SSM: Ways to help Wonder Woman: DC edition

Ways to help Wonder Woman: DC edition

My Lasso. Now.

So, after my last WW rant about the Wondy’s pants debate, and all the great feedback I got, I figure I should continue it with something... a little less ranty.

Now, I talk a lot about ways that WW keeps getting screwed around or how awesome she actually is. But I haven’t really talked much about ways to keep her from being screwed around or show how awesome she is.

And I also don’t want you guys to get the impression that I think DC always screws up Wonder Woman, or that she gets screwed over more then any other hero. There has been some great Wondy stories. The All New Wonder Woman, for the most part, was really good. Her time during the Blackest Night event was great and had a lot of respect for the character, Brave and the Bold is friggin awesome and Gail Simone dug Wondy out of one of a...a... I can’t think of a nerdy metaphor for “deep hole”. If anything, Hal Jordan has been put through a lot worse (See- Parallax)

But even now, DC is still making the same mistakes with her. Maybe because her books continue to not have good sales (last time I checked) And now that the reboot is here, to say I'm worried is... an understatement (Why does she get only one comic and Batman show up in like, 5 during the first month?!)

So here are a few ideas on how DC can help give the Amazon Princess a hand. Later on, there will be a fans edition! And a little disclaimer: Most of this information is based mostly on my own experience--- what I see in the bad comics and the good, and partly on my research of the character. And it can be applied to most of the super heroes out there.

List after the jump!

Ways DC can help Wonder Woman:

1 Treat the third of your trinity like the third of your trinity:

Okay, DC has a trinity of super heroes: Their big three that balance out the symbolism for “Peace, justice and truth”. That trinity consists of Superman, Batman,... and Wonder Woman.

And yet, you wouldn’t think that about her these days, would you? DC says Wonder Woman was a part of this so called Trinity, instantly putting on a pedestal beside Batman and Superman. But in terms of proving it, Wonder Woman is obviously put on a MUCH shorter pedestal then the boys.

Which is weird because when you actually read her books, you discover that not only is she one of the most important figures of the DC universe, but is respected highly by both her allies and enemies, a complex, a compelling character and very easy to look up to.

If so, then why was WW kicked out of the brightest day? Why was Amazon’s Attack so badly written? Why was Gail Simone’s run on Wonder Woman never advertised as much as it should have? (She. Killed. A. GOD. Last time I checked--- kinda a big deal).

DC, if Wonder Woman really IS part of the DC trinity, treat her as such. Treat her with the respect that her cast does. If you decide not to, then change the trinity. This is embarrassing.

2 Stop being ashamed of Wonder Woman and her past and stop trying to make her “cool”

And speaking of respect...

Wonder Woman has a very odd history. She was created by William Moulton Marston, the inventor of the lie detector. He was also, a polygamist who thought women would one day be the dominate sex, saw comics as an art form and had a big love of bondage. Also, this was the 40s. Ya. You can imagine the non-comic public probably didn’t like him back then. In fact, after his run was done and the torched was passed over, the constant retellings and editing of Wondy's character began. Some good-- great even. We got alot of cool origins built upon what was already there for her outfit, and weapons. And then... some not so good. At one point, she lost her powers and became a hippy martial artist. She became more of a frail woman, who needed a man to save her and... her stories got weird (Look up Donna Troy's multiple origins to see what I mean) And then two magical men call “George Pérez” and “Len Wein” came and fixed it all.

But DC won’t stop messing with her. The 90s is proof enough of that. Partly because there are things about golden age super heroes that are just plan silly (Bat-shark repellent anyone?). And because DC seems to think that Wonder Woman is too weird and just isn’t “cool” enough. The invisible jet, for instance, despite being iconic, is treated like a black mark on Wonder Woman’s record, and is erased from the story lines whenever possible. If they bring it back, it’s because she gets it in some last minute side story, like, “she steals the plane from an enemy” or something like that.

But whenever DC adds more stuff to make Wonder Woman cool, they end up making her a more confusing and unwanted character. The failed TV series did this in spades. All these new things were added onto Wonder woman until the she just looked like a phony wearing the costume.

But here's the thing: All that weird stuff is also why I like wonder woman. THAT is what makes her cool.

Okay, not the bondage. That’s going too far. (I’ll get to that, keep reading)

But the odd gadgets, the strange bizarre characters, and mythical tales were awesome. She’s gifted by the Greek gods, she was made from sand, she has a lasso that forces you to tell the truth, she has friends and enemies from mythical stories, a gorilla turned human villain, a mirror that could show your past present and future, and during the golden Age, Wonder Woman had not just ONE sidekick, but a whole Army. Of Cheerleaders.

Cheer. Leaders.

How friggin hilarious is that?! Wonder Woman worked with a sorority group called the Holiday Girls, who helped her on several missions. And you know what? It worked! They even infiltrated and stops an army of Nazis together!. And the leader of the Holiday Girls, was a short, pudgy candy-holic called Etta Candy (Who is also the person behind "WOO WOO!", if you're wondering why i keep shouting that in every WW article). Candy was brought back eventually, but no more Holiday Girls...

Another important thing to remember is that when you’re dealing with Wonder Woman, you’re dealing with magic, myths, and oddly enough futuristic technology. Hmm, who does that sound like?

From the Marvel Wiki

Right. And the invisible jet makes about as much sense as Thor being an alien when you ACTUALLY EXPLAIN IT. And people will stop laughing at these “silly” things, if you focus on making them look cool and not invent something brand new, out of the blue.

