EDITORIAL: How to make Wonder Woman and Aquaman work in solo films

EDITORIAL: How to make Wonder Woman and Aquaman work in solo films

A detailed look at how two of the most well-known pop-culture icons from the Comic Book world could be translated on screen. With years of debate on how to make the Princess of Amazon and King of Atlantis cool, I've potentially discovered the solution.

Editorial Opinion
By JasonBlue - Jul 03, 2013 12:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Aquaman

Why is Batman superior (in the eyes of the average audience) to all other superheroes in the DC characters? Its because he is relatable. He is a human being who faced a tragic life-changing event and found a way to make himself better so that nobody else in his city has to go through what he did. Every person in this world has had a tragedy in their life, regardless of their socio-economic status. This is what makes Batman relatable to audiences around the world. Let's give Bruce Wayne the vacation he deserves and focus on other heroes who could follow his lead.



Wonder Woman:

1. Teach the audience about the real-life Amazon civilization:

When I travelled to Bodrum in Turkey, I took a tour of the surviving substructures and ruins of the Mausoleum of Mausolus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. I was surprised when the tour guide showed us the statues and artifacts of the Amazon warriors. He told us the story of how the Amazons lived in Bodrum and fought against the Greek and Persian empire. The most important value of the Amazon history is that they were women who were abused by men, but found refuge in this civilization where the women (overcame politics and differences to) teach each other how to fight and prevent the oppression of men. This is something women and even men from all over the world can relate to and understand. Introducing these historical elements into the Wonder Woman origin will make the character and her race relatable and realistic.

2. Cast someone who has a mixed-ethnic look:

Wonder Woman needs to be someone who is of a mixed ethnicity, someone who any female in any part of the world can relate to, thats part of who the Amazonians represent. The Amazon, if you look up their history (in real life), was a civilization made up from women from Northern Africa, Persia, Meditaranian (Turkey, Italy) and Modern Ukraine. These warriors breaded with male warriors they captured from the greek empire and persian empires. Hence, Wonder Woman needs to look ethnic, like a mixed actress that looks like no-race in particular.

It will also add to a "global" look of the Justice League.

3. She needs to overcome a lot of barriers:

Make it hard for her to accept the real world when she comes out of Themiscyra. Make her fight for injustice and oppression, whether its against a man or a woman. Make her extremely sensitive to the war and violence in the world, and make her go through a cultural shock. She needs to resist the CIA or FBI or whoever tries to bring her in, especially if the officers or agents are men who try to "cuff" her.

4. Make the movie politically themed:

Bring an enemy who makes a threat to Washington. Set the fight scenes in washington. Give her an American appeal, but also let her save tourists from around the world visiting the capital. I personally think if there was a scene of her visiting the Lincoln Memorial and reading Lincoln's speech but asking "why aren't people following this? why is there still discrimination, racism and war?". Get an enemy from her past to attack the UN, and get her to fight inside the UN headquarters and save the world infront of the world's top leaders.

Most importantly she needs to raise the question: If the Amazons lead the world would there be no more war or oppression?

5. Remove the greek mythology connections:

We live in a world where a large portion of the audience is monotheist or atheist. Although religion really shouldn't be a factor for a superhero, for Wonder Woman it must be addressed. In the origin of Wonder Woman written by Marston, this greek mythology connection just wasn't there, and at that time Wonder Woman was very popular. Now in this world, how many people will relate to a superhero who is a demi-god? Thor was able to do it because he's of a fictional "god" mythology. But with Wonder Woman, many people would just find it unrealistic and may even be offended. So i say scrap the religious greek mythology elements and just briefly mention an ambiguous higher-power who saved the Amazons and gave them a new Paradise outside of the human world.

6. Give her pants and a jacket.

Just like Superman is a symbol of "hope", Wonder Woman should be a symbol of "justice" not "sex". Its time she gets a costume that any father be proud to have his daughter wear on Halloween without being worried about creeps. Make children of all ages and background (conservative or open-minded) be able to wear the costumer without feeling insecure about her size or shape.



Aquaman:

1. Connect the origins of Atlantis and Themiscyra:

Show that the real-world was engulfed in war during the times of the Trojan War, and it became unliveable, and thus the people of Atlantis found a way to survive outside the real-world. Show the Trojan War where the people of Atlantis and Amazons fought alongside each other against the Spartans.

2. Cast an experienced and beloved actor:

Cast someone with a strong following (whether a TV show or a strong movie career), who is in his 30's and is well-known for his acting chops, rather than his looks.

