So the big movie this weekend is Wonder Woman. And it looks like it’s actually pretty good! Gal Gadot seems to be pitch perfect in the role. I haven’t seen it yet. But it got to me thinking about Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman has been around for 75 years and has seen many changes. The embodiment of truth has had changes in her history and as many different variations as Superman and Batman. Even her costume always seems to flux (I was happy when they swapped out the eagle chest symbol for the much cooler double W). Some of these were great and lasted for years, others were not as perfect. Some just miss the point of the character (Dennis O’Neil, Frank Miller WTF) and others don’t even come close (Cathy Lee Crosby?? And do I even have to mention that atrocious pilot that was never picked up?). But when the character is done right she is pretty damn awesome.
She has such a long history that I’m not about to try to get into it here. There are others out there more qualified than I. What I want to do is go over the five versions that I have always loved, and for me stand out as the best versions of the character in print or other media.
TV Series
The truth is that I never really watched this show. I have no real excuse to be honest with you. But even from the little bits I have seen, man did Lynda Carter just personify Wonder Woman! She was pitch perfect and its no wonder why to this day people see her as the one and only bearer of the name. She was simply perfect.
Superfriends
As you may know I grew up with Superfriends on TV. And while I am sure she has been portrayed better on other animated shows and movies (by many voices in fact from Susan Eisenberg to Vicki Lewis) this is the version I still think of. Voiced by the awesome Shannon Farnon who knew how to give her just the right pitch to make her kind but tough as hell.
70’s JLA
The 70’s where and interesting time for Wonder Woman. It’s really no surprise the character got rebooted after Crisis since creators never seemed to know what to do with her. She would lose her powers, get them back, and never really had a solid identity. But she was a very active member of the JLA in those days and while her solo series never interested me, I did enjoy her there. It did bug me that her after Crisis her legacy was lost, especially when it was established she had noting to with founding or even participating in the JLA and I’m gad that it was eventually changed.
80’s George Perez
I didn’t really start caring about her in comics until the George Perez reboot in the 80’s. And there were some pretty interesting changes. This Wonder Woman was just starting out, and was much more naive and even kind. You could argue she lost some of her edge, it took awhile for her to become the warrior she was before, but it was neat to see the world from her point of view. I came and left the series as it ran but the character did evolve. Perez was with the series for quite a long run right through the War of the Gods event and did a remarkable job fleshing out her connection to the Greek Gods.
90’s John Byrne
I found a collection of his run 90’s run in a comic book store and since Byrne has always been one of my favorite writers I checked it out. It was pretty good! The character felt like she was in character and the action was pretty damn good. I only got the one volume but it get me interested in maybe checking out some more.
I know there are plenty more, from Gail Simone to Roy Thomas. If I
left your favorite off comment and let me know. Wonder Woman has been
around for a very long time and will continue to serve as the trinity
alongside Superman and Batman for quite some time.
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