10 Things Everyone Should Know About Wonder Woman

In June 2017, Warner Bros. and DC will change the nature of the superhero genre forever by finally delivering a live-action Wonder Woman movie. The Amazon Warrior has long borne the brunt of skewed attitudes toward female characters in film – falling foul of the studio argument that it’s just “not the right time,” because a bunch of poorly produced female-led movies under-performed. That is an argument that clearly doesn’t apply to any of the vast range of male-led projects that sink rather than swim, of course. Nor does the argument of ‘market saturation’ seem to apply to male-led films. Nobody ever suggests, for example, that audiences might have had their fill of manly white men being manly on screen. Rather, male-led movies are the ‘norm,’ while female-led movies are a novelty – like alien invasion pictures, or films about bad weather. Not for much longer, though, because Warner Bros. and DC are about to change the game. Wonder Woman is coming to the rescue. The fact that the studio has listened to the growing call for a solo Wonder Woman film, and has paid attention to the fact that female-led franchises – such as The Hunger Games – are breaking box office records, means they can almost be forgiven for sneaking her onscreen inside a male-led movie (Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice). This has long been Marvel’s standard defence regarding their character, Black Widow (“she doesn’t need her own film - she’s in all these other movies, supporting the men!”), but the difference is that, while Marvel has decided that they simply don’t have the time to give Black Widow her own franchise for at least another eight years, DC will deliver Wonder Woman in just three. It’s a big deal because, while lesser, more obscure male superheroes have made it to the big screen, Wonder Woman has been left out in the cold – with the expectation of failure because she is a woman, rather than the expectation of success because she’s a superhero. A big-budget, summer release solo movie from a major studio changes that status-quo in the most fundamental terms – and that is absolutely something worth celebrating. So, let’s celebrate Wonder Woman. The fact is, after years of unjust sidelining in mainstream media, the Amazon Warrior is something of a mystery to most people. They might recognize her costume from branded T-shirts and hipster satchels – but many are unaware of her rich and complex history, both on and off the comic book page. They are unaware of the contributions she has made to the superhero genre in general, and the contribution she is so obviously capable of making to cinema-going audiences around the world, given the chance. Wonder Woman is a truly fantastic character, and now that we’re looking forward to the launch of her own potential film franchise, here are 10 things you really need to know. 1) She’s An Amazon Warrior Princess, And She's Here To Help Created by American psychologist William Moulton Marston in 1941, at the suggestion of his wife Elizabeth, and their friend Olive Byrne, Wonder Woman is Princess Diana of Themiscyra. Her homeland is a remote location, hidden from the world and populated by the female nation of Amazons. She is the daughter of Queen Hippolyta and possesses many super powers, which she employs to help battle evil in ‘Man’s World.’ Her everyday disguise is the identity of Diana Prince. She has battled many enemies during her seven decades in print – from jealous women, such as Cheetah; evil misogynists, such as Doctor Psycho; Greek Gods, such as Hades – and even a gorilla that has super-evolved into a woman, named Giganta. Though she approaches conflict from a place of love and peace, she is a fierce and highly skilled fighter who, like Superman, has killed as a last resort. 2) She Is Based In reality In Greek mythology, the Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors – evidence of which indicates their presence during the classical era of the Greco-Roman world. Hippolyta is thought to have been a notable Amazon Queen, and sister to Penthesilea – a participant in the Trojan War. Mythology regards Hippolyta as the daughter of Ares, who supposedly gifted her with a magical girdle. In Wonder Woman’s story, Hippolyta is cast as her mother. Historians have variously placed the Amazon nation of warrior-women around Ukraine, Libya and the region that is now modern-day Turkey, but many agree that they travelled around, founding new towns along the way. They then moved to the ancient city of Themiscyra, which is today known as Terme. This area holds an annual festival that celebrates the Amazons. 