by Randall Allen Dunn

Wonder Woman Month concludes with a final word from actress and singer Lynda Carter, taken from the Introduction to Wonder Woman: The Complete History by Les Daniels:

I remember the day I got the news. “Hello, Wonder Woman!” said my agent. And so began my odyssey with the ultimate female archetype – strong, smart, capable, kind, and beautiful as Aphrodite.

Wonder Woman is to me – as she is to so many women of all ages – a symbol of all the glorious gifts that reside in the spirit of Woman. She is dashing and dazzling. Yet her truest power and beauty come from within. The magic tools she brings to the fight – the bracelets, the lasso, the invisible plane – are only as good as her own ability, confidence, and courage to wield them. In that regard, perhaps she is not so different from you and me. We all show one part of ourselves to the world, while we hold close the ultimate power within us. Only when we trust in ourselves do we reach our fullest potential.

Wonder Woman was created as a counterpart to Superman, a comic book for young girls to read. It was 1941. World War II was upon us. For the first time, women were working full-time jobs traditionally reserved for men. Campaigns like “Free a Man to Fight” and the celebrated Rosie the Riveter encouraged women to cast off their aprons and take to the factory floors.

When the war ended, the men came back to their jobs, and most women went back to their homes. But in their hearts, there was no going back to the old days or the old ways. Their sense of power and potential – the Wonder Woman within – had emerged and could no longer be repressed.

Those early Wonder Women whispered to their daughters, “You can be anything you want to be,” and in so doing, raised the consciousness of a new generation of women. They helped us believe in our own unique powers, our hidden strengths, our intellect and instincts – and encouraged us to let our own unexpressed self soar.

Now we are supporting our own daughters as they reach for new heights in new times. For we are all works in progress, forever evolving, helping blaze and brighten the trail for those to come.

And the Wonder Woman in each of us is even better than the original. For we are also mothers, girlfriends and wives, givers of life and love – roles that Wonder Woman, for all her adventures, was never able to play.

 
Lynda Carter

Find more reviews of Wonder Woman: The Complete History at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

One of the most powerful, and certainly the deepest episode of the 1970’s “Wonder Woman” television series was “Judgment from Outer Space”. It owes its depth to the classic science fiction film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, from which it borrows heavily. Well, almost completely, even including a moment of reflection shared by the central characters at the Lincoln Memorial.

In this two-part episode, an alien Council of Planets plans to put an end to Earth’s wars by abolishing the entire human race. They feel the “primitives” of Earth are too hostile to be allowed to develop atomic weapons, thus posing a threat to the rest of the universe. One Council member disagrees. Having studied humans since their inception, Andros (Tim O’Connor) believes that they can overcome their hatred and violence. He agrees to warn the Earth of the Council’s pending decision, and encourage them to demonstrate that they can change their ways, before it’s too late.

Landing his spacecraft near Washington, D.C., Andros is immediately confronted by the American military. When he first greets them in German, they become suspicious, believing him to be a Nazi spy. But they quickly learn that Andros has astounding powers, to freeze groups of people in their tracks, cause random explosions, and even summon thunderstorms and a total eclipse of the sun by whistling a special code.

Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) meets Andros and appeals to him on behalf of humanity, assuring him that people are willing to seek peace. But she – like Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner) and the rest of the American military – have trouble explaining their desire for peace while they continue an active war against Nazi Germany. They insist that the Nazis’ intentions and actions are evil, but Andros tells them that the Nazis would surely say the same about the Americans.

Andros informs them that he wishes to meet with their President Roosevelt, but also with all of the world’s leaders, such as Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin, and even Adolf Hitler. Trevor and the others warn him that such meetings would be difficult to coordinate and potentially dangerous for Andros. But Andros makes it clear that he is here on Earth for the benefit of all mankind, not just for Americans.

It’s hard to think of things from another person’s perspective, especially when their country or culture is completely different from our own. Wonder Woman has an easier time identifying with Andros, and with people of different cultures, since she comes from a different culture herself. As an Amazon, she – like Andros – has come to the United States as an ambassador, joining in a fight for freedom and bringing a message of hope and peace in a time of war. Like Andros, she believes in the potential of people to change, and she maintains a global perspective.

Unlike Andros, she has seen the travesties committed by the Nazi regime and knows their ultimate intentions are to subjugate the rest of mankind. But her own bias hinders her from presenting a believable case.

Andros remains objective, seeing Germans and Americans as people, both fully culpable for the war, and both in danger of destruction for it. He warns the American military forces, “I am not a diplomat or a polite envoy. I am judge, jury and, if necessary, executioner.”

After meeting with Andros, the President assesses him to be genuine, but also a genuine threat. He orders the military to assemble a strike force to be prepared to attack Andros, just in case. Meanwhile, Andros uses his phenomenal powers to escape the Americans, locking Trevor and the others behind an invisible force field.

