From Aphrodite to Athena: Wonder Woman & Her Sword

As time passes, long-running characters have to evolve in order to remain fresh and relevant. Characters like Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, and most comic book superheroes have lasted as long as they have, and remained pop cultural icons, exactly because they've evolved over time.

But a frequent issue when reinventing or adapting a long-running character is finding the balance between innovation and staying true to who/what the character is. Change and innovation is essential, but if one goes too far, or strays too much from the source, you run the risk of...well...

This was a major sticking point in Man of Steel. People that liked it felt it was a necessary and needed re-imagining of the character. Others felt it went too far and betrayed many of the core principles of Superman.
A more extreme example would be Rob Zombie's Halloween films, which changed Michael Myers from a silent, unknowable embodiment of pure evil to a grunting, white-trash brute with mommy issues.
J.J. Abrams's Star Trek movies, the recent Sherlock Holmes films...the list goes on.

Often times, when debating the matter, people look to the original creator(s), and what he/she/they intended for the character and/or story. Because one thing most people seem to agree on is if the re-imagining or adaptation can at least stay true to the spirit or principles of that original intention, then maybe you're okay.

Perhaps the Joker didn't fall into toxic waste in The Dark Knight, and his clown face was merely scars and make-up. But Heath Ledger captured the essence of the character—the nihilistic, "life is a cruel joke, and I'm going to show everyone what a cruel joke it is" core of the Joker.
That's what mattered (for most people, anyway).

So let's have a look at William Moulton Marston and Wonder Woman.

Counting Down

And thus, the Sword of Damocles has come that much closer to finally dropping.

Having threatened us with it since 2008, although no official release date has (yet) been made, Grant Morrison's Wonder Woman: Earth One—now titled, Wonder Woman: The Trial of Diana Prince—is going to be released this coming 2014.

And just writing that statement made my stomach churn. Not since Mortal Kombat 9 have I anticipated something involving a character/property I love with such cringing, soul-crushing, fatalistic dread.

This is going to suck.

And We Have Our Wonder Woman

For better or worse, it seems the time has come...the walrus said...

Wonder Woman has been cast in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel / Batman vs. Superman movie / semi-Justice League precursor. Gal Gadot—model-turned-actress, as of now best known for some of the Fast & Furious movies (none of which I've seen)—is going to be our Amazing Amazon.

Huzzah...I guess.

Ewoks Ruin Everything

Well, I’m back. Been busy through the summer. And when I wasn’t busy, I was being lazy—so I hadn’t been giving much time to the ol’ Void here.

Anyhoo, as you might have deduced from this blog’s title, I’m going to talk about Star Wars a bit.
More specifically...those damn Ewoks.

Good, Old-Fashioned Ghost Story

Okay, let's break away from Wonder Woman topics.
Although there's still plenty to discuss about the character, I thought I'd shift gears a bit

And since the majority of my posts pertaining to Wonder Woman have been pretty negative and pessimistic, I thought I'd switch it up with something a little more upbeat. Something a bit more positive and lighthearted, and discuss a character that actually cheers me up....

Stop "Fixing" Wonder Woman

I’ve written a lot of criticism about the portrayal of Wonder Woman in this blog. I’ve taken issue with she being portrayed as a sword-wielding barbarian. I’ve ragged on the idea of her being Superman or Batman’s girlfriend. And I’ve harangued over the retconning of the Amazons into rapists and Zeus into being Wonder Woman’s father.

A common response I've encountered to such complaints—as other fans have as well, I’ve no doubt—is that Wonder Woman as I believe she should be, Wonder Woman as I want her to be, simply “doesn’t sell.” And therefore, the justification for all the things done to/with Wonder Woman that I hate are, not only necessary, but needed in order to make her relevant and popular.

Essentially, the Wonder Woman I know and love doesn’t work, won’t sell, and needs to be fixed.

This is where I call bullshit on that.

Daddy Issues

Seeing as I already devoted a post to the so-called “Deconstruction” of the Amazons, and I made a passing reference to it when DC Failed Me, Yet Again, I should weigh in on the other major Nu52 retcon Wonder Woman’s been subjected to.

Zeus is now Wonder Woman’s daddy.

For decades, the circumstances of Diana’s birth were that the gods told Hippolyta to mold a child out of clay and they then made it a flesh and blood, living girl.
One of the big “shockers” of DC’s Nu52 reboot is that was a lie. The truth, it turns out, was one day Hippolyta and Zeus met and banged…for some reason. I guess no reason is really necessary—those who follow Greek mythology know Zeus was notorious for his inability to keep it in his pants, as it were.

The clay origin, in actuality, was a ruse to prevent Hera—who had a tendency to take out her frustrations with Zeus’ man-whoring on everyone except Zeus—from swearing eternal vengeance on the Amazons, and Diana in particular. 'Cause them bitches be crazy, I guess.

Sigh.