Thoughts On WONDER WOMAN In ‘Batman v Superman’

Thoughts On WONDER WOMAN In ‘Batman v Superman’

As we all know, Wonder Woman is set to appear in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Awesome, right? Well, I don’t know. As excited as I am to see Diana finally brought to life on-screen, I do have my reservations. Read on if you are interested…

Editorial Opinion
By CombatWombat - May 16, 2015 11:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Batman vs. Superman
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Here’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now. 

 

As we all know, Wonder Woman is set to appear in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Awesome, right? Well, I don’t know. As excited as I am to see Diana finally brought to life on-screen, I do have my reservations.

 

Read on if you are interested…

 


excited1

Why I'm Excited

It’s Her Cinematic Debut


 

I like Wonder Woman. I’m not as intimately familiar with her as I am with Superman or Spider-Man, but I respect her place in the pantheon of superhero characters. I think she’s a very important pop culture icon.

 

Come 2016, Batman will have appeared in eight films total. Superman will have appeared in six. Spider-Man, in seven. How many films will Wonder Woman have appeared in?


One — just one — and it’s not even a Wonder Woman movie.

 

The character has been around for close to 75 years. The fact that nobody has been able to get a Wonder Woman film off the ground is almost shameful. It’s beyond time for Diana to grace the silver screen.

 

However, this leads me to my first concern…
 


concerned1

Why I’m Concerned

Tagging Along for the Ride


 

Is anyone else kind of put-off by the fact that Wonder Woman’s cinematic debut is in a movie titled Batman v Superman? Okay, okay, you can call me a crybaby. You can tell me to be happy with what we’ve got. Maybe you’re right to tell me both of those things.

 

…But she’s appearing as a guest-star in a Batman/Superman movie. Black Widow can get away with being used as a supporting character — because she’s Black Widow. She doesn’t have nearly as much mythology (literally and otherwise) built around her as Wonder Woman does.

 

Furthermore, does Wonder Woman actually BELONG in a story focusing on Batman and Superman? Or will her inclusion seem like something that was shoehorned into the movie by an impatient studio?

 

Speaking of which…

 


concerned2

Why I’m Concerned

Unnecessary Sequel Bait


 

Is Wonder Woman’s only purpose in this movie to set up her appearance in Justice League? Doesn’t this remind anyone of Iron Man 2, which Black Widow’s only purpose was to set up her appearance in The Avengers? That movie wasn’t exactly received with universal praise. Having to carry the weight of The Avengers didn’t really do Iron Man 2 any favors, and I wonder if we’ll end up saying the same for Batman v Superman.

 

What I mean to say is that unnecessary sequel-bait can seriously hinder a movie. The last thing I want is for people to walk out of Batman v Superman saying:

 

“That was pretty good, except for the parts with Wonder Woman in it.”

 


excited2

Why I’m Excited

Zack Snyder Will Probably Make Her Kick Ass


 

I’m not a big fan of Zack Snyder. I don’t think he’s a particularly great director. However, I do believe he can make Wonder Woman look like a total badass.

 

Sucker Punch aside, I think Snyder has a decent track record with female characters. Faora in Man of Steel was awesome. Lena Headey was badass in the 300 movies. Even the girl from Dawn of the Dead ended up slaying a ton of zombies.

 

Snyder seems very fond of the Action Girl trope, which Wonder Woman can actually fit into perfectly. If he can make Diana half as badass as Faora was, he’ll have done alright in my book.

 


 

Well, those are my thoughts on this matter. I’m not even going to touch the issue of Gal Gadot’s casting, which has ended up being somewhat controversial among the nerd community. When it comes to something like that, you never really know until you see it for yourself.

 

Anyway, thanks for reading. Do you agree with me? Disagree? What are your thoughts on this subject? Comment below and let us all know.

 

Take care, everyone.
 

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Invictor
Invictor - 5/16/2015, 12:08 PM
@CombatWombat

Saw that you posted this right after I got back on the site; I'm about to start reading now.
Invictor
Invictor - 5/16/2015, 12:15 PM
I was typing up my treatment for a movie like this a while back; Wonder Woman was involved because her mother and the other Amazons believed she should step into man's world to battle Superman, who, at the time, was framed by Lex Luthor of causing acts of wars against other countries. If it's anything like my idea, I approve of it.
Invictor
Invictor - 5/16/2015, 12:20 PM
Good editorial, though; I can relate with how you feel. Hopefully, this doesn't end up like Iron Man 2. I think she and others such as Aquaman will fit well into the plot, especially since Superman has been the one to be blamed for the destruction of Metropolis.
CombatWombat
CombatWombat - 5/16/2015, 12:21 PM
Well hey, like I said I guess we kind of have to just wait and see how it all turns out!

I also forgot to mention the WW tv show up there in the article, I know that has helped out with the characters' exposure. But still, I mean ... I think there's a big difference between television appearances and cinematic appearances.
blackandyellow
blackandyellow - 5/16/2015, 2:03 PM
Thumbed but not read. Good job.
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/16/2015, 2:52 PM
"Thumbed but not read. Good job."

