The NEW Wonder Woman Thread - How to Make a Tentpole Franchise

[GL1]

Alright guys,

I'm a bit dissatisfied with Wonder Woman's portrayal of late, as though she was at her best on her 70s cartoon, as though her defining characterisitic is the star spangled panties, and as though there is only one actress in the world who could possibly play her. But mostly, I'm unhappy with the way Hollywood has treated female heroines since Alien. I'm unimpressed. I'm miffed. We can do better.

And so I've complied a short list of how to make Wonder Woman into a tentpole. Something worth doing again and again. And if Wonder Woman isn't worth doing again and again, who is?

1) Stay True to the Comics

I gotta say, I'm a big fan of useful changes like Organic Web Shooters, Older Bruce Wayne and Black X-Men Costumes. I am, but you have to START with the Comics and then make your changes and updates from there... if you don't begin with the source material, you're not really making Wonder Woman... you making something else and adding WW in... and you will almost surely lose the base appeal of the characters.

Getting her to be attractive to men is easy as crap. You don't have to put her in a thong or have a shower scene. She's a beautiful young woman. It's already done... but the power in WW comes from her being powerful. Something we can all, male and female, respect. Like Ripley. Like Sarah Connor. The good stuff.

So we need:
- The color scheme, with the sparkling panties.
- The golden symbol on the red bustier
- The lasso, bracelets and tiara
- Themyscira
- "Diana" and her mother "Hyppolyta"
- Steve Trevor

Now can we do updating? Can we make the stars tiny and silvery so that the dark blue panties shimmer instead of having obtuse white stars on them? Sure.

Can we stylize the breastplate, even armor-styled so that we can pass it off as 'ceremonial amazonian garb.' Sure.

Can we change Themyscira to a space station? A hidden valley? Not so much. Even if it's convenient for some new plot, you miss the natural appeal of an island setting that has carried the franchise so far.

That in mind, is it true that Wonder Woman's comic book sales have continually sagged? Yes... so perhaps dogged adherence to these low-selling comics is unnecessary.

2) Make Diana respectable.

I touched on this, but seriously. The sex symbol thing is OUT. Leave that for the Maxim spreads, make the girl strong, powerful and forceful, outspoken. Yes, she's a princess, but she's a warrior princess dangit. If this is a hard concept to grasp, go watch Xena.

But she's also a PERSON. So she has the emotions that make life hard. Her heart goes out to people, not just in a philanthropic way, but the people around her are very dear to her. They mean something.

Like I said before, the sexiness takes care of itself... I mean... just look at Wondy's costume... a little compromising position during the final fight scene, a little tying up of steve trevor to make him tell the truth (and other flirtations)... and an island full of half-naked women... that's all the sexiness necessary. Diana needs no shower scene, no extra clevage blouse or business suit. She's good already.

3) Give us a villain worth fighting.

That's not just power level. (I'm looking at You Catwoman). But that's personal investment (I'm looking at you Elektra). That's not just numbers or authority (Ultraviolet, Aeon Flux), but also personal impact (Aliens did this by having the monsters kill people close to the protag).

Ares. Circe. These are characters who's mythology and magic compliment Diana's origin and are powerful and personal enough to carry a trilogy, even if they aren't the "main" villain in each one. Once these villains have a personal connection and demonstrate their power and authority, you have a villain that people can get into, love to hate, and talk about afterwards. The Villain makes the hero worthwhile.

4) Give us a Superhero Battle

There are budget contraints, yes... but no movie has yet to give us a truly superhero battle... the closest I'd have to say is Matrix, but the technology just didn't yet exist for a believable mid air tussle. But the start was there. Spider-Man 3 hovered there, larger than life, but without the vicerality necessary to bring it home.

The power of these epic one-on-one conflicts, being punched through buildings, bringing down cars, blasting through debris. Coming up from out of the ground. The flying punch. Rapid successions of extreme damage. And not just for two minutes... for ten.

All this, coupled with the greatest dialogue of the movie.

Once a movie achieves this, it will have a fight scene that lives down through history as groundbreaking. If this fight scene has a lot of emotion invested in it, or the dialogue is on point, we have something that is basically immortal in people's minds. This fight has yet to happen on screen, and when it does, action movies will be changed forever.

