Wonder Woman gets a new costume and direction!

[Silent December]

really not sure how to feel about this, on the one hand Wonder Woman did need a makeover it's just I'm not sure that erasing her history and giving her an "urban" costume is the answer. It didn't stick when they turned Superman electric and it didn't stick when Jean Paul was running around as Batman in the that suit with all those blades. That said, I'm not going to pass judgement until we get deeper into the JMS storyline because to be honest, the costume doesn't bother me so much as the erasing of her past, it has that "one more day" or whatever that storyline was called that Marvel concocted for Spider-man.

Starting today, Wonder Woman will appear like you’ve never seen her before.

As you may have seen in THE NEW YORK TIMES, bestselling artist and DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee has redesigned her costume for the modern era, just in time for BABYLON 5 creator and critically acclaimed writer J. Michael Straczynski and artists Don Kramer and Michael Babinski to launch the Amazon Princess into an exciting and epic new era of adventure.

Starting with their story in WONDER WOMAN #600, which is in comic shops today, JMS and Kramer will begin a run that is both forward-looking and true to the legendary character, planting her firmly in the modern era. But enough about what I have to say. Mr. Straczynski took some time out of his schedule to lay out some of his plans for WONDER WOMAN right here on The Source. So, without further adieu, take it away, Joe:

Suppose you woke up one morning, or turned a corner, and suddenly the life you had been leading up to that moment…was not the life you were leading.

Suppose someone went back in time and changed one thing, and it changed your life to the point that you had little or no memory of what life had been like before the change happened. What would you do to get it back? Should you get it back? Who did it? And maybe more important…why did they do it?

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That is the question faced by Diana starting in issue 600.

The Gods, for reasons of their own but which may have something to with their survival and perhaps the survival of Earth itself, have changed the timeline. In the new timeline, years ago the Gods removed their protection from Paradise Island, and left it vulnerable to attack. And attacked it was. Led by a dark figure, a veritable army descended upon the Island, equipped with weapons that could kill even the Amazons. Outgunned, doomed, Hippolyta gave over her three-year-old daughter to a handful of guardians who spirited her away as Hippolyta led one last desperate battle against the forces that had come to destroy all she had created. In that final battle, she and most of the Amazons were killed, though some managed to escape.

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It’s now nearly twenty years later. Diana has been raised in an urban setting, but with a foot in both worlds. She has little or no memory of the other timeline. She knows only what she’s been told by those who raised her On the run, hunted, she must try to survive, help the other refugee Amazons escape the army that is still after them, discover who destroyed Paradise Island and why…and if the timeline can be corrected or not. She also does not yet have access to her full powers, but will be gaining them as she goes. Along the way, she will face a range of enemies — human and otherwise — who we have not seen before.

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What we also haven’t seen before is her new look, the first significant change in her appearance since the character debuted in 1941 (not counting the mod look used briefly in the sixties, about which the less said the better). It reflects her origins in both the outside world and the world of Amazons: tough, elegant…a street-fighter’s look which also incorporates elements of her classic design. It reflects the two sides warring for ultimate victory, and underscores the path she must take.

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It’s a look designed to be taken seriously as a warrior, in partial answer to the many female fans over the years who’ve asked, “how does she fight in that thing without all her parts falling out?”) She can close it up to pass unnoticed…open it for the freedom to fight…lose the jacket or keep it on…it has pockets (the other fan question, “where does she carry anything in that outfit?”, it can be accessorized…it’s a Wonder Woman look designed for the 21st century. The bracelets are still there, but made more colorful, tied on the inside and over the hand, with a script W on each of them that form WW when she holds them side by side…and if you get hit by one of them, it leaves a W mark. This is a Wonder Woman who signs her work…letting her enemies know that she’s getting closer.

This is Wonder Woman reborn, literally and metaphorically: fast, elegant, tough, smart…the savior of her people, their guardian and protector…avenging the fall of Paradise Island, searching to discover why Paradise Island was abandoned by the gods. In the end, what she discovers will change her life and the world forever…and she will come face to face with a decision that will mean life or death for the entire human race.

 

[Boba Ben]

I like J. Michael Straczynski's work on the Real Ghostbuster cartoon and I think this will be good, but totally changing Wonder Woman's story and disregarding her background probably won't last for long.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

The new costume looks okay but to me that is not WW.

IMO, the new costume won't last long. It will probably last as long as the storyline does.

 

[carbo-fation]

Not digging the new costume. I'd prefer something along the lines of this version.

 

[Darth Snoopy]

I think we all do!

Diana had a costume change many years ago when Artemis took over as Wonder Woman and that didn't last very long.

Same thing will happen with this story.

 

[Silent December]

I think we all do!

Diana had a costume change many years ago when Artemis took over as Wonder Woman and that didn't last very long.

Same thing will happen with this story.

Thanks for posting that pic DS, that's the exact same costume that I thought of when I saw the new one. Like I said in my earlier post, the costume isn't bothersome so much but untangling the story is going to make WW history even MORE convoluted. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the storyline does and how the costume is received.

