Wonder Woman!

Rainfall Films has done some incredible work making Wonder Woman look good and the video below makes me think it could be done well (if the story was figured out).  Let me know what you think in the comments.

Wonder Woman and the Ubermensch

I was chatting recently with my Residence Director, a black woman who identifies as bi-sexual, about why Hollywood will never make a movie about Storm, the X-Man of African descent.  Basically, it boiled down to the fact that she's black, and she's a she.  Hollywood wouldn't dare make a movie with a female protagonist who isn't also white.  But it got me thinking as I consider all the hype around proposed Wonder Woman movies.

First of all, the original storyline for Wonder Woman would just have to be scrapped.  The whole Amazonian thing is kind of weird.  As Ubermensch Jeff Clayton has observed: "Wonder Woman was originally conceived as some 1940's male bondage-fetishist's fantasy of what a feminist hero should be like."  The updated storyline has some interesting twists, essentially tying Wonder Woman to Greek mythology in a way that is both satisfying and more-or-less consistent with our idea of Wonder Woman.

Intriguingly, though, Wonder Woman, though originating in a place that is definitely not white America, or any other Anglo-Saxony sort of place, is depicted as full on white.  I just have a hard time imagining that the people who read comic books are also the people who would freak out if someone with a skin color other than white was the main character.  

So maybe there is hope for a Storm movie; we just have to pave the way.

Where Have All the Good Super-Women Gone?

Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow

By Steven McLain

Superheroes are here to stay.  The success of The Avengers, Batman, and the reboot of the Spiderman franchise have done nothing but demonstrate the viability of superheroes as money-makers.  The question remains, though: Why aren't there any lady superheroes?  Sure, we've got Black Widow in The Avengers, but can you really call her a superhero?  Agent provocateur, definitely, but can you really classify her ability to get information from people as a super power?

Yeah, there's talk of Wonder Woman in the forthcoming DC/Warner Justice League movie, and the CW, who made Superboy and the Green Arrow fan favorites, have decided to reboot Wonder Woman on the small screen.  Focusing on her up-and-coming years, instead of as an established hero, CW is hoping to reproduce the success of Smallville.  The difficulty for them, however, lies in the fact that fans of Wonder Woman are really more concerned with her costume (or lack thereof) than with a strong, female superhero.  When NBC tried to reboot Wonder Woman with Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), fans rejected Adrianne Palicki as the iconic amazon because she wore pants.

Adrianne Palicki

If superheroines are to destined to become viable properties--as well as role models for impressionable young girls--the focus has to shift away from their . . . ahem, assets . . . and instead focus on strong character, a story that resonates with audiences, and the sense that they can be taken seriously.  Because, let's be honest: People don't take superheroines seriously.  Part wish-fulfillment and part wet-dream, superheroines typically lack the depth of more established superheroes.  There's really no shame in this; for decades the accepted demographic of superhero comics was boys and young men; skimpy outfits and bulging bosoms boosted sales.

Frankly, I think the answer isn't a top-down revolution instigated by publishers; I think it's a bottom up revision arising from a new crop of female writers and artists, and a commitment to art that exemplifies realism.  That last one's going to be hard, because at their core, these comics are escapist literature; superheroes, by definition, exceed reality.  They wouldn't be superheroes otherwise.  But the solution is there, I think, and it lies with women interested in comics and willing to bring that sensibility to the industry. 

A Justice League of Their Own

Legal problems have been holding Warner Bros. back from making Superman movies for years.  But last week, a key victory allows Warner Bros. to use Superman, and key elements from his mythos, in movies after 2013.  This is a huge boon for anyone hoping for a DC come-back in the face of the Marvel juggernaut that's been plowing through theaters.  With the success of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and a slew of others, superhero fans have been waiting for a DC rebuttal.  Except for the major success of Christopher Nolan's Batman, DC superheroes have failed to excite much attention.  All that could soon change, however, as plans for a Justice League movie are slated for summer 2015.  Warner Bros. is then hoping to spin out each superhero in their own movies, eschewing Marvel Studio's success teaming up their heroes after the fact. 

Though Christopher Nolan has signed on to produce the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, he has not signed on to produce the Justice League; furthermore, Christian Bale will not reprise Batman, and we can't expect Henry Cavill (if Man of Steel doesn't flop) to play the role of Superman.  Wonder Woman is up in the air, and no one seems to care about the Green Lantern, even with Ryan Reynolds filling out his tights.

While I'd love to see an adult treatment of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, I'm not actually excited to see this movie.  The Justice League has always seemed kind of hokey to me, the writing is barely tolerable, and the basic premise is just kind of shallow.  I get that it worked well in the 70s and the 80s, and the cartoon spin-off is one of the highlights of my childhood.  But it's not a memory that I want to revisit.  Warner Bros. have their work cut out for them to get me interested, but I'm looking forward to see what they're planning.

What are your thoughts?  Looking forward to it?  Love it, hate it, not really interested?  Let me know in the comments.