Wonder Woman Gets Pants!

By Albert Ching, Newsarama.com / June 30, 2010

Wonder Woman has a bold new look, one of the most dramatic changes of her 70-year history.

Designed by DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee, Wonder Woman's new costume retains the bracelets and tiara, but is considerably less revealing.

Criticized for years for fighting crime in effectively a one-piece swimsuit — often considered either sexist or simply impractical — the DC Comics icon has a new costume as of this week's Wonder Woman #600, and it's one considerably less revealing, complete with long pants and a jacket. Signature elements such as the character's bracelets, tiara and magic lasso remain. The costume was designed by acclaimed penciler and DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee.

DC Comics announced the change Tuesday evening.

"It’s a look designed 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?'" said incoming series writer J. Michael Straczynski.

"It reflects her origins in both the outside world and the world of Amazons: tough, elegant...a street-fighter’s look which also incorporates elements of her classic design," Straczynski said. "It reflects the two sides warring for ultimate victory, and underscores the path she must take."

It's also a versatile outfit, according to Straczynski.

"She can close it up to pass unnoticed ... open it for the freedom to fight ... lose the jacket or keep it on ... it has pockets (the other fan question, “where does she carry anything in that outfit?”), it can be accessorized," Straczynski wrote in DC's official release. "it’s a Wonder Woman look designed for the 21st century."

Straczynski also commented on some of the classic elements that were retained.

"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 ... letting her enemies know that she’s getting closer."

Straczynski noted to DC Comics that the new outfit is Wonder Woman's "first significant change in her appearance since the character debuted in 1941," with the notable exception of a mod bodysuit briefly sported in the '60s.

With the new costume comes a new direction for the title: Thanks to some time-shifting by the Olympian gods who created Wonder Woman, the superheroine's history has been changed so she grew up in a modern, urban environment, with little memory or conection to her mythical origins.

"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," Straczynski shared in the press release. "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."

This new direction will also bring Wonder Woman into opposition with new enemies.

"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," Straczynski wrote in DC's official materials. "She also does not yet have access to her full powers, but will be gaining them as she goes. Along the way, she will face a range of enemies — human and otherwise — who we have not seen before."

Essentially, both the new look and new direction amount to a rebirth, wrote Straczynski.

"This is Wonder Woman reborn, literally and metaphorically: fast, elegant, tough, smart ... the savior of her people, their guardian and protector ... avenging the fall of Paradise Island, searching to discover why Paradise Island was abandoned by the gods," Straczynski told to the publisher. "In the end, what she discovers will change her life and the world forever...and she will come face to face with a decision that will mean life or death for the entire human race."

#600 comes out in stores this Wednesday, June 30, written by Straczynski and drawn by Don Kramer and Michael Babinski.

think thickly, speak thinly

Neighbourhood Grace
June 25, 2010 - Eric O. Jacobsen

"My biggest frustration is that I can't seem to get many of the members to put any of their time or effort towards our shared mission."

I listened to his words, but also was aware that I must have had this conversation over a hundred times during my 15 years in ministry. But this time, it wasn't a church member complaining to me about the rampant individualism or consumerism within the church body. This was the District Manager of the Stadium Historic Business District Association (SHBDA) complaining about the lack of involvement with the broader goals of the district among business owners.

I had recently been elected the President of SHBDA and the District Manager was looking to me for support and help in his plight. In some ways, my involvement in the SHBDA was a natural fit, since the church at which I serve as the Senior Pastor is embedded in the heart of the neighbourhood and serves as a visual anchor for the district. On the other hand, the church is not technically a business and the source of my authority at church (the Word of God) is not a recognized authority outside of her walls. So far in my tenure, the awkwardness of this fit had not really crossed my mind, but the framing of the District Manager's concern was familiar enough to cause a momentary lapse in clarity between my two roles.

Had this been one of my lay leaders at church, and had the complaint been about church members, I would have had a better sense for how to frame my response. Perhaps I would have used 1 Peter 4:10 or Ephesians 4:11-13 to help us think about ways to remind our members that they have been given gifts of the Spirit in order to serve one another and build up Christ's kingdom. Not only would this language most likely fall flat on the District Manager, but the truth articulated in those verses would probably not apply to many of the business owners who are not followers of Christ.