When Diana Prince learns of the goverment’s plans, she argues with Major Trevor against it. “Our only hope is to be honest with him. To trust him. Not to make a hopeless attempt to murder him!”

Steve insists that they have their orders, which he views to be “a logical military alternative and a patriotic necessity”.

Diana responds with a quotes from Samuel Johnson, saying, “Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.”

Trevor dismisses Diana, who soon finds Andros at the Library of the Congress. Unfortunately, Nazi spies have also found him there and prepare to capture him. Diana transforms into Wonder Woman to stop them, but is subdued. Seeing the violent display, the Council of Planets decides to remove Andros’ great powers. By making him as vulnerable as the humans he trusts in, they make him dependent upon their aid to survive. Hoping to prove, once and for all, whether humanity should continue to exist.

The Nazis kidnap Andros, and try to persuade him to join their side. But they insist upon believing Andros to be an American scientist for atomic research, rather than an alien emissary. They send a woman to seduce him, but Andros sees through the deception. He asks her why she lets herself be used in such a way, cheapening the gift of shared love, reminding her that she had dreams of real love when she was a young girl. The woman is touched, but leaves in anger, unable to reclaim that lost dream.

Wonder Woman arrives to rescue Andros, but he refuses to escape with her. He insists that he must meet with the Germans, just as he met with the Americans. After she is also captured and locked in a room with Andros, she asks why he can’t see that the Nazis are evil, even after they have kidnapped him. Andros argues that the Americans did much the same thing. Wonder Woman argues that it’s different, because Americans don’t lock people away in concentration camps the way Nazis do.

“I suggest you tell that to the Americans of Japanese descent,” Andros argues.

Wonder Woman bites her lip, seeing his point.

It’s easy to turn a blind eye to the sins of our country, or the group to which we belong. But peace can never be achieved while we maintain a double-standard, accusing other parties of evil while absolving our own party of all crimes. No one is perfect, and no group or party or country is perfect. We must recognize that all of us are, in fact, guilty of sins, yet capable of establishing peace, if we choose to lay down our arms against one another.

When Steve Trevor also makes a rescue attempt and is captured, and the Nazis prepare to torture Wonder Woman in order to make Andros reveal his secrets, Andros realizes what the Americans had been warning him about. While the Germans themselves are people just like the Americans, the Nazi plans are for conquest and enslavement, rather than a struggle to benefit mankind. Meanwhile, other people like Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor are risking their own lives in order to rescue a stranger like Andros.

When the Nazis attempt to move against Andros and Wonder Woman, the Council of Planets intercedes, freezing the soldiers in their tracks. Wonder Woman retrieves her stolen belt and bracelets, regaining her powers. She also retrieves Andros’ amulet and tosses it to him. Though she could have stopped Andros, keeping him a powerless prisoner, she trusted him to finish his survey of humankind, and hopefully find potential.

The German woman who had tried to seduce Andros appears, and provides them all with an escape route. Though she doesn’t care about the Americans, she insists on saving Andros, for the kindness he showed her.

The Council of Planets decides to spare Earth, for at least another fifty years, allowing the human race time to resolve their petty disputes with one another and find true peace.

Sometimes war is necessary, when one society’s goals threaten the safety and peace of mankind. But wars between people are often the product of misunderstanding, when people refuse to understand the perspective of someone from another culture. You can prevent a war from erupting in your own neighborhood by listening to those who think and act differently than you do. By seeking to understand someone else’s ways of doing things, rather than dismissing them as wrong.

The way to find peace is to seek it for everyone, not just your own group.

Find more reviews of “Wonder Woman Season 1” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Wonder Woman hasn’t always agreed with her mother, Queen Hippolyta. In fact, they’ve been at odds ever since Wonder Woman’s first comic book appearance as Princess Diana, an Amazon wishing to enter the world of men, whom her mother refused to trust. To pursue her goal, Diana had to disguise her identity, forcing her mother to release her as the Amazons emissary to the world.

Yet in spite of her deception, and in spite of their disagreement, Princess Diana made it clear that she still loved and respected her mother.

The comic book Hipployta has changed significantly since that time. From her name (it used to be spelled “Hipployte”) and hair color (from brunette to blond and back to brunette), to the island she rules (“Paradise Island” is now “Themyscira”) and where it sits (it was once briefly transported to outer space, as a sacrifice that was meant to stop an alien threat. … I never read that comic, so please don’t ask me how that was expected to work.).

I’ve been out of the loop on comic book storylines for quite some time. And frankly, I didn’t have time to wade through all the death, rebirth and other bizarre “post-crisis” changes that have happened to Hipployta over the last twenty years. At one point, Hipployta even became Wonder Woman, to fill in for her Diana, after orchestrating some events that she felt had led to Diana’s death. I even learned that modern comics identify Hippolyta as the reincarnation of a murdered cavewoman! (Oh, how I wish I was making all this stuff up!)

