One of the top stories in the world of entertainment right now is about a plan to develop a new version of Wonder Woman on The CW. I just can’t get excited about the project right now. DC Comics has partnered in the past before to redevelop the character to be made TV-ready and have failed ever since Linda Carter took off the bracelets. There is no reason to believe the plan to put Wonder Woman on The CW will be any kind of success.
Wonder Woman on The CW? I hope not!
Wonder Woman is Over-Protected
Ever Since the original Wonder Woman show, people have been very picky about how the frontline female comics character is portrayed. For years, I have heard people complain about how Wonder Woman was portrayed in the various animated series she has been part of over the years. I have learned to believe she is a sacred which an incorrect portrayal could defile.
Think about the male psychology for a moment. Most men have had a female in their lives they feel they need to protect. Think of the “little sister” mentality of a female in a guy’s life who he wants to keep safe and wants the best for. On the flipside, you have female psychology. Many women have grown up looking up to one superhero in Wonder Woman. Granted there are other female superheroes, but there is only one pushed strongly on girls from the last forty years. Can women deal with the female which society defines as the main female in comics being represented wrong?
The Magic of the First Series
The 1970s was an interesting time when the creative minds on TV could get away with almost everything. The 1960s and 1970s are a time in which we were supposed to push boundaries and try new things. It was an age of personal exploration and it was fine to look at characters in various ways. This was long before the 1980s and 1990s when the comic book culture realized it could be strict about what they want.
The air of exploration allowed fans to look at the original Wonder Woman TV series with a blind eye to how it might counter the comics. That could not happen today because, as comic book readers and collectors, we have set ideas in our minds as to how characters should be portrayed and will battle against anything new or different. Just think about all of the complaining we did when DC Comics decided to switch to the New 52 storyline. Shortly after we calmed down, we realized there was some good storytelling going on.
Arrow
No matter what The CW and DC Comics tell you, Arrow is not a blockbuster show. It might put in great ratings for the forgotten network, but not for networks as a whole. Wonder Woman on The CW would kill any chances of the show being a hit. The sheer fact of the character being used on a network where she will not be able to gain attention will turn many of us off.
What Really Should Be Done
Marvel has done a great job in taking out worries and making us eat our words through their movies. DC Comics has done a good job through the recent Batman movies. The new Man of Steel movie has me wondering if I should hate Superman so much. If DC Comics wants to promote Wonder Woman in the media, put her in a movie already. Don’t worry about the pennies which can come from TV when the movies can make millions more. Let us suspend our disbelief for a few hours and go home instead of expecting us to suspend for an hour a week for months (if not years). If the movie works well, then bring her to the small screen again.
