After sixty-nine years, Wonder Woman is getting a makeover. With issue 600 of her comic book series, she will don a new outfit, more suitable for heroic exploits — and it’s about time. As inconvenient as it may be for the fantasys of adolescent boys, it’s not easy to fight crime in a mini-skirt. The NYT has a retrospective of sorts here, and I’ve posted a picture of the new digs below the jump.
UPDATE: The WSJ has an article on the change here.
Tim says:
She still looks like a wonderful woman to me!
July 4, 2010, 9:00 amPeter Gerdes says:
If you ever read about the private life of wonder woman’s creator he was basically a big S&M/bondage fan (had some weird relationship with his wife and another woman too) which makes a lot of wonder woman’s garb more understandable
July 4, 2010, 9:08 amThrobert McGee says:
Does this mean she’s gonna stop shaving her legs and pits?
July 4, 2010, 9:20 amPeteP says:
Some traditions are better left unchanged.
July 4, 2010, 9:23 amLaura(southernxyl) says:
You can certainly fight crime and anything else in a miniskirt as well as a pair of pants.
You just can’t maintain any modesty while you do it.
July 4, 2010, 9:27 amBT says:
Lynda Carter where are you??
July 4, 2010, 9:30 amRoy says:
This is wrong, Wonder Woman is not bound by mortal limitations, bound by other things yes, but not by what binds mortal women.
July 4, 2010, 9:37 amBT says:
Does Wonder Woman wear a Wonderbra?
July 4, 2010, 9:43 amFollow RT 9B for Bismuth District says:
Not to worry, Obama said you can keep your original Wonder Woman if you’re happy with her, and it won’t increase taxes one dime.
July 4, 2010, 10:07 amLugo says:
She didn’t wear a miniskirt before, she wore a one-piece swimsuit-like thing.
July 4, 2010, 10:16 amJonathan H. Adler says:
Look at the retrospective. Her original outfit had a miniskirt on it. Either way, if she needed to use her bracelets to block bullets, you’d think she’d need more protection than either outfit provided.
JHA
July 4, 2010, 10:30 amSkyler says:
Superman could still take her on no matter what she wears.
July 4, 2010, 11:04 amPeteP says:
“Does Wonder Woman wear a Wonderbra? ”
I wonder ….
July 4, 2010, 11:08 amKen Arromdee says:
You said “it’s about time. As inconvenient as it may be for the fantasys of adolescent boys, it’s not easy to fight crime in a mini-skirt.” That implies that you think the two are connected, not that you just said “It’s about time. By the way I’ll mention the miniskirt for no reason having anything to do with the previous sentence”. She hasn’t had the miniskirt since 1942.
That’s true of just about every superhero except the ones that are already wearing suits of armor.
The new costume is also blatantly politically correct, since the article specifically says that one reason for it was to get rid of the American flag motif. Although it’s hard to beat the 1980′s origin for political correctness.
Anyone remember JMS’s reimagining of Doctor Strange? The one where they wear jackets and clothes instead of costumes and he managed to become a surgeon without doing a residency?
July 4, 2010, 11:10 amCornellian says:
Speaking of Dr. Strange, how is it that third stringers like Jonah Hex can get a movie made, but not the super-cool Dr. Strange?
July 4, 2010, 11:48 amwm13 says:
The idea of comic books featuring characters in practical clothes and devoid of appeal to adolescent boys seems pretty silly, like balls without dancing or church services without worship.
That being said, I believe that comic book readership has significantly declined due to competition from computers. The current audience may well consist primarily of 50-somethings, intellectualizing and aestheticizing the amusements of their youth. The new Wonder Woman might appeal to that rather limited audience.
July 4, 2010, 12:02 pmJon Rowe says:
I bought the issue on Wed. I haven’t read it yet. Though as a long time comic reader, I’d encourage folks not to get caught up in the hype. The “classic” uniforms are usually ditched temporarily, esp. when what replaces them is not as “good.”
July 4, 2010, 12:16 pmDemosthenes says:
“…it’s not easy to fight crime in a mini-skirt.”
