Wonder Duds

Hey, did you hear that Wonder Woman is getting a new costume? Oh. Everyone's talking about it? Huh. I better join the convo then, otherwise they'll revoke my blogger card.

So hey, here are the new togs:



Is it bad that I don't think it's a bad costume?

I got in a conversation with The GirlFriend last night about this new change of wardrobe. From her non-comics reading perspective, it's offensive. It's ugly, generic, and just plain doesn't look like Wonder Woman.

I asked, is it really a problem if it doesn't look like Wonder Woman?


I, for one, think it's kinda nice that she's not fighting crime in a bathing suit anymore. I always thought it was strange that a character that's supposed to empower women was objectified as much as she was. The legs that just wouldn't stop, the boobs that could kill a man, the impossibly long and styled hair; she was a pin-up model at best. Sure this new costume is a bit generic, but at least it'll allow her to be more than just legs and boobies.


Full disclosure: I have issues with Wonder Woman; I don't understand why she's so popular. From what I see, the only reason she has the following she does is because of how long she's been around, not because of any compelling characteristics. Somewhere along the way she became a symbol of the strong, independent woman, but did nothing to really earn it.

When I think of all the big iconic heroes (Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, etc) I can sum up their origins in a sentence. To me, that's what makes them iconic; They're simple, yet effective, ideas that appeal to and inspire a wide range of readers. Wonder Woman is the opposite of this idea, yet is somehow still iconic. How is that possible? It reeks of token-ism.


Female heroes have it bad enough as it is, I really want their premiere example to have more to her than just a legacy. I want Wonder Woman to have a simple, iconic origin (seriously, is she a god? isn't she? Is she made of clay? ect.) that people can identify with more than just, "oh, she's a strong woman." Peter Parker is popular because he can be any of us, Bruce Wayne too (assuming you have the money). Hell, Superman is the ultimate immigrant story, who comes to America and excels against all odds. I want Wonder Woman to have that too.


Here's hoping that with the new costume and the re-fangled origin story that that happens. This new costume represents a chance for Wonder Woman to really earn that place in the DC Pantheon that she was handed.

But who am I kidding, with retro-fanatics like Didio and Johns at the helm of DC, I give this new direction maybe three years before she goes back to the same ol' Diana.