Where is Wonder Woman?

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

I was never a huge fan of comic books. I read a few here and there, but for the most part, I'm unfamiliar with the recurring story lines, the hero's nemesis, and other key themes.

The Smart Man, however, is pretty conversant with most of the major lines (and some of the minor ones). As a result we tend to go see the comic book movies such as Batman, Dare Devil, Spiderman, and most recently, The Incredible Hulk. I tend to judge these movies based on their stand-alone quality, while The Smart Man will judge them on their individual quality and their trueness to the comics.

My personal favorite so far is Batman Begins, and I'm really looking forward to The Dark Knight.

I have to ask, though...where is Wonder Woman?

All of the movies so far have been pretty testosterone heavy (as is the genre, admittedly), with female characters running from helplessly annoying (Mary Jane) to quietly competent (Betty).

I used to love The Justice League cartoon. I loved the Wonder Woman television series, starring Lynda Carter. I wanted to twirl like a dervish to activate my Amazonian powers, and fly her invisible plane. I joined the Navy instead, and ended up working in areas with no windows, but you get the idea.

I want a Wonder Woman movie. But not just any movie. I want Wonder Woman to be a complete and utter badass, kicking ass and taking names. I want her to be a real person, not a cheesy masculine caricature.

Well?

10 comments:

Nathan said...

Ask and ye shall receive!

Nathan said...

Well, eventually maybe.

Janiece said...

Nathan, it's the "maybe" that concerns me.

And the constant stream of writers.

I'm going to be really disappointed if this isn't a quality effort.

The Mechanicky Gal said...

Now Janiece, you know that any WOnder Woman movie will involve a Pair o' Boobs that will take over the movie and negate any worthiness. Because the Testosterone will still be in charge.....

Eric said...

Wonder Woman was a Joss Whedon project for awhile, and then he fell off of it. Which may or may not be a good thing: Whedon is obviously brilliant Buffy, Angel, Firefly) but he's also an ass who can drive you to wanting to defenestrate him (Buffy, Angel, Serenity). Whedon's Wonder Woman might have been awesome or it might have been yet another Whedon Woman Who Kicks Ass But Can Never Be Happy Because Whedon Doesn't Know How To Write Well-Adjusted Characters And Thinks Humiliation Is The Essence Of Drama (phew!).

Which brings up the point: be careful what you wish for. We all wanted a Hulk movie until Ang Lee made one. And Wonder Woman has never been a consistently strong character--she's gone through more makeovers than any other "continuous" Golden Age character (i.e. DC never reinvented her the way they did Green Lantern or The Flash, but they did put her through the conceptual wringer--stripping her of powers, changing her day job, making her costume more revealing or less or abandoning it entirely, etc.). It would be really, really easy for someone to make a really, really bad Wonder Woman movie. Better not to do it than to do it awfully.

You all do know that while WW was originally invented to be a feminist icon, she also reflected William Marston's obsessions with polygyny, polygraphy and bondage, right? Marston was a very... interesting man.

Janiece said...

Eric, that's why I specified that I didn't want just any WW movie. Like you, I'd rather do without that have a POS.

Anne C. said...

I got really excited when the rumor mills cited Jessica Biel might be WW, but then it turned out to be not true.
Casting aside, the writing on this movie better be excellent.
Or else.

Tania said...

Well, I was going to share what Eric said, but as usual he beat me to it, and said it better.

My friend Jennifer and I watch the ongoing WW movie saga like the fangirls we are. We can add you into our email when progress updates are released...

Janiece said...

"Or else," indeed.

Anonymous said...

I was hip to see the Whedon version of WW, as I so very much loved Firefly and Buffy.

But Hubby - the one who has actually read the comics in our family - told me no. He said Whedon would overtake the character, and Americanize her (whatever that means). He told me that if I hold out, what happened to Tony Stark might one day happen to Diana (Which means a great writer and a great director might get together and make a great movie).

So I'm going to take his advice, and wait.

Like you said, better no effort than a bad effort. WW deserves the best.