As I reflected further on his dilemma, I began to frame a more helpful approach—at least in my own mind. Richard Mouw taught me that in public settings, we are often called to "think thickly and speak thinly." This gave me permission to ground my thinking in scripture and theology, even though my conversation partner may not share these foundations with me. Later, as a second step, I could think about ways to communicate the conclusions I had drawn.

I began with the cultural mandate of Genesis 1:27, in which God instructs humanity to fill the earth. The neocalvinist tradition holds that this reference to "filling" means the development of cultural goods. This mandate is one part of the larger creation mandate that is given before the covenant with Abraham, and so pertinent to all of humanity. I share it not just with the Christian community, but with all people, including the business owners and employees in the Stadium District. It is, first and foremost, an affirmation of their vocation to repair cars, clean teeth, hem pants, lend money, and prepare and serve food. Before we ask them to "do more to support the district," we can begin by affirming what they are already doing.

Then I began thinking about the great biblical notion of shalom. I have come to love the idea of shalom as human wholeness and flourishing in the context of loving relationships. Shalom is a word for God's intent for the good of humanity, and I believe it is attractive to people whether they have a relationship to God or not. According to Jeremiah 29:7, shalom is something we can seek for our unbelieving neighbours and with their cooperation. My favourite image of shalom, from Zechariah 8:4-5, is a picture of intergenerational life on the streets that I can easily picture taking place right in the middle of our Stadium District. I believe that fleshing out this picture may provide a key for getting the District Manager and the business owners to work together to bring about this attractive vision.

This led me to think about common grace. As I considered the plausibility of this vision in this place, I realized that there were other districts in our area that had managed to increase shalom through the collective voluntary efforts of business owners in the area—many of whom were not Christian. The immediate agents for this shalom increase were the business owners; however, we can also claim that God was the cause of this shalom through the blessing of common grace, the non-salvific blessing that God can give to any person. Common grace comes in many forms (natural blessings, the restraint of evil, and so on) but the pertinent form for this discussion is identified as "acts of civic righteousness."

This mental journey helped me reframe the District Manager's question in my mind. Although he didn't know it, he was asking me whether I could help the business owners in the district fulfill their God-given mandate to increase shalom in this place by affirming the goodness of their primary vocation and relying on the blessing of God to help them overcome their self-absorbed disposition in order to serve the greater good.

This thick reframing of his question helped me respond to his dilemma in a way that employed thinner language. I first tried to really listen to his concern and not brush it off. Shalom is meant to be a shared vision for the community, and it is distressing to feel alone in our pursuit of this ideal. He may feel blown off by the other business owners, but I wanted him to know that he had my full attention. I also affirmed his frustration. His picture of what this neighbourhood could be was more than just a projection of his ideal community setting or that which brought him comfort: it was, at some level, inspired by God's expectation for community life. And it is not just frustrating, but wrong when we fail to achieve it or even care about it.

As much as I felt that I needed to validate his frustration, I also recognized that I needed to be careful of indulging it. After all, much what the business owners were doing was simply living out the cultural mandate. He also spoke fairly sharply about the business owners' self-absorption and wanted to make them pay (by subtle censure) for their failure to contribute to the district. Part of his frustration grew from the gap between what the district could be and the effort that each was willing to put towards getting there. But perhaps the greater part of his frustration was the disappointment of discovering how pervasive a self-oriented perspective is within the members of our district.

I was less frustrated because I was less surprised. One of the great advantages of a Christian worldview is that we are not surprised by sin in either its egregious or milder forms. I encouraged the District Manager to have a bit more patience with the business owners, because the idea of putting the needs and desires of others above their own was alien to them. If it was going to be different, it was going to need to be taught and modeled. No amount of scolding was going to bring about shalom. We needed to revise our expectations and to take things a bit more slowly. What we need—what we all need at some point—is to be graciously invited to enjoy the fruits of shalom as we are being asked to contribute to it.

I knew that behind our efforts was a God who is even more interested in bringing about shalom in our neighbourhood than either of us could ever be. I never used the words shalom, sin, or even vocation in expressing this conviction. But I believe that our conversation that day honoured God, and hopefully helped us take one more step towards helping out neighbourhood to be God honouring as well.


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