5) A lovable memorable supporting cast.

THIS is what makes comics popular. You KNOW who Clark Kent hangs out with, even if you've never read a comic book in your life. You probably even know Batman's butler's name. When the real life emotions become real and relatable, that's when you have a movie that resonates with people. That's when you get both the popular and critical acclaim, when people love your people.

Steve Trevor can't be just a damsel in distress. He has to be a military hero in his own right. In fact, if you really want him to be worth loving, you probably need to have him save (or think he saved) Wonder Woman at one time or other.

Etta Candy. Julia Kapetalis. Even Hippolyta. People need to see their friends, teachers and parents through these characters. These relationships need to be real. And when we are into these people, then we buy into the movie... we buy into the premise, and it becomes awesome. If each of these people are interesting in their own right, then you have gold.

6) Homage, Homage, Homage

This is different. Don't just base your movie on comics, but include a bunch of little things. If Steve Trevor mentions a pilot named Jordan, you've got gold. If Gateway City gets a mention, or a cameo by Trevor Barnes, the little Kapetelis girl or whatever. Gold. Museum curator Barbara Minerva could give Wondy a guide to her own history or The Sandsmarks could be on a mailbox in passing. If you don't use the Invisible Jet (I sure suggest it be a stealth military jet that Diana borrows), make it a punch line "What? You thought the jet was invisible or something?"

Even little touches like Suffering Sapphro as a jazz club in the background or having Trevor take a lie detector test are great ways to get INTO the subject matter, and show you care about the universe and the history... it gets the production crew into the mix and it turns fans on.

7) Prioritize

If you ensure that making an awesome WW film is a priority, and have the confidence that the character can do today what she's done in the past, then you have a solid chance at changing they way people look at superhero hero movies and at female leads.

So... who wants to make history?
(WB, I'm looking at you)

 

[Dude_Love]

Sigh, now if only people at WB would read stuff like this and take it into consideration. Although I'm not sure I agree on the whole action scene thing, I think several films have got that right (Spiderman, X-Men 3 even Hulk to an extent) a Super hero action scene doesn't need to go for 10 miniutes to be worth while, I'd sooner see a 2-5 miniute well done action set piece than a longer ill concieved mess.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

You do have more lead way on WW than probably any other major hero, but some fans will complain no matter what. "WW doesn't wear a skirt!" despite it being canon.

That's a good post GL1.

 

[GL1]

I agree that the Spider-Man, X-Men and Hulk franchises gave larger than life battles, I don't think the frenetic comic book action has been really captured... I don't think it will be until combatants actually begin talking about their moves as they do them... like a duel between forces instead of a streetbrawl with fireballs.

And I agree that 2 minutes well done is better than ten minutes of mess, but 10 minutes well done trumps both.

 

[Steelsheen]

you may want to check out "Amazons Attack" to get a wider selection of Amazon armor. some of those are pretty good and can readily be adaptable to a more "realistic" armour for Wonder Woman.

but keep the star spangled panties. they dont have to be so obvious if she wears the battle skirt with star studs on them (if anything they would compliment it). the tiny silvery stars might come across too much like Donna Troi.

WW has never been as popular sales wise as Batman or Superman, its kind of a fact. but do know tha the latest incarnation started off pretty strong but got crippled with the delays. as to who should take the blame for it that is for another thread altogether. but i think a good deal of why WW doesnt do as strongly as Batman or Superman is because many of her past writers doesnt really take her seriously, doesnt really know her, and doesnt have a frothing-at-the-mouth,willing-to-wage-war kind of hardcore fanbase the size of Supes or Bats tha will hang the writers and give headache to DC. however WW is having a resurgence now, those closeted WW fans are finally coming out of the woodworks and admitting that admiring a female superhero is nothing to be ashamed about.

 

[The Question]

1) Stay True to the Comics

I gotta say, I'm a big fan of useful changes like Organic Web Shooters, Older Bruce Wayne and Black X-Men Costumes. I am, but you have to START with the Comics and then make your changes and updates from there... if you don't begin with the source material, you're not really making Wonder Woman... you making something else and adding WW in... and you will almost surely lose the base appeal of the characters.

