Wonder Woman's New Costume: The Verdict

By now, most of you folks out there will probably have heard about the new Wonder Woman costume- and some may have seen it. I've been doing a little reading, looking at fan reaction, and looking at the various looks that Wonder Woman has had in the past, and I am now able to say my verdict: I like it.

The costume has been receiving heavy criticism. Fans have been saying that it looks dated- something that looks like it was from the nineties, and not in a good way. The costume, redesigned by Jim Lee, retains some of the classic signature Wonder Woman motifs- the bracelets, the lasso of truth, and the headband. However, everything else has been completely revamped and changed.

Wonder Woman's new costume was conceived by superstar artist Jim Lee. It premiered in Wonder Woman #601.

Wonder Woman's chest piece has been replaced by a red shirt, with a neck line going done to the breasts. Along the neck line, we can see a smaller Wonder Woman emblem than we are used to. She has retained her belt, albeit a slightly changed one with the image of an eagle imprinted onto it. She has tight-fitting pants, which  by Jim Lee's design look padded, with some sort of strange shoe. She has a sporting leather jacket, also padded, and new bracelets. This time they're red and gold, and with a W imprinted on them. Look at the above image for more details.

As for the new direction of the series, J. Michael Straczynski has said the following. "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." Diana has been raised in a modern, urban setting, and her mission is to restore the original timeline.


As for fans of the original costume, this is good news. If the new costume misses the mark and turns out to be more bothersome than compelling, the story can end with Wonder Woman restoring the former time line and getting her classic costume back. But we all have to keep in mind- when Spider-Man's symbiote costume appeared in the Amazing Spider-Man #252 it was also heavily criticized. It continued to reapear and dissapear according to fans, until finally finding itself a more permanent home- with Eddie Brock. However, the costume is now considered to be as classic as the original itself. Hopefully this is what will happen with Wonder Woman's costume, unlike her previous 60's mod look:

Wonder Woman's mod costume was originally concieved by Mike Sekowsky. It premiered in Wonder Woman #178.

So I have decided that I rather like it. It's colorful, iconic, and very recognizable. It's a throwback to the classic costume, and since the costume has not changed in years, it's good that the costume has finally changed. It's also very modern, and kind of punky. Overall, it's a change for the better and I cannot wait until for more!