This leaves me wondering how exactly you would know that.
July 4, 2010, 12:32 pmElliot says:
Cellulite?
July 4, 2010, 12:32 pmMaryG says:
“As inconvenient as it may be for the fantasys of adolescent boys, it’s not easy to fight crime in a mini-skirt.”
?? Cite the issue where her costume ever got in her way of fighting crimes. (Remember — she’s a fictional character.)
Also, I’m not sure many adolescent boys structure their fantasies around Wonder Woman in these internet days.
Just sayin’.
July 4, 2010, 12:37 pmsonicfrog says:
Already happened. It was a pretty even fight. And remember, because WW’s powers are mystically based, he does have a weakness against that…. See Sup’s vs Capt Marvel.
I have just spent my geek rations for the day. Happy 4th everyone.
July 4, 2010, 1:00 pmLarryA says:
Dead tree versions maybe.
July 4, 2010, 1:28 pmhttp://www.bigheadpress.com/eft?page=1
http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/viewcomic.php?page=1
http://runnersuniverse.com/2009/02/bad-goods-ch-01-cover/
http://dreamless.keenspot.com/d/20090105.html
required says:
It’s the flag motif disappearing that bothers me more than the bare legs disappearing. The dark colors are just depressing, Wonder Woman is not a conflicted hero struggling with dark secrets out of her past or villainous tendencies, she’s a straight-up good guy and should be in bright colors. Even if they keep the pants they are going to have to change the color scheme.
As for the sexuality quotient, Cat Woman is a sexual icon who is/was more likely to contribute to adolescent fantasies and she’s been wearing pants (well a jumpsuit) since the 1950s. Wonder Woman’s sexuality is tied to her wholesomeness and athleticism, it needs brighter colors.
July 4, 2010, 1:31 pmMaryG says:
She looks like a female IDF soldier now.
July 4, 2010, 1:40 pmBT says:
this!
Just trying to learn how to link. We shall see.
July 4, 2010, 1:52 pmTQS says:
Not a mini-skirt, not even hot pants:
http://blog.awsumgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/wonder-woman-color-001.jpg
Just a one-piece of awesomeness.
In my experience it’s not men, but women, who love Wonder Woman, and always the Lynda Carter TV version, not the comic book. Just do an eBay search for Wonder Woman costumes, it’s not a long pants version that sells ;)
Seems a very bad move that alienates the fantasies of her true fans, the woman who “identify” (in that fantastic sense) with her, by making her all that less wonderful, if she now needs to wear decidedly less sexy long pants to fight crime.
July 4, 2010, 2:04 pmr gould-saltman says:
“The idea of comic books featuring characters in practical clothes and devoid of appeal to adolescent boys seems pretty silly, like balls without dancing or church services without worship.”
Long before “political correctness” crossed anyone’s lips, Saki (H H Munro) made a similar point about toys in “The Toys of Peace“:
On Easter Saturday Harvey Bope unpacked a large, promising-looking red cardboard box under the expectant eyes of his nephews. “Your uncle has brought you the newest thing in toys,” Eleanor had said impressively, and youthful anticipation had been anxiously divided between Albanian soldiery and a Somali camel-corps. Eric was hotly in favour of the latter contingency. “There would be Arabs on horseback,” he whispered; “the Albanians have got jolly uniforms, and they fight all day long, and all night, too, when there’s a moon, but the country’s rocky, so they’ve got no cavalry.”
A quantity of crinkly paper shavings was the first thing that met the view when the lid was removed; the most exiting toys always began like that. Harvey pushed back the top layer and drew forth a square, rather featureless building.
“It’s a fort!” exclaimed Bertie.
“It isn’t, it’s the palace of the Mpret of Albania,” said Eric, immensely proud of his knowledge of the exotic title; “it’s got no windows, you see, so that passers-by can’t fire in at the Royal Family.”
“It’s a municipal dust-bin,” said Harvey hurriedly; “you see all the refuse and litter of a town is collected there, instead of lying about and injuring the health of the citizens.”
In an awful silence he disinterred a little lead figure of a man in black clothes.