 

[piccolodaimaoh]

I don't think the new look is terrible for say the current Wonder Girl but not for Wonder Woman.
If they want to change the look of the guantlets or the chest piece or even her tiara is one thing but this is not Wonder Woman IMO. As IC said before I will wait to pass judgement on the story. JMS writes great stuff. But with the costume, I don't think it looks bad, just not Wonder Woman.

 

[amusedjester]

Everybody has it on the nose. Interesting costume but not it's not wonderwoman. More like a new updated costume for D. Troy. The premise of the new background is kinda stupid, too. If you change something that much that it changed WW's history that much then It would change all her actions and decisions that she did in the DC Universe. Which then would affect everything in DC that had Wonderwoman in it.

 

[Silent December]

Here's the costume in action

 

[Jair]

Here's the costume in action

Looks pretty good in action to me....

Regarding WW something had to give, her sales are down, for the most part other DC female characters have overtaken her in importance within the DC universe. I enjoyed Gail Simone's run, I enjoyed Rucka's, Perez's, Jiminez's but if you look at the numbers she just doesn't sell.

JMS is a pretty good writer, who knows how to set up a story and finish it with importance, he seems to have a knack for writing strong women and as much as folks give him grief for Spiderman, I think he is a perfect writer for this attempt. He said it himself, the story is a year long to fix the timeline, so there is a good chance she will be back to "normal" at the end.

If this storyline, new costume, new attitude increases readership, puts her back into the spotlight I am all for it.


Evan

 

[Silent December]

Looks pretty good in action to me....

Regarding WW something had to give, her sales are down, for the most part other DC female characters have overtaken her in importance within the DC universe. I enjoyed Gail Simone's run, I enjoyed Rucka's, Perez's, Jiminez's but if you look at the numbers she just doesn't sell.

JMS is a pretty good writer, who knows how to set up a story and finish it with importance, he seems to have a knack for writing strong women and as much as folks give him grief for Spiderman, I think he is a perfect writer for this attempt. He said it himself, the story is a year long to fix the timeline, so there is a good chance she will be back to "normal" at the end.

If this storyline, new costume, new attitude increases readership, puts her back into the spotlight I am all for it.


Evan

That's exactly why I'm going to hold judgment till the story get rolling. I'm going to give JMS and the new costume the benefit of the doubt, I just can't help seeing this venture a bit "gimmicky" but well see

***Goes of to hug his classic costume Wonder Woman PF ***

 

[darth_helios]

I kinda like it. Though it looks like a cross between black canary's and WW's costume. I like JMS's work. So hoping this would be a memorable take on WW. Atleast this will keep my wife from rolling eyes when ever she see's a WW statue in my collection

 

[SwedishHeat]

DC is trying everything they can to get people to take Wonder Woman seriously. Having her run around in a swimsuit with her kibbles and bits hanging out does not lend itself well to credibility.

Consider the Trinity, Batman and Superman in long sleeves, pants and capes, and here's Wonder Woman standing next to them with a corset and a bikini bottom. . . it's just not working.

I'm sure this is a part of their planning in the move towards a WW movie.

 

[Jair]

Been reading a few other comic forums today and honestly I think people need to step back from the bridge and really think about Wonder Woman.... She's a comic character in a mostly white male industry where a majority of the readers are white males. She dresses in a bathing suit and is drawn way outta proportion (which is fine it's comics) but I think to take her to the next level, mainstream movies, tv, books, she needs to evolve.

I've been reading her comics since the early 80's and she's had a few changes in both costume and origin along the way but she has never attained the popularity that Batman and Superman enjoy. I know she has a decent marketing property that sells some clothing, toys, etc... but it's no where near the amount of Batman or Superman. I'd venture to guess Green Lantern has surpassed her in terms of marketing and profit.

Something had to be done to raise awareness of both her as an icon and a profit center for DC. If this helps get the movie going, a cartoon, anything so be it.


Evan

 

[Serpentor]

Changing Wonder Woman's Costume is fine, rebooting the character is fine. However what's happening here is what appears to be a temporary reboot of only Wonder Woman's history without concern for how other characters now fit into this whole thing. You can't just selectively change history and not have it ripple outwards and change other peoples lives, but that's what they are doing here, Wonder Girl and Donna Troy will go on as if this never happened and it just creates a massive headache.

Wonder Woman has needed a change for some time now, the costume is one of the most dated and in my opinion utterly ridiculous costumes in comics today. Wonder Woman is suppose to be an Amazonian princess and warrior yet her costume looks like something from a Ms America pageant. The more I look at the new costume the less I dislike it. But her history and supporting cast didn't need to be undone. What Wonder Woman needs is a new permanent costume and a writer who is willing to work with what is already established in her history and make it work. If that can't be done then its time to accept that Wonder Woman as is can't work and needs a fresh start, and then she needs a permanent reboot not just some time change that alters things until someone fixes it.