So, anyway … after all that mind-boggling supernatural soap opera of events … Hipployta also died, and was brought back to life by the gods of Mount Olympus. The graphic novel, Amazons Attack!, is a collection of some of the Wonder Woman comics that reveal what happened next.

Princess Diana (who is now alive and functioning as Wonder Woman again … Is everyone writing this down?) had been held prisoner for a time by the United States government. Learning this, Hipployta flies into a vengeful rage. She declares open war against the country and leads her Amazon armies to rescue Diana.

And also, to destroy any Americans she finds.

Though Hipployta has never been a big fan of the world of men, this seems a little extreme. Even her Amazon soldiers are confused by Hipployta’s orders to attack innocent civilians, and are further shocked when Hipployta later demands that the United States surrender to Amazon rule. Some Amazons wonder why their queen is acting like a barbarian, when they have always sought to guide mankind into peace, rather than try to enslave it.

The problem is that Hipployta is under the magical influence of an evil sorceress named Circe, who has convinced her that Diana needs to be rescued. Twisting Hipployta’s mistrust of the outside world into a thirst for violence, Circe has launched the Amazons into a full-scale war against the United States, its military, and even the Justice League.

In the midst of this chaos, Wonder Woman has already been freed. She finds her mother and confronts her about the attacks, which Hipployta feels are completely justified. Diana’s recent jail sentence proves to her that her daughter was wrong to waste her energy protecting the Americans. She reminds Wonder Woman that she had once asked whether she would willingly die for such people.

Wonder Woman responds that she is still ready to sacrifice herself, if needed. “The question is, Mother,” she presses, “Would you kill me to win? Because that’s what you’ll have to do!”

Superman rescues Wonder Woman from Hipployta, who seems prepared to accept those terms. Under Circe’s spell, Hipployta has become dangerous and unpredictable, even where her daughter is concerned.

Uncovering the source of Hippolyta’s aggression, the Justice League find a way to temporarily disrupt Circe’s manipulative powers. Giving Wonder Woman the chance for a final confrontation with her mother, without magical interference.

Of course, Hippolyta had been deceived. Yet her own rage against the world of men made her an easy target for Circe’s spell. Wonder Woman now has a perfect opportunity to vent about their years of disagreement about men. Especially since Hippolyta has expressed continual disappointment with the path her daughter has taken in life.

No one would blame Wonder Woman for criticizing her mother’s foolish choices and her blind rage. It would be so easy to bring up all the hurts of her own past, with her quest to serve mankind being completely misunderstood by a mother who expected to want to become queen.

But instead of screaming at her or putting her down, Wonder Woman still appeals to Hippolyta’s wisdom and sense of honor, treating her mother with respect. Whatever their vast disagreements might be, Hipployta is still her mother.

That sense of respect is often lost on people today. Instead of respecting people for their position or their years of experience, we only respect people with obvious success. Those with PhD’s or celebrity status are considered worthy of our respect. But we don’t honor the elderly, or those in authority, or those who have worked hard to earn their place in society. We lavish attention on those with money and fame, while often treating our own parents like fools.

Wonder Woman sees people differently. Especially her mother. While most of us focus on the hurts and disappointments we received from the years spent with family, Wonder Woman focuses on the fact that Hippolyta is her mother, and her queen. That she has ruled her people with honor for centuries, and only needs to be reminded of who she is, rather than chastised as if she were a child.

Knowing that Wonder Woman won’t step aside, Hippolyta prepares to strike her down and continue her war against men. With Hippolyta’s sword held against her throat, Wonder Woman makes a final appeal. “Go ahead, Mother. Do it,” she urges. “Give in to your bloodlust. Show me that Circe’s magic is stronger than your will – your sense of right and wrong – the ideals of our people, who none but you have better lived up to. Show me that despite our differences – despite all the ways you think I’ve let you down – that you don’t still consider me … your daughter.”

Hippolyta’s face changes, showing Wonder Woman that she has finally struck a chord.

“Circe’s magic isn’t working at the moment, Mother,” she informs her. “Whatever decision you make is yours and yours alone. If this war really is your will and desire, then go ahead. Finish the job. Kill me.”

Hippolyta stares into her daughter’s eyes with shock.

And the sword falls from her hand.

The war is over, between Amazons and the world of men, and between Wonder Woman and her mother.

We all have times when we don’t see eye-to-eye with our parents. Those disagreements might even last a lifetime. But we can disagree without showing disrespect. And those rifts in our relationships can mend if we start by honoring our parents instead of looking down on them.

We might never agree with their position on an issue, but we can still respect their position as our mothers and fathers. If you want your relationship with your parents to change, start by showing them the respect they are due, for raising you as best they knew how.

Find more reviews of *Amazons Attack at amazon.com!

