New look for Wonder Woman

[samurainoir]

I never bothered to read WW until Rucka's run, and I really enjoyed his take on her character and mythos.

I liked Rucka's run as well. The idea of making the Olympian Gods more contemporary was certainly interesting, and gave characters like Ares and Athena a new approach after twenty years of Perez-retread.

I enjoyed this graphic novel a great deal.



Jiminez did the Lois and Wonder Woman issue.

[TrueDave]

Heard about this from my girlfriend who heard it on the news. Costume changes ( x-cept Iron man) never last. DC will have a spin off in thius outfit. It's inevitable.

Thats the thing with superheroes, no ties, collars hem lines, they aRE ETERNAL.

NO ONE EVER CARES WHEN SOMEONE PICKS A NEW OUTFIT FOR ODIN OR BUDDA.

Our only culture is Pop culture.

[johnnystorm]

>I would have paid cash to see the "F-U Jim Lee!" thing

I'd pay to see her punch him out, for sure. Hell; I'd pay to have her punch ME out.... I'm funny that way. "Thank you, may I please have another?"

Don C.

Sign me up as well!

[ctc]

>the writers get really bogged down in the role the Olympian gods play

Never thought of it, but yeah; you're right. Especially since they've got to be in continuity with all the other gods, deities, all powerful entities, universal conscoiusnesses, etc of the DC universe. ESPECIALLY for WW, since she interacts with the rest of the universe so much. On the upside for guys like Superman and Batman; their back stories are pretty much over before their story starts, so you don't have nearly as much baggage as WW; who's usually/often/I'm not sure anymore the representative of an entire species of humanity. Like I said before; that sort of thing gets in the way of the punch-ups, makes the character tougher to write for. ('Specially since she can't actually ACHIEVE her mission, or the book would be done. Aquaman has a similar problem. Most of the time. Think about the JLU episodes where he brokered an arrangement between Atlantis and the surface. Okay; NOW what? Why aren't Atlanteans all over the world now? Where are the technological exchanges? The cultural exchanges? They're WAY in the background 'cos actually resolving the problem changes the world, which you can't do in a perpetual book.)

>I would have paid cash to see the "F-U Jim Lee!" thing

I'd pay to see her punch him out, for sure. Hell; I'd pay to have her punch ME out.... I'm funny that way. "Thank you, may I please have another?"

Don C.

[johnnystorm]

I agree with Toyroom, it's just another one of DiDio's wretched editorial decisions. If it was in fact based on some potential Marston claim. I think they would have changed the name as well as they did during that whole Superboy-Superman Prime debacle.

I realize they need to shake up the WW franchise, and that DC really has no clue on how to get WW to sell. The more I look at it, I'm thinking the costume change is linked more with movie or TV potential than comic sales. Personally, don't I think the costume is the issue here. It's more that they can't decide if the book is a romance title or a superhero title.

While the Amazons are a critical part of the legend, too many times the book reads like an issue of Classics Illustrated, and the writers get really bogged down in the role the Olympian gods play. I find that really boring. Going back to the classic series of the 40s & 50s, the gods occasionally showed up, but mostly WW was a superhero, fighting crooks & villains and schemes against the USA.

Would it be so wrong to just make her the DC version of Captain America, downplay the god stuff, and have her get involved in fighting the good fight against enemies of the USA? An updated version of the TV series with terrorists etc, villains from Afganistan or Al Quaida? Wow, what an idea, a PATRIOTIC hero being used as such? Wonder Woman would be a good choice for that, it would tie in to most of her past incarnations, and would be different enough from the other DC characters to make her stand out.
As far as Strazynski goes, I could care less...he may be a "big name" writer, but he's done some pretty bizarre things at Marvel (Gwen Stacy having kids with the Green Goblin?) and while his Twelve series is good, it remains unfinished after three years or so. And he'll leave DC just as soon as he finds he can't do everything his way and gets pressured by DiDio into changes caused by some "major event" crap that is going on. And things will go back to the way they were, probably with some huge "SHE'S BACK!" campaign.

And yes, then Lynda Carter will go on TV to proclaim how glad she is that the original costume has returned. Although, I would have paid cash to see the "F-U Jim Lee!" thing!

[kingdom warrior]

What's Lynda Carter really going to say on national tv, "It sucks. F*** you Jim Lee"?

LOL!!!!!!Awww man that would be sweet!!!!

[spamn]

I really liked the Greg Rucka storyline. The fight between Diana and the Medusa was bada**. Hated the Walt Simonson run. The John Byrne run had some decent stories, but he just made things more confusing, especially the stuff with Donna Troy. Heinberg's secret agent idea had potential, but Diana seemed very much out of character. I forget - was it during his run or Jodi Picoult's that Diana went to the superhero-themed amusement park, and had no concept of money or cell phones? Hello, she's friends with Bruce Wayne. She knows what money is. With those added comments, I agree with most of what Anothony posted.

Edited to add: I love Adam Hughes' artwork, but have never read his writing. He knows the character well enough, I'd be willing to see his take on her.

I never bothered to read WW until Rucka's run, and I really enjoyed his take on her character and mythos. I was disappointed when he left. Haven't read any of Simone's run, but I'm a fan. I'll get the trades eventually. It's a shame that the writer of the excellent Secret Six couldn't sustain sales on the book.

I also liked her depiction in Kingdom Come - which really emphasized the Amazon Warrior and put her in direct contrast to Superman's Idealism.

I think the bottom line is that the WW solo book has never been a top seller. Which is a shame, because I think there's great potential.

But given that her look is so iconic, I can't imagine that this costume change will stick. Eventually she'll be back in her star spangled panties.

[kingdom warrior]

Another thought occurred to me about this.

Could DC be changing WW's look and origin, so the Marston estate doesn't come calling like Siegel's heirs have?