Getting her to be attractive to men is easy as crap. You don't have to put her in a thong or have a shower scene. She's a beautiful young woman. It's already done... but the power in WW comes from her being powerful. Something we can all, male and female, respect. Like Ripley. Like Sarah Connor. The good stuff.

So we need:
- The color scheme, with the sparkling panties.
- The golden symbol on the red bustier
- The lasso, bracelets and tiara
- Themyscira
- "Diana" and her mother "Hyppolyta"
- Steve Trevor

Now can we do updating? Can we make the stars tiny and silvery so that the dark blue panties shimmer instead of having obtuse white stars on them? Sure.

Can we stylize the breastplate, even armor-styled so that we can pass it off as 'ceremonial amazonian garb.' Sure.

Can we change Themyscira to a space station? A hidden valley? Not so much. Even if it's convenient for some new plot, you miss the natural appeal of an island setting that has carried the franchise so far.

That in mind, is it true that Wonder Woman's comic book sales have continually sagged? Yes... so perhaps dogged adherence to these low-selling comics is unnecessary.

That's all well and good. Although, I wouldn't say Steve's extremely important. In most of my favorite Wonder Woman stories, he's not even mentioned. If you're doing an origin film, it would be good to have him discovering the island as the event that pushes Hippolyta to join the international community, but I'd hardly be in tears if they had a different reason.

2) Make Diana respectable.

I touched on this, but seriously. The sex symbol thing is OUT. Leave that for the Maxim spreads, make the girl strong, powerful and forceful, outspoken. Yes, she's a princess, but she's a warrior princess dangit. If this is a hard concept to grasp, go watch Xena.

But she's also a PERSON. So she has the emotions that make life hard. Her heart goes out to people, not just in a philanthropic way, but the people around her are very dear to her. They mean something.

Like I said before, the sexiness takes care of itself... I mean... just look at Wondy's costume... a little compromising position during the final fight scene, a little tying up of steve trevor to make him tell the truth (and other flirtations)... and an island full of half-naked women... that's all the sexiness necessary. Diana needs no shower scene, no extra clevage blouse or business suit. She's good already.

Naturally. Diana is an ambasador to the United Nations, a major spiritual leader to her people, a war hero, and a world renound adventurer. While she also has a nice rack, that's hardly a thing you concentrait on in regards to such an individual. Let the rack speak for itself. Don't call atention to it.

3) Give us a villain worth fighting.

That's not just power level. (I'm looking at You Catwoman). But that's personal investment (I'm looking at you Elektra). That's not just numbers or authority (Ultraviolet, Aeon Flux), but also personal impact (Aliens did this by having the monsters kill people close to the protag).

Ares. Circe. These are characters who's mythology and magic compliment Diana's origin and are powerful and personal enough to carry a trilogy, even if they aren't the "main" villain in each one. Once these villains have a personal connection and demonstrate their power and authority, you have a villain that people can get into, love to hate, and talk about afterwards. The Villain makes the hero worthwhile.

Ares is your best bet for the first film. Themyscira opening it's shores to and trading with the rest of the world gives the greek gods a foot in the door to a world that they've been unable to get a footing in for centuries. Ares starts manipulating people as to cause wars and conflicts, until he's powerful enough to manifest physically.

4) Give us a Superhero Battle

There are budget contraints, yes... but no movie has yet to give us a truly superhero battle... the closest I'd have to say is Matrix, but the technology just didn't yet exist for a believable mid air tussle. But the start was there. Spider-Man 3 hovered there, larger than life, but without the vicerality necessary to bring it home.

The power of these epic one-on-one conflicts, being punched through buildings, bringing down cars, blasting through debris. Coming up from out of the ground. The flying punch. Rapid successions of extreme damage. And not just for two minutes... for ten.

All this, coupled with the greatest dialogue of the movie.

Once a movie achieves this, it will have a fight scene that lives down through history as groundbreaking. If this fight scene has a lot of emotion invested in it, or the dialogue is on point, we have something that is basically immortal in people's minds. This fight has yet to happen on screen, and when it does, action movies will be changed forever.

That's asking a bit much. You tell a director and screenwriter that you want the single greatest action sequence ever filmed, their response will be "join the club." Especially asking for the greatest diologue of the movie in the action sequence. As a writer, I must tell you, fight scenes do not lend themselves to real diologue. They generally lend themselves to screaming and cursing and crude insults. Not that diologue in a fight scene is impossible, or even too hard to be atempted. Simply that one is most likely to write the best diologue of a speciific peice of work during the quieter moments. Fight scene related diologue will generally be at it;s best before, right at the end of, or after the fight. That's just the nature of diologue.