I don't know for sure if this little stunt will increase readership or lower it. Either way DC has a bizarre way of treating their Trinity, Bruce Wayne is lost in time, Clark Kent is about to go on a walkabout of America and not be Superman for a year, and Wonder Woman has had her time line changed. Its things like this that make me think DC will never over take Marvel as the number 1 publisher sales wise.

 

[csutkakoma]

DC is trying everything they can to get people to take Wonder Woman seriously. Having her run around in a swimsuit with her kibbles and bits hanging out does not lend itself well to credibility.

Consider the Trinity, Batman and Superman in long sleeves, pants and capes, and here's Wonder Woman standing next to them with a corset and a bikini bottom. . . it's just not working.

I'm sure this is a part of their planning in the move towards a WW movie.

I would be happy if they would finally make a Superman costume without that damn ridiculous underwear. I suspect in the new Superman movie this will be the case. But anyway yeah. Wonder Woman's costum always looked like a whore outfit anyway.

 

[Theokan]

I think it's a good idea to update a hero's/heroine's costume every 20 or 30 years or so to keep things relevent. The new WW costume looks a little too "civilian" for my taste, but it probably works with the new origin or something. IMO it's definately a good thing that they are trying to re-invent her to the modern age though. Marvel is really good at it and I think it really pays off as they seem to be much more mainstream friendly to the next generation type readers/ fans.

Personally I would like to see more costume updates for other DC heros as well. Batman and his vallains got quite a bit of update over the years, thanks to other medias like animations and movies, and they are pretty much the most popular DC hero/villains. Pretty much all the popular heros were always updated to look modern for the time, maybe except Superman who is really popular for just being THE superhero, and who's costume never changes since he's probably too prestigious and iconic for any re-invention. Though one could still dream of one day seeing the Superman without his red underwear

 

[Darth Snoopy]

Thanks for posting that pic DS, that's the exact same costume that I thought of when I saw the new one. Like I said in my earlier post, the costume isn't bothersome so much but untangling the story is going to make WW history even MORE convoluted. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the storyline does and how the costume is received.

JMS is a good writer and can tell great stories. I just hope this storyline doesn't become a mess and screw up WW's history.

I have a feeling that this story will end with WW's history being put back in it's "right place".

Like you said, I'll wait on the judgement.

I don't think the new look is terrible for say the current Wonder Girl but not for Wonder Woman.
If they want to change the look of the guantlets or the chest piece or even her tiara is one thing but this is not Wonder Woman IMO. As IC said before I will wait to pass judgement on the story. JMS writes great stuff. But with the costume, I don't think it looks bad, just not Wonder Woman.

Agreed. Modifications to WW's costume are fine and dandy but to many longtime fans changing her costume to something entirely different will be a tough sell.

THe new costume might grow on me but in my mind it doesn't scream Wonder Woman.

 

[Silent December]

Changing Wonder Woman's Costume is fine, rebooting the character is fine. However what's happening here is what appears to be a temporary reboot of only Wonder Woman's history without concern for how other characters now fit into this whole thing. You can't just selectively change history and not have it ripple outwards and change other peoples lives, but that's what they are doing here, Wonder Girl and Donna Troy will go on as if this never happened and it just creates a massive headache.

Wonder Woman has needed a change for some time now, the costume is one of the most dated and in my opinion utterly ridiculous costumes in comics today. Wonder Woman is suppose to be an Amazonian princess and warrior yet her costume looks like something from a Ms America pageant. The more I look at the new costume the less I dislike it. But her history and supporting cast didn't need to be undone. What Wonder Woman needs is a new permanent costume and a writer who is willing to work with what is already established in her history and make it work. If that can't be done then its time to accept that Wonder Woman as is can't work and needs a fresh start, and then she needs a permanent reboot not just some time change that alters things until someone fixes it.

I don't know for sure if this little stunt will increase readership or lower it. Either way DC has a bizarre way of treating their Trinity, Bruce Wayne is lost in time, Clark Kent is about to go on a walkabout of America and not be Superman for a year, and Wonder Woman has had her time line changed. Its things like this that make me think DC will never over take Marvel as the number 1 publisher sales wise.

Don't get me started on that one! He's been away from earth for about a year living in Kandor and fighting Brainiac, he was a non factor through Blackest Night, and the minute he gets back to earth, the ground him for yet another year?? C'mon DC!

I was hoping that with the Lee/Johns promotions thing would get back to normal with the big three but it looks like that's not going to happen anytime soon.

As for the costume, I think they went a little too far with. Tweaks would have been fine but her costume is just so iconic, thanks in part (I think) to Lynda Carter. The average joe will look at the new costume and say "that's not Wonder Woman".

 

[karamazov80]

These things never last with the big-time super heroes, for good reason. I'm sure they will "kill off" Wonder Woman in a few weeks in a big, cross-title money grab, then she will "come back to life" with the old costume/story or something equally predictable and stupid.