She’s Always a Wonder Woman
Between the holidays and my discovery of Rock Band, I haven’t had much time to sit down and really write something worth while. But tonight that changes because I saw this posted on the New York Comic Con site.
Wonder Woman Animated Premiere: Wonder Woman, the highly-anticipated fourth entry in the DC Universe’s animated original movie series, will receive its big screen premiere on Friday at 8:30 PM in the IGN Theater! Presented by Warner Premiere, Warner Bros. Animation, and DC Comics, the all-new Wonder Woman animated original movie is produced by Bruce Timm and stars the voices of Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Alfred Molina, Virginia Madsen, Rosario Dawson, Oliver Platt, and David McCallum. Bruce Timm will lead a panel discussion with select cast and crew following the screening. (Friday, 8:30-10:30)
I need to attend this. And by need I mean truly need, as in one needs food, shelter and clothing; not in the “I need a pair of Jimmy Choos” sense of the word (although, shoes are clothing… ah, nevermind). The reason I need to be there is simple. I love Wonder Woman.
Once upon a time, when my mom was a teenager, she’d read through her cousin’s old Wonder Woman comics. Now this is the Silver Age Wonder Woman we’re talking about here (not the weird Mod Diana Prince from the 60s), so she had dark curly hair (just like my mom). Now Diana being the awesome Amazon she is, was obviously appealing to my mom. And to this day, my mom flips whenever she sees the curly hair Wonder Woman — be it an original Harry Peter or the late 80s George Perez version. Anyways, it must have rubbed off on me.
The reasons I love Wonder Woman are vast and varied. Mainly, I love that she’s strong and smart and beautiful and graceful and kind, and I wish so very much I could be all those things. She believes in truth and justice and equality. She is strong willed without being a bitch. She’s a diplomat, but not a doormat. She’s a fierce warrior but still feminine. Plus she can fly!! Wonder Woman is also a brunette. That’s a big thing for me. I have issues with blondes (more on that another day).
As Newsarama recently pointed out, Wonder Woman is her own woman. She’s not a side kick or female counterpart to a male superhero. She also doesn’t have “girl” in her title. While I know Hawk Girl and Phantom Lady technically pre-date her, Wonder Woman is the original female superhero. Without her, there’s no Buffy, no Xena, no Princess Leia. She is a pop culture icon.
It’s impossible to mention Wonder Woman and not mention Lynda Carter, who is the reason most people in my generation really know and love Wonder Woman. Even with all the Megan Fox/Beyonce talk these days, no one could live up to Ms. Carter’s version of the Amazon (dut do yourself a favor, if you watched the Wonder Woman TV show when you were a kid, do not go back and watch it… it’s just too seventies-tastic).
Which brings me to the camp factor she’s got going on. Personally, I really don’t like when they camp her up. Yes, I know she wears a ridiculous costume and ties people up. But she’s so much more than that. As Sonia from iFanboy said
She might be a remnant of a time when a man really wanted an excuse to think about being tied up by a scantily-clad strong-woman with sparkly ropes, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that she was the torch-bearer of a new level of feminine power. She brought the female warrior to the fore in the comic world, and while she may be an under-utilized character… she’s always going to be the first lady of superheroes.
I could go on and on. I’ll sum it up by saying Wonder Woman means so much to me that I went out and did this (sorry, Mom).
A Wonder Woman tattoo. You’re my new hero. But unfortunately, not hero enough to top Wonder Woman. (I’m sorry.)
I’ll get that Wonder Woman tattoo someday!
That’s probably the soundest, most convincing argument for idolizing a cartoon character I’ve ever heard! :-)