Anyway, yes, spectacular fight scenes are a must. I'm just saying, expecting them to change action films forever is setting your expectations a bit too high.

Also, on a related note, I was thinking that they could get fairly clever with the fight scenes with Wonder Woman. Diana's two main enemies, Ares and Circi, are not really corporeal beings. Their ideas, stories, that have taken on a life of their own and are capable of messing with reality to a degree. Might be interesting if a big fight between Diana and Ares, for example, took place not in the physical world, but in the spiritual. Gives the writer and directors a bit more wiggle room for impressive feats and effects without getting too over the top.

5) A lovable memorable supporting cast.

THIS is what makes comics popular. You KNOW who Clark Kent hangs out with, even if you've never read a comic book in your life. You probably even know Batman's butler's name. When the real life emotions become real and relatable, that's when you have a movie that resonates with people. That's when you get both the popular and critical acclaim, when people love your people.

Steve Trevor can't be just a damsel in distress. He has to be a military hero in his own right. In fact, if you really want him to be worth loving, you probably need to have him save (or think he saved) Wonder Woman at one time or other.

Etta Candy. Julia Kapetalis. Even Hippolyta. People need to see their friends, teachers and parents through these characters. These relationships need to be real. And when we are into these people, then we buy into the movie... we buy into the premise, and it becomes awesome. If each of these people are interesting in their own right, then you have gold.

Honestly, I think Diana's best supporting cast were her Embasy staff. 'Course, they would probably show up in a sequel, once she establishes herself more in the political arena. Also, I must say, I'm very much against Steve being a love interest. I think their relationship worked better with them being just friends.

6) Homage, Homage, Homage

This is different. Don't just base your movie on comics, but include a bunch of little things. If Steve Trevor mentions a pilot named Jordan, you've got gold. If Gateway City gets a mention, or a cameo by Trevor Barnes, the little Kapetelis girl or whatever. Gold. Museum curator Barbara Minerva could give Wondy a guide to her own history or The Sandsmarks could be on a mailbox in passing. If you don't use the Invisible Jet (I sure suggest it be a stealth military jet that Diana borrows), make it a punch line "What? You thought the jet was invisible or something?"

Even little touches like Suffering Sapphro as a jazz club in the background or having Trevor take a lie detector test are great ways to get INTO the subject matter, and show you care about the universe and the history... it gets the production crew into the mix and it turns fans on.

Naturally.

7) Prioritize

If you ensure that making an awesome WW film is a priority, and have the confidence that the character can do today what she's done in the past, then you have a solid chance at changing they way people look at superhero hero movies and at female leads.

So... who wants to make history?
(WB, I'm looking at you)

Really, if you want to make any actually impact with this, put it somewhere more important than some dumb little message board. Send it to WB. Send it to some local film critics. Hell, start a blog. But posting it on the Hype gets very little acomplished.

 

[SFII]

the idea of her running around in a tiara sounds ridiculous. so, i'm curious to see how they pull that off.

 

[Steelsheen]

^^ *sigh* .

i for one wouldnt mnd compromisin on certain aspects, but its posts like this that makes me think the first WW film should be as true to comic book form as possible, 1940s era, star spangled bloomers and all.

 

[The Question]

^^ *sigh* .

i for one wouldnt mnd compromisin on certain aspects, but its posts like this that makes me think the first WW film should be as true to comic book form as possible, 1940s era, star spangled bloomers and all.

How is a 1940s setting any more true to the comics? Her comics were only set in the 1940s during the 1940s. That would be like saying a 30s era Batman flick would be more true to the comics (although, I must admit, that would be very cool). Diana works just as well, if not better, in the modern era as she does in the 1940s. And hell, if it's set in the 40s, she couldn't be an ambasadore to the UN, which is one of my favorite aspects of the character.

 

[Soulgem]

Good post. Not much to add.

