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Jun 30, 2010 DC Universe By Hong Le

Wonder Woman’s newest incarnation is almost unrecognizable. She’s more dressed up, more hip, more modern. That’s what artist DC Comics Co-Publisher Jim Lee who redesigned the costume, wanted to accomplish. This new costume comes just in time for Babylon 5 creator and writer J. Michael Straczynski and artists Don Kramer and Michael Babinski to launch Wonder Woman into an exciting new era of adventure.

So what’s her new wardrobe look like? She no longer wears hot pants/a bikini and rather is dressed in black tights, which is supposed to make Wonder Woman more of a warrior because many female fans have asked “How does she fight in that thing without all her parts falling out?” She has more accessories and the W symbol, which used to exist all over her costume, is now only highlighted in one area. Via the magic of a time travel plot they are also messing with Wonder Woman’s origin. On DC Universe blog, Straczynski describes the inspirations and reasons for the new look and new storyline:

“We have to remember here that when Wonder Woman was introduced in 1941, nearly 70 years ago, her outfit was designed with a 1940s sensibility… What woman only wears one outfit for 70 years? What woman doesn’t accessorize? And more to the point, as many women have lamented over the years…how does she fight in that thing? So we came at this from a 21st century perspective. Visually, I wanted her to look strong and tough but still quite beautiful. Let’s give her clothes that she can fight in, that add to her presence and her strength and her power.

Rather than have the W symbol all over the place on her wardrobe, I wanted to highlight it in one area and make that our statement, letting everything else feel more youthful and street-wise. The exception would be the bracelets, which would be solid on the outer side, with a stylized, almost handwritten W symbol there so that when she crosses her arms you get the full effect. And if she hits you with it, it leaves a W mark. She signs her work.

None of this would work, however, without a strong character behind it. I wanted to free her up from the weight of a lot of her supporting universe so that we could see who she was. Guys tend to see women in terms of what role they play-mother, girlfriend, wife-instead of who they are on their own terms. But I didn’t simply want to eradicate all of it and destroy the work of those who came before me.

So the solution was to tweak time: at some point about 20 years ago or so, the time stream was changed. Paradise Island was destroyed, and Diana as an infant was smuggled out before her mother was killed along with most of the others. She was raised by guardians sent with her, and some surviving Amazons, so she has a foot in two worlds, the urban world and the world of her people, which still exists in the shadows, underground. So we keep what makes her an Amazon but mix it up with a more modern perspective. Those who can see those two worlds know that something has changed, and they try to get Diana to see that, but she only knows what she’s seen and experienced.

To solve the problem before them she must a) find out who attacked Paradise Island and why, b) stop those who are trying to kill the remaining Amazons now, c) rescue any more surviving Amazons, and d) find some way to straighten out the timeline and reconcile what was to what is. So we continue to get glimpses of Wonder Woman as she was juxtaposed against Diana as she is.

The result-storywise and visually-is a character who is fiery, dynamic, a bit more vulnerable (she’s still working her way up to her full set of powers), tough, determined and smart and, due to her background, tragic. She keeps her roots in the Amazonian universe while growing up in a more modern setting. The result will, we hope, be a redesign that is as current with the zeitgeist of the 21st century as the original was with 1941.”

What would Eve Myles, who stated in an interview with our own Mark Redfern that she would love to play Wonder Woman, think of this new costume? Now she really can’t do an entire season of Torchwood in hot pants. Fan reaction has been decidely negative across the Internet thus far.

(Via: DC Universe blog)