Cultural impact of Wonder Woman

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Wonder Woman is a character initially created for comic books, the medium in which she is still most prominently found to this day. As befitting an icon of her status, she has made appearances in other forms of media and has been referenced and meta-referenced beyond the scope of traditional superhero entertainment.

[edit] Appearances in other media

[edit] Animation

[edit] The Brady Kids (1972)

Wonder Woman's first animated appearance was as a guest in The Brady Kids cartoon episode entitled "It's All Greek to Me." (Wonder Girl had already appeared in a series of Teen Titans cartoon shorts which was part of the Batman/Superman Hour cartoon show in 1967.)

[edit] Super Friends (1973-1986)

Wonder Woman appeared in every incarnation of the Super Friends Saturday morning animated series. She was originally voiced by Shannon Farnon and later by Connie Caulfield in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, followed by B.J. Ward in The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians.

[edit] Superman (1988)

Wonder Woman guest-starred in the Superman episode, "Superman and Wonder Woman versus the Sorceress of Time" wherein she and Superman battle a witch named Cyrene (who was curiously similar to the comic book villain Circe). B.J. Ward reprised her role of Wonder Woman for the episode.

Her appearance is notable for being the first and, until her Diniverse incarnation, only Post-Crisis animated version of Wonder Woman. Besides possessing the power of flight and no longer having either an invisible plane or high-heel boots, she also had wavy hair more in line with George Perez’s Post-Crisis interpretation of her.

[edit] Wonder Woman and the Star Riders (1993)

In 1992, Mattel planned a line of toys for girls with Wonder Woman leading a new cast of female characters. An announcement for an accompanying animated series was made during the 1993 Toy Fair, however a pilot was never produced beyond character designs and storyboards.^[1] A few test samples for the toy line were developed, as well as a short comic book story which would have been packaged with the figures. A mini comic was distributed as a breakfast cereal premium.^[2] Artwork has since been published in Les Daniels' 2000 book, Wonder Woman: The Complete History.

[edit] Justice League (2001-2004) and Justice League Unlimited (2004-2006)

Wonder Woman spars with her arch-foe the Cheetah in this screen capture from the episode "Kid Stuff" of the Warner Bros. Animation TV series Justice League Unlimited, 2004.

Justice League was the first chance to add Wonder Woman (voiced by Susan Eisenberg) to the DCAU, as the rights having been previously tied up in possible movies and television shows.

To introduce her into a universe already populated by long-experienced heroes like Batman and Superman, Bruce Timm and his team took a cue from George Pérez’s newcomer-to-Man's-World Post-Crisis interpretation. This Diana started off completely innocent and ignorant of Man's World. Also like the Pérez version, she neither keeps a secret identity nor has an invisible plane (although in the 2nd season of Justice League Unlimited we see her unveil the plane). However, perhaps as a nod to her Pre-Crisis appearance, she has straight hair and high-heeled boots suggestive of her old Super Friends incarnation. Her lasso also did not compel truthfulness (but it later acquired that ability in a later Justice League Unlimited episode), with the explanation that Hippolyta had freed this power for Diana's use.

Her initial personality consisted of a strict adherence to Amazonian dogma (prompting some of her teammates to react to her attitude by calling her "Princess" somewhat disdainfully). Noticeable though is the effect of Man's World on Diana. Her first appearances are marked by her reflexively acting off of Amazonian ideology (in "Fury", she questions how necessary men really are), but as time passes, she becomes more interested in men (in particular, Batman, with whom she has a flirtatious relationship, which was something of a controversy among fans) and also experiences the emotional excesses of Man's world, as compared to the Amazons (who are portrayed as somewhat stoic if not emotionally stunted). Batman's affections for Wonder Woman, however, are somewhat confirmed in the Justice League Unlimited episode This Little Piggy, where he admits his feelings to Zatanna when requesting her help in changing Diana back (she was turned into a pig by Circe). Wonder Woman, in her eight-year old form, also flirts liberally with the young Batman.

She finds joy but also discovers a temper that frequently needs to be checked by her teammates ("Hereafter", "Hawk and Dove", "Eclipsed", etc.). Later episodes dealt directly with her temper and Diana’s eventual mastery of it. She since adopted the role of ambassador of the Amazons at her mother’s request ("To Another Shore"), bringing another Post-Crisis trait to the DCAU.

