters always exist. Try to ignore the noise.
- DONNA: But what if it’s your own husband? Hate’s not the right word there. We were just…different to each other over time. Thank goodness I had the fortitude to learn that there are other fish in the sea. *pause, then gets emotional* Losing them still hurts, though.
- DOC: Yeah, I get that. Grief is totally natural. The pain fades, but it remains, only altered through time and reflection
- DONNA: Oh it’s worse than that. I’ve lost so much, doctor. Not just divorce, but death. All of it is unfair. *bitter/angry* ALL OF IT!
- DOC: I hear it in your voice! Death is not something that anyone can take lightly.
- DONNA: And to relive it, only to die again, then try again, and be beaten down over and over…what would you do? Go crazy? No, I fight on. If it weren’t for me, I wouldn’t have survived.
- DOC: You…uh…showed a lot of resolution…in…um..conquering…your own…self doubt? I’m sorry, is this a metaphor or…
- DONNA: *still angry* I have to live. I have to be who I am! I’m nobody’s puppet. Doctor, you can think I’m losing my senses all you want, but sometimes, things aren’t going to make sense when I’m talking to you. I may screw up some details. But recognize that everything I’m going through is REAL. Nobody should have to endure what I have, and when I get the chance, I make sure I put a stop to ANYONE that tries to do that to someone else. Do I make myself clear?!
- DOC: *pause* From an emotional standpoint, yes. I’m not your enemy.
- DONNA: But what if I am? What if, based on everything I know about myself, everyone thinks I’m a risk that they don’t want? What does that say about my love life? My career? How do I deal with the fact that the way I torture myself is to make myself fail over and over without mercy? How do I love myself enough to ignore how much I’ve hated myself?
- DOC: *flustered* You know what? I don’t know. I won’t pretend. I don’t know how to process everything you’ve said so far. I’m still trying to untangle the convoluted way you’ve said things. BUT, I’m willing to do that. I’m not promising that this is going to be easy. I’ll have to remain candid about the times that you lose me. If you’re willing to still talk to me as I improve my grasp of your situation, I can offer some better insight. Until then, I think you need to slow down, just a bit, and let your thoughts catch up with your emotions.
- DONNA: I don’t just sit back and let people tell me what to do.
- DOC: But I usually do sit back and let people tell me what they want. I’m doing that with you and it only leads to more tangents. I’m getting out of my comfort zone and roping it in just a bit
- DONNA: LIKE HER
- DOC: …bad choice of words. I’m allowing you to focus. Back to basics. Who are you?
- DONNA: You start with the hardest question?
- DOC: Clarifying…what is your name?
- DONNA: Donna Troy
- DOC: And let’s stop there. Thank you.
- DONNA: What?
- DOC: You can be confident in knowing you are Donna Troy. There is so much to unpack beyond that, but for now, let that be your principle. All of the other stuff may wax and wane in your conscience, but you need to keep yourself centered. You are Donna Troy. That is a worthy existence. Each session, I’ll let you spend a bit of time saying what is on your mind, but in the end, we’ll add one clarifying statement to conclude. That way, you’ll be more sure of yourself so that you can trust yourself enough to know that you can handle anyone who gets in your way, even…yourself.
- DONNA: You don’t get it…but you GET it. I can work with that.
- DOC: Wonderful.
- DONNA: DON’T START.
Ending (50:30)
- Recommended reading: DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy
- Next episodes: Homelander, Polaris
- Plugs for social