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Friday, March 17, 2017

Wonder Woman coming to a screen near you!

Full disclosure before I start this post: I am a feminist, a nerd and a comic book geek. Of course I am also a fan of anything (ancient) Greek. As such, it won't surprise you when I say that every scrap of information (and video especially) released on the Wonder Woman movie makes me squeal and rewind several times. Feast your eyes on this, people:


For those of you who are not comic book geeks: Wonder Woman is a fictional superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. In her homeland Themyscira, she is known as Princess Diana, and outside of her homeland, she is known by as Diana Prince. Themyscira (pronunciation: them-IS-kair-ə) is a fictional, lush island nation on Earth. The island is named after the mythological city of Themiscyra, the capital of the Amazon tribe in Greek mythology. Wonder Woman's origin story relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother and Amazonian Queen Hippolyta and given life by Athena, along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Hellenic Gods. However, in recent years artists updated her profile: she has been depicted as the daughter of Zeus, and jointly raised by her mother Hippolyta and her aunts Antiope and Menalippe. Her Amazonian-training helped to develop a wide range of extraordinary skills in strategy, hunting and fighting. She possesses an arsenal of advanced technology, including the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in older stories, a range of devices based on Amazon technology.

(Warped) Hellenic mythology is woven into her story at every turn. The 1987 (to present) relaunch of Wonder Woman establishes that the Amazons are the reincarnated souls of women slain throughout pre-history by men. Shaped from clay over 3,000 years previous and given new lives by five Olympian Goddesses--Artemis, Athena, Demeter, Hestia, and Aphrodite--the Amazons are granted immortality, great physical strength, highly acute senses, beauty, wisdom, and love for one another. They are tasked to teach the merits of virtue, love, and equality to the men of 'Patriarch’s World'. For centuries, the Amazons of Themyscira live in a perfect state of harmony with their surroundings, under a theocracy. They know no racism, do not think in terms of male gender ('police' instead of 'policeman'), and homosexuality is completely natural to them.

Their city is composed entirely of Greco-Roman architecture from 1200 BCE, and they wear Hellenic garb, togas, sandals, and period armor. The Amazons also all wear the Bracelets of Submission as constant reminders of their Enslavement and obedience to their patrons, although only Diana is able to deflect bullets with them. They are fervently religious, worshipping their Gods as living deities. Artemis is their primary Goddess, and they worship Her with a sacrifice of a deer. The Amazons celebrate their creation each year in a Feast of Five, remembering the Goddesses who brought them to life. A great range of Gods, Goddesses, mythological figures and items is featured in the coming. Beyond the above, Ariadne makes her appearance, Eris, Kirke,Khiron the Kentaur, Pegasos, Ladon, Athena's Aegis (reformed into Diana's bracers), and many more.

Of course, how much of that ends up in the movie, I do not know. Not much, I fear, but I still look forward to it. Womde Woman is a hero to me. I might be an Image Comics girl at heart, but DC has done good with Wonder Woman over the years (for the most part). If they live up to the legacy on June 2, 2017, we will see.

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