Back in the ‘70s, Lynda Carter managed to project an aura of class as Wonder Woman and her alter ego, Diana Prince. Sarah Michelle Gellaras Buffy, Gina Torres as Zoe, and Morena Baccarin as Inara all brought to their roles a sense of dignity that you certainly don’t see exhibited from many of this decade’s acting divas. If we do see a reboot in movies or TV, one important lesson I think can be pulled from Whedon’s achievements in other franchises is that a successful heroic female role requires a special type of actress. Those two traits aren’t often placed side-by-side when portraying women, who are generally forced to fit into either one or the other subset. And as a woman who grew up fascinated by Wonder Woman, I know the appeal was generated by her ability to embody power in combination with beauty. Her allure to male fans might be somewhat pinned to her attractiveness, but I think that’s giving her male fans too little credit. Many comic book heroines are still a mystery to women of all generations, yet Wonder Woman is not. It is important also to note that she does all this while looking mighty fine. Unlike Superman, who uses overwhelming strength, or Batman, who relies on technology and cunning, Wonder Woman often attempts to persuade peaceful ends before turning to more aggressive negotiating tactics. What’s compelling, truly, is the uniquely feminine way Wonder Woman addresses the obstacles set before her. Like the age-old joke about men not understanding the fairer sex, it seems that women – even Wonder Woman – truly can be a mystery to the guys running the show. Movies, comics, and television have been male-dominated industries. In other words, no matter how they’re trying to sell her, it’s imperative they don’t throw away part of what originally made Wonder Woman a sensation. Dump the black pants and darker, edgier tones give the fans back the star-spangled red, white, and blue, and the golden tiara too. It’s the characters and their stories that matter. Costumes are just superficial trappings, and that’s not really what female fans are interested in. Looking at the first cover with the new style, I wish I could use that line of male-cow manure to fertilize my garden.Ī costume change isn’t going to improve the odds of Wonder Woman building her fanbase among female fans, regardless of the medium. There was some talk upon the redesign’s unveiling that this new incarnation makes her attire more practical and less sexualized. It’s almost as if DC Comics is afraid to invoke the pride waved by her original All-American costume. The gravity-defying one-piece signature outfit has been replaced with black pants, a blue half-jacket, and not a hint of white left. The comics have recently tried its own Wonder Woman makeover of sorts – a turn to the darker, Goth side. Wonder Woman's first cover with her new attire Still Wonder Woman’s success back in the comic Golden Age of the 1940s proves that she ought to be more than capable of pulling off the feat. Empowered female characters simply have a tougher road to garner fan support. It’s essential that new audiences are introduced to her character in a way that makes them want to root for her, and a gloomier take on her story isn’t going to accomplish that. I think that’s probably part of why he struggled with Wonder Woman. Whedon proved with Buffy the Vampire Slayer that camp is cool, but he also spun his tales into dark, grim arcs of doom and character suffering. Even Joss Whedon( Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Firefly), who spent two years on a script, couldn’t flesh out a story worthy of production. No wonder, since girl superpower has been woefully underrepresented in film and screen when compared to male counterparts. Exploring the darker side has been all the rage these days.Ī big screen Wonder Woman story has been tossed around for years now, too. But he was also proposing a more serious, or some might say a less campy, version than the original television series. Kelley had planned to keep part of the formula: the bracelets, magic lasso, and invisible plane. That left CBS and NBC, neither of which wanted to take a gamble. ABC, which by way of Disney owns Marvel, had a conflict of interest. There was a lot stacked against the reboot, though. Kelley ( Ally McBeal, The Practice) has apparently met its end before ever really getting off the ground. The much-discussed Wonder Woman reboot being shopped around by producer David E.
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