The Official "Wonder Woman" Animated Feature News & Discussion Thread (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

With the title officially announced, welcome to the official discussion thread for Wonder Woman! Look no further to discuss any upcoming DVD and DTV news for Wonder Woman!

Click here to view the trailer!
Wonder Woman
Coming March 3rd, 2009!

For the latest news, check out the newest posts in this thread!

For other related news, check out The Official DC Animated DTV News & Discussion Thread (Spoilers)!


Note: "Wonder Woman" was announced today in the "Batman: Gotham Knight" DVD Announcement Press Release.

Note: I want to remind everyone to use the spoiler tags if posting graphic and detailed spoilers for "Wonder Woman." Spoiler tags will not be required when the official talkback threads are created for "Wonder Woman."

[SaBaWoJuLe]

Question: in the specs for Batman: Gotham Knight, they call the Wonder Woman DTV as simply Wonder Woman. Now is it officially called Wonder Woman, or is that some kind of working title or something?

[James Harvey]

The World's Finest has the exclusive scoop on who will be directing the upcoming direct-to-video Wonder Woman animated feature! Click here to find out more!

Stay tuned for further updates!

[Silly McGooses]

Does anyone remember which third of Doomsday Montgomery was responsible for?

I actually am really looking forward to this Wonder Woman DTV. I don't know much about the character.

[Pfeiffer-Pfan]

I believe she directed the 'world without superman', middle segment of the movie. Around the area with Lois crying to Martha Kent.

I think she also storyboarded other sections of the movie.

Overall, she seems to be a great director and i think she is a perfect choice for this 'Wonder Woman' DTV. Not sure what shes like with the action aspect though.

[DisneyBoy]

I've yet to see Doomsday, so I'm going to look to dark knight 90's assessment and be hopeful that this new name (to me) will do Diana justice.

I'm really, really hopefull that this project will live up to the Perez books, and give me the Wonder Woman JL/JLU kinda missed out on.

Although, I'm still really wary about Keri Russell as her voice.

[James Harvey]

Hey folks,

Just a thread update. From now on, the DTV threads will be using the same approach as The Official Upcoming DC Animated Series News & Speculation Thread. When a DTV titled is announced in an official capacity (e.g., through a press release, through the company, etc.), it will be spun off into its own seperate discussion thread. For example, both Batman: Gotham Knight and Wonder Woman now have their own distinct threads. However, since Teen Titans: The Judas Contract has yet to be officially announced as in production, discussion for that title will stay in the original DTV thread. However, details on the DVD content will still be found in the The Official DC Animation DVD News & Discussion Thread

Hopefully this will make discussion easier to find and much more enjoyable. If there are any problems or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Related Threads:
-The Official DC Animated DTV News & Discussion Thread, Part 4 (Spoilers)
-The Official "Batman: Gotham Knight" News & Discussion Thread (Spoilers)

[dtemplar]

I wonder if the Cheetah will be in the film?

[warnerbroman]

I wonder if the Cheetah will be in the film?

she has too she almost "the joker" to wonder woman(though Circe fits better) or giganta

[SaBaWoJuLe]

I guess it is officially called Wonder Woman. Makes sense since the DTV for Dr. Starnge was called Doctor Strange because it was the first movie on him and him alone. Wonder Woman is the same since it is the first animated movie of her.

Looking back, I guess we should have known that Wonder Woman was coming next (along with Gotham Knight) and Teen Titans was on hold when those two were leaked the day after Superman Doomsday's preimere at Comic Con 2007. With that in mind, is it absolutely sure that Fall 2008 is when it comes out. Because I would imagine that Wonder Woman got started a short time before Doomsday preimered, but if not, then Q1 2009 would be the best bet as that's the latest.

[DisneyBoy]

Do I need to say I'm stoked for this film? I'm stoked.

I'd be surprised if the Cheetah played a big role in this movie. Given the running time, it's likely our time will be spent purely with the Amazons and Gods. Which works out just fine, because Cheetah really isn't a headliner, but would work very well as one of two villains driving Diana loco.

Here's hoping for a sequel!