*Note: Some pictures shown in this blog from the original comic series and are not included in the graphic novel. Amazons Attack!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Have you ever held a grudge against an innocent person? My wife and I have done this – and had it done to us – too many times to count. We finally matured enough to realize that things aren’t always as they seem, and it’s far too easy to misjudge people, based on the appearance of their actions. Especially if we never talk to that person about what we assume they did.

In an episode of “The New Adventures of Wonder Woman”, called “The Man Who Could Move the World”, Wonder Woman comes up against a new adversary with incredible telekinetic powers. However, in his mind, he and Wonder Woman have been enemies since he was a small boy.

The primary test subject for Dr. Wilson, Takeo Ishida is working to develop psychokinetic abilities, to move objects with his mind, through the aid of a machine that enhances his brain waves. When he achieves phenomenal success, Ishida tells Dr. Wilson he needs the machine for personal reasons. Though he insists that he doesn’t wish to hurt him, Ishida kidnaps Dr. Wilson and steals his power-boosting machine.

Investigating Ishida’s home, Wonder Woman discovers various memorabilia of her own life and adventures from World War II. Steve Trevor arrives and is concerned by the obsessive collection, since Wonder Woman doesn’t ever recall meeting Ishida. He mentions a Japanese custom of creating a special room like this, as a shrine to honor the dead. Such rooms usually include a photo of the deceased, covered by a black ribbon. They find such a photo, but Wonder Woman doesn’t recognize the young boy in the picture, either. Beneath another black ribbon, Steve discovers a picture of Wonder Woman herself!

Wonder Woman discovers that Ishida had been stationed in a relocation camp after World War II. His parents died of natural causes, but Ishida and his brother vanished after the war. When she learns that Ishida has lured Steve away to the same camp, Wonder Woman goes there to rescue him and uncover the connection Ishida still has with it, and her.

The rickety houses now make the deserted relocation camp look like an old western ghost town, where Ishida plans to have his final showdown with Wonder Woman. Having captured both Steve and Dr. Wilson, he dons the garb of a Samurai warrior and meets Wonder Woman in the street. “Welcome to my old home, Wonder Woman,” he says. “It has been a long time since you last visited this place.”

“Over thirty years,” she recalls.
”I was a child then,” Ishida says.

“Now that you’re a man, why do you come back here? And why do you so obviously want me here?”

“To settle an old score. Revenge survives the ages.”

Wonder Woman asks him to release Steve and Dr. Wilson. “Whatever you want, I’ll do, as long as it doesn’t break any laws.”

“There is no law out here, Wonder Woman! There never was real law! Only military oppression of my people!” He draws his sword, displaying it for Wonder Woman. “This belonged to my father. And his! And his before that! For four hundred years! I had to win it back in a common poker game from a G.I. who used it to chop steaks!”

“Ishida, I don’t deny that cruel and unjust things were done to your people. War is cruel and unjust. But in all the time since, real efforts have been made to right those wrongs. To give people all over the world the dignity that you fought for.”

“Dignity? The last is all I have from this place. Just dignity.”

“I don’t understand you. I didn’t put you in this camp, and I did nothing to hurt you or your family, either.”

“What about my brother? The only family I had left, until you destroyed it.”

Wonder Woman shakes her head at the suggestion. “I couldn’t have killed your brother. My mission is to save, not take lives. It’s a code that I live by.”

“You say that now, but it wasn’t so thirty-five years ago! You were one of the army’s bloodhounds then! When my brother and I tried to escape, you called down artillery fire on our heads. Was that for the practice of your soldiers?”

Wonder Woman then remembers chasing after two boys, to warn them that they were in the middle of a target area. She asks them to let her take them back. But young Ishida takes off running, believing she plans to trap them both. With his back turned, he doesn’t see his brother, Masaaki, get struck by artillery fire. When he turns to see Wonder Woman cradling his dead body, he cries, “You killed my brother!”

Now as an adult, Ishida repeats the accusation he made as a child: “You killed my brother!”

“No,” Wonder Woman assures him. “I was trying to save Asaki. I did save him. And I wanted to save you.”

“I still don’t believe you.” He uses his incredible power to attack her by felling a telephone pole and other objects. Finally, he takes control of Wonder Woman herself, and forces her to step across a minefield. “I am going to kill you the way you killed my brother!” he taunts. “Walk!”

Wonder Woman struggles desperately against Ishida’s control. She finally succeeds in overloading his machine. “Your special powers are gone now, Ishida.”
”Only because yours were greater than mine, Wonder Woman.”

In a final attempt to reason with him, Wonder Woman begins removing her bullet-proof bracelets and the magic belt that gives her super-strength. “We all have powers, Ishida. What makes them special is the way we use them. It’s true that mine proved greater than yours. But mine are used for good. While yours —.” She turns up her open palms, having made herself completely vulnerable to his attacks. “Well, I have no special powers now.”

