8 Things That Marvel And DC Can Learn From Wonder Woman

3) Follow Through On The Themes

There are some big themes at work in Wonder Woman. The World War I time period is not just set-dressing but is integral to the story. As an optimistic soul who believes in the goodness of mankind, Diana has to face the ugliness and cruelty of war during the events of the movie and has her whole world view tested. Eventually, she comes out of it stronger as she realizes that you have to believe that humanity’s capable of peace and can put an end to war.

Using Diana to launch a story that looks at such big ideas is a fantastic move and one that’s not often done in superhero films. For example, Captain America: The First Avenger – though a very fine effort – decided to use its wartime setting as a reason to deliver some classic movie serial/war movie vibes. Likewise, Batman V Superman raised the idea of heroes being held accountable for their actions but then let the theme disappear completely after Lex blew up congress.

Wonder Woman, on the other hand, set up its discussion of war and peace and followed through with it in the end. This kind of thematic core makes it a much smarter piece than the average superhero movie.