Wonder Woman (Fictional Character)

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    Six Superhero Movies to Stream

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    #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeHoliday TVBest Netflix DocumentariesAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyLet Down by ‘Wonder Woman 1984’? Here are 6 Great Superhero MoviesThe Wonder Woman sequel received mixed reviews. But there are plenty of excellent and entertaining alternatives to stream, and many that never received the attention they deserve. Gugu Mbatha-Raw in “Fast Color.”Credit…Jacob Yakob/Codeblack FilmsJan. 9, 2021Last month, Warner Bros. released the coronavirus-delayed “Wonder Woman 1984,” a sequel to the 2017 hit “Wonder Woman.” The action-adventure movie has done relatively well at the box office (in places where theaters are open), even though it’s also available for a limited time on the streaming service HBO Max. But compared with the enthusiastic response to the first “Wonder Woman” movie, the sequel has drawn a mixed reaction, with some critics and comic book fans complaining about the film’s unlikely plot and lengthy running time.So for those who felt let down by “Wonder Woman 1984,” here are six other superhero options to stream — from the widely beloved and popular to films that have never received the big audiences they deserved.‘The Rocketeer’Stream it on Disney+; rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.The moviegoing public was still developing a taste for superheroes back in 1991, when Walt Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures failed to draw crowds for this charmingly old-fashioned pulp exercise. Based on a little-known comic by the illustrator Dave Stevens, “The Rocketeer” is a fast-paced potboiler set in a 1930s Hollywood filled with glamorous swells and optimistic go-getters — including a bombshell actress Jenny (Jennifer Connelly) and her stunt-pilot boyfriend (Billy Campbell). The director Joe Johnston brings light and zip to the film’s Nazi-fighting plot — something he’d do again 20 years later with the mighty “Captain America: The First Avenger.”[Read The New York Times review.]Liam Neeson in “Darkman.”Credit…Universal Pictures Home Entertainment‘Darkman’Rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.A little over a decade before the director Sam Raimi was entrusted with the 2002 blockbuster “Spider-Man,” he made his own twisted, R-rated version of a Marvel Comics movie, about a mad scientist driven by tragedy to become a vigilante, disguised in an artificial skin that dissolves in sunlight. Anchored by a zesty Liam Neeson performance (getting an early start on the “capable hero, out for blood” screen persona he’s mastered in recent years), “Darkman” combines elements of old Universal monster movies, gritty 1970s superhero comics and slapstick comedy. Though it’s rated R and not appropriate for younger viewers, the movie is a true original.[Read The New York Times review.]‘Fast Color’Stream it on Amazon Prime or Hulu; rent or buy it on Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.In some of the most haunting superhero stories, the powerful dwell among us in the ordinary world, devoid of costumes or code names. One of the best-known of these is M. Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable.” Film buffs who love that film should definitely catch up with the writer-director Julia Hart’s similarly low-boil “Fast Color,” about a family of women who hide their extraordinary abilities from a government agency that wants to exploit them. Hart and her co-writer/producer Jordan Horowitz add their own spin on this classic genre premise by focusing on human relationships and small moments of wonder.[Read The New York Times review.]Michael Fassbender, left, and James McAvoy in”X-Men: First Class.”Credit…Murray Close/20th Century Fox‘X-Men: First Class’Stream it on HBO Max; rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.The X-Men movie franchise and its Deadpool and Wolverine offshoots have been hugely popular but inconsistent. “X-Men: First Class” is the best of the bunch because it isn’t bogged down by complicated mythology. Instead, the story starts at the beginning, in 1962, as two young mutant chums with different ideologies work together to recruit more of their own kind. The director Matthew Vaughn gives the picture the polish of a James Bond film, while James McAvoy (as Professor Charles Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (as Erik “Magneto” Lehnsherr) lead an ace cast in an adventure filled with international intrigue.[Read The New York Times review.]