Seeing his chance, Ishida rushes at her with a war cry, his father’s sword drawn. But he pauses before slaying Wonder Woman.

“Why do you hesitate?”

“Just to give you a moment to prepare for death.”

Wonder Woman shakes her head. “I don’t believe your Samurai code allows you to strike down a defenseless opponent.”

“I have waited a lifetime for this moment!”

“Because a six-year old boy believes he saw what never happened!”

Ishida lowers his sword. “I do not yet know the truth. You are right. I cannot strike.”

Seeing that Wonder Woman has left herself open to his revenge, Ishida realizes that this is not the action of a coldblooded killer. Suddenly, it seems more likely that Wonder Woman had tried to save his brother, and Ishida wonders if he has made a mistake.

A mistake that wasted most of his years, living in bitterness and plotting revenge, instead of enjoying a life of freedom.

When the smoke begins to overcome Steve and Dr. Wilson, Ishida confesses that they’re locked inside a cell within an abandoned building. Ishida and Wonder Woman hurry to bring both men out to safety.

Later, Ishida prepares to accept his just punishment from Steve and Diana Prince. He is stunned to learn that the government and Dr. Wilson have dropped all charges, owing to the circumstances. Instead, they introduce him to his brother, Masaaki, that he had presumed dead for all these years.

Imagine if Ishida had fulfilled his personal goals, and succeeded in killing Wonder Woman. Only to learn later that he had murdered an innocent woman, to avenge a brother who was still alive.

Unless you have proof that someone has wronged you, assume the best instead of the worst, no matter what others say about that person. If you’re still unsure, go straight to that person and ask for the truth. Then expect them to give it to you. Leaving things unresolved can leave you with a false impression of people.

Especially if you decide to use your own imagination to fill in the gaps.

Don’t assume another person’s guilt. Give them the chance to clear themselves. You might save a friendship that you were ready to destroy, and you might save yourself a lot of added grief.

Find more reviews of “Wonder Woman Season 2” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

I’m not in favor of the death penalty. To me, it means giving up on the possibility that someone can change.

Okay, you say, but what’s that got to do with Wonder Woman?

Well, Wonder Woman agrees with me.

In the early days of the comics, Wonder Woman did something that no other superhero had accomplished, or even dreamed of accomplishing: she reformed one of her enemies.

The Baroness Paula von Gunther had quickly become one of Wonder Woman’s most ruthless adversaries. A brilliant scientist with a direct line to the Fuhrer, the Baroness led vital espionage missions for the Nazis within the United States. She kept many women as slaves to do her bidding, and she never held back from murdering an opponent unless she had a crueler method for dealing with them.

After several dangerous encounters with Wonder Woman, Paula von Gunther nearly succeeds in capturing and overthrowing the Amazons of Paradise Island. But the Amazons escape and arrest Paula and her slaves. Since killing is against Amazon law, Hippolyte establishes a prison on Reform Island, to hold the Baroness and her army until they learn to renounce their evil ways.

Paula escapes with help from her brainwashed army, then captures Wonder Woman and attempts to brainwash her as well. While Wonder Woman is rescued by her friends, Etta Candy and Steve Trevor, Paula tries to blow them all up, even though her own slave girls are still trapped inside! At this point, the Amazon’s reform plans don’t seem to be working! Fortunately, Wonder Woman saves everyone, as usual.

Wonder Woman soon captures Paula again and returns her to Reform Island. The Baroness’ brainwashed slave girls are thrilled to see her, ready to follow her evil leadership again. Paula leads a jailbreak and orders her girls to kill Mala, the Amazon who has been keeping watch over them.

But her slaves don’t like that idea. Having been treated so kindly by Mala, they can’t abide the thought of killing her now. So they break the spell of Paula’s control, helping the Amazons to capture her instead. When Paula asks why they resisted her commands, Wonder Woman explains that the Amazons’ rule of love was stronger than the Baroness’ rule of fear.

Compelled by Wonder Woman’s magic lasso, Paula reveals that she has been forced to carry out plans for the Nazis because they hold her daughter, Gerta, in a concentration camp. Since Paula is now her prisoner, Wonder Woman assumes full responsibility for her, and for the safety of her little girl.

In a daring rescue, Wonder Woman and Etta break into the Austrian concentration camp to find Gerta and several other children. Wonder Woman places all of them inside an old tank for safety and then rolls them straight out of the camp.

After returning the other children to the United States to have Steve find homes for them, Wonder Woman brings Gerta to Reform Island to be reunited with her mother. Overjoyed, Paula pledges to serve Wonder Woman from then on, though Wonder Woman insists that Paula will be serving Aphrodite and the laws of love.

Afterward, Paula confesses to a secret Nazi plot to bomb a United States munitions factory, and begs to return to America with Wonder Woman to diffuse it. Wonder Woman is dubious, but chooses to trust Paula at her word to remain a prisoner.