[DerekPowers]

Im not too familiar w/ the WW comics, so who is her "official" arch nemisis? I always thought it was Cheeta, but DisneyBoy, I know you're a big WW fan, and you say she's not a "headliner". So, who is??

[warnerbroman]

Im not too familiar w/ the WW comics, so who is her "official" arch nemisis? I always thought it was Cheeta, but DisneyBoy, I know you're a big WW fan, and you say she's not a "headliner". So, who is??

I alway though Circe was myself

[Nemesis]

I am very excited to see WW finally getting a shot at her own animated feature. I'm even more excited that the Perez run has been bandied about as being the inspiration. I, like Disney Boy, am a huge WW fan. I would hope that along with Ares- Deimos, Phobos, and Harmonia will also be featured. The beheading in the final fight was pure shock, and was such a moment in Perez's origin arc. I hope they keep the elements that made it so creepy and serious and magical.... yet filled with hope and wonder at the same time. I think Diana's arch-nemesis historically is the Cheetah. Although Circe & Ares presents the only true threat of harm and power in Diana's world, it is her struggle to help her tortured villains Cheetah & Giganta to regain their humanity and sanity which makes them counterpoint to the character. I just hope the amazons are greek(hoplites) and animation a little more fluid than JL. And I finally got to see Diana with a chin in New Frontier. I'm a happy man.

[SaBaWoJuLe]

Does anyone remember the plot that was leeaked, and in turn is the offical plot of this DTV? It's Ares.

On the mystical island of Themyscira, a proud and firece warrior race of Amazons have raised a daughter of untold beauty, grace and strength: Princess Diana. When an Army fighter pilot, Steve Trevor, crash-lands on the island, the rebellious and headstrong Diana defines Amazonian law by accompanying Trevor back to civilization. Meanwhile, Ares (the god of War) has escaped his imprisonment at the hands of the Amazonians and has decided to exact his revenge using the mystical “Hand of Rage,” an ancient artifact with the power to raise armies from the dead and infuse them with a thirst for blood. Ares intends to start a world war that will not only last for centuries – but will wipe out every living being on the planet, starting with the Amazons! It is up to Princess Diana to save her people and the world – by using her gifts and becoming the ultimate Wonder Woman!

Basically, this DTV is based/inspired more on the lines of the Gods and Mortals arc that started George Perez' run from '87-'92. But they probably added more from Perez' run that the first arc left off in later stores.

[Ed Liu]

Im not too familiar w/ the WW comics, so who is her "official" arch nemisis? I always thought it was Cheeta, but DisneyBoy, I know you're a big WW fan, and you say she's not a "headliner". So, who is??

I don't think that WW really has an arch-nemesis in the same way that Superman has Lex Luthor or the Fantastic Four has Doctor Doom. She's probably a lot more like Spider-Man, having several possible arch-enemy candidates that geeks will argue about, but all of whom are more or less equally valid. I think the lack of an arch-villain (or, really, any villains as memorable as the Joker, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, or Two-Face) is another symptom of the persistent changing of WW that has also mostly robbed her of a consistent supporting cast. Not even Steve Trevor has had the staying power of Jimmy Olsen or Alfred.

Of her villains, I'd pick Ares, Circe, the Cheetah, Doctor Psycho, or the Silver Swan as the possible candidates for arch-enemy. I'm not sure I'd pick Giganta, but she's probably got name recognition, if nothing else, because of the Challenge of the Superfriends series. You could also make a case for the Nazi Baroness Paula von Gunther, I suppose, though she never really made it out of the Golden Age and ended up permanently reformed and working with the Amazons (which was in keeping with the political philosophies of WW creator William Moulton Marston, but that's another story). von Gunther was one of relatively few WW comic book villains who made it into the live-action TV show, though.

-- Ed

[DisneyBoy]

I stumbled upon the episode of which you speak, Ed, and was rather impressed with the character of the "Nazi Wonder Woman". So few of the Lynda Carter episodes of Wonder Woman really had an interesting plot or villain, but she provided that show with both.