Hippolyta activates the costume's full power in The Balance

While Wonder Woman’s origin in the DCAU is not detailed, in the episode "The Balance", it is revealed that she indeed was a clay statue sculpted by Hippolyta and somehow brought to life. In the same episode, Lord Hades says that he helped Hippolyta sculpt the clay statue that would eventually become Diana, making him feel almost like a father to her, but was banished before she was brought to life. That claim, however, was never substantiated. It was also revealed that the Wonder Woman armor was originally made by the god Hephaestus for her mother, Queen Hippolyta, not Diana. Diana stole the armor to use once Hippolyta forbade her to enter the outside world. Later in the series it is revealed also that Diana did not know that the armor had additional abilities, which could be activated by pressing the star on the tiara.

Steve Trevor made an appearance when the League time travels back to the Second World War in order to stop Vandal Savage. In this two-parter, Diana falls in love with Steve who is a member of the OSS. They share flirtation, but are separated when Diana returns to the present day. She visits her now elderly friend at a retirement community, this scene closing off the episode.

Her eventual fate is unknown, but Kobra mentions that she is still alive during the time of Batman Beyond. However, it has not been confirmed whether the Wonder Woman mentioned is the same Princess Diana.

Her powers are almost the same as her comics counterpart, including flight and super strength, lending Wonder Woman the ability to hold out against Superman in a fight, while both were hallucinating. She also has a weakness to pierce wounds as shown by Devil Ray's poisonous dart harming her. She is able to defeat Vixen, Hawk Girl, Huntress and Black Canary in a brawl.

Wonder Woman was originally supposed to appear in the Batman Beyond episode “The Call”, which featured a future Justice League. However, rights issues precluded the possibility and her cameo was instead taken by Big Barda.

[edit] Comic Strips

From 1944–45, there was a short-lived daily comic strip, written by Wonder Woman creator Charles Moulton and drawn by H. G. Peter.

[edit] Film

In 2005, Warner Bros. announced that a Wonder Woman film written and directed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator, Joss Whedon was under development [2] and would place Diana in a contemporary setting. However, Joss Whedon was dropped from the project in February of 2007. One possible direction for the film places Wonder Woman in the middle of World War II. [3]

[edit] Television

[edit] Unaired pilot (1967)

With the success of the 1960’s Batman television show came a flurry of copycat series. Greenway Productions, the company behind the Batman show, produced a four-and-a-half-minute Wonder Woman test reel starring Ellie Wood Walker as Diana Prince, Linda Harrison as Diana's Wonder Woman alter ego and Maudie Prickett as her mother. As with Batman, the pilot took a comic slant on the character. It also dramatically re-envisioned Wonder Woman transforming her from an Amazonian princess to a city girl who occasionally uses her fantasy alter ego to escape reality.

[edit] Wonder Woman Pilot Movie (1974)

Cathy Lee Crosby in the first Wonder Woman film.

The first serious attempt at adapting Wonder Woman to live-action TV starred Cathy Lee Crosby as a blonde Amazon with superhuman agility (ala, Captain America) and gadgets, similar to those used by movie super-spy James Bond and secret agent Emma Peel of TV's The Avengers, both at the heights of their popularity, when this pilot aired.

Though this version owed much to a brief period in the Wonder Woman comic book, in which the Amazon heroine had lost her powers, it did not stray completely from its comic inspiration. This Princess Diana could communicate with animals, run, leap and swim faster than normal humans and was agile enough to deflect bullets from her Amazon bracelets, which, by some unrevealed means, she could trigger to explode. In lieu of the magical, golden lasso in the comics, she kept a golden cable concealed in her belt, which was used as a grappling rope and to ensnare fleeing enemies. While the Wonder Woman comic being published at the time of the pilot's screening featured the heroine with her traditional powers intact, no explanation for the differences between the film and the comic were ever given.

Though not successful at the first attempt, network interest was such that within a year another pilot was in production, leading to the familiar Lynda Carter version of the character.

In a nod to its significance, this version of Wonder Woman made a cameo appearance in Infinite Crisis alongside the Debra Winger Wonder Girl as inhabitants of Earth-462.