“That,” he said, “is a distinguished civilian, John Stuart Mill. He was an authority on political economy.”
“Why?” asked Bertie.
“Well, he wanted to be; he thought it was a useful thing to be.”
Bertie gave an expressive grunt, which conveyed his opinion that there was no accounting for tastes.
July 4, 2010, 2:14 pmJon Rowe says:
On a somewhat related note, there’s lots of interesting IP stories relating to comics. I’ve written a little on these (Judge Posner’s opinion on Spawn); if I had more time I’d start a comics & IP blog.
July 4, 2010, 2:33 pmDangerMouse says:
I see. So we’re talking about realism involving a character who flies an invisible jet? Yeah, right.
July 4, 2010, 2:36 pmyankee says:
Did you read the article? Warner wants to make Wonder Woman films and decided (probably correctly) that an American flag outfit wouldn’t sell well overseas.
July 4, 2010, 2:51 pmAlan K. Henderson says:
I blame global cooling.
July 4, 2010, 2:55 pmSk says:
“and it’s about time. As inconvenient as it may be for the fantasys of adolescent boys, it’s not easy to fight crime in a mini-skirt.”
When an art form attempts to appeal to huffy academics rather than its actual audience, its dead.
Sk
July 4, 2010, 3:49 pmFedya says:
Are they really pants? I can’t tell from the photo, but it looks more like a bodysuit to me.
(Which reminds me of Anne White obeying the all-white rule at Wimbledon many years ago….)
July 4, 2010, 5:00 pmrequired says:
Tights is what the article says, leggings is more what it looks like to me. and yes the red part is still a bustier/corset.
July 4, 2010, 6:15 pmmarkm says:
In the new outfit – and that pose! – is she prepared to fight crime, or looking for a sugar daddy?
July 4, 2010, 10:09 pmKevin Kim says:
Wonder Woman. Sixty-nine. Mmmm.
July 4, 2010, 11:47 pmPink Pig says:
Not bad at all. Nevertheless, the old costume was iconic, and who wants to throw away an icon?
July 5, 2010, 12:00 amSean says:
The removal of the skirt is to distract you from taking away her pro-American outfit before. Get ‘em riled about the skirt, and they won’t notice we’re taking away the American flag so that we can market more easily internationally.
C’est la vie.
July 5, 2010, 12:00 amJack Lacton says:
Well at least they won’t need to airbrush out her cellulite now!
July 5, 2010, 12:09 amEllen says:
Actually, it had culottes. And – in complaining about her outfits – you have a real challenge finding something as bad as the outfits Mike Sekowsky put on her during an EARLIER reworking.
July 5, 2010, 12:24 amMichael says:
Well, My guess is that they are going to discover that Wonder Goth Girl (sorry, that’s what she looks like to me) won’t sell well in the States.
Politically correct, anti-American dweebs?
July 5, 2010, 12:38 amVadept says:
I actually like it. It always bothered me that an inhuman Amazon from an untouched island in the middle of *waves vaguely* over there was supposed to be this great patriotic American figure. Captain America, a super-soldier designed by America, for America, to beat up Nazis, was always the iconic “patriot” super-hero to me.
And the lasso looked tacked on before, but here, it settles nicely against the taut pants. But I like the “tough girl with a leather jacket and tight jeans” look, and this exudes that. Given the trend of modern comics to look more “street” and less “bathing suits and leotards,” I think it fits. I just wish those boots had more texture to them.
July 5, 2010, 12:40 amBob Koss says:
They’d been covering up her varicose veins for years. With the increasing use of makeup, the Varicose Vixen Society was going to protest if they didn’t start showing her in all her varicose glory. They decided to pants her to avoid the hassle.
July 5, 2010, 1:11 amsonicfrog says:
And Gentlemen, don’t forget, it is an alternate universe….
July 5, 2010, 1:15 amRobert says:
In regards to the costume itself, it’s not bad though it is passe. That jacket would have worked in the late 80s/early 90s but not today. Then again, George Perez was drawing characters with jerry curls and bell bottoms long after they had gone out of style. Jim Lee is the guy who designed this new look and, though on of the greats, his sense of design can be real hit and miss. I just think nerds and geeks should never be asked to be relevent. It always leads to massive fail.
