7/11/10 Looking Wonder-ful

Okay, what I'm about to say is going to expose me as a geek of the highest magnitude, but I can't just sit idly by and listen to one of the coolest women ever get ruefully disparaged by the fashion police. If anyone embodies the ideal that it's your heart and mind and spirit that count...that you are more than the sum of your accessories, it's her, and she doesn't deserve to be brutally attacked by those fashion fascists.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, Wonder Woman, I got your back sister.

In case you missed it, Wonder Woman has updated her look. Gone are the days of red go-go boots and star spangled Daisy Dukes. Say goodbye to the bosom-heaving bustier with the gold eagle on the front. Instead, Wonder Woman has updated to some tasteful black pants (!!!), amazonian-insired accessories, fitted red top, and-get this-even a shoulder covering motorcycle jacket (I know!!). She actually looks a little rock star...or like she's ready to go clubbing in New York. Or at least normal enough that people wouldn't snicker as she walked down the street. And I say good for her. She deserves some new threads. Besides, that old look was so World War II, and dare I say it, more than a little tarty.

Wonder Woman in her old outfit (l) and now sporting a fetching blue, red and yellow number (r). Photograph: DC Comics

You know it's a man's world when even the super-est of women get dressed as pin-up girl of the month, July 4th edition. Sure, the look screamed patriotism, but it also screamed super-floozie, and it always concerned me that Wonder Woman, most powerful woman in the world and heroine to little girls everywhere, would portray herself as a star-spangled hooker. But the times, as they say, are a-changin', and nothing says the equality of women like being able to wear something tasteful and non-flesh baring and still be considered powerful.

And why not? Batman updated his 'do. Gone are the days of him running around in tights with his underwear on the outside...he's got that fancy all black rubber suit deal now that emphasizes his abs. Spiderman went from red and blue to black and then back again, and Wolverine went through several colors of spandex (and an eye patch) before ditching his uniform altogether and just wearing normal clothes. If the guys can update, why not Wonder Woman? Heaven knows that after 69 years of enduring a blue-and-white starred wedgie, she deserves it.

I know the traditionalists are mad. They can get over it. Everything changes. Everything evolves. I know the comic geeks hate the fact that she's wearing, you know, actual clothes, and not a skin-bearing, breast-bouncing, vacuum-sealed tight outfit. But it's time they started respecting women for being women and not just leather-donned sex objects. Nobody takes a woman in hot pants and a bustier seriously. More, I think the move says something to little girls today, who more than anything need to hear the message that you don't have to dress like a tramp to be popular. (And judging from what I see the 7 year-olds walking around in these days, I say the message can't come soon enough).

This could end up being a great step forward for women-kind. First Wonder Woman, then maybe Catwoman, or the X-men women, or that chick from the Fantastic 4. Then maybe cheerleaders, whom I've always felt got the short end of the stick with the mid-riff bearing tops and tiny skirts for a sport that is played outside during the winter season. Then dance teams, who not only employ spandex but tend to spend most of their time writhing around on the floor in suggestive moves for the enjoyment of leering men during half-time shows. It's time we remembered that young girls are watching also.

So bravo Wonder Woman! Way to step into the present. Way to turn away from leather body suits and leotards and lead the way into seeing woman for powers they possess on the inside and not just as sex objects. I applaud the new look. I applaud DC Comics for doing it.

Wonder Woman, you've come a long way, baby.