Comic Book Special: Wonder Woman

I've seen nothing but venom about Wonder Woman's new outfit and while some of it is justified, there's a lot to like about it as well.

Before we get into it, let's take a look at this tidbit from the official DC blog:

"It’s a look designed to be taken seriously as a warrior, in partial answer to the many female fans over the years who’ve asked, “how does she fight in that thing without all her parts falling out?”) She can close it up to pass unnoticed…open it for the freedom to fight…lose the jacket or keep it on…it has pockets (the other fan question, “where does she carry anything in that outfit?”, it can be accessorized…it’s a Wonder Woman look designed for the 21st century."

Sounds like she is now more Batman than Super Man which puts the design choices in context.

That said, there are three elements that trouble me:

The pants - From the drawing above, it's clear that these are not just black tights. They have some light armor lines, the most pronounced is visible at the knees. However, in the comic panels, they are drawn like regular tights. So which is it? Either way it's utterly bland and feels lazy.

The jacket - I'm actually a fan of the shoulder pads. Even so, the jacket is just too ... practical. A jacket is what normal folks to wear when they are cold. Super heroes don't need it unless their name is The Shadow.

The choker - Again, big fan of chokers. They are sexy when done right. It definitely doesn't work with the jacket. The jacket is just not a team player when it comes to a choker. There are some women who find chokers demeaning so this is also an odd choice since the costume is a move to maker her more palatable to other ladies. Maybe they should have given her Madonna-like nipple spikes instead?

Okay, okay, so how is this different from all the hate? Let's go over the good stuff:

The gauntlets/bracelets - The one element of Wonder Woman's old outfit that bothered me to no end was her bracelets. They were plainlooking gold bracelets that could deflect bullets? Boo! These new ones have style and come up further into the hand. Daddy likes. Finally looks bad ass. Add in the fact that she can engrave WWs into her victims noggin or wherever and you have a complete win in my book.

The breastplate - Now this is how to do well-protected and sexy in one stunning package. If they could have carried this theme to the rest of the outfit while switching up the colors, oh man, homerun.

The headband - I have a hunch there were big debates at DC on whether to lose the headband altogether. I'm really glad it's still there because even on a "modern" outfit it still works.

The shoes - It's kind of hard to figure out exactly what's going on. Is appears to be part of the pants. Or not. What the heck, it works for me, especially the little star on it.