I agree that we soon need _the_ superhero battle. I hope we get it in the next Superman. Wolverine vs soldiers and Hulk vs the army were awesome, but we need superhero vs supervillain, and we need a fight of titanic proportions. Superman vs Doomsday, FF vs Galactus, Snake-Eyes vs Storm Shadow (faints). SM3 final fight was very close, with Sandman as the main attraction.

Additionally, I think that if they trusted us fans enough to actually not make WW into a simple "sex-symbol" (catwoman, storm, invisible woman, etc), but do it properly with style, we would become the "frothing-at-the-mouth,willing-to-wage-war" type of fans.
I think that is happening now with Iron Man, where the cast, costume and production is looking so great that "normal" fans become fanboys.

 

[DrayvensCrow]

Nicely done, GL1!

You've brought up a lot of great points that should be considered by TPTB in Hollyweird, but we know at least half will go by the wayside because of the Producer's/Director's "vision".

Really quickly addressing SFII's comment, Check out "Amazons Attack" and Hippolyta's battle crown. If they're gonna start changing things, they should really go with something like that during the fight scenes. The original tiara can be used for Themyscara, non-action scenes in Man's World, etc.

OK, with that said and done, getting to GL1's and everyone else's comments...Question, I don't think either tribe has considered Diana as a spiritual leader since she gave up godhood. If I'm wrong, my bad, but I just don't remember seeing anything like that since Phil Jimenez left. GL1, I don't think Hollywood follows anything doggedly when it comes to comic-genre movies and we just take them to be like the "Elsewhere" line. TPTB over there have set the standard of combining storylines to make one "movie-worthy" plot since modern comic-genre movies have been made, starting with Chris Reeves' Supes. As far as Steve Trevor "having" to be in the movie, I agree with The Question: he's not that neccessary anymore. Neither is Etta.

Question, I honestly believe that if anyone is going to take WW seriously as a movie, the fight scenes are going to have to be bigger and badder than BB, SR, SM3 or any of the X-Movies. Because of WW being a woman, TPTB won't want to portray a woman as a butt-kicking machine on the level of what WW actually is. This is where the believability factor of the actress comes in as well. As much as certain fans want to believe, an actress like a Julia Roberts (just as an example) will never be believable in a fight scene. She's going to have to train her butt off for months, harder than Kate Beckinsale for both Underworlds, harder than Angelina Jolie for the Tomb Raider movies, harder than Uma Thurman for the Kill Bill's and, more than likely, harder than either Bale and Routh have! You may think I'm nuts for having said that but we all know that it's the only way for a WW to be taken seriously and not just more Breasts and Buttocks, instead of Braclets and Bullets.

Someone asked if WW should have an accent, well....honestly IMHO the first scene on Themyscara should start out in Greek, Roman or some ancient language w/subtitles and then they can phase it into English. I don't remember who had that idea for her jet, ( "What?! You didn't really think it was invisible, did you?!" ) that's money in the bank funny!

As for costuming WW, she's going to have to be in at least four different outfits: Traditional Themyscarian(sp.?) as befitting her station, Classic WW, Battle WW and something where she's trying to fit in with Man's World. Yes, I remember she has to take part in the tourney, so there's another costume.

 

[The Question]

Question, I don't think either tribe has considered Diana as a spiritual leader since she gave up godhood. If I'm wrong, my bad, but I just don't remember seeing anything like that since Phil Jimenez left.

She's the chosen champion of Olympus. She's a bit like their Jesus.

Question, I honestly believe that if anyone is going to take WW seriously as a movie, the fight scenes are going to have to be bigger and badder than BB, SR, SM3 or any of the X-Movies. Because of WW being a woman, TPTB won't want to portray a woman as a butt-kicking machine on the level of what WW actually is.

1) What exactly is TPTB?

(EDIT: Ah. The Powers That Be. Just some advice. Abreviations aren't your friend).

2) Asking for the greatest action sequence ever filmed is simply too much. You can't ask a creator to make the greatest acheivement of the genre. That's just not how art works. You don't have to go over the top to portray Diana as the fighter she is. All you have to do is portray her as the fighter that she is.

 

[DrayvensCrow]

She's the chosen champion of Olympus. She's a bit like their Jesus.

Yes, but she was their Princess longer than she was their champion and would expect to be treated as they would treat any other of their sisters.