3. Make his origin different, and more relatable:

Introduce an Aquaman who lives in a metropolitan city, has an ordinary desk job, but show him getting dehydrated very easily and show him entering the swimming pool at the end of each day and then see his skin recovering. Let him see a major natural disaster (such as the BP oil-rig leakage). Make him go to the beach near the disaster and get hit by noises of the sea creatures and experience their pain. He would immediately jump into the water to save them. And this is where he would encounter other Atlantanians(? is that the word?).

4. Make him fight Lex Luthor and encounter Superman/WonderWoman:

This is very important when connecting him to a larger audience. Instead of him facing off against his own villains, somehow link Lex Luthor to the natural disaster or one of Luthor's greater plans that is polluting the oceans and affecting life in Atlantis. See him face off against Superman. Create a life-underwater vs life-on-land situation where he fights against Superman. Have Wonder Woman intervene and make Aquaman understand the positives of life-on-land, just as she had to learn.

5. Make him refuse to join the "justice league":

Aquaman needs to be the cool King of Atlantis who refuses to conform to the leadership of Superman. Let him point out that without his world underwater, life on land would suffer. Also he could say that through his "sea creatures" he knows more land-heroes exist.

6. Develop a romantic bond with Wonder Woman:

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kong
kong - 7/4/2013, 3:57 AM
um...[frick] no
BatsFan
BatsFan - 7/4/2013, 7:35 AM
greek mythology for WW is necessary.
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 7/4/2013, 7:35 AM
Greek mythology... mythology in general, has had an immeasurable influence on both society and (even greater) literature.
Wonder Woman is a gift from the gods. She needs to retain her roots.

Look at DC's major lineup of heroes.
Superman - Zeus: watches over the world from the skies, masquerades as a mere mortal to relate to his adopted homeworld; was raised by adopted parents; most powerful of the gods.

Wonder Woman - Athena: a virgin birth, she possesses an indomitable will, the warrior's spirit, compassion and wisdom to solve problems without bloodshed.

Martian Manhunter - Hades: sheperd of the dead, caretaker of lost souls, lonely and desolate; bears the helm of darkness to travel about unseen

Aquaman - Poseidon: king of the seas, oceans, and all creatures within; overbearing, protective, and vengeful - he will rain destruction down upon any mortal foolish enough to harm his "people"

---
Just a few examples. But removing that element would be a betrayal to the character.
ForeverPowerful
ForeverPowerful - 7/4/2013, 8:01 AM
Its slutty because they draw her with huge tits and her ass hanging out.

Plus she's a [frick]ing warrior. Why in the [frick] would she wear something like that?

She can still look beautiful in armor. She doesn't need to west the skin tight swimsuit.
JasonBlue
JasonBlue - 7/4/2013, 9:27 AM
@Forever and @MartianAbominationClone

Both of you have great points, but if you were a female warrior would you really wear the Olympics gymnast costume? It would protect her from nothing. I agree the Injustice costume should be the inspiration, and perhaps instead of a jacket, the top shouldn't be a "tube top" because realistically that would fall off whenever she fights.

I also love the idea of the Aquaman and Wonder Woman knowing each other beforehand.

@Tainted87

You make a very strong argument, and I do agree with you on the overall point.
But I strongly believe that the greek mythology element of her storyline makes her story un-translatable onscreen. And that its been the barrier that has prevented Wonder Woman from getting her own film. The story itself is contradictory because the Greeks that caused oppression to the women (who became Amazons) were greek-polythiests, if you as a woman of that time hated the society and abuse you face from these men, wouldn't you stop believing in those gods yourself?

I think we should find out what the actual Amazons of that time believed in and link Wonder Woman's origin to history. She could be a gift from god, a virgin birth, but make it from one god, who the film leaves ambigious. Thus, people from different backgrounds around the world can interpret it the way they want.
GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 7/4/2013, 9:28 AM
I like most of your ideas, except for redefining Aquaman's origin and the WW costume. I like Aquaman's origin, but as far as WW goes the costume is considered slutty just because it's what others see. However, the costume should feature an armored skirt or something to show that its armor made for speed, flexibility, and comfort to achieve maximum battle effectiveness.