I have heard that DC didn't own Wonder Woman outright for years, and that the Marston estate basically licensed her to DC. Not sure if any of that was true, but apparently Marston cut a better deal with DC than Siegel and Shuster did.



Chris

Ok, but that doesn't change the character it's still WW. How does changing the look of the character make it a different character? Marston estate would still want it's original character. Lipstick on a Pig theory anyone..lol People forget that although WW stories suck monkey butt the image of the character is what sells the most.

Most non comic fans associate WW with Lynda Carter or her merchandizing not so much the comics. i as an Illustrator have drawn WW over the years and those drawings always get the most attention than other stuff I've done.

These moves are always just to draw a crowd and attention from the media.
in the end it's the Iconic version that always is best remembered.

[sprytel]

Thanks, Riffster. When you read JMS's full description, it actually sounds better than it had from the little bits and pieces I had been hearing. There is actually some interesting storytelling potential there... and the chance to "fix the timeline" and go back to the classic Wonder Woman once that story plays itself out.

As for the costume, I don't think the concept is bad... and makes a lot of sense with what they are trying to do with this whole alternate timeline thingie. But in practice, I'm just not that impressed with the execution.

[ctc]

>I wonder if DC isn't toying with the notion of downplaying the costume aspect of their characters.

Maybe. This outfit is pretty much just a modern biker outfit. It’d be REAL easy to do live-action.

>Quit trying to revamp characters and just write better stories.

Ultimately I think this is true. You can really sell ANYTHING if you try. My concern; as always, is that by presenting such a typical design it kinda bodes that they’re going to go along the typical story path.

>Now There's a Costume Alteration that doesn't look so Bad.

HAW! It’s the Image Comics version.

>But re-working the origin to such a degree is bad, new timeline or not.

Yeah.... especially on a superhero book. The superhero stuff was NEVER about deep stories, it’s about the action. The heroes are icons.... immutable, invulnerable. They don’t change. The VILLAINS do, but the heroes are a solid baseline. Monkeying with that sort of thing is pointless. (Especially to the older fans, who’ve seen it before, and know it’s temporary.)

>suddenly the life you had been leading up to that moment...was not the life you were leading....and she will come face to face with a decision that will mean life or death for the entire human race."

*sigh*

Don C.

[Riffster]

J. Michael Straczynski, Don Kramer and Michael Babinski begin their run in Wonder Woman #600, with a new costume and direction for the character.

The costume was designed by Jim Lee.

Here's what Straczynski had to say about the new era for Wonder Woman:

"Suppose you woke up one morning, or turned a corner, and suddenly the life you had been leading up to that moment...was not the life you were leading.

"Suppose someone went back in time and changed one thing, and it changed your life to the point that you had little or no memory of what life had been like before the change happened. What would you do to get it back? Should you get it back? Who did it? And maybe more important...why did they do it?

"That is the question faced by Diana starting in issue 600.

"The Gods, for reasons of their own but which may have something to with their survival and perhaps the survival of Earth itself, have changed the timeline. In the new timeline, years ago the Gods removed their protection from Paradise Island, and left it vulnerable to attack. And attacked it was. Led by a dark figure, a veritable army descended upon the Island, equipped with weapons that could kill even the Amazons. Outgunned, doomed, Hippolyta gave over her three-year-old daughter to a handful of guardians who spirited her away as Hippolyta led one last desperate battle against the forces that had come to destroy all she had created. In that final battle, she and most of the Amazons were killed, though some managed to escape.

"It's now nearly twenty years later. Diana has been raised in an urban setting, but with a foot in both worlds. She has little or no memory of the other timeline. She knows only what she's been told by those who raised her On the run, hunted, she must try to survive, help the other refugee Amazons escape the army that is still after them, discover who destroyed Paradise Island and why...and if the timeline can be corrected or not. She also does not yet have access to her full powers, but will be gaining them as she goes. Along the way, she will face a range of enemies �€” human and otherwise -- who we have not seen before.

"What we also haven't seen before is her new look, the first significant change in her appearance since the character debuted in 1941 (not counting the mod look used briefly in the sixties, about which the less said the better). It reflects her origins in both the outside world and the world of Amazons: tough, elegant...a street-fighter's look which also incorporates elements of her classic design. It reflects the two sides warring for ultimate victory, and underscores the path she must take.

"It's a look designed to be taken seriously as a warrior, in partial answer to the many female fans over the years who've asked, 'How does she fight in that thing without all her parts falling out?' She can close it up to pass unnoticed...open it for the freedom to fight...lose the jacket or keep it on...it has pockets (the other fan question, �€œwhere does she carry anything in that outfit?�€�, it can be accessorized...it's a Wonder Woman look designed for the 21st century. The bracelets are still there, but made more colorful, tied on the inside and over the hand, with a script W on each of them that form WW when she holds them side by side...and if you get hit by one of them, it leaves a W mark. This is a Wonder Woman who signs her work...letting her enemies know that she's getting closer.

" This is Wonder Woman reborn, literally and metaphorically: fast, elegant, tough, smart...the savior of her people, their guardian and protector...avenging the fall of Paradise Island, searching to discover why Paradise Island was abandoned by the gods. In the end, what she discovers will change her life and the world forever...and she will come face to face with a decision that will mean life or death for the entire human race."


easy enough to change it back anytime they want, I see this as a mini-arc and they'll change it back

[Riffster]

funny thing is I'll read it either way

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

I quite like it but I like Linda Carter's more.

[jds1911a1]

I think that's probably correct

I was tempted to make a quip about a bald man stroking his goatee in my earlier post but backstroked it away since I wasn't sure it was his decision

[The Toyroom]

Or it could be another in a laundry list of crappy misfires DC has made under DiDio.

I think that's probably correct