Wonder Woman: Fighting Evil In A Bathing Suit Since 1941

Guys, straps. STRAPS. They're AWESOME.

upload.wikimedia.org

I want to start out by saying I fully support a badass, sexy, feminine Wonder Woman.

But I also want to point out that sometimes, she doesn't exactly get the most practical crime fighting gear. Most of her body is exposed to potential injury, her top has no support, and in comparison to, say, Superman, she's practically naked.

So, let's check out a few rebooted looks for Wonder Woman.

Potential WW movie producers? Pay attention, please.

Straps. OH MY GOD STRAPS.

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You know what I love most about this version of Wonder Woman's costume (beside the pants)? IT HAS STRAPS.

If I was fighting evil, I wouldn't want to worry about slippage if you know what I mean.

Most designs give her a strapless chest piece, which, given the size of her breasts, must be either magical/gravity-defying/welded-onto-her-very-skin or more terrifying to wear than half the bad guys she faces.

But this? Straps! Pants! Practical boots! Still sexy and badass!

(Alex Garner)

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This is what happens when you DON'T have straps. You're constantly worrying and pulling at your top, hoping it doesn't fall down, hoping nothing falls OUT, running carefully, moving carefully - for a fighter, that's not only stupid but dangerous.

Now I love a good strapless dress, I think they look great, but for fuck's sake, do you know how much boob-tape I need to be relaxed enough to even dance, let alone save the world and defeat evil?

(NBC Wonder Woman Unaired Pilot)

upload.wikimedia.org / Via en.wikipedia.org

Let's think for a moment. Wonder Woman is an Amazon.

Amazons were bunch of people who got their name from cutting/burning off their own boobs so they wouldn't get in the way of fighting (a-mazos = without breast).

This is a bit gruesome but Hippocrates reports:

"They have no right breasts...for while they are yet babies their mothers make red-hot a bronze instrument constructed for this very purpose and apply it to the right breast and cauterize it, so that its growth is arrested, and all its strength and bulk are diverted to the right shoulder and right arm."

WONDER WOMAN COMES FROM A CULTURE WHERE THEY LITERALLY CHOP OFF THEIR BREASTS BECAUSE THEY ARE INCONVENIENT FOR FIGHTING AND WE CAN'T EVEN GIVE WONDER WOMAN A COUPLE OF STRAPS FOR SUPPORT.

I get that comics are obviously far from reality but come on, if WW gets a big screen reboot, please, please, please, can we keep in the spirit of respecting her culture (and practicality) and at least give her some support?

(wikipedia)

Moving on...The Classical Greek Look

tumblr.com / Via fuckyeahwonderwoman.tumblr.com

Very cool. (Jill Thompson)

Also, straps.

Excuse me, I'm just over here, being rationally happy about the presence of straps in this design.

geekxgirls.com / Via geekxgirls.com

Straps! Not a swim suit! Generally quite badass!

(Adam Jay, Sarah Scott)

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This Wonder Woman by Brazilian artist Paulo Siqueira is amazing. Reminds me of a cross between a boxer and traditional Greek warrior.

And oh, look, STRAPS. (Sensing a trend here?)

tumblr.com / Via the-wonder-woman.tumblr.com

Do my eyes deceive me or is that actual armor-armor?

(Cliff Chiang)

The Trousered Look

geekxgirls.com

I feel like I shouldn't feel so stupidly happy about trousers BUT EVERY I SEE A COSPLAYER OR ARTWORK THAT GIVES HER PANTS I JUST WANT TO SHAKE THE DESIGNER'S HAND AND SAY THANK YOU.

It's cool to look sexy. Let Wonder Woman be hot.

But for goodness sake, let her wear pants on occasion. There have to be some days when she's like, "You know what, the painted-on leotard is great but I'd like some protection for my lower-half."

(Adam Jay, Sarah Scott)

fc01.deviantart.net / Via rukiii.deviantart.com

Straps? Check. Pants? Check. Badass Sword? Check.

Ready to fight evil? BAM!

(Rukiii)

ze-tarts.tumblr.com / Via huffingtonpost.com

Michael Lee Lunsford has a whole series of illustrations of, to quote Huffington Post, "Fully-clothed Superheroines."

He might just be one of my new heroes.

upload.wikimedia.org

This vase? It's old. Old as balls. Circa 470 BC actually.

And the Amazon on it? Wearing TROUSERS.

Flash-forward, oh, almost 2,500 years. "Let's put our Amazonian character in a skimpy bathing suit!"

*Facepalm*

Dunno about you guys, but I'd prefer to fight crime in this outfit...

wired.com

Not bad, Jim Lee, not bad.

...or this one.

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This. THIS. This is beautiful. You know why? Because it's basically what a male superhero would get.

Covering from the neck down, skin-tight, showing muscle definition, aesthetically pleasing, badass, not overtly sexualized. She A) looks good and B) is ready to kick ass.

(stjepan sejic)

So...

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Wonder Woman should be free to wear what she wants. But, alas, as a fictional character, it's not like she has a choice.

It's up to artists, designers, and hopefully not too far in the future, movie producers, to create a costume that respects her calling (to kick ass), her femininity, and the fact that she's far more than a sexual fantasy.

Think about what you're saying with every image of a barely-clothed Wonder Woman next to a fully covered up Superman. Both of them are invulnerable (to a certain extent), both of them are heroes, but only one of them is half-naked.

Let's look beyond the swimsuit look and give her something worthy of an Amazonian Warrior.

(And major kudos points to the artists, animators, cosplayers, and more who are doing just that, right now!)

And finally, just for fun, a few more badass Wonder Women

fc07.deviantart.net / Via rnzzz.deviantart.com

Bad. Ass. Mother. Fucker.

(RNZZZ)

fc07.deviantart.net / Via the-wonder-woman.tumblr.com

Way cool Western Wonder Woman.

(Denis Medri)

cliffchiang.com

PUNK ROCKER WONDER WOMAN. YES, GOOD. (Cliff Chiang)

P.S. (because it's been mentioned)

Do Wonder Woman's powers come from her bathing-suit costume?

Nope.

Diana is usually portrayed as either having been born super powered or gifted with her powers at birth. In any case, her badass fighting skills seem to have come from training with the rest of the immortal Amazons and it's her fighting ability that wins her the iconic costume.

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/dcmoment23b.jpg

Plus, her origin story is crazy contradictory - there is no clear-cut formula, especially in recent versions, of her costume = her powers.

http://marionetteblog.blogspot.in/2005/09/complicated-origin-of-wonder-woman.html