2) Asking for the greatest action sequence ever filmed is simply too much. You can't ask a creator to make the greatest acheivement of the genre. That's just not how art works. You don't have to go over the top to portray Diana as the fighter she is. All you have to do is portray her as the fighter that she is.

They don't need to be the greatest, they just need to be better. It dosen't necessarily mean portraying her over the top.

 

[The Question]

Yes, but she was their Princess longer than she was their champion and would expect to be treated as they would treat any other of their sisters.

That still doesn't mean that she isn't a spiritual leader of sorts.

They don't need to be the greatest, they just need to be better. It dosen't necessarily mean portraying her over the top.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the fight scenes in X3, Spider-Man 3, or Batman begins, and something on that level in WW would be fine.

She's going to have to train her butt off for months, harder than Kate Beckinsale for both Underworlds, harder than Angelina Jolie for the Tomb Raider movies, harder than Uma Thurman for the Kill Bill's and, more than likely, harder than either Bale and Routh have! You may think I'm nuts for having said that but we all know that it's the only way for a WW to be taken seriously and not just more Breasts and Buttocks, instead of Braclets and Bullets.

No, we don't all know that. Why would she have to train harder than all of them? There's only so hard that someone can train, and Bale was already pretty close to that limit. If the actress portraying Wonder Woman trains at even one fourth of Bale's intensity, she'll most certainly be taken seriously. Honestly, I'm just not seeing why everyone thinks that the people behind a Wonder Woman movie need to kill themselves for people to not go "haha, boobies" when they hear about the movie. Sure, there are idiots in the world, but that's not idiotic. That's clinically braindead.

 

[Steelsheen]

How is a 1940s setting any more true to the comics? Her comics were only set in the 1940s during the 1940s. That would be like saying a 30s era Batman flick would be more true to the comics (although, I must admit, that would be very cool). Diana works just as well, if not better, in the modern era as she does in the 1940s. And hell, if it's set in the 40s, she couldn't be an ambasadore to the UN, which is one of my favorite aspects of the character.

relax TQ you're jumping the gun on me again. i said that becase so many folks here really doesnt have any idea who Wonder Woman is. come on man, havent you noticed that? so a straight dose of the real stuff starting from the very beginning should help educate people around here, because really, most of the perceptions of Wonder Woman even from other comic book fans are way, way off.

 

[The Question]

relax TQ you're jumping the gun on me again. i said that becase so many folks here really doesnt have any idea who Wonder Woman is. come on man, havent you noticed that? so a straight dose of the real stuff starting from the very beginning should help educate people around here, because really, most of the perceptions of Wonder Woman even from other comic book fans are way, way off.

Okay. That's....cool I guess.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Because of WW being a woman, TPTB won't want to portray a woman as a butt-kicking machine on the level of what WW actually is.

Er, I'd strongly disagree there. Hollywood absolutely loves butt-kicking chicks in movies and TV; think of Xena, or Buffy, or, looking at some of this summer's sequels, characters like Elizabeth Swann in Pirates of the Caribbean.

In terms of Diana's costume, I think the breastplate and the boots translate fairly easily to film: the issue is the star-spangled part. I like the loin-cloth version from Kingdom Come, although you could go even further and use the skirt version Drew Johnson used during Rucka's run. Keep the tiara; as long as she uses it to boomerang off at least one hellspawn's head in the course of the film, it's gold.

For plot, I'd combine elements of Perez's opening "Gods and Mortals" arc and Rucka's "Stoned" and "Counting Coup" stories:

Athena, Aphrodite, Artemis, Demeter, Hestia, and Hermes create the Amazons, largely at Athena's instigation. Depending on how long you want the prologue to be, you could do a full-on staging of volume 2 #1's origin of the Amazons, or just do that in narration. Later on, after the Amazons withdraw to the island, the last soul is reincarnated, creating Diana. The Amazons guard the gates of the prison by the Gods' orders.

