Saturday, August 14, 2010

Speaking of Heroic Female Trappings...


Why haven't we talked about Wonder Woman's new costume yet? I give it thumbs down. The old costume is just too iconic to mess with very much. They are trying to make her look more contemporary, and less "pinup-like" which is the mistake. The original costume is timeless, and any super-hero as powerful as WW doesn't have to worry about looking silly in star-spangled hot pants. Click on the title to read the Washington Times article. They are re-doing her origin story too. I haven't read the comic but I like Gloria's Steinem's comments.
Remember the 1968 revamp of the character as a mod Emma Peel-type character?

12 comments:

Tom Carroll said...

I think the new outfit is overthought, underwhelming, and overall just plain boring. ... IMHO, of course. I'm no Jim Lee, after all.

Rickart said...

Yeah, yawn...

However, I have no particular attachment to her old costume. Also, she's had a few costume changes over the years... thanks goodness someone changed her costume all those years ago.

I think her costume is too icon for this current change to last. I suspect that it will revert to something that is more recognizably Wonder Woman in a year or 2.

Perhaps someone can explain to my why her costume is (was?) so patriotic in the first place... how does that fit in with the whole Greek gods angle of her origin?

MrGoodson2 said...

They should watch Scott Pilgrim before they go too far down the path of making Wonder Woman "believable."
The filmmaker should take a risk and give out a full blown alternate universe where Wonder Woman is a fit. Not fit her in our Universe. What's the worry? That we can't relate to her? Tell a good story and challenge the character. We'll care.

Surly Bird said...

Hopefully Adam Hughes will never be forced to render Wonder Woman in the new togs. That would be a crime against humanity. Let's face it, WW isn't about empowering girls, she's always been a guilty pleasure for men. The man who created her was into bondage, after all. She's not nearly the tart she used to be, despite her statuesque appearance.

Tom Moon said...

At least it's not as bad as the 1969 revamp.

"At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Becoming a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquired a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learned martial arts and weapons skills and engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology."

Anonymous said...

Fools trying to reinvent what already works. Naw! the OLD stuff isn't HIP! Got to go DARK and GHETTO on just about EVERYTHING these days. Bottom line ...IT SUCKS.

Deane D said...

The new costume is odd. The jacket say "I'm ready for action!" while the black strech pants say "I'd rather stay home and have movie night."

Rick, her original costume was patriotic because Wonder Woman was created durring World War II.

Rickart said...

Oh, I understand the marketing reasoning... I'm courious as to the story reasons (if any) behind it.

Deane D said...

Rick, I tried looking for the origins of Wonder Woman's costume but couldn't find anything. Perhaps if she had been created before WWII her costume would have been more Amazon/Grecian in appearance.

Davis Chino said...

"...Diana Prince acquired a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learned martial arts and weapons skills..."

She didn't need a new outfit--she needed a Korean mentor named...Tom Moon!

Is it me, or has WW never enjoyed a better design/interpretation than Alex Ross's? I'd always felt there was untapped potential in the character, and once I saw his version, I thought, "That's it!" The rare contemporary "re-definition" that works for me (no great comic-scholar am I, but I thought they did such a good job with the "middle-aged" big 3 in the DC/Ross stuff--Bat, Super, WW).

People, am I alone in this??

BTW, new outfit = meh.

Deane D said...

I agree. The Alex Ross version of Wonder Woman is the best I've seen.

Of course I may just be mesmerized by his wonderful artwork.

Surly Bird said...

I like Alex Ross's design a LOT. In the hands of the right artist, WW is iconic and cool. Brian Bolland's WW covers were brilliant too. I'd have to say Adam Hughes, Alex Ross and Brian Bolland are my favorite WW artists, in no particular order and for different reasons. Her costume was fine. This is definitely a case of something not broken being fixed. I hope it goes over like a lead balloon so they'll change it back.