[edit] Wonder Woman (1975-1979)

Lynda Carter in costume as Wonder Woman.

Scripting duties were given to Stanley Ralph Ross, who had worked on the original pilot reel in 1967, but was instructed to be more faithful to the comic book. "The New, Original Wonder Woman" made in 1975, starred Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor. This version was so successful that a TV series soon followed featuring 'campy' overtones. The 1975 pilot film was re-edited with subtle "high comedy" and the series retitled "Wonder Woman". For a generation of viewers, this is perhaps the best known version of the character.

[edit] Announced pilot (1990)

In 1990, Comics Scene magazine announced a new syndicated Wonder Woman series to be produced and distributed by Warner Brothers. In a letter column in Wonder Woman #41 [vol. 2] then-editor Karen Berger responded to a reader inquiry by saying that a pilot had been approved. However, no pilot was released, nor is known to have been produced.

[edit] Smallville

The producers of the television show Smallville had wanted Diana to make a cameo appearance (in the manner of Green Arrow, Flash, Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Martian Manhunter) and become a part of the proto-Justice League that appears in that show. However, due to Wonder Woman being developed as a feature film by Joss Whedon, the idea had to be abandoned. ^[3]

[edit] Video games

Wonder Woman also appeared in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo fighting game, as well as in several Game Boy Advance games based on the Justice League animated series.

Wonder Woman is a featured playable character in the upcoming video game Justice League Heroes with a number of unlockable costumes.

[edit] Literature

See Wonder Woman literature

[edit] References in popular culture

[edit] In television

• In 1976 Lynda Carter appeared on the televised Olivia Newton-John Special as Wonder Woman, with one scene in which she deflects a bullet meant for Olivia.
• In 1980 Lynda Carter guest-starred on the Jim Henson television series The Muppet Show. In one of the skits Miss Piggy becomes "Wonder Pig" in order to save her family from a giant-sized chicken.
• In 1993, actress Debra Winger appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote her new movie Wilder Napalm. Puckishly, David obligated her talk about her first major role as Wonder Girl, showing clips to push the point. Debra was expecting this however and, to Letterman’s utter surprise, burst out of her "civilian" clothes in the middle of the interview and ran out in her Wonder Girl outfit that she hadn't worn in 17 years.
• In 1994 the MTV comedy series The State depicted a Super Friends spoof in which various superheroes including Wonder Woman, played by Kerri Kenney-Silver, mock Aquaman for having lame powers.
• In an episode of the show Friends, Joey or Chandler is watching the Wonder Woman episode Fausta: The Nazi Wonder Woman.
• In 1998 the series The Naked Truth aired the episode Hooked on Heroine where actress Téa Leoni agrees to model an original Wonder Woman prototype costume for a friend but has her clothes stolen, forcing her to walk home in costume.
• The TV series The Simpsons also spoofed Wonder Woman in the 1998 episode Mayored to the Mob. In the beginning of the episode, actor Mark Hamill appears at a sci-fi convention and uses a plastic lightsaber to knock over cardboard Stormtroopers on his way to the microphone. The last cardboard stand-up knocked over is Wonder Woman. Similarly in 2002, comic veteran Stan Lee appears in the episode I Am Furious Yellow in which he asks Comic Book Guy "Aren't you the guy stalking Lynda Carter?" To this Comic Book guy takes out a Wonder Woman doll and strokes it while saying, "The term is courting. The restraining order says 'no-no', but her eyes say 'yes-yes'."
• In 1999 the series Family Guy aired the episode A Hero Sits Next Door. In the episode Peter Griffin plays strip poker with the Superfriends. Wonder Woman is present. That same year the episode Da Boom depicted Twinkie the Kid pretending to be Wonder Woman as a child. Later in 2005 the DVD Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story was released which showed Superman catching Wonder Woman using the restroom on the invisible plane. In the episode Peter's Two Dads Peter Griffin turns himself into Wonder Woman just before his search for his biological father.
• Also in 1999, Lynda Carter poked fun at herself in the Work With Me episode The Best Policy in which she played herself, but in one fantasy scene tied up series star Kevin Pollak with a rope to force him to "tell the truth."