When Wonder Woman and Paula arrive, they discover that a Nazi agent has set the munitions plant on fire. When Steve spots Paula at the scene of the burning factory, he arrests her, while Wonder Woman is busy rescuing the people trapped inside. Paula insists that a bomb is set to go off in the factory. She begs Steve to free her so she can save Wonder Woman, but he refuses to be duped. Paula ultimately gets the best of him and escapes, rushing inside to deactivate the bomb just in time.

However, smoke inhalation and burns have left Paula badly scarred and near death. Wonder Woman saves her, though she cannot fix her marred face.

At Paula’s trial, Wonder Woman defends her, insisting that Paula has not only reformed, but risked her life to save others, and has the burn marks to prove it. Charges against Paula are dropped and she returns to her new home on Paradise Island, where she and her daughter Gerta become part of the Amazon community. Paula later helps to invent the Purple Ray, a miraculous healing device that the Amazons continue using to this day.

It’s hard to believe that some people can change, when they’ve let us down time and time again. For those who want to change, it’s hard to believe that change is possible. All they can see are the shameful crimes of their past, with no hope for a different future.

But change can never happen until we believe in it and expect it. Not everyone will choose to change, but unless we believe for change, no one will have the chance. Believing that others can reform gives them the opportunity to do so. Refusing to believe that someone can change leaves them – and us – in the same state we started out in. Worse than that, it leaves us jaded, letting the cruelty of others lead us to adopt their hopeless view of the world. Unless we believe for a better life, and believe that anyone can choose to pursue it, we have no more hope than the criminals we choose to give up on. If we don’t believe in it, and see the hope of a new life, how can they ever choose to pursue it?

Believe for change. Even for those you once gave up on.

Find more reviews of Wonder Woman Archives Vol. 2 at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Even Wonder Woman can be wrong sometimes.

We shouldn’t be surprised if she follows a flawed belief system, only to discover its flaws very late in the game. After all, most of our modern society follows the same flawed pattern.

In the animated film, “Wonder Woman”, we are introduced to the private history of the Amazons. Ares, the God of War, led a brutal army to slaughter all of their men. Having been seduced and then betrayed by Ares, Hippolyte seeks revenge against him, but the god, Zeus, refuses to let her slay his son.

Zeus’ wife, Hera, steps in, comforting and encouraging Hippolyte that justice will yet be served. Although she is not permitted to kill Ares, Hippolyte will be granted a secret island where her surviving people can live in peace forever, hidden from the world. Hera will also grant Hippolyte her heart’s deepest desire: a child. After Hippolyte forms an infant out of clay, a lightning bolt strikes it, bringing it to life.

Creating Wonder Woman.

Hipployte’s daughter, Princess Diana, grows into a strong and beautiful young woman, who can best any of her Amazon sisters in their games of combat. She asks Hipployte a wise question: Why do we train for combat if we are completely safe from attack? But Hipployte wants every Amazon to be ready to fight one day … just in case.

Then an American fighter plane crashlands on Paradise Island. The Amazons discover and capture Steve Trevor, a brash, cocky young pilot who can’t seem to keep from doing and saying the wrong thing around them. Hipployte points out to Diana that Steve Trevor is a perfect example of the deceitfulness and depravity of men, and insists upon returning Trevor to his homeland with an Amazon guide.

As we know, Hipployte holds a contest to see who will win the honor of escorting this despicable male back to his despicable world; forbids Diana to enter; Diana enters it in disguise, anyway; wins; and gets a new outfit and invisible plane for her trip to the States.

The twist in this tale is that Ares has escaped his prison on Paradise Island and is on his way to the States, too, to start wreaking havoc on the world. Giving Wonder Woman and Steve the job of working together to stop Ares.

Diana discovers that man’s world can be beautiful, and very confusing. She finds a little girl crying, because the boys her age won’t let her play their swordfighting game, since she’s a girl. Offended, Wonder Woman instructs her in proper combat techniques, then sends her back into the fray. Steve observes, “That was sweet. Teaching her how to disembowel her friends like that.” Fortunately, the boys ran away.

Steve continues trying to put moves on Wonder Woman, to no avail. He even tries to get her drunk so that she’ll tell him how she really feels. He doesn’t realize that an Amazon like Diana can easily drink him under the table. All of his attempts to get on her good side only make her like him less, convincing her that her mother was right about men.

When they confront Ares and Diana is knocked unconscious, headed for a certain death, Steve lets Ares go in order to save her. When she recovers in a hospital bed, Diana is furious to discover that Steve allowed Ares to escape.

“I didn’t need you to save me!” she shouts. “I needed you to stop Ares!”

“Hey!” Steve shouts back. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be here right now!”

“I’m an Amazon, Steve! We’re prepared from birth to give our lives in battle! I knew what the consequences were going into this mission!” Narrowing her eyes, she adds, “I bet you would have acted differently if I were a man.”

