Column: Who's the best Wonder Woman?
Of all cartoon based super heroes, Wonder Woman is the most captivating figure.
Whether you’re ready to spend $19,000 on a 1942 Sensation Comics graphic novel “Featuring the sensational new adventure strip character Wonder Woman,” or schedule classes to catch Lynda Carter on MeTV as the 70s TV superhero, or can’t wait for June 5 when Gal Gadot’s new movie Wonder Woman 1984 is released, you have to appreciate this female champion now on the scene 78 years.
We should all be thankful that professional psychologist William Moulton Marston created a fictional female warrior and made her an immortal.
With the intent to create a character kids could look up to and admire, Wonder Woman is a mythic symbol of strength and intelligence with unusual super powers and is capable of handling any challenge with compassion. She fights for peace.
Both the 45 year old television series and DC Comics’ (Detective Comics) series of films where she started to appear in 2016 have influenced her ever evolving persona in the comic book world.
Her magical twirl from her alias to a costumed crusader followed her development in comic world. Her special powers, costumes and accessories have changed as well.
Her latest incarnation as a god of war has followed her into the comic world too.
A.K.A Princess Diana of Themyscira, Diana Prince and The Amazon Princess, her longevity in the comic world rivals Batman and Superman.
In her most recent big screen appearance, she described her origin as formed from clay by her mother Hippolyta in a female Amazonian paradise which she leaves to save a previously unknown world of violent men from their violence against one another.
In the comics she has changed radically. Her backstory has been re-written many times, and she never stops evolving.
On television, she jumped from World War II to contemporary times and on the big screen Wonder Woman jumps from WWII to 1984.
Both screen stars were singers and beauty queens. The small screen actress Lynda Carter represented Arizona as Miss World 1972 and Gal Godot was Miss Israel 2004.
Carter was known for doing her own stunts like jumping on to a rope ladder hanging from a moving helicopter as her stunt double did not have her figure.
Gadot is a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces and received exhaustive martial arts training preparation for her role. As DC Comics describes the character “with the strength of Hercules, the wisdom of Athena, the speed of Mercury and the beauty of Aphrodite, she’s Wonder Woman.”
As the comic icon has captured the hearts of young readers for more than 3/4 of a century, the television star’s look captured my teenage imagination.
Details of the new film have not yet been released, but as part of Wonder Woman’s recent comic evolution, in 2016 Greg Rucka DC Comics writer confirmed suspicions that this Amazonian superhero was bisexual.
My only visit to a theater in 2017 was to see the latest Wonder Woman and though the story was not so impressive, the character stood out as anticipated.
You may choose one Wonder Woman or choose them all as her exploits are available in print and online. For a fascinating look into Wonder Woman’s origin, check out https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/origin-story-wonder-woman-180952710/