Fast forward to the present. The crux of the plot is the behind-the-scenes campaigns of Ares and Athena to succeed Zeus, for the reasons given in Rucka's run. Athena instigated the creation of the Amazons, and later Diana, with an eye to a champion for the battle against the Titan who guards Zeus' throne. Ares knows this, and so most of the movie is about him trying to throw a wrench in the works (not out of loyalty to Zeus; he just wants to be the one to take the throne away); as in the comics, he sort of causes Hera to accidentally swamp Themiscyra in a fit of rage, which causes all kinds of havoc (insert various scenes of Diana using her god-given powers to rescue people, etc.) and breaches the gate to the Underworld, through which various nasty imprisoned creatures escape to the outside world. Seeing an opportunity to test Diana, Athena tells Hippolyta to send one of her warriors out to recover the escaped people; hence, the tournament, Diana-in-disguise, etc. Diana leaves to Patriach's world on her mission.

The escaped creatures are a mix of sentient schemers and mindless mythological monsters; there are all kinds of fight scene-friendly possibilities with the latter. Chief among these escapees is Circe; Ares appears to her, and uses her against Athena's champion, hoping to derail Athena's whole plan. This section of the movie (ie, most of it) is the least-defined in my mind: Diana comes to America, meets various people (Kapetellises, Sandsmarks, whoever you want; they're kind of interchangeable; I'd prefer no Steve Trevor, or, at least, not the young love interest version; the older gentleman from volume 2 is my preference, but I can imagine that confusing a lot of people familiar with the old show, so I'd just leave him out), is dubbed "Wonder Woman" by the press, battles Circe and various other threats. An important issue is Diana's faith in Athena, her chief patroness; Ares appears to her and explains the whole grander scheme involving Zeus' throne, and how she factors into Athena's calculations; Diana has to evaluate how much she trusts the goddess she heretofor had absolute faith it. Diana vanquishes her opponents; at which point she is called to Olympus for the big fight to unseat Zeus.

Now, a critical feature of the Rucka story this was based on was Medousa and Blind Diana; I'm unsure about including that in the film. Anyway, Diana wins for Athena, Athena becomes chief of the pantheon; depending on whether or not you use the Blind plotline, the issue of favours/restoring people to life/eyesight may or may not come in. At the movie's end, Athena appoints Diana as Olympus and Themiscyra's champion on Earth, and bids her go and remind the world of the old gods and their civilization.

 

[Dark Knight]

I have heard great script reviews from the new spec script that WB's and Silver optioned from the newcomer writers that went with a period WW style film. I liked what I read from the script reviews....especially the first two acts! I would have no problem if that script is what they decide to go with onscreen! WB's and Silver should get a veteran writer to polish it up and greenlight it. I think Ridley Scott would be an ideal choice to direct. He knows how to direct strong female characters and period epics! Since Diana is barely20 in the script.....Jessica Biel would be a great choice IMO. Cast Catherine Zeta Jones or Monica Belucchi as her mother Queen Hippolyta and a solid actor as Trevor and the film will do well!

 

[Dark Knight]

relax TQ you're jumping the gun on me again. i said that becase so many folks here really doesnt have any idea who Wonder Woman is. come on man, havent you noticed that? so a straight dose of the real stuff starting from the very beginning should help educate people around here, because really, most of the perceptions of Wonder Woman even from other comic book fans are way, way off.

Yeah,IMO....there is absolutely nothing wrong with a 1940's WW2 era period WW film! As long as it's a good story with some drama and great action/fight scenes. Plus it would be different in a good way.

 

[DrayvensCrow]

Captain, Xena was not exactly Hollywood and they were always pushing the limits with her while keeping her confined within Standards and Practices. Buffy? Oy. Elizabeth Swann? I can't really comment on that character as I haven't seen any of the PotC movies.

 

[Lestat74]

GL1...

Gotta agree with everything you said in your first post. WW is my favorite DC Character, even though I know she's not really the best DC character ( let's face it....that will always be Batman ) She was the first super hero created specifically to be a political statement; to get young boys to understand the inheirent power of women and to respect it. If you ignore that, you are missing a crucial element of what makes the character work. If you make her just a scantily clad "bad ass" like they attempted to do with Catwoman, Barb Wire, Elektra, Aeon Flux, etc....people will see right through it and stay away in droves. Women hate that stuff, and men have Maxim magazine and porn for that now. Wonder Woman has to be a super hero movie that just happens to star a woman.​

I was very disheartend when Joss Whedon left the project, as I think he's a true feminist and that's just what a WW movie needs above all else...a filmaker who wants to have a woman as a character, not just a fetish object.