‘Big Hero 6’Stream it on Disney+; rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.Given that the superhero genre became a phenomenon thanks to the ink-stained medium of comic books, it’s too bad there haven’t been more big-budget animated superhero movies. The Oscar-winning “Big Hero 6” is a fine example of how the exaggerated, cartoony illustrations common to animation lend themselves well to kinetic, fantastical action. The film is also kid-friendly, telling the story of a moody teenage genius who assembles a group of tech-savvy nerds to help him, along with his adorably squishy super-robot Baymax, unravel a conspiracy. At once cute and visually dazzling, “Big Hero 6” is an old-fashioned superhero tale suffused with positivity.[Read The New York Times review.]From left, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Margot Robbie, Ella Jay Basco and Jurnee Smollett-Bell in “Birds of Prey.”Credit…Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Pictures, via Associated Press‘Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)’Stream it on HBO Max; rent or buy it on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.Comic book connoisseurs disappointed in “Wonder Woman 1984” had an excellent alternative last year for their DC Comics superheroine fix. In the “Suicide Squad” spinoff “Birds of Prey,” Margot Robbie reprises her role as the delightfully daffy Gotham City rogue Harley Quinn, who joins forces with some slightly more virtuous ladies in an explosive standoff with a local mob boss. The director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson load their movie up with foul language, bloody violence and self-referential humor, making the case that while strong female heroes are great, strong female antiheroes may be more fun.[Read The New York Times review.]AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Wonder Woman and Her Evolving Look

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }The Best of 2020Best ComedyBest TV ShowsBest BooksBest MoviesBest AlbumsAdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyWonder Woman and Her Evolving LookShe remained steadfast in her decades-long fight for justice, but her costumes ranged from a golden-eagle emblem and skirt to a W logo breastplate and leggings.Wonder Woman’s costume has morphed over the years, as showcased in a cover for Wonder Woman No. 750, drawn by Nicola Scott.Credit…Nicola Scott/DCDec. 29, 2020Updated 10:25 a.m. ETIn a trailer for “Wonder Woman 1984,” the title hero is clad in golden armor. That image had fans’ pulses racing because in comic books, the metallic suit is what the heroine dons for major battles. Wonder Woman, who was introduced in 1941, is part of DC’s Holy Trinity of heroes that includes Superman, who debuted in 1938, and Batman, who premiered in 1939. Like the outfits of her fellow heroes, Wonder Woman’s costume has evolved over time and even occasionally received a complete makeover. Here are some notable looks from the Amazing Amazon over the years.1941Sensation Comics No. 1Credit…Harry G. Peter/DCThe very first image of Wonder Woman (who debuted in All-Star Comics before starring in Sensation and then her self-titled series) shows her in her original costume, with a golden eagle emblem on her chest and a flowing, star-spangled skirt. Diana — as Wonder Woman is known on Paradise Island, the home of her Amazon sisters — takes part in a competition to return the marooned pilot Steve Trevor to America. Spoilers: She wins! And she’s given the costume as designed by her mother, Queen Hippolyta. The outfit has changed over the years. Her skirt got shorter until it resembled the bottom half of a bikini. She also sometimes eschewed red boots for red sandals, which were secured by straps leading up to the knees.1968Wonder Woman No. 179Credit…Mike Sekowsky and Dick Giordano/DCIn 1968, during a visit to Paradise Island, Wonder Woman learns that her sisters are leaving for another dimension. Diana stays behind and performs the “awesome Amazon rite of renunciation,” forsaking her powers. She returns to Earth, goes mod and, under the tutelage of her blind mentor, I-Ching, learns martial arts in order to continue her fight for justice. This status quo lasted until 1972. It was overturned thanks in part to an intervention by Gloria Steinem, who had protested Wonder Woman’s depowering. Steinem went on to put the heroine, clad in her traditional costume, on the cover of the first issue of Ms. magazine that year.1981Wonder Woman No. 288Credit…Gene Colon and Dick Giordano/DCIn the aftermath of an adventure in Washington, D.C., where Wonder Woman was then based, representatives from a new charity approach her. They want the heroine to endorse their organization — the Wonder Woman Foundation — and to consider wearing a new breastplate with a stylized double W. She’s