Invisible jets and bulletproof bracelets

Years before Sigourney Weaver strapped on a flamethrower in Aliens, or before Linda Hamilton went head-to-head with a cyborg in Terminator 2, or even before Sarah Michelle Gellar staked her first vampire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there was raven-haired, olive-skinned Lynda Carter who showed the world that the female of the species is indeed deadlier than the male. In the television wasteland of the ‘70s, where most of the hit shows were basically just about guys in turtlenecks running around LA, Wonder Woman provided a refreshing feminist flight from our more often than not male-dominated world.

Recently, I was able to acquire a bootlegged copy of the show’s first season in Makati Cinema Square, and watching it has sent me high up giggling in retro-kitsch heaven. But beneath the big hairdos, the kooky Feminazi villains-of-the-week, and that infectious Blaxploitation-flavored theme that could easily be spinning right now in Quentin Tarantino’s stereo, Wonder Woman is this knowing send up that delivers an honest message of female empowerment.

One of DC Comics’ so-called "Big Three" (the others being Batman and Superman), Wonder Woman was created by psychologist Charles Moulton in 1941. As with all superheroes, Wonder Woman started out as an instrument of war propaganda, an icon that reflected America’s antagonism against the Germans and the Japanese during the ‘40s, hence her first appearances in comic books placed her as a US government agent fighting the Great War against the Nazis and the Japs.

An inspired superhero creation, nonetheless, Wonder Woman is a native of Themyscira, or Paradise Island, an island solely inhabited by Amazon women warriors and is made invisible to outsiders by a mysterious refraction of light over its surface. She’s fast, she’s strong, she can fly, she can deflect ammunition with bracelets made out of Feminum (a rare metal found only in her island home), she can fling her tiara like a makeshift Batarang, and she can squeeze the truth out of you once you’re tied up in her magical lasso.

(Coincidence or not? Wonder Woman creator Charles Moulton was also the inventor of a very helpful machine we use these days: The lie detector. Ha! That’s trivia you only learn through comic books.)

Skimpily (or is it skankily?) dressed in star-spangled brassieres and panties, Wonder Woman, as comic historians such as Les Daniels have pointed out, is one of the sexiest icons in comic book history. But famed painter Alex Ross begged to disagree and said in the documentary Beauty, Brawn and Bulletproof Bracelets: A Wonder Woman Retrospective, "Although you see Wonder Woman wearing next to nothing, she has this grace and divinity that stops you from seeing her in a sexual way."

A month ago, word came to me that Hollywood is coming up with a Wonder Woman movie. And just to put more cream on top of that, it has been officially announced that the one who will be writing and directing it will be… Joss Whedon! Ah…Joss Whedon. that guy who made me lose all my money on bootlegged copies of the seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, that guy who made me gain weight as I sat for countless of hours and popped in discs and discs of that more-addicting-than-narcotics television show. Hollywood, congratulations. You have in your hands a very capable director.

My girlfriend Marie, who studies film in Columbia University, told me when she watched a Buffy episode called "The Body," an episode that Whedon wrote and directed, that you can teach a film class with that one episode alone. And damn Whedon! As filmmaker-comic-book advocate Quark Henares told me, he is now officially the best X-Men comic book writer there is – no small thanks to his seminal run on Astonishing X-Men. But despite the news that Whedon helming the project has been put to ink, rumors have been flying from every corner as to who will play the part of the Amazon princess. From Jessica Biel to Jennifer Lopez to Angelina Jolie, from Buffy stalwarts Sarah Michelle Gellar to Charisma Carpenter, the rumor-mongering continues. But if anyone who has a say in the project is reading this, please read: Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Anyway, as we wait in great expectation, I suggest you catch up on your Wonder Womanese with these two graphic novels by novelist-turned-comic book scribe Greg Rucka:

‘Wonder Woman: Hiketeia’ (Greg Rucka, J.G. Jones)

What happens when ideologies clash? Well, first things first, you get a wicked cool S&M cover that shows Wonder Woman’s boot crushing the noggin out of a down-and-beaten Batman. But aside from that, you get a story of Greek tragedy proportions. When a young woman from Gotham City takes her vengeance on the lowlifes who murdered her sister, she flees to Wonder Woman for protection, when the Dark Knight comes at her heels to arrest her. J.G. Jones’ signature photo-realistic style paired up with Greg Rucka’s morally ambiguous storytelling makes a great read. Plus, it’s kind of refreshing to see the sometimes too-stubborn Batman getting his ass handed back to him by a woman.

‘Wonder Woman: Down To Earth’ (Greg Rucka, Drew Johnson)

Now an ambassador working for the United Nations, Wonder Woman publishes a book, a collection of essays and beliefs called Reflections, and this graphic novel is a study on how the public sees Wonder Woman as a moral entity. From lesbianism to ecology, Rucka makes the relevant issues concerning the Amazon princess the subject of debate. The return of classic villains such as Dr. Psycho and Silver Swan make the story fire up even more. Alan Moore once said that superheroes are "morals in their pure form"; read this book and figure it out.

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Interested in these titles and other graphic novels? Visit Fully Booked at the Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Center, Makati City or call 756-5001 to 04.

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Send your comments and reactions to wincy_ong@yahoo.com.