Lmao.

@CombatWombat Good stuff!

Personally, I'm not really put off by how WW's debut will be in a totally different movie, because this whole cinematic universe trend is making that kind of thing more and more common. Black Panther and Spidey's MCU debut will be in a Captain America movie, for instance. And Captain Marvel's debut was this close to being in Age of Ultron. Heck, you can even argue that Bat-fleck's debut is actually in a Superman movie...though it's clearly not strictly a Man of Steel sequel anymore, but you get my point!
DrKinsolving
DrKinsolving - 5/16/2015, 3:17 PM
Nice article.

I'll admit it, I haven't purposely read many, if any Wonder Woman comics.

So, I really don't know what they will do with her in Batman v Superman.

I can definitely relate to what your saying here though, for me, Wonder Woman seems like an odd fit, I really don't know what to expect, but I thought the Batman v Superman trailer was cool.
FrozenDiamondz
FrozenDiamondz - 5/16/2015, 3:28 PM
"Thoughts On WONDER WOMAN In ‘Batman v Superman’"

Idk bruh. I'll let u know when I watch the movie
iDontWikeIt
iDontWikeIt - 5/16/2015, 3:36 PM
Good job, wombat. I think pretty much the same.
NeatoBurrito
NeatoBurrito - 5/16/2015, 3:39 PM
but isnt she going to play a nurse or a military position before showing up as wonder woman? i really dont see why appearing like black widow is a bad thing
osideous
osideous - 5/16/2015, 3:47 PM
i just feel like this is going to miss the mark on so many levels.
speedyg33
speedyg33 - 5/16/2015, 3:49 PM
I pretty much share the same concerns you do. I'm hopeful though. When I watch Game of Thrones I can't stop thinking how and interesting film about a female warrior could be amazing.
kong
kong - 5/16/2015, 3:53 PM
Is Wonder Woman’s only purpose in this movie to set up her appearance in Justice League?

Well considering her solo movie comes out before Justice League.....no

Is anyone else kind of put-off by the fact that Wonder Woman’s cinematic debut is in a movie titled Batman v Superman?

....No because it's not her cinematic debut. Her cinematic debut was in a movie called The Lego Movie.

But all jokes aside, why is that such a big deal? They're introducing her to audiences so that her solo movie will do even better numbers than it would've without the boost. Imagine if she's a hit with the audience, then you'd be in one of these editorials saying "DC was SOOOO smart to put Wonder Woman in this movie."

Who cares where she appears first, she's still getting a solo film only a year later. If she wasn't getting her own movie it'd be a problem.

And I hate how it's suddenly sexist to introduce her in a movie starring two men. WHOA!!!!! Equal rights man!!!!

For all we know she gets a cameo.

Calm your false-feminist tits.
StreakOfBlue
StreakOfBlue - 5/16/2015, 3:57 PM
Excellent formatting of the article!
davidwiz
davidwiz - 5/16/2015, 3:59 PM
sucker punch is my favorite movie of all time, maybe with heavenly sword and chocolate all with unbelievably wonderful heroines. zack snyder is incredible, probably my favorite director of all time if he really likes the girls lol. i hope wonder woman gets a big presence in svb or im not gonna watch it in theatres. another bomb for me lol
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 5/16/2015, 4:06 PM
"And I hate how it's suddenly sexist to introduce her in a movie starring two men. WHOA!!!!! Equal rights man!!!!"

@Kong WTF? Literally nobody is saying this.
superherodevourer
superherodevourer - 5/16/2015, 4:11 PM
Zack might need to CGI some flesh on gal to make her a believable Diana.
speedyg33
speedyg33 - 5/16/2015, 4:34 PM
@Kong Holy Smoke dude. Not sure what article you read. He never mentioned anything concerning Wonder women's Sex. Not even the basics like Top female hero or that it has a female director. It was strictly an article debating how a hero was introduced. It could have been about Black Panther in Civil War. You brought some of your own issues into the discussion not the authors.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 5/16/2015, 5:09 PM
Diana is my favorite superhero, so this is a topic I feel quite passionate about. It's not inherently sexist to introduce her in Batman v Superman, but it kinda is. She is supposedly the third biggest DC character and is supposed to have a significant role in this. So why no beef up her role and call it "DC's Trinity"? It's because Diana doesn't get a whole lot of respect, Warner Bros is counting on this title to sell tickets. They are also counting on this "breakout" depiction of Wonder Woman to sell people for her solo movie the next year.

DC (and Warner Bros) have a bad habit of shitting on Diana, which is understandable because every depiction of Wonder Woman will piss off a group of people. Go with the New 52, piss off classic fans of the clay origin. Go with the clay origin, piss off new age Wonder Woman fans who jumped on because of Azzarello. Make her a feminist caricature? piss off the general comic book fans. No feminist themes? piss off the fans of her cultural status. Too violent? piss off the fans of the compassionate Diana. Not violent enough? She becomes too much of the 'girl' superhero. You seriously can't win.