reluctant, but after discussing the idea with her mother, who encourages her to wear it, she comes to a realization: “The cause will make the ‘W’ stand not just for ‘Wonder Woman’ — but for women everywhere.” She dons it and declares: “It doesn’t look half bad, at that. Who knows? It might grow on me.”1986Wonder Woman No. 1Credit…George Pérez/DCA reboot in 1986 led to a retelling of Wonder Woman’s origin and her journey to America. This version of the heroine was younger and somewhat naïve but an even more ferocious warrior. Her revised look equipped her with more armaments, including a battle ax, a shield and a spear. Even her tiara was weaponized and made razor sharp. She once used it to behead Deimos, the Greek god of terror, who was threatening the world.1994Wonder Woman No. 93Credit…Mike Dedato Jr./DCIn 1994, Queen Hippolyta had a vision of Wonder Woman’s death and conducted a new contest for the title. (She also made sure that her daughter lost.) Diana emerged with shorter hair and a uniform that managed to show even more skin thanks to matching black bike shorts and sports bra. By 1995, she had returned to a modified version of her familiar look, with fewer white stars on the bottom half of her costume but a huge tiara and a larger WW emblem that extended to a wider belt. The ’90s were rough for DC’s trinity: Superman died in 1992, Batman had a severe spinal injury in 1993, and Wonder Woman died in 1997. Ah, comics.2001Wonder Woman No. 173Credit…Adam Hughes/DCWonder Woman’s golden armor has its roots in “Kingdom Come,” a 1996 story set in a future when new heroes run amok in the absence of Superman. In that tale, Wonder Woman uses the armor after tensions at a prison for out-of-control superpowered beings boils over. The armor was later introduced in her present-day adventures. In a 2001 story, an alien menace named Imperiex sets his sights on Earth. Wonder Woman and Queen Hippolyta answer the call to arms, but only Diana survives — for a time. As comic books have taught fans, nearly every character death is undone, and Hippolyta was later resurrected.2010Wonder Woman No. 600Credit…Don Kramer and Michael Babinski/DCThe year 2010 saw Wonder Woman reach issue No. 600 thanks to some creative comic book math that combined three volumes of her series to get to this mostly celebratory issue. “Mostly” because one of this stories revealed that Wonder Woman’s timeline had been altered. In this new reality, Diana had been sent away as a child to escape the destruction of Paradise Island and retained only hazy visions of her life as Wonder Woman. On the bright side, this new world order led to a new uniform — one that completely covered her legs! Other changes: Her red-and-gold gauntlets left a W-shaped impression on those unlucky enough to be struck by them.2011Wonder Woman No. 1Credit…Cliff Chiang/DCIn 2011, DC rebooted its entire line. The heroes were presented as younger, which erased several longstanding relationships, and many of them were clad in overly designed, armor-like costumes. Wonder Woman’s new look featured additions to previous uniforms (a choker and matching armband) and subtractions from those looks (goodbye, pants). The color palette was also more subdued: a deeper red breastplate (with muted stars), dark blue shorts and boots, and silver accessories (save for the golden lasso of truth).AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More

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      Managing Movie Superheroes Is About to Get a Lot More Complicated

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      #masthead-section-label, #masthead-bar-one { display: none }What to WatchBest Movies on NetflixBest of Disney PlusBest of Amazon PrimeHoliday TVBest Netflix DocumentariesDC Films, led by Walter Hamada, plans to release movies featuring DC Comics heroes like Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman at a much faster pace.  Credit…Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York TimesSkip to contentSkip to site indexManaging Movie Superheroes Is About to Get a Lot More ComplicatedWalter Hamada, who runs DC Films, is overseeing a dizzying number of projects, part of a swarm of comics-based stories coming from Hollywood.DC Films, led by Walter Hamada, plans to release movies featuring DC Comics heroes like Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman at a much faster pace.  Credit…Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York TimesSupported byContinue reading the main storyDec. 