Wonder Woman; The Amazon Super Goddess that Saved 2017

We have finally been blessed with a leading female superhero. Wonder Woman makes her debut on the big screen after starring in comics and television since the mid 1900s. Diana Prince has been around for a while, her appearance and mission changing several times over the years. She was created by William Moulton Marston and H.G. Peter back in 1941, when the world was reeling from war and it was becoming more clear that the United States of America was the only country prioritizing all freedoms, including women’s rights.

The story begins with Diana’s childhood on the paradise island, Themiscyra. She is raised by a tribe of Amazons, Greek mythology’s famous female warriors. Queen Hippolyte formed her out of clay and Zeus gave her life, which Diana later discovers makes her a god.

From the very beginning, Diana is determined to be just as fierce and strong as the women surrounding her. Her aunt trains her to be the best of all of them, knowing one day she will have to face Ares and save them all from never-ending war.

Once Diana is fully trained, war is brought to her hidden island and she decides to leave her home in order to save the world from Ares’ corruptive influence. Diana’s interactions with Steve show her naivety when it comes to men and the human world. She’s incredibly intelligent and well-read, yet she’s never spoken to a man or left her island.

Diana’s innocence is never handled condescendingly. She is not less than anyone because of her lack of knowledge. In fact, it is because she is unwilling to accept common facts that she is so sensational.

She steps into a war meeting that she’s not allowed in and translates a scientific journal. She refuses to ignore a town under siege that everyone else has given up on. She takes on the enemy soldiers and drives them away, destroying their advantage with only her shield.

When Steve introduces Diana to his friends, all they see is a stunningly beautiful and possibly delusional woman. By the end of battle, they are in awe of her power and sheer guts.

My favorite aspect of Diana Prince is her compassion. She wants to help people because she believes in love and goodness. She wants to save them from the corruptive evil of war so they can be happy. She could easily have focused her mission on revenge for her aunt, but Wonder Woman is not weakened and consumed by something as petty as revenge.

She blocks bullets and coos at babies. She launches into buildings and dances. She risks her life for complete strangers simply because it’s the right thing to do and she feels compassion for them.

People have pointed out how she’s not a bossy ballbuster. She’s not a busty pinup girl. Wonder Woman is an Amazon warrior, she is a god, she is a superhero. She fights with force, but also kindness. She fights for the defenseless and not only dreams of a world without corruption, she does something about it.

She is quietly but firmly insistent about her mission from the moment she leaves her island. Steve may try to tell her there is no Ares, no way to win the war, useless to fight for a “no-man’s land” town.

But Wonder Woman doesn’t let anyone else decide her purpose. She knows her destiny and embraces it.

This movie is beautiful. The action scenes are artfully done. There’s no excessive destruction, the battle scenes aren’t overly dramatized, and Wonder Woman is portrayed true to her legacy.

 Thank you Patty Jenkins, for making Gal Gadot a goddess of a superhero.