Batman Vs. Superman: Five Potential Wonder Woman Costumes

[caption id='attachment_72315' align='aligncenter' width='550'] By Al Rio[/caption]While it was [...]

[caption id="attachment_72315" align="aligncenter" width="550"]

1798449-wonder_woman_costume_changes

By Al Rio[/caption]

While it was assumed for quite a while that we wouldn't actually see Wonder Woman, per se, in Batman vs. Superman but rather would get a glimpse of Diana Prince and know  with a wink and a nod what that meant for future movies, it now seems we may get a glimpse of the Amazing Amazon in costume on screen.

That's according to the film's costume designer, Michael Wilkinson, who recently said in an interview that both Diana and Clark would be getting super-suits tweaked a bit from the last time anybody saw them in action. Yesterday, we covered a few of the tweaks we thought might happen to the Superman costume in time for the Man of Steel sequel--and while it's harder to guess just what look Wonder Woman might embrace in the film, we figured we'd take a look at some of the comics for guidance as to where they might go with it.

wonder-woman-new-frontierThe New Frontier

Designed by award-winning comics and animation artist Darwyn Cooke, a variation on this is probably the most likely scenario, if you were to ask me off the top of my head what version of the comic book costume we would see. Basically the Golden Age version of the Wonder Woman costume, complete with skirt and eagle emblem on the chest, this one is tweaked slightly in that she's wearing flats rather than heels (a fashion change that absolutely needs to take place in the "grounded" reality of these films) and the traditional skirt has been transformed to something more like Xena Warrior Princess would wear, rather than Miss Congeniality. That's an important move, because for years now, Xena has been a touchstone for fans complaining that Warner is having such a hard time "getting" Wonder Woman, and suggesting that the concept can work pretty easily. It's also not quite as "Hey, she's a girl! Wink-wink, nudge-nudge!" as some of the others, as you'll see similar garb on male combatants in period pieces like Gladiator. This costume splits the difference nicely between retaining a classic, recognizable look and color scheme for the fans while still being something a little different, more realistic and cool-looking for the uninitiated who only remember the decades-old TV show.

agent-diana-princeSpywear

It doesn't seem unlikely that we'll get some variation on this at some point in the film. Slotting Wonder Woman right into the movie with as little exposition as possible seems likely to be a priority since there will be so much going on and being introduced in Batman vs. Superman. What better way to do that than to use her role as "goodwill ambassador" and bring A.R.G.U.S. or Checkmate or sometbody into it, giving us Diana Prince, Secret Agent as well as Wonder Woman herself? Doing so would allow them to more or less handwave the exotic nature of her origins with a line like "After Superman showed up, the government went looking for somebody like that we could turn to if he ever went rogue. Instead, she found us." It would also give us an excuse to have Steve Trevor introduced, putting some of the pieces in place for the presumptive Wonder Woman solo film.

NewWonderWomanLead-thumb-550x331-42060

The Jacket There are a few different versions of Wonder Woman's costume that have embraced a leather jacket of some kind to offset the bikini look a bit. Some, like the one at top and right, actually make her look more ridiculous than if she didn't wear anything at all over the costume. Others, like the one directly above, don't really serve much purpose but at least don't actively detract from the costume's look and could presumably be explained away in-story as either being a place for storage, something to humanize her a bit (since obviously she doesn't really need protection from the elements) or even just someplace to keep her credentials while in-costume. This one's a long shot, but when discussing the various Wonder Woman costumes and odd little things that might pop up onscreen, it seems the jacket would have to at least be mentioned. And, hey! Gal Gadot, who will play Wonder Woman in the film, has a history with these midriff-bearing leather jackets in the Fast & Furious movies!

Wonder-Woman-New-52The New 52

Probably the next-most-likely scenario behind The New Frontier and just going with a variation on the "classic" look that fans are most familiar with from the Lynda Carter series, the beauty of the New 52 costume redesigns is that Jim Lee seems to have specifically set out to make costumes that are more easily translatable to other media. Of course, that success has been limited in Wonder Woman's case, as the first DC Universe animated feature to include the New 52 costumes is on the way and they've already changed Wonder Woman's costume in it, but that's a whole other issue.

wonder-woman-2The Classic Look

As with any superhero, the "classic" Wonder Woman look was designed to work in the comics and with little regard for the sensibilities of a modern filmgoing audience (which didn't exist in 1941). So while it's widely known and loved, it presents problems in terms of actually being a thing that someone is filmed fighting in. Does that mean it won't happen? Not at all--but it does mean that if they go with the "classic" look, there will probably be some tweaks that will upset the purists...and once you get into that territory, it's got to be tempting to just go another way altogether and do something with a bit more of a cinematic sensibility but the same basic feel, like the New Frontier or New 52 looks.

0comments