Wonder Woman has indeed been a beacon of hope, not just for moviegoers who have been enraptured with her on-screen heroics but for the men and women behind the DC Extended Universe. Since director Zack Snyder's Man of Steel in 2013, Warner Bros. attempt to develop a DC shared universe from their pantheon of the world's greatest superheroes has been perceived similarly to the way the people of Earth see Henry Cavill's Superman in Batman v Superman. It's not that DC's three major releases prior to Wonder Woman - Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Suicide Squad - weren't financially profitable, but compared to the adulation regularly bestowed upon rival Marvel Studio's releases from critics and audiences alike, the DCEU's offerings were regularly maligned.
What a difference Wonder Woman has made. Director Patty Jenkins' origin story of Princess Diana of Themyscira, impeccably portrayed by Gal Gadot, has turned DC Films' fortunes around in that most elusive of ways: Wonder Woman made fans feel good about the DCEU, really for the first time. This isn't to say Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad don't have their fans and defenders - but those prior films also attracted a legion of detractors. By the time Batman v Superman concluded, the DCEU was a world without a Superman gripped by a sense of ominous foreboding. This was followed by a jaunt with the anti-heroes and criminals of the Suicide Squad, billed as the "worst heroes ever." The DCEU was a universe bursting with super powers but in need of genuine superheroes.
The DCEU Plan
The overall sense of malaise that surrounded the DCEU has been deflected like bullets from Wonder Woman's gauntlets. Wonder Woman has even been cited as the cause for the biggest statistical jump in the reputation of a franchise ever. The secret to Wonder Woman's success isn't so much a secret as it was a welcome and long-awaited embracing of what makes her character actually a hero. DC Films President Geoff Johns recently summed up the philosophy Wonder Woman and, it seems the guiding philosophy of the DCEU films going forward will be to "Get to the essence of the character and make the movies fun. Just make sure that the characters are the characters with heart, humor, hope, heroics, and optimism at the base."
This isn't to say there wasn't a sense of optimism and hope in Man of Steel, which concluded with Amy Adam's Lois Lane greeting Clark Kent with a warm "welcome to the planet," but the prevalent memory audiences have of that film was the mass destruction Superman and General Zod (Michael Shannon) reaped upon Metropolis before Superman committed the unthinkable act and executed his enemy. There was giddy joy to be found in Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman standing together for the first time against Doomsday, but that was followed by Superman's somber sacrifice, and was preceded by two hours of a misguided Batman and Superman locked in a war of mutual loathing. Finding optimism in Suicide Squad's ending, with Amanda Waller going back on her word and putting the squad back behind bars, not to mention the Joker (Jared Leto) breaking Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) out of prison to resume their abusive relationship, is pretty dire, even if the mid credits scene teased Bruce Wayne assembling the Justice League.
Wonder Woman is the first DCEU film to vividly fulfill Johns' stated mandate for DC's superhero movies. Many have assumed Wonder Woman's tone is a form of "course correction" for the DCEU, but it seems like Patty Jenkins was allowed to make the origin story she wanted to make, with the thematic elements that mattered most to her, and it worked spectacularly. Jenkins' vision for Wonder Woman beautifully lined up with Johns' ideals for DC's heroes, as well as with audiences.
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Heroics
Wonder Woman is a hero through and through. Princess Diana grew up on her isolated island of Themyscira wanting to be a hero, to do what's right and make a positive difference. When opportunity arose in the form of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crashing near the island with grim news about the outside world gripped in the first World War, Diana - after saving Trevor's life - never hesitates to take up her duty to defend humanity, even when urged not to act by her own mother Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen). But Diana must act, she must do what's right. Diana is appalled at the very thought of war, and in her naive way, she initially believed killing Ares would end it all.
In the London of 1918, Diana faced the entrenched patriarchy of the era, called it out, and confronting it. In the front lines of Belgium, Diana stood tall in defense of the beleaguered British soldiers and innocent civilians alike; she truly became Wonder Woman by defeating the German Army in No Man's Land and liberating the town of Veld. In Wonder Woman, Diana learns, step by step, who she truly is by her actions, which are always to aid others and to selflessly serve a greater good.
Hope and Optimism
In the climactic battle with Ares, when he confronted Diana with many truths about humanity's nature and about herself and her true origins previously denied her, Diana searched her soul and reaffirmed her love for and belief in humanity. Diana was someone who truly believed the errors and follies of man were caused by a manipulating outside force. When she learns otherwise, she looks into her heart and decides we are worth loving and fighting for anyway.
Wonder Woman ends in the modern day with Diana outright stating she will fight for us forever. It's a profoundly powerful idea: a superhero with a sound moral compass who uses all of her powers and abilities to protect us and fight for us because it's the right thing to do - because we're worth it. In a 2009 interview with Wired, comic book writer Grant Morrison said the following to describe Superman:
Somewhere, in our darkest night, we made up the story of a man who will never let us down...
By the time Wonder Woman takes flight over Paris before her movie's end credits roll, we come to realize it is this woman who will never let us down.
Humor and Heart
Another way Jenkins' made a classic for the ages in the vein of her inspiration, Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie, is in how she peppered Wonder Woman with welcome doses of humor and romance. Diana and Steve's funny and electric conversation about sexuality and "sleeping together" on the boat to London echoed Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) entertaining Superman (Christopher Reeve) on her balcony for an interview, which was laced with funny undertones. Soon, Superman took Lois for a flight around the world, the first time a superhero used his powers to romance his love in a movie. Wonder Woman played for sweeter and more understated romance, allowing Diana and Steve to dance in a magical snowfall in Veld.
Even when surrounded by harrowing war, Wonder Woman found moments of levity in Diana being a fish out of water in 1918 London: the first time she sees a baby and cooed, the first time she tried ice cream and gave her compliments to the salesman, and Etta Candy (Lucy Davis)'s witty barbs as she encounters this unusual but extraordinary woman. Wonder Woman delivered a lightness that only made Diana more real and lovable as a person.
Cultural Impact
Wonder Woman has proved to be a major cultural event in ways no one could have anticipated. Not since the Batmania surrounding 1989's Batman has a DC Film tapped the cultural zeitgeist quite like Wonder Woman has. Her movie has given women and little girls a hero to believe in and emulate. Patty Jenkins has received countless Tweets from fans and celebrity admirers (including Captain Marvel herself), with many declaring they have seen Wonder Woman multiple times. Teachers have shared stories of how school children are taking the values they saw in Wonder Woman and have begun applying them in the classroom and schoolyard. Oprah has even celebrated Wonder Woman Day. Jenkins' and Wonder Woman's box office success hopefully breaks down the barriers to allow more female directors to helm Hollywood tentpole blockbusters.
The onus is now on DC Films to fan the flames Wonder Woman has ignited and deliver more of these kinds of superhero movies, filled with heart, humor, hope, and optimism. The trailer for Justice League, laced with one-liners and sly wit, seems to indicate DC will bring bit of a lighter touch to its superhero team-up event movie, as promised by writer Chris Terrio prior to Batman v Superman's release.
Wonder Woman isn't just a movie that has arrived at the right time - at a moment when the divisive state of our world and our culture leaves many of us desperately looking for a hero to believe in - but Wonder Woman also seems to be a movie that belongs on the right side of history. Hopefully, Wonder Woman will prove to be a harbinger of more good things to come from the new and improved DCEU.
