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This is a nifty, fan-created poster for the the live-action Wonder Woman movie, which, apparently, is never going to be made. The image is a little static for my taste, but the poster is proof of WW's passionate fan base. Meanwhile, Hollywood yawns.
Warner Bros. is releasing a direct-to-DVD animated Wonder Woman movie in February, and while I'll probably buy it, my excitement has waned considerably. Stiff-looking animation and a reheated storyline (From princess to warrior!) are a long way from "Dark Knight."
I admit that much of my affection for Wonder Woman is rooted in childhood nostalgia and the fact that she's a positive female character in a genre not known for its progressive treatment of women. I still feel like I don't know much about her beyond her fierce warrior status, beauty and desire to protect mankind. But for the right writer, that could be a good thing. Wonder Woman lacks the baggage of characters like Superman, who is tethered to an annoying love interest and a back story most people could recite in their sleep. (Maybe the next Superman flick can focus on the implosion of the newspaper industry, which forces Clark to take a buyout from the Daily Planet!)
At this rate, Hawkman will have a big-screen film before Wonder Woman does. Not that I'm bitter or anything.
14 comments:
You had me all excited there for a minute. Yes, of course I would see that movie. Frankly, a lasso of truth would be a boon to mankind at this point.
No kidding! I'd love to see how Dick Cheney would fare in that lasso of truth, but he might explode.
When I found out that the same guy invented the polygraph and came up with Wonder Woman, it was one of those moments when the world seems to make sense.
That guy was kind of a freak! I have a book about WW's history (which makes me kind of a freak), and the chapters on him are kinda creepy.
Yeah, wasn't he some kind of polygamous inventor/comic geek/sort-of-feminist?
He was very pro-woman for his time and into psychology, but he also seemed fond of putting wonder woman in chains. Hmmmmm.
Have you seen this page?
http://www.unheardtaunts.com
/wir/index.html
Yes, Lord! This is a classic, and one of the many reasons I love Gail Simone.
The imagery does look cool. On a related note, I had an interesting conversation with some friends about Wonder Woman recently.
She's clearly DC Comics #3 character from a marketing point of view. Walk into Target any day of the week and she will have the most merchandising (right behind Superman & Batman). However, in regard to the comic book, it's always struggling to get readers. The only reason DC considers her part of their "Trinity" of icons is because they feel it's the right thing to do (not because her comic sells well).
Additionally, while I think the warrior princess concept is cool, I really could care less about the rest of her backstory. I've been a reader of Wonder Woman at different points in the past 25 years. Even with collecting at various times, I still don't care about much of her mythos.
I personally think DC would be better off re-booting her again. Keep the look, keep the powers, keep the lasso, keep Paradise Island, but dump everything else (i.e. the Greek mythology connection, twin-sister garbage with Donna Troy, time traveling mother who was in WWII, being created from clay, etc). If you don't know about Donna Troy being Diana's mirror duplicate, or Hippolyta's time traveling trip to WWII, then you are better off for it.
I'd be okay with some radical changes too. For example, if they made Wonder Woman native American instead of Greek, I'd be fine with that. Stuff like that.
Someone like Gail Simone would have a much more successful run if she wasn't bogged down with all the convoluted back story that Wonder Woman has. If someone could start fresh I think they could create a much more straightforward and interesting backstory.
Sorry for the rambling.
Oh yeah, I'm going to buy the animated DVD!
The Irredeemable Shag
http://onceuponageek.com
Shag, I agree with a lot of your points. I feel like I should dig WW's comic more than I do. Even with Gail at the helm, I feel like the character remains remote and somewhat bloodless. I have almost no sense of her personality. At least in the Justice League animated series, the writers fleshed her out by making her a bit haughty, aggressive and even a little flirtatious (with Batman). I'm over her mom, the gods, the nobility. You may have already seen this: http://www.toplessrobot.com/2008/08/10_reasons_no_one_cares_about_wonder_woman.php
How funny that I would see this today.
From http://toddalcott.livejournal.com
/221801.html#cutid1
True story: I'm in a story meeting for the ill-starred Wonder Woman project and I'm laying out Wonder Woman's fundamental backstory -- formed out of mud by her mother Hippolyta, meant to be the only female created without the help of Man, wears silver bracelets to remind her of her sisters' enslavement, etc -- and the producer cuts me off and says "Okay, first thing, there ain't gonna be any Greek mythology in this movie." Making a Wonder Woman movie without any references to Greek mythology is like making a Superman movie where Superman is not the Last Son of Krypton or a Batman movie where Bruce Wayne's parents are alive and well and residing in stately Wayne Manor.
Random! This is absolutely fascinating, DG. Damn. Another excuse to shirk my workplace responsibilties!
That guy's LJ is pretty awesome. I found it because I'm a huge Venture Brothers fan.
I'd definitely allow netflix to send it to me but I wouldn't pay money to see it in theaters but so many people would so they should make it. The market answers this question I believe.
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