It's supposed to be a Greek Mythology styled form of clothing and armor for the Amazon's. Personally, I want this suit:

GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 7/4/2013, 9:30 AM
The Injustice costume would be perfect too!
JasonBlue
JasonBlue - 7/4/2013, 9:37 AM
@GreenHalJordan

Yeah! The Injustice costume, but not a "tube top" cause, come on.... that would fall off.
GreenHalJordan
GreenHalJordan - 7/4/2013, 9:40 AM
I see what you mean by that. I will say my personal favorite for WW is Erin Cummings. I wanted Andy Whitefield for Aquaman, but unfortunately he passed a year or two ago. He would have been perfect and made a great transition for an Aquaman and WW romance, I mean look at them:



Its practically concept art for those films! It wouldve been great.
JasonBlue
JasonBlue - 7/4/2013, 12:40 PM
@MAC

I totally agree, she should be portrayed as a pacifist.
thebearjew
thebearjew - 7/4/2013, 5:36 PM
this article is shit greek mythology is very important and its awesome the current wonder woman title is great bcuz it goes back to her roots in greek mythology plus we need a good mythological franchise right now bcus clash of the titans sucks soooo bad
aresww3
aresww3 - 7/4/2013, 10:36 PM
I think in general good ideas for Wonder Woman, but I don´t think stripping her from her greek roots will achieve much. I just don´t see it as a problem. Trust me I´m writing a Wonder Woman story and it is more firmly fixed in this world than anything but I have an explanation for the gods. Its really profound and beautiful. I think it will appeal a lot to athiests and scifi enthusiasts. But apart from that I agree with everything you said.
Forthas
Forthas - 7/5/2013, 7:42 AM
I agree with almost all of your recommendations especially removing the focus on Greek gods. The only thing I partially disagree with you on is giving her pants and a jacket. You are totally on the right track when it comes to needing to change her suit, but pants and a jacket makes her look pedestrian.



JasonBlue
JasonBlue - 7/5/2013, 8:52 AM
People who are calling this a "shit article" has no clue about how to make a movie work for the audience outside of the comic book readers. Wonder Woman isn't a movie for boys nor will boys be lining up to see Wonder Woman (did people go see Catwoman? no). Wonder woman is a movie for girls, and they want to see a woman who isn't dressed up in skin tight clothing. Trust me, women see the wonder woman costume as a joke, as a mere "man's fantasy" which is so contradictory to the purpose of the Amazon history.

Women and girls control the box office now, just look at twilight and Hunger Games. Sure for many of us judge these movies as terrible, but for a girl in her teens and early twenties these movies showcase two-distinct representations of female empowerment and individuality. Or at least the franchise films out there that do.

Also key note the greek mythology will NEVER work in the world created in Man of Steel and the Dark Knight Trilogy.

Wonder Woman must be the Buffy of the Superhero genre.
RobGrizzly
RobGrizzly - 7/6/2013, 10:16 AM
Great article. I've been wanting to do one of these myself.
Glad to see we are (mostly) on the same page with Wonder Woman.

I honestly think pants is a bad idea-

If we're talking about history, then historically, pants are something women did not wear, and a proud race like the Amazons would reject something so associated with masculinity. Beauty is still a big part of their mentality, and showing their legs would be no big deal for them. It is our over sensitive society today that makes these things an issue. To Amazons, who historically battled with a breast exposed, under wear is no big deal at all.
Embrace it, don't be ashamed of it.

I also strongly disagree about ditching the mythology. There is absolutely nothing about Thor (Norse) that can't.work for WW too. Why would I care about what aethiests think? This movie is for everyone, which means taking an inclusive, not exclusive.approach to ideas. Mythology is embedded in Diana. From birth to powers, so to ask to reach back into the history, but then.reject.the.mythology makes no sense. Again, I say embrace it!
RobGrizzly
RobGrizzly - 7/6/2013, 11:30 AM
On the Aquaman front, I pretty much like all of that. Not sure about the desk job thing, but syncing him up with characters like Luthor and Wonder Woman sound great.

The whole idea is to not get caught up on the Nolan/Batman realism. Goyer said that was a separate universe. What Man of Steel proved is that the fantasy of it can work. Sci-fi, mythology...the point isn't so much about literal realism. What WB is going.for.is.tone. Being serious.
Hope it works.out!
miggyman24
miggyman24 - 7/8/2013, 7:49 AM
Dont agree atall with most of it,with wonderwoman and aqu ur taking to much elements that makes the character who they are and true comicbook would really hate it, best to not change it just them different.
CmndrShepard
CmndrShepard - 7/19/2013, 9:52 AM
Jesus... If Wonder Woman is comfortable with her own body image, that would be better than covering her up because that sends an even better message to be comfortable with yourself. Not "OMG she's so slutty what kind of warrior would wear that?!?!?" Look up the Spartans Warrior Women and stop shaming Diana for being comfortable with herself
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