As was said, comic geek will all argue over who Diana's main villain is, so allow me to throw my two cents in. It's Ares. Perez's run clearly pit him and Diana against one another when, at the conclusion of the first arc, he challenges her to try and find a destiny for humanity other than self-destruction. Their philosophical beliefs put them directly at odds, and that makes them, in my book, each other nemisis.

Since having read those first Perez issues, I've always hoped and expected that the future Wonder Woman stories would continue to build upon that initial contract. Obviously, Ares can't help but want to cause trouble on Man's World, but after being shown by Diana that he will cease to exist without humans to worship him, it seemed like there were plenty of possibilities as to where events would continue to lead them.

Maybe someday another writing (Simone?) will find a way to weave Ares back into Diana's life in a fashion that builds upon that first turning point in their relationship.

As for this film, the plot sounds an awful lot like this kid's book verison of Wonder Woman's origin that I read waaaaaay back when only B:TAS existed. It featured Ares in a metal cage prison (a simple visual for kids) in the waters beneath Themyscira, and I'm pretty sure he also went and found some mythical object to help him cause trouble.

I wish they'd lose this "Hand of Rage" prop idea. It sounds really lame. Why doesn't Ares go after nuclear missles, like he did in the comics? That's certainly more compelling.

EDIT:

Clearly, the Baroness is someone else entirely. I was mistaking her for Fausta Grables

[warnerbroman]

the reason lex and joker were popular was of the animated shows that help boost their popularity

[Yojimbo]

You never know. The ending may be a music only still frame of her fighting the Cheetah. They seem to like ending the movies with villains.

[Ed Liu]

I stumbled upon the episode of which you speak, Ed, and was rather impressed with the character of the "Nazi Wonder Woman". So few of the Lynda Carter episodes of Wonder Woman really had an interesting plot or villain, but she provided that show with both.

As you found out, Fausta the Nazi WW wasn't the Baronness. von Gunther showed up in the episode before, which I don't remember being anywhere near as good.

If they were going for a period piece for the WW DTV (which I had been secretly hoping for), then the Baroness would have made a fine enemy to battle. I wonder if they would have tried for another period piece if they could have gotten started after seeing how New Frontier was received.

Since having read those first Perez issues, I've always hoped and expected that the future Wonder Woman stories would continue to build upon that initial contract. Obviously, Ares can't help but want to cause trouble on Man's World, but after being shown by Diana that he will cease to exist without humans to worship him, it seemed like there were plenty of possibilities as to where events would continue to lead them.

Other writers have, I think, though not always as well. There was an interesting coup d'etat near the end of Greg Rucka's run (when he finally got around to doing it) that pulled some fancy footwork in the WW-Ares relationship. It could have led to something interesting, at least until it was derailed by the Infinite Crisis nonsense.

I wish they'd lose this "Hand of Rage" prop idea. It sounds really lame. Why doesn't Ares go after nuclear missles, like he did in the comics? That's certainly more compelling.

I think going after nukes is plausible, but I don't think it'd be as effective as the original books were at the time. Those things came out at a time when lots of kids (myself included) were simply counting down the days to when we'd have to fight the Big One with the Soviets. The spectre of mutually assured destruction was very real, so using it as part of the book tapped into existing fears to resonate more. It dates the series, but not in a bad way. I don't think it would have the same effect today, since the prospect of global nuclear war with anyone right now is pretty distant, and generally not what people are afraid of.

Of course, I don't think the plot described (if it is really the plot to the movie) is anywhere near as relevant to modern issues as the starting Perez arc was to current events at the time. Of the DC heroes, WW seems like she might have the most to say about overcoming unreasoning hatred and seemingly irreconcilable enemies. That would also make her weak in popular views today, because she'd suggest it might be a good idea to talk to people instead of kicking them repeatedly.

the reason lex and joker were popular was of the animated shows that help boost their popularity

Sorry, but the animated shows are not the only reason for their popularity. I'm not even sure that they were a really significant factor. Both characters have been popular foils to their respective comic book characters for decades, almost from their introduction and before either one showed up in a cartoon. I think picking them as the major foils in the Animated Age shows was because they were popular before, not the other way around.

-- Ed