Actress Peri Gilpin dressed as Wonder Woman on Frasier

• In 2001, the Frasier television series aired the episode A Room Full of Heroes in which everyone attending a party had to come dressed as their hero. Roz Doyle, played by Peri Gilpin, came as Wonder Woman.
• In 2002, the series Charmed aired the episode Witches In Tights in which the three main stars were transformed into superheroes, with much of their costumes and powers paying homage to the Amazon Princess. At one point actor Julian McMahon tells fellow actor Alyssa Milano that she is Wonder Woman. The series makes several references to the comic book heroine in several seasons such as the season one episode Out of Sight in which an oily reporter tells actress Shannen Doherty's character that he can write a story that makes her look like Wonder Woman or the devil incarnate.
• Also in 2002, the TV series That '70s Show aired the episode Ramble On in which the cast spoofed the Super Friends animated series with actress Laura Prepon appearing as the Amazing Amazon.
• The Wonder Woman persona was referenced again one year later in the 2003 The O.C. episode The Best Chrismukkah Ever where Summer Roberts (played by Rachel Bilson) dresses up as Wonder Woman in an attempt to win over comic book obsessed Seth Cohen (played by Adam Brody).
• In 2004 Lynda Carter received an award for the Superest Superhero at the Second Annual TV Land Awards. After her acceptance speech, a voice over the loud-speaker states that an invisible jet was double parked and needed to be moved. Lynda then went backstage, spun in a circle, and transformed into Wonder Woman (with another actress taking her place). “Wonder Woman” then ran through the audience in order to move her invisible plane.
• In 2005 Lynda Carter also appeared in an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit as one-half of a mother-daughter con team. In one scene Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni) tells Lynda's character that she will eventually make a mistake. However being typically tongue-in-cheek he adds, "You're not Superwoman you know." It was cut from the scene but everyone laughed and it's present on the DVD outtakes. In fact Lynda's smug smile as she's leaving was from that outtakes and is seen on the episode.
• 2005 also marked World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Superstar Trish Stratus dressing up as Wonder Woman during the WWE RAW Halloween Party episode Tricks and Treats. Also, Smackdown diva Dawn Marie wore a more canon costume on a Trick or Treat contest with Torrie Wilson
• In 2006 the Sci Fi Channel debuted the television series Who Wants to be a Superhero? in which the character Fat Momma had an upside-down Wonder Woman logo depicted on her chest and another contestant creature is a parody of Diana.
• In an episode of Scrubs, Dr. Elliot Reid (Sarah Chalke) imagines Dr. Molly Clock (Heather Graham) as Wonder Woman. She lassoes Janitor and gets him to reveal an embarrassing truth.

[edit] In Cinema

• In the 1978 video art piece "Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman", artist Dara Birnbaum uses appropriated images of Wonder Woman to critique codes of representation in television.
• In the 1985 movie "Desperately Seeking Susan", actress Rosanna Arquette engages in a personal discussion in a dressing room. In the background, director Susan Seidelman poses a large cut out of Wonder Woman in an erotic self-masturbating position against the mirror.
• In the 1986 movie Back to School, actress Sally Kellerman informed fellow actor Paxton Whitehead that Thornton Mellon wanted what all men want. His response was, "He wants you to dress up as Wonder Woman? Tie him up with a Golden Lariat and force him to tell the truth?"
• In the 1987 film They Still Call Me Bruce, the Wonder Woman TV series theme song is played for comedic effect in one scene.
• In the 1994 film Muriel's Wedding, actors dressed as Wonder Woman and Robin are shown handing actors Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths an over-sized check for winning a talent contest. While the Wonder Woman character was very clearly shown during the big screen release of the film, she unfortunately is cut off for the DVD release of the film.
• In 1995 the film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar the Wonder Woman TV series theme song is spotlighted for a scene in which the main actors re-dress a room.
• In the 1997 movie Spiceworld, Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) appeared for a short time dressed as Wonder Woman.
• In the 1999 film Mystery Men, while the heroes are holding auditions for their team, two women wearing Wonder Woman-like costumes show up and begin fighting because they are wearing the same outfit.
• In 2000, female illusionist Jazzmun appeared in the Babyface produced film Punks, performing in a Wonder Woman costume for one scene.
• In 2004, the Wonder Woman character appeared in the fan film trailer to the never produced movie Grayson. She is played by actress Kate Clarke.
• In the 2005 Disney movie Sky High , Lynda Carter played the role of Principal Powers, the principal of a high school for super-powered teenagers. That movie contained two tongue-in-cheek references to her past as Wonder Woman. When she first appears in the movie, she "twirls" as she used to do in the TV series when transforming from Diana Prince to Wonder Woman. Also, at the end of the movie, she tells the evil teens that she can't do anything else to help reform them, "after all, I'm not Wonder Woman!" In an interview for the July 2005 issue of Wizard Magazine, Lynda Carter stated that the character was also originally to wear Wonder Woman-style bracelets, but that aspect was dropped at the request of Warner Bros. which legally own the character.