They should take a similar approach that George Miller did with Furiosa. She's a badass heroine, they don't have to ignore her gender, they don't underplay her strengths, she isn't a damsel or a love interest, but she also is able to get hurt and can't fix everything on her own. My biggest fear is Warner Bros will try to go too far and end up making Diana into a Mary Sue. As long as the exemplify her status as the hero of compassion, but at the same time don't make her a pacifist, they will have baseline Diana right in my book. Even if she does have Mary Sue or Damsel qualities, they can be remedied in her solo film, what's most important is to introduce who Diana is and the ideologies she stands behind. Audiences understand that Batman is fear and vengeance, Superman is hope and justice, they need to understand and appreciate that Wonder Woman is love and compassion.
McGee
McGee - 5/16/2015, 5:29 PM
Technically Superman has had seven movies (Superman and the Mole Men) and Batman has had 9...no, 10! If you include the Adam West one and Mask of the Phantasm.

If we're talking about how many movies these characters have "appeared in" then we'd have to include Lego Movie blah blah blah...

The point I'm trying to make is this...I loved this editorial. Thumbs up!
CombatWombat
CombatWombat - 5/16/2015, 5:48 PM
Wow well thanks everybody, I really appreciate it when you guys take the time to put together thoughtful comments like this. Makes me glad I wrote this article!

Honestly the only Wonder Woman stories I've read are the George Perez origin (Gods and Mortals, I think it's called) and Azz's whole run, both of which I thought were great in different ways. If anyone's looking for a place to start with the character (@DrKingsolving this one's for you) I'd give either of those a shot.

@SauronsBANE
You raise a good point with the Black Panther/Spidey thing. I guess the main reasoning behind my opinion is due to Wonder Woman being such a huge cultural icon. She really is, a lot more than I think some comic fans even believe.

@gamecreatorjj
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I'm not a particularly big fan of the mega-violent Lady Stabs-a-lot that Geoff Johns (or for certain, Frank Miller) write her as, although I do get that she's supposed to be a warrior. I have yet to see the new Mad Max, but maybe I'll end up catch a showing of it tomorrow!

@Kong
Well I mean ... I can't say I have a pair of false-feminist tits to calm. But anyway, you may very well end up being right. Maybe it will pay off for Warner Bros. Only time will tell, really.
McGee
McGee - 5/16/2015, 5:54 PM
I want the First Born to be the villain of her solo movie.
McGee
McGee - 5/16/2015, 5:56 PM
Those are also the only Wonder Woman story arcs I've read. I loved Brian Azzarello's run.
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 5/16/2015, 6:15 PM
@McGee Hell yeah, First Born would be a great intro villain. Then do Cheetah for the sequel and Ares for the third.
kong
kong - 5/16/2015, 10:02 PM
@SauronsBANE, @speedyg33

Who ever said that was directed towards @CombatWombat or this article.......?
DrKinsolving
DrKinsolving - 5/17/2015, 8:36 AM
@CombatWombat

Cool, thanks man
Minty
Minty - 5/17/2015, 9:12 AM
@CombatWombat - This was a really great read, and you addressed your concerns nicely (without BvS/DC bashing). I have to say I agree with most of this. Thumbed!
CombatWombat
CombatWombat - 5/17/2015, 2:00 PM
I think Ares would be great as a WW movie villain. Cheetah could be kind of tricky but it could totally work if they did it right.

Thanks @Minty!

@Superherofan96
I also have no problems with the way Gadot looks. To me she looks like she could believably pull off he whole "warrior princess" thing. And I don't care what anyone says, I think she's very attractive

ThunderKat
ThunderKat - 5/18/2015, 8:57 PM
To make your point further, why hasn't someone written a real treatment and screenplay to get her movie off the ground?

Is this movie good for any of the characters that cameo? Thus far, it seems they are putting everything on this Big Mac and there's no secret sauce. MoS tried to do too much. This is sure to follow.
DerekLake
DerekLake - 5/19/2015, 1:54 PM
The Wonder Woman film comes out BEFORE Justice League. That said, I think she has a sizeable role in BvS, or she wouldn't have made it on the credits. What that role is, we don't know yet, but Themyscira makes an appearance and Superman goes there. I'm trusting WB wants to do Wonder Woman right, but also soon, which is why her film is up after Suicide Squad.
Greengo
Greengo - 5/19/2015, 3:11 PM
@CombatWombat

Whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA!

Are you implying that War Machine was "shoehorned" into Iron Man 2?

If so, I disagree.

The character set up happened in Iron Man.
CombatWombat
CombatWombat - 5/19/2015, 4:21 PM
@Greengo
Nah, I didn't think War Machine was shoehorned in. That was referring to Black Widow, Coulson, and Nick Fury.
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