Wonder Woman 600 Changes Everything
Wonder Woman's seen her share of costume changes since she made her red, white and blue debut back in 1941. Some mods have been tweaks to existing elements, while others were motivated by complete character overhauls. DC announced today on the New York Times that she will have a new outfit designed by artist (and DC Comics Co-Publisher) Jim Lee, which marks as shift not only in her wardrobe, but also in her origin.
Kicking off in tomorrow's milestone issue of "Wonder Woman" #600, writer J. Michael Straczynski will introduces a world rewritten by the Gods, leading to a new origin and new outfit to the Amazonian princess. As explained on DC's Source blog:
The Gods, for reasons of their own but which may have something to with their survival and perhaps the survival of Earth itself, have changed the timeline. In the new timeline, years ago the Gods removed their protection from Paradise Island, and left it vulnerable to attack. And attacked it was. Led by a dark figure, a veritable army descended upon the Island, equipped with weapons that could kill even the Amazons. Outgunned, doomed, Hippolyta gave over her three-year-old daughter to a handful of guardians who spirited her away as Hippolyta led one last desperate battle against the forces that had come to destroy all she had created. In that final battle, she and most of the Amazons were killed, though some managed to escape.
It's now nearly twenty years later. Diana has been raised in an urban setting, but with a foot in both worlds. She has little or no memory of the other timeline. She knows only what she's been told by those who raised her On the run, hunted, she must try to survive, help the other refugee Amazons escape the army that is still after them, discover who destroyed Paradise Island and why...and if the timeline can be corrected or not. She also does not yet have access to her full powers, but will be gaining them as she goes.
DC describes the new outfit as "a Wonder Woman look designed for the 21st century" that will allow Diana "to be taken seriously as a warrior, in partial answer to the many female fans over the years who've asked, 'how does she fight in that thing without all her parts falling out?'" ...The bracelets are still there, but made more colorful, tied on the inside and over the hand, with a script W on each of them that form WW when she holds them side by side... and if you get hit by one of them, it leaves a W mark. This is a Wonder Woman who signs her work.""She's been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941," said J. Michael Straczynski. "If you're going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility... What woman only wears only one outfit for 60-plus years?"