But like I said, the costume itself is okay. But it’s not Wonder Woman. Wonder Girl, maybe. Her costume sucked when they debuted it. More like Wonder Tart. It would look good there, but not on Wonder Woman.
Right, so where do we begin? First off, where’s the patrotism? Wonder Woman was a creation of pre-WWII American comics. American comic books were patriotic and the characters carried the red white and blue well. This new costume has some nods to that, but in a sort of embarassed “do we really have to?” kind of way. A *very* red top, a too dark blue jacket that will be shaded black in most scenes and a couple of stars on the shoulders which most artists will likely forget to draw in. Okay, so we got your post American super hero for the 21st century. She’s street, she’s hip, she’s completely unrelatable and uninteresting (and this is a character that DC has struggled with for years to make interesting). Hey, it must be an original idea from J. Michael Straczynski! Throw in a retconned origin and we shall now dub her Fail Woman, with the power of giant suck derived from being bitten by a spider irradiated with massive amounts of AIDS and Fail.
On the plus side, comic publishers do this every now and then. Kill Captain America, kill Bruce Wayne, bring them back a year and a half, two years later. Anyone remember a character named Ben Reilly who ran around as Spider-Man? Yeah, no one does. What about electric blue Superman? Oh yeah, *please* Google that one. Azrael Batman…purest fail. Wonder Woman will be back in her Wonder Bra and Wonder Panties soon enough, thank God, with that Wonderful ass hanging out and those long, long Wonder Legs.
Someone above mentioned Warner Bros. wanting to do a Wonder Woman movie? Yeah, for the past 20 some odd years. This look won’t sell, I guarantee it. When push comes to shove, they’ll go with the classic look every time. Like the time Superman was gonna have his bare ass showing on screen. Yes, you read that right. Superman, or rather Nic Cage who was attached at the time, with his bare ass showing. Yeah. It didn’t work out.
Although, after this, there will likely be a costume tweak (they all get tweaked every now and then). I just wonder what it’ll look like. I think they should bring back the old skirt. Just make it shorter.
July 5, 2010, 2:19 amManju says:
Catwoman wears pants. If you can’t beat…
July 5, 2010, 3:52 amHarvey Mosley says:
He did, in 1978, but its probably best forgotten.
July 5, 2010, 4:25 amspostrel says:
Hey, Jessica Walters was hot.
July 5, 2010, 4:58 amSwede says:
Oh look. New Coke.
July 5, 2010, 5:06 amCJColucci says:
I know Wonder Woman isn’t invulnerable like Superman, but she’s still pretty tough, so I’ve often wondered how she gets her bikini wax done. Superman shaves by reflecting heat vision off a curved mirror, but Diana doesn’t have this option. So how does she do it? Hmm — is the Superman-Wonder Woman relationship even closer than we think? Should someone tell Lois?
July 5, 2010, 9:39 amRichH says:
I’ve seen cheerleaders do every gymnastic move possible in miniskirts without impairing their abilities. Figure skaters do so as well, even some of the guys. I fail to see how a miniskirt would hinder an Amazonian warrior princess in the slightest.
This is just one more bow to political correctness. I suppose next the Statue of Liberty will get a makeover, trading in her iconic robes for a gender neutral power suit.
July 5, 2010, 9:53 amRob says:
“it’s not easy to fight crime in a mini-skirt”
Why not? Modesty? Are mini-skirts overly restrictive of movement? Professional tennis players seem to manage OK in mini-skirts w/o much trouble as do professional cheerleaders. In fact, few professional athletes wear pants; indeed I’d think pants are MORE restrictice of movement than mini-skirts, short shorts, or bathing suits.
July 5, 2010, 10:34 amKen Arromdee says:
She came to America after an American pilot crash-landed on her island and she fell in love with him. Her mother made her an America-themed costume for use there. Obviously the idea of someone who immigrates to America, thinks America is a good place, and fights to defend it is considered passe now.