3) She Is Unarguably The Female Counter-Part To Superman And Batman Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman are widely acknowledged to be DC’s ‘big three,’ and yet, while the alien from Krypton and the Dark Knight have become universally recognized and beloved symbols of the triumph of good over evil, Wonder Woman has been continually dismissed outside the pages of her comic books. Superman and Batman have rarely been away from our screens – both big and small – while Wonder Woman hasn’t been seen in live-action since her Lynda Carter-starring TV show was cancelled over thirty five years ago, with the exception of short film. This shoddy treatment at the hands of Hollywood is not reflective of her standing in the source material, however, because in actual fact, she is entirely equal to the two male comic stars. Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941, making her only slightly younger than fellow DC characters Batman and Superman, in publication terms. Like those male characters, she has led her own title for over 70 years (with the exception of a brief hiatus in 1986) – consistently ranking in the top 60 of all comic titles published, with yearly sales generating over $1 million. She is so demonstrably their equal, that Superman and Batman have often crossed over into her comics, generating classic stories including the time that Wonder Woman literally saved their lives. In Wonder Woman Vol 2 #219, supervillain Maxwell Lord has Superman under mind control, and is making him kill Batman. As Wonder Woman attempts to intervene, Lord makes Superman see her as his arch-nemesis Doomsday, prompting him to viciously attack her. Knowing of Superman’s powers, Wonder Woman slashes at his throat with her magical tiara and briefly escapes – turning her attentions to Lord. Using the Lasso Of Truth, she discovers that the only way to break Lord’s psychic control of Superman and save him, as well as Batman, is to kill Lord. So she snaps his neck. Brother Eye – an evil cyborg system created to aid the destruction of superheroes – broadcasts the incident around the world without context or explanation, implying that Wonder Woman is a cold-blooded killer. Due to the after-effects of the mind control, Superman and Batman also believe that misrepresentation, and consequently, Wonder Woman finds she has sacrificed her hard-won reputation to save her fellow superheroes. 4) She Is The Perfect Female Superhero Today, in 2014, every female comic book character depicted in live-action film is either spun-off from a male character, or exists within a male-led story. The women of The X-Men franchise operate within a clearly defined patriarchy. The women of The Fantastic Four franchise are defined by their relationships to men. Pepper Potts only exists in relation to Tony Stark. Jane Foster – though an accomplished astrophysicist in the Thor films – is a one-dimensional plot device. Even Black Widow is technically a spinoff from Iron Man – in films and in the comic books. British Agent Peggy Carter may well be getting her own TV series now, but she is spun-off from Captain America. Wonder Woman is none of these things. She is master of her own universe. She leads her own comic book title, and heads up her own stories. She is also a real superhero – not just a highly trained secret agent (although there was a brief period in which she gave up her powers and relied on martial arts training). She exudes heightened empathy and compassion, has displayed strength comparable to that of Superman, has used ESP, astral projection and telepathy, and possesses super-speed, wisdom and the ability to speak in every language in existence. Her senses are greatly enhanced, and she has a masterful understanding of military strategy and complex science theory. She is resistant to fire, has the power to heal herself and, in later years, was gifted with the ability to fly. Wonder Woman also possesses an arsenal of weaponry – just as Batman does. Indestructible bracelets encase her wrists and, in her earliest years, it was said that her strength could be taken if she allowed a man to bind them. Later, the bracelets acted as restraints on her own god-given powers. She has a golden lasso, which forces anyone in contact with it to tell the truth, and a tiara that protects her from telepathic attack, while doubling as a razor-sharp boomerang. She has also, at times, had an invisible jet. All of these skills and abilities make her a formidable hero, but it is the fact that she is a hero in her own right that makes her perfect - particularly when it comes to future cinematic depictions. 