Steve loses it. “Oh! Playing the sex card again, are you? You know what? I’ve had just about enough of listening to you go on about how terrible men are!”

“Does the truth hurt, Steve?” Wonder Woman jabs again.

“News flash! The Amazons ain’t so perfect, either! You act brave, but cutting yourselves off from the outside world was cowardly. Not to mention … stupid! Like less communication between men and women is what the world needed!”

“How dare you —?”

“No! I’m not done! You met your first man, what, like fifteen minutes ago? And you think you have us all figured out. Well, I’m sorry, but not everything a man does is to further some misogynistic agenda. We don’t hold doors open or pull out chairs for women because we’re trying to keep you down. And I didn’t save you because I thought you were some damsel-in-distress! I saved you because … because I care about you, Diana. And I’m not going to abandon a friend in need. Man or woman.”

Wonder Woman finally realizes that she was wrong about Steve, and perhaps about men in general.

Up until the 1960’s, society often regarded women as secondary to men. In position, in skills, in intellect. Many men believed that being “head of the home” meant ordering their wives around as if they were slaves, rather than spouses.

Things have changed since then. Unfortunately, we now live in an age where the roles are virtually reversed. Today, women are encouraged to show blatant disrespect for men – for their position, their skills, their intellect. It’s considered normal and right for a woman to mock her husband’s handyman skills, saying, “He doesn’t know one end of a wrench from the other.” But those same women would be outraged if a man ever said his wife didn’t know one end of a spatula from the other. It’s even considered normal and right for women to lust over men, right in front of their husbands or boyfriends, and expect them to be okay with it.

The reality is that we maintain the same double-standard for the sexes today that we thought we were getting rid of fifty years ago. Instead of seeking true equality, our society opted for a feminist backlash, taking revenge on men for all of their past abuses by acting the same way toward them. Which became more important than learning how to work together.

Less communication and less respect between men and women is not what the world needs. Once she realizes this, Wonder Woman gains a new respect for Steve, as a friend and as a man, and trusts him to help her stop Ares.

Nicki and I are often amazed at the way women put men down, especially married couples. When we see it portrayed on television, Nicki is more offended than I am, knowing how devastating it is to humiliate men and treat them like fools. Trust me, it’s not the way to maintain a strong relationship.

The next time you feel the urge to throw out another insult at the opposite sex, man or woman, consider how it might make them feel. You could get a laugh from others or feel better about yourself, but at the cost of your friend’s feelings or even their reputation. Maybe even at the cost of your friendship with them. Sure, you might still be friends. You might even be in love. But after the jabs and insults and other wounds keep coming, trust and genuine friendship are beaten down, until they simply disappear altogether.

Perhaps the best way to win the Battle of the Sexes is to stop the fighting.

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by Randall Allen Dunn

Most people just don’t get Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman is a heroine, in the truest sense of the word. Not just for her powers, but for her ideals. Since she was first introduced to comics in 1941, Wonder Woman has strived for peace in the midst of wars, something that many people find hard to grasp, let alone support. As an Amazon warrior, she stands ready to fight, but prefers to lead even her enemies to seek peaceful solutions.

Since 2001, a Wonder Woman movie has been in the works, but it never seems to get off the ground. An early script was rumored to feature Sandra Bullock, but as Wonder Girl, who gradually discovers that she has inherited the powers and duties of a heroine from a previous age, namely Wonder Woman. Can you imagine promoting a Batman movie to moviegoers, who discover when they see the film that it’s really all about Robin?

Later, film producers hired screenwriter Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse, to revise the concept. But they insisted that it not be set during World War II, as the original Wonder Woman television series was. Whedon’s suggestions were ultimately rejected. In a recent article, Whedon cited the problems of creating a film around Wonder Woman, noting that people can’t relate to an Amazon who seems so high above them, and that, unlike other superheroes, she’s not tied to any particular city.

More recently, when Megan Fox was told that fans considered her a good choice to play the heroine, she criticized Wonder Woman as “a lame superhero”.

Even the comic book creators have re-designed her costume and powers every decade or two. They often seem to forget whether Wonder Woman has the power to fly, what actually happens if she loses her bracelets, and whether her costume should look American.

And yet, despite these attempts to shift focus away from Wonder Woman in her own movie, despite beliefs that audiences can’t relate to her ideals, and despite the snubbing of her costume and identity that some find “lame”, Wonder Woman continues to draw readers and viewers after nearly seventy years.

We’re not really supposed to “get” Wonder Woman. That is, we don’t need to bring her down to our level so that we can relate to her. Wonder Woman has always represented hopes and ideals that are, in fact, high above us. Rather than bring heroes down to our level, we should continue to let them inspire us to live better. What better example of heroism can you find than Wonder Woman, who stands ready to fight but continually seeks peace between people, communities, and even nations? In the foreword to the graphic novel The Circle, science fiction novelist Mercedes Lackey, referring to its author Gail Simone, regarding Wonder Woman’s purpose:

I believe it is Gail herself who said, “When you need to stop an asteroid, you get Superman. When you need to solve a mystery, you call in Batman. But when you need to end a war, you get Wonder Woman.”