The modern origin (1980′s) discarded the love interest and made it a female pilot who crash-landed. The Amazons were all reincarnations of women who had been unjustly killed by men. Then Hercules came and raped the Amazons and destroyed their land and they moved to the island. Wonder Woman herself was originally supposed to be the spirit of the child of a pregnant woman killed by a man in caveman times (a change of writers negated this part).
Yes. really.
July 5, 2010, 11:49 amPubliusFL says:
Also consider the martial experience of untold generations of Scotsmen.
July 5, 2010, 11:59 amMars vs Hollywood says:
Makes you wonder who the real “cultural imperialists” are, doesn’t it?
July 5, 2010, 2:04 pmLymis says:
I can’t help but wonder what percentage of the international market that knows who the hell Wonder Woman is and would go see a movie about her would both a) object to the iconic American themed outfit and b) would still be okay with a fighting woman in a skin-tight outfit.
And, being pedantic, sure they all know she is “American” by choice if not birth, but we are neither the only country with a red-white-blue flag, nor with those colors and stars and stripes. For that matter, most of the red on her old costume was solid, not striped.
Of course, balance that against the number of Americans who will see a movie ad or preview with this costume and ask, “when does Wonder Woman come in?”
July 5, 2010, 3:29 pmLymis says:
I can’t help but wonder what percentage of the international market that knows who the hell Wonder Woman is and would go see a movie about her would both a) object to the iconic American themed outfit and b) would still be okay with a fighting woman in a skin-tight outfit.
And, being pedantic, sure they all know she is “American” by choice if not birth, but we are neither the only country with a red-white-blue flag, nor with those colors and stars and stripes. For that matter, most of the red on her old costume was solid, not striped.
Of course, balance that against the number of Americans who will see a movie ad or preview with this costume and ask, “when does Wonder Woman come in?”
July 5, 2010, 3:29 pmBaseballhead says:
So you’re saying she didn’t come to the U.S. through legal channels? Papers, please!
July 5, 2010, 4:54 pmDukeDan says:
I seem to recall Xena – Warrior Princess on TV doing just fine with a leather mini skirt.
July 5, 2010, 7:34 pmRobert says:
Her mother molded her from clay. My guess, she just left out the hair follicles and VIOLA! Never has to deal with razor burn or any other kind of irritated skin.
July 6, 2010, 1:45 amCalifornio says:
Even by fantasy standards this is stupid. How about conveying her crime-fighting abilities by reducing her boobs and beefing up her arms? Or does Wonder Woman rely too heavily on the persuasive power of her ….guns. Er, I meant weapons,oops – Umm Bazook….sigh. forget it. (sorry.)
July 6, 2010, 2:47 amKen Arromdee says:
Our laws about immigration assume that we know all the countries that exist. Hidden islands (or alien planets, as in Superman) with people coming from them contradict this assumption. I wouldn’t consider someone from a hidden land to be comparable to an illegal alien, whether their entrance is technically illegal or not, if they would likely have been able to legally immigrate if the land wasn’t hidden. The 1980′s version is an ambassador and not an illegal alien at all.
Also, remember that superheroing is already illegal. Superheroes who immigrate illegally can magically avoid the problems of illegal immigration the same way that superheroes who assault people up magically avoid ever 1) getting arrested for assault and 2) making the occasional mistake and beating up an innocent person.
July 6, 2010, 3:30 amdustbury.com » A Brazilian for the Amazon says:
[...] This has been bothering me all morning: I know Wonder Woman isn’t invulnerable like Superman, but she’s still pretty tough, so I’ve often wondered how she gets her bikini wax done. Superman shaves by reflecting heat vision off a curved mirror, but Diana doesn’t have this option. So how does she do it? Hmm — is the Superman-Wonder Woman relationship even closer than we think? Should someone tell Lois? [...]
July 6, 2010, 9:02 amThorley Winston says:
Maybe they can call it “Wonder Woman: The Rise of Cheetah” and instead of an invisible jet, she can travel by accelerator suit.
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July 6, 2010, 7:43 pmArchie Keyna says:
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July 15, 2010, 2:41 pm