I have read two glowing reviews for the spec script set in WWII. It seems like Warners really likes this one and wants to make it, but Joel Silver doesn't want a period piece. Hopefully, Joel Silver will relenquish his investment in the project to Warners, and they can finally get this off the ground.

I don't really have a problem with the WWII setting. I know a lot of WW fans are against if, saying that Superman and Batman are not limited to the era in which they were created. While I understand that sentiment to a certain extent, Wonder Woman fought Nazi and Japanese agents in her early years far more than her famous brethren ever did. WWII is just a bigger part of her mythos. And of course the show being set partly in WWII helped to continue that idea.

One more thing: WB needs some synergy between their Super Hero movies. If a Justice League movie is truly getting off the ground, then have it made in cooperation with the makers of Wonder Woman. Let Wonder Woman be percieved as something of an extended prequel to Justice League ( even if all it does is introduce the character before appearing in the other movie ) We all know that a JLA movie will be a huge event....let a Wonder Woman movie be the precurser to that. Imagine a kick ass Wonder Woman trailer, and then at the end of that trailer, in text have " And coming next summer....J....L....A." and maybe show Wonder Woman's insignia along with Batman and Superman's. Make the audience feel you gotta see Wonder Woman before the big granddaddy of Super Hero films comes out. Make it all one big event, and I promise, the people will turn up.

 

[CaptainCanada]

Captain, Xena was not exactly Hollywood and they were always pushing the limits with her while keeping her confined within Standards and Practices.

So? TV has standards and practices, just like movies have ratings. Did S&P say that she couldn't be too strong or whatever?

Buffy? Oy.

She's a girl who was incredibly strong and always saved the day. Whatever else you might think of the show, she was an ass-kicking chick.

 

[dnno1]

1) Stay True to the Comics

I gotta say, I'm a big fan of useful changes like Organic Web Shooters, Older Bruce Wayne and Black X-Men Costumes. I am, but you have to START with the Comics and then make your changes and updates from there... if you don't begin with the source material, you're not really making Wonder Woman... you making something else and adding WW in... and you will almost surely lose the base appeal of the characters.

Getting her to be attractive to men is easy as crap. You don't have to put her in a thong or have a shower scene. She's a beautiful young woman. It's already done... but the power in WW comes from her being powerful. Something we can all, male and female, respect. Like Ripley. Like Sarah Connor. The good stuff.

So we need:
- The color scheme, with the sparkling panties.
- The golden symbol on the red bustier
- The lasso, bracelets and tiara
- Themyscira
- "Diana" and her mother "Hyppolyta"
- Steve Trevor

Now can we do updating? Can we make the stars tiny and silvery so that the dark blue panties shimmer instead of having obtuse white stars on them? Sure.

Can we stylize the breastplate, even armor-styled so that we can pass it off as 'ceremonial amazonian garb.' Sure.

Can we change Themyscira to a space station? A hidden valley? Not so much. Even if it's convenient for some new plot, you miss the natural appeal of an island setting that has carried the franchise so far.

That in mind, is it true that Wonder Woman's comic book sales have continually sagged? Yes... so perhaps dogged adherence to these low-selling comics is unnecessary.

So what version of Wonder Woman do you want? The William Molton Martsen version? The Ross Andru/Mike Esposito verson? The Mike Sekowski (I Ching) version? The George Perez verson? . How can you mandate that a screenwriter stay true to the comics when The comics has not even stayed true to itself?

 

[Dr. Fate]

I'd like them to do the George Perez version of Wonder Woman. His take on Wonder Woman ROCKED. Also, I want Wonder Woman flying on her own without having to rely on the damn Invisible Jet; the Jet is just too campy, makes me think of Superfriends. I hate that.

GL1, pretty much agreed with everything you said.

 

[Steelsheen]

I'd like them to do the George Perez version of Wonder Woman. His take on Wonder Woman ROCKED. Also, I want Wonder Woman flying on her own without having to rely on the damn Invisible Jet; the Jet is just too campy, makes me think of Superfriends. I hate that.

think cloaked jet, like the Klingon Bird of Prey. not the see-through version. that doesnt make any sense.

and the comics caught up since Marston's version. Mark Waid's Trinity shows a cloaked jet (hence invisible) as well as Paul Dini and Alex Ross Spirit of Truth.