Wonder Woman Comic One of 101 Objects that Made America; Now Where’s Her Damn Movie?

The Smithsonian is coming out with a new book this week that features the 101 objects from “across the Smithsonian’s museums that together offer a marvelous new perspective on the history of the United States.”You can order it here.

Comic books and superheroes have long been part of the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History so it’s not surprising that a comic book would make the short list. What is interesting is that it’s not Action Comics #1 or Detective Comics #27 which featured the debuts of Superman and Batman who went on to become two of the most famous fictional characters in history.

Their choice, instead, was a comic featuring the third member of DC Comics “trinity” of superhero IP - Wonder Woman

The Smithsonian web site describes the comic as

“A new-look superhero was conceived as a fighter of crime, fascism—and sexism”

It’s goes on to explain its choice with:

“Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength and power,” psychologist William Moulton Marston wrote in 1943. He had already modeled a new archetype on his wife and fellow psychologist, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, and Olive Byrne, a homemaker who lived with the Marstons in a relationship that included shared children. Wonder Woman, a magic-lasso-toting dispenser of justice, broke the superhero glass ceiling in All Star Comics in December 1941.

Some argue that the problem with Wonder Woman is that she embodies much more than just some well drawn lines and word ballons. The challenge, is that she stands alone as superhero who also is also an iconic image for 50% of the world’s population. When Ms. Magazine, which became a key narrator and facilitator of second wave feminism, debuted, Wonder Woman was on its cover

When people describe a woman who is extraordinary, they call her a “Wonder Woman”. When women look for an image in pop culture to represent power and abiities - they often choose Wonder Woman.

So why is a character who is so important, so well known and an icon to 50% of the population and 51% of the movie going audience not in a movie right now? Or soon (this a rumor from a site that doesn’t have the best track record at all but, yeah, you’ll see a Barry Allen movie before Wonder Woman.)

So one could argue, like the head of DC Entertainment that there is an such an imperative to “have to get her right” that it freezes creativity and turns her into a “tricky character.” Time recently put forward the theory “Perhaps Wonder Woman is, too much of an icon for adaptation. Maybe the real reason we haven’t seen a live-action Wonder Woman is because she’s … Wonder Woman.

”

The idea that a character could have so much meaning and risk in making a live action film about them is an excuse belied by movies featuring characters much more iconic - go look up how many movies have featured, oh I don’t know, Jesus or any fictional or real male character ever.

Iconism shouldn’t be used as an excuse. It should be used as an imperative. Icons don’t become icons because they are unpopular. The new head of Warner Bros. seems to get saying the studio “needs” to make a Wonder Woman movie. But still there are others who make excuses. The editor of Newsrama recently stated on Twitter

I engaged Phegley about this (not that he wanted to)

You can read the rest of THAT discussion on Twitter.

Excuses, excuses, excuses. Each of which is at odds with facts to the point of being laughable:

Woman can’t make bank at the box office. Bullshit. Women don’t go see movies with superheroes. Bullshit. Women don’t go to the movies as often as men. Bullshit. Men don’t like female action characters. Bullshit. Her story is “tricky.” Bullshit. No one buys her comics so who would see her movie? Bullshit. (You know the difference between the sales of Flash and Wonder Woman in August? Four thousand copies. That’s right 4000. As I said, bullshit.) Her animated film didn’t “do well” versus the male heroes. Bullshit that has been repeated so much that it has become like Kool-Aid"

There are just 101 objects that the Smithsonian, the documenter of American culture and history, say matter. One of those features the debut of Wonder Woman who has never had a big screen movie.

What’s the disconnect?

(Source: smithsonianmag.com)