While I agree that putting Hawkgirl in the main rooster and pushing her for the entire 1st Season or so (while Worfing Superman) was a really stupid move, I think that it payed out in the long run. What impresses me even more is how they figured out a good way to justify the insane abilities of her weapon without going overboard and actually plunging in a rather obscure and little used niche of storytelling. The idea of the Thanagarian as a technologically advanced race that has to square-off against mystical opponents is an incredibly intriguing concept, but absolutely underused. As far as I can remember the only other science vs magic conflict that was decently framed was Captain Marvel and Doctor Sivana in their classic (or Thunderworld) versions.
I think that what separates Waller and Hill is the context.Ares wrote: ↑Wed Jul 10, 2019 1:59 am Amanda Waller: Waller is a great example of the dividing line between an Antagonist and a Villain. Lex Luthor is a villain. The Joker is a villain. Darkseid is a villain. Amanda Waller is an Antagonist. She's not out to take over the world, she exists to fight what she perceives to be a dangerous threat to her country. She's a patriot willing to do every dirty, illegal thing to keep her home safe. She's very much in the same vein as Harold Smith of CURE from The Destroyer novels, willing to break American laws if it means preserving the nation.
It helped that she had, from her perspective, reasons to fear the League, that she was horrified by some of the more insane actions of CADMUS, and very importantly, that she wasn't STUPID. When Waller received new information that made sense, she ACTED on it and adjusted her world view accordingly. By the time of the final season of JLU she had actually chilled out quite a bit and was okay with the League.
It's what makes Waller someone fans enjoy even if she's being antagonistic towards the heroes, while someone like Maria Hill is decried for being such an unlikable, stupid moron.
More often than not the people of the DC Earth seem to worship the superheroes (the Flash Museum, the big tomb of Superman right in the middle of Metropolis), sometimes to an insane degree (the JLU continuity was a pretty big exception), making Waller's cynism stand out like a red flag and forces the reader to think if maybe she's right.
On the other hand the Marvel Universe is generally wary of the heroes, even the like of Captain America had to face the hatred of the common people. As a result having Hill's being wary and mistrustful of them works only as a foil for Nick Fury's general support of superheroes. As a standalone figure Hill becomes utterly forgettable because she's "just another hater".