It seems DC may have a great movie on its hands. Two in fact, or maybe three. Anyway, Suicide Squad promises to be a fun action follow-up to Batman V Superman. We get to see more Batfleck in this film since Jared Leto’s Joker is in it and that the squad includes many of Batman’s rogue’s gallery. This film promises more humor to wash off the bad aftertaste of its dark and depressing predecessor. Next is Wonder Woman which also promises to be a good film about our favorite Amazon warrior princess (not Xena). The SDCC trailer which everyone can see on YouTube by now was fantastic. And it looks like they finally nailed the character in live-action since Lynda Carter. Finally, there’s the Justice League trailer which promises to be lighter than the awfully dark Batman V Superman. Lessons learned as the exchange between the Flash and Batfleck was quite funny, and Aquaman looks very bad-ass, unlike the sorry superhero Robot Chicken makes him look like.
Back to Wonder Woman. There are plenty of parallels between her and Marvel’s Captain America.
- Wonder Woman fought Nazis – She may not be American, but her character was also created during the 1940s to fight the Nazis. Wonder Woman was created in 1941 by psychologist William Moulton Marston (the same guy who invented the Polygraph Machine) as a powerful first-wave feminist character and during that era, as a hero to bolster the war effort. In the upcoming film, she comes into play a generation early as she fights the Germans during World War 1.
- American Colors – both of them wear American symbolism on their uniforms. Cap, of course, wears red, white and blue, star and stripes on his uniform and shield. Wonder Woman, as a representative to the world of man and to the United States was given a garb with the colors of Steve Trevor’s country of origin. In the movie, she sports a red bustier and blue skirt with stars.
- Period Piece – Just as Captain America: The First Avenger was a period piece set in the 1940s, the upcoming Wonder Woman film will be set during the 1910s.
- Out of Time – Captain America was created during World War II but exists in the present day. As we all know, he was trapped in suspended animation by freezing after stopping the Red Skull. Wonder Woman now exists in the current time because she’s an immortal demi-goddess. Both continue to fight for their respective brands of justice even if they differ to how justice is currently defined.
- Abilities – Of course, both of them are more powerful than ten men though Wonder Woman’s strength and durability may rival that of Superman. Both of them also make use of shields as shown in the trailer. Her main shields, of course, are her indestructible bracelets she uses to deflect bullets and bladed weapons.
So basically, Wonder Woman is DC’s own female version of Captain America. And while Man of Steel and Batman V Superman are grounded in science, Wonder Woman becomes DC’s own entry into the realm of magic and mysticism. According to the trailer, DC will be using her original origin as that of a clay figure brought to life by the Olympian deity Zeus as opposed to the current origin being his offspring; Period pieces are often good. Like Captain America: The First Avenger, Wonder Woman promises to be a great film. It will be a shame if this tanks as this film has the distinct honor of the character’s first theatrical solo film.