And if the Green Lanterns can have a talking alien squirrel as a member, I think you can let Wonder Woman have her time travelling mirror.

3 Enough with the bondage already

This goes for ALL super heroines.

And here is where I sound like a hypocrite. Yes, respect the history. But, uh...

I can’t say who was more at fault here: Marston drew the bondage, but from my research, he did it as a metaphor for woman relinquishing themselves from the chains of society... Or the publishers, who wanted bondage to attract male readers and put sexism into every comic featuring a female star (Like I said: the 40s)

But we have come a long way since... the 90s. Society has changed and we don’t need bondage to represent “chains of society” when we can see more literal representations these days. And a little fan service is okay now and again. A lot of the jokes that reference the bondage history are actually really funny. Like this one:

From Weekly Crisis. Also: BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

This is red rocket, unknowingly making a joke about Wondy’s costume

But it’s when you put the original in this kind of outfit that you’ve crossed the line (I’m looking at you, Miller). Artists will make her costume skimpy (... fine---skimpy-er.), make her boobs as big as her head, increase the T&A shots, etc.

Guys...If we want porn, we have the internet.

4 Treat her like a person. Not an icon.

This is something that keeps popping up. There is a theory that Wonder Woman is hard to write for. Maybe because no one can decide what wonder woman stand for, or what kind of person she is. Sure, she’s a symbol of truth, love, justice, and women’s rights. She a diplomat from an all female society. She’s also a warrior, who knows her way around a sword. Y’know what else she is?

A person.

Corny, I know. But before she was a diplomat, a hero, a symbol, Wonder Woman was just Diana. Superman and Batman and all those other heroes wouldn't be as likeable or relatable as they are without their quirks or individual characteristics. We know Superman is an “all american hero” but that his parents would line his presents in lead during christmas. We know Batman hates crime. But even if he won’t use it lethally, he won’t hold a gun under any circumstances.

What some writers seem to forget is that even though Wondy stands for truth and equal rights among the sexes, that isn’t what she’s all about. And frankly, no one likes a preach.

Some of my favourite stories are where Diana is interacting with people from different cultures, like one of her team mates. Wonder Woman was isolated her entire life, on an island where every one treated her like a daughter. Then she deals when our world which is filled with so many different cultures that don’t always get along, we get to see some her own little personality quirks as she tries to adjust. She doesn’t always get all the jokes about her costume or cultural fopaux. She’s an honourable warrior who does kill but ONLY as a last resort (this includes Medusa as well as Maxwell Lord). She speaks her mind without thinking of the consequences. And she’s in love. Speaking of which...

5 Let her be a woman too.

Just to beat a dead horse: Yes. She stands for equal rights. Rights for woman doesn’t mean “man hater”. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. She’s allowed to fall in love and date and be an activist. Choosing the man she loves over keeping her powers doesn’t make her a feminine stereotype. It makes her normal. Wonder Woman has had a few loves in her life: Steve Trevor, Nemesis, Batman, heck, even Aquaman. And there have been lots of stories that showed a real relationship. And the only time I've seen them go wrong is when the writer actually thinks that dating means you aren't cool anymore, or turns Wonder Woman into a really needy girlfriend:

That's right. That just happened. Also, here is the link.

(Or when fans think that. I’ll get to that later)

There is NOTHING wrong with letting Wonder Woman get the guy. She’ll still be kicking butt. Heck, even if she gets married, she’ll still kick butt from here to Thanagar.

6 Now make her iconic. To girls AND boys.

Okay, now that the personality is out of the way, NOW apply the symbols. Activism, truth, love, etc. This part is easily as long as you DON’T MAKE HER PREACHY. No one likes preachy.

But the key is to make her iconic to not just girls but boys as well. Wonder Woman started out as a role model for girls but boys were drawn to the comics for the... er....aforementioned bondage scenes.

But these days, Wonder Woman has a lot of male fans that aren’t there for the fan service. And DC has acknowledged them.

But what about the non-fans? I find it's actually really hard to convince anyone that wonder woman is actually really cool. Maybe because so much about her: the skimpy costume, the american colours, the lasso, the fact that she would rather use her smarts instead of her muscle to solve a problem is chalked up to being silly and un-intimidating.

Ahem.

FYI, she's was blind when she did that

See more bad-A images if Wondy here

Wonder woman is friggin intimidating. She’s arguably as strong as anyone in the justice league and just as intelligent. In fact, in League of One, she took down the entire Justice league! She has wielded many different types of weapons, both traditional and futuristic. She has mythological epics!

ADVERTISE IT.

7 Wonder Woman Movie. Now.

Wonder Woman needs a movie. Even if it’s not the greatest movie ever. Because this is what happens: Even when DC makes a bad movie that out rages fans, the character still gets a lot of coverage, new fans are introduced to the character, tons of comics, animations, merch, etc, surrounding the character are put out, and they even get a few events dedicated to them. Even though the Green Lantern was a terrible movie (Apparently. Haven’t seen it yet), we still got some great coverage and comics out of it. And once again, Wonder Woman is part of the Trilogy. On principal alone, she should have a movie already. The reasons seam to be finding a good actress that meets the height requirements, a good writer, and a good director. And it’s said that magic is really hard to write for. Now, the first three are good reasons...but...

DC... I saw the Thor movie.

I’m waiting.

Seeya,

 Tegan Dumpleton aka SlugLady 28

Oh, and...

"WOO WOO!"