Wonder Woman actually does have a city, Washington, D.C., from which she gathers information to help protect the world from its own wars. The setting for her adventures is war itself, whether it takes place in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, or during World War II, when the Nazi regime clearly threatened worldwide freedom. She also has another home, Paradise Island, where she was raised with ideals of peace and hope.

These points were clearly presented in the 1970’s television series responsible for much of Wonder Woman’s modern fame, and for making the names Lynda Carter and Wonder Woman nearly synonymous. The series began as a TV movie called, “The New, Original Wonder Woman”, a strange title intended to distinguish it from the recent “Wonder Woman” movie starring Cathy Lee Crosby (another clear example of people not getting Wonder Woman).

Stanley Ralph Ross, renowned for bringing Batman to television in the 1960’s, was hired to make Wonder Woman work for television. Ross returned to the roots of her story, setting her adventures in World War II. Like Batman, the initial movie was very campy, with comic portrayals of Nazis, American soldiers, and the Amazons.

But Wonder Woman remained true to form, full of justice and compassion, coming to the United States like a nurse treating a wounded society. I think this is what appeals to my four-year old, Abby, when she requests to watch this pilot episode, saying, “Can we watch the one where Steve is sick?” Though she loves pretending to deflect bullets with imaginary bracelets and fighting me as an “evil Nazi bad guy”, she sees Wonder Woman as someone who heals people.

When an injured American pilot, Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner), parachutes onto Paradise Island, the secret home of the Amazons, Princess Diana (Lynda Carter) carries him to their city to receive medical treatment. The Amazons then learn that Steve is fighting against “Nazis”, a group of evil men trying to control the entire world.

Diana’s mother, Queen Hippolyte (Cloris Leachman), wants to rid their island haven of Steve Trevor as quickly as possible. She insists that men are dangerous, having experienced their violence and treachery in centuries past. But Diana insists on believing that some men can be trusted.

Even Wonder Woman’s own mother doesn’t get her.

Hippolyte holds an athletic contest to select the strongest and bravest Amazon to return Trevor to his people. Forbidden to compete, Diana disguises herself with a wig and joins the other masked Amazons. She ultimately wins the challenges and reveals her true identity to her stunned mother. Despite her misgivings, Hippolyte sends Diana away with her blessing. She provides her with a costume that represents the markings on Trevor’s plane, as an emissary to his people, and encourages Diana, “in the world of ordinary mortals, you will be a ‘Wonder Woman’.”

And so she is. She’s not one of us, and she doesn’t think or act the way we do. Instead, she persists in believing that people can find ways to live peacefully, even in the midst of war.

She brings Steve to the United States and rushes him to a hospital, where her strange (and very revealing) costume draws confused stares from nurses, orderlies, and a long trailing line of intrigued sailors. When she spots two armed robbers fleeing from a bank, she tosses the men to the ground and deflects their bullets with her wrist bracelets at lightning speed. Before the driver can escape, she lifts the back end of his getaway car with her superhuman strength, holding them at bay as the police arrive to take over.

Her amazing feats are noticed by theatrical agent Ashley Norman (Red Buttons), who convinces her to perform her bullets-and-bracelets act for his theatre to earn money. Having realized that she needs money to survive, Wonder Woman agrees. Meanwhile, she continues to keep tabs on Steve’s progress in the hospital, even disguising herself as a nurse to visit him.

Wonder Woman soon uncovers the deceit of her new employer, Mr. Norman, as well as Trevor’s secretary, Marcia (Stella Stevens), both of whom are working for the Nazis. She foils their plans and rescues a kidnapped Steve. When Norman sees that Wonder Woman has him at her mercy, he begs her not to hurt him. Wonder Woman smiles at the suggestion. “Where I come from, we try never to hurt anyone.”

Of course, the Nazi agent doesn’t get her, either.

True heroes aren’t like us. They represent the noble attributes that we wish to possess, and act the way we know we should, so we seek to follow their examples. Not by fighting criminal masterminds who try to freeze cities or shrink the president, but by going out of our way to help others in whatever way we can. To heal people.

Wonder Woman is someone whose compassion and spirit we can pattern our lives after. Bringing her down to our level by making her less assured in her mission of peace, less confident in her moral ideals, less sure of her identity as an American and as an Amazon, is to render her powerless, and to render ourselves powerless with her.

In the world of ordinary mortals, she is a Wonder Woman. If we learn from her ways, we can become heroes who heal the people around us by standing for peace.

And it’s okay if other people don’t get us.

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