5) Her Origin Story Was Changed In The Big DC Re-Launch Of 2011 In September 2011, DC cancelled every one of their titles and re-launched them all as The New 52 – many with re-vamped origin stories, including Wonder Woman. It is important to note here that the origin stories of her male counter-parts, Batman and Superman, remained intact. Some argue that this is because their origin stories are so well-known that it would have been impossible – and poorly received – to make any changes. Wonder Woman, being less well known in popular culture, was apparently ripe for alteration. The fact that she is less well known because she has been consistently sidelined is, seemingly, irrelevant. Previously, the accepted origin story of Wonder Woman saw her mother, Queen Hippolyta, form a daughter from the clay of the shores of Themiscyra. The Gods breathed life into her – bestowing magical gifts that would manifest as superpowers. Training with the Amazon warrior women, Princess Diana became a champion, winning the right to escort Captain Steve Trevor back to ‘Man’s World’ when his war plane crashed on their island. On arrival, she met an Army nurse, desperate to travel to South America with her fiancé. Diana and the nurse reached an agreement, and Diana gave the nurse the means to escape, in exchange for her identity. Princess Diana thus became Diana Prince – a US Army nurse with a superhero alter-ego that battles the axis of evil. Over the years, the later elements of her story were altered – erasing the relationship she developed with Captain Trevor, sacrificing her superpowers and learning martial arts instead, regaining her superpowers, becoming an ambassador between Themyscira and ‘Patriarch’s World’ and discovering her true ‘creation’ as a clay figure, given life by the Greek deities. But, the basis of her unique and beautifully told origin generally remained the same. In fact, it was embellished in later years to include the legend that the Amazons were created by the Gods using the souls of all the women that had been murdered by men – and that Princess Diana represented the last remaining soul. The New 52 wiped all of that complexity away and replaced it with an origin that had her birth be the much simpler result of Queen Hippolyta’s relations with Zeus (or, rape, as it is in some stories) – making Princess Diana a demi-goddess. Looking back at comments from producers and studio heads over the years about why a live-action Wonder Woman movie wasn’t happening yet, it could be argued that Hollywood was deterred by her clay-based origin story. Perhaps it seemed too fanciful and unrealistic for them – though there seemed to be no such qualms about greenlighting a Green Lantern movie, in which a fighter pilot receives a magical ring from a dying extra-terrestrial. Or, indeed, Thor – also based in mythology, with added alien civilizations for good measure. No, it took a simplification of her origin story in the source material to get her onto the big screen in her own movie – as DC have confirmed that it is The New 52 origin story that they will be using. 6) She Is An Integral Part Of Justice League Before there was Justice League, there was the Justice Society of America, which first appeared in All Star Comics #3 in Winter 1940. This was the first team of superheroes to be depicted in comic books and original members included Doctor Fate, the Spectre, the Sandman, the Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman. When Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 a year later, she joined the team as its secretary (becoming the first female member of the first superhero team) – precluded from being an active member due to DC’s then rule preventing characters with their own titles participating in team exploits. Batman and Superman were honorary members for the same reason. In The Brave and the Bold #28, published in February 1960, the Justice League of America first appeared as a new team of superheroes. Wonder Woman was a founding, active member of the team, along with Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman and Martian Manhunter. The team got its own title in October 1960, and ran until April 1987. Various re-launches of the title have appeared in the years since, including one as part of The New 52. Though she occasionally departs the series temporarily, Wonder Woman is almost always involved. 7) She Has Inspired Numerous Spinoff Characters Of Her Own In Comic Books Being an iconic comic book character means that Wonder Woman has generated several of her own spinoff characters within the source material. Just as Batman has Robin, Catwoman, and Bat-girl, and Superman has Supergirl and Superboy, Wonder Woman has inspired her fair share of followers. Aside from the young Wonder Woman herself, two characters have filled the title of Wonder Girl – Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark. Troy was created as a playmate for the young Wonder Woman and shares a psychic connection with her, as well as similar superpowers (since she is essentially a magical replication of Princess Diana). Sandsmark is a big fan of Wonder Woman and Donna Troy, and is herself the daughter of archaeologist Dr. Helena Sandsmark and Zeus – making her a demi-goddess sidekick for the Amazon Warrior Princess. 