[edit] In Music

• Nelly Furtado sings "I'm the Wonder Woman, let me go get my ropes" in the song "Give It To Me", a collaboration with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake.

[edit] Parodies and homages

• Glory is a Image Comics comic by Rob Liefeld, featuring Gloriana Demeter, a half-Amazon, half-Demon warrior. In the normal world, she goes by the alias Gloria West.
• Wonder Woman appeared on the cover of the first issue of Ms. magazine.
• WorldWatch's War Woman
• WildCATS member Zealot a Kherubim and founder and former Majestrix of the Coda on Earth. The Coda lead to the creation of the Amazon myth. She has lived for thousands of years and has had many relationships with both humans and aliens alike. After failing to follow her own rules under the Coda, she left their clan and they have hunted her since. Zealot has a close friendship with Grifter though she is equally devoted to her sister, Savant.
• Promethea is a young girl whose father is killed by a Christian mob in Alexandria in 411 AD. She is taken in hand by the twin gods Thoth and Hermes who tell her that if she goes with them into the Immateria — a plane of existence home to the imagination — she will no longer be just a little girl, but a story living eternally.
• Power Princess (real name Zarda) is a member of the superhero group, the Squadron Supreme. Her character was originally developed as a thinly disguised analog of DC Comics' Wonder Woman. Accordingly, her origin was as a native of Utopia Island (equivalent to the Marvel Universe's Attilan), a peace ambassador and a World War II superhero. Since the debut of Marvel's MAX title Supreme Power, the character was rebooted. Zarda no longer bears the moniker Power Princess or acts like a superhero. She has alluded to similar origins to Hyperion.
• Lady Liberty is a homage NPC analog of Wonder Woman in the Mutants and Masterminds role-playing game's Freedom City campaign setting.
• The cartoon version of The Tick features the Wonder Woman pastiche American Maid, who wears a star-spangled version of the Wonder Woman costume, is the smartest of The City's superheroes, and sports a pair of deadly "Throwing Shoes".
• A Wonder Woman pastiche is featured in Robert Rodi's 1996 novel What They Did to Princess Paragon. The book is about a gay comic book writer who reinvents "Princess Paragon", a Wonder Woman analog, for a re-launch similar to the one Wonder Woman underwent following Crisis on Infinite Earths. As part of the reimagination, Princess Paragon is reconceived as a lesbian, revitalizing the character but infuriating one especially devoted fan.
• Red Cape Cinema has produced two tribute films to Wonder Woman. http://www.redcapecinema.com/
• At the 2002 MTV Movie Awards, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jack Black opened the show, performing a short skit spoofing Spider-Man. Gellar played Mary-Jane Watson in the short, but in the end, she revealed that she was really Wonder Woman.

[edit] Scholarship

• Sociologist Susan Hopkins in her text Girl Heroes, juxtaposes the image of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman with Girl Power action heroines of the late 1990s.
• Academic Angelo Iannella (Course Coordinator and Lecturer) began a research entitled "From Wonder Woman to Xena: Reframing Greek Mythology", which reveals the development and significance of the super-heroine in speculative fiction. The article was first published in The Advertiser in South Australia on December 7, 2001. The research paper attracted interviews on radio as well as interstate conferences at Universities in Australia.

[edit] References

1. ^ DC Comics in the media
2. ^ Archive.org
3. ^ Published in 9/20/06 print edition of TV Guide Ausiello Report, [1]