8) Several Attempts To Adapt Her For Film And TV Have Failed - Except In Animation Getting a live-action Wonder Woman on screen has, for many years, seemed like an inexplicably insurmountable task. She is perhaps most famous for the relatively brief but popular TV series, starring Lynda Carter, that aired on ABC and CBS from 1975 – 1979. Since the cancellation of that show, Wonder Woman has only ever appeared in animation – including Super Friends, Justice League, and 2009’s feature length Wonder Woman that went straight to DVD. She also appeared in The LEGO Movie. In terms of live-action, however, many attempts to bring her to the screen have either stalled, failed or been shelved by studios in favour of male-led projects. In early 2001, rumours swirled around Silver Pictures that a Wonder Woman movie was in development. Joss Whedon was associated with the project as a writer from 2005 – 2007, but eventually abandoned ship due to “creative differences.” Wonder Woman rumours resurfaced in 2008 – but the film was shelved in favour of an ultimately ill-fated Justice League movie (in which she would have appeared as a supporting character, instead of leading her own flick). In 2011, Warner Bros Television announced plans to make a Wonder Woman TV pilot, written by David E. Kelley and starring Adrianne Palicki. It was rejected by every major network except NBC, who cancelled the project after that initial episode. The rejection was unsurprising, given the fact that David E. Kelley’s rendering of Wonder Woman was simplistic at best – reducing her to a one-dimensional character wearing a costume that looked cheap, and could easily have been mistaken as something from bad porn. The CW – home of Smallville and Arrow – began developing Amazon in 2012. Intended as an origin series for the character of Wonder Woman, it was shelved in favour of the series The Flash. This disappointment was the latest in a thirty five year pattern of a live-action Wonder Woman being postponed, delayed, and passed over in favour of lesser, male characters. The Flash, for example – while being a fabulous character – was killed off from the source material in 1985, and was absent for over 20 years, as opposed to Wonder Woman, who has remained in publication almost constantly for over 70. 9) Then Came Wonder Woman, The Short Film While studios and executives were wringing their hands and making excuses, Rainfall Films made and released a short film entitled Wonder Woman in September 2013. Starring Rileah Vanderbilt, Clare Grant and Alicia Marie, and directed by short film creator Sam R. Balcomb, the movie succeeds in accurately presenting the character of Wonder Woman in a modern-day city, and her Amazon origins - all in the space of just three minutes. She doesn't look like a porn star, nor does she look like a rage-filled man-hater - and the flashbacks to her Amazon heritage do not look too fantastical to comprehend. In short (so to speak), Balcomb blew all previous arguments out of the water, and demonstrated that, not only was a feature length Wonder Woman movie possible, it was also pretty embarrassing that, by 2013, nobody had done it yet. 10) Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice The announcement of this movie (initially as Batman Vs Superman) was a curious thing – because it perfectly highlighted the way in which Wonder Woman is sidelined. She may be their equal in print, but in popular culture, Batman and Superman dominate the landscape thanks to decades of additional exposure. Once her involvement in the film was confirmed (with Gal Gadot cast), fans breathed a sigh of relief and rejoiced at her finally heading for the big screen. But, it seemed fairly incongruous that she should be relegated to a supporting role in their movie. The title of the movie was then changed to Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, which made it even more curious. Though she periodically dips in and out of the series, many mainstream iterations of Justice League in the comic books has the team founded when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman come together, and are joined by other heroes – not least in the 2006 re-launch. However, in this film adaptation, her equal contribution is erased right there in the title. As ever, despite her real stature, we’re supposed to just be grateful that she’s included at all. The truth is, were we to live in a world where cinematic superheroes are treated on their merits, rather than their gender, Superman and Batman would have supporting roles in a Wonder Woman movie. Sadly, we live in a world where one of the most astounding superheroes ever created has to be sneaked onto the screen inside somebody else’s movie before she can stand alone. And until the game changes in 2017, that will have to do.