27, 2020, 5:05 p.m. ETLOS ANGELES — Walter Hamada is not a typical superhero wrangler.He doesn’t have a booming, fanboy-in-chief personality. His modest home office, at least as it appears on Zoom, is light on the usual cape-and-cowl collectibles. Hollywood was not even his first calling: He set out to be a mechanical engineer.As the president of DC Films, however, Mr. Hamada, 52, manages the movie careers of Wonder Woman, Batman, Cyborg, the Flash, Superman and every other DC Comics superhero. And the new course he has charted for them is dizzying.The most expensive DC movies (up to four a year, starting in 2022) are designed for release in theaters, Mr. Hamada said. Additional superhero films (two annually is the goal, perhaps focused on riskier characters like Batgirl and Static Shock) will arrive exclusively on HBO Max, the fledgling streaming service owned by WarnerMedia.In addition, DC Films, which is part of Warner Bros., will work with filmmakers to develop movie offshoots — TV series that will run on HBO Max and interconnect with their big-screen endeavors.“With every movie that we’re looking at now, we are thinking, ‘What’s the potential Max spinoff?’” Mr. Hamada said.If you thought there was a glut of superheroes before, just wait.To make all the story lines work, DC Films will introduce movie audiences to a comics concept known as the multiverse: parallel worlds where different versions of the same character exist simultaneously. Coming up, for instance, Warner Bros. will have two different film sagas involving Batman — played by two different actors — running at the same time.The complicated plan involves a sharp increase in production. Last year, Warner Bros. made two live-action superhero movies, “Joker” and “Shazam!” In 2018, there was only “Aquaman.” All three were smash hits, underscoring the financial opportunity of making more.For various reasons, including creative misfires and management turnover at DC Films (Mr. Hamada took over in 2018), Warner Bros. has badly trailed Disney-owned Marvel at the box office. Over the last decade, Warner Bros. has generated $8 billion in worldwide superhero ticket sales, including $36 million from “Wonder Woman 1984” over the weekend; Marvel has taken in $20.6 billion.Gal Gadot and Chris Pine in “Wonder Woman 1984,” which arrived to $16.7 million in North American ticket sales over the weekend, the best result for any movie since the pandemic started.Credit…Warner BrosSuffice it to say, Warner Bros., which invented the big-budget superhero movie in 1978 with “Superman,” has been under pressure to get its act together.Disney has succeeded in part because its divisions collaborate in a way that siloed Warner Bros. never has. But that is changing. AT&T mandated greater cross-company synergy when it took over WarnerMedia in 2018.“In the past, we were so secretive,” Mr. Hamada said. “It was shocking to me, for example, how few people at the company were actually allowed to read scripts for the movies we are making.”More than ever, studios are leaning on pre-established characters and brands — especially if their corporate parents are building streaming services. HBO Max has 12.6 million subscriber activations. Netflix has 195 million. How do you delight Wall Street and quickly close the gap? You start by putting your superheroes to work.This month, Disney announced 100 new movies and shows for the next few years, most of them headed directly to its Disney+ streaming service, which has 87 million subscribers. Marvel is chipping in 11 films and 11 television shows, including “WandaVision,” which arrives on Jan. 15 and finds Elizabeth Olsen reprising her Scarlet Witch role from the “Avengers” franchise.Warner Bros. has at least as many comics-based movies in various stages of gestation, including a “Suicide Squad” sequel; “The Batman,” in which Robert Pattinson (“Twilight”) plays the Caped Crusader; and “Black Adam,” starring Dwayne Johnson as the villainous title character.Television spinoffs from “The Batman” and “The Suicide Squad” are headed to HBO Max. WarnerMedia’s traditional television division has roughly 25 additional live-action and animated superhero shows, including “Superman & Lois,” which arrives on the CW network in February.Robert Pattinson in “The Batman,” which is scheduled for release in theaters in 2022.Credit…Warner Bros. Entertainment, via Associated PressSony Pictures Entertainment has its own superhero slate, with at least two more “Spider-Man” movies in the works; “Morbius,” starring Jared Leto as a pseudo-vampire; and a sequel to “Venom,” which cost $100 million to make in 2018 and collected $856 million worldwide. Sony also has a suite of superhero TV shows headed for Amazon Prime Video.And don’t forget Valiant Entertainment, which is turning comics properties such as “Harbinger,” about superpowered teenagers, into movies with partners like Paramount Pictures.Superheroes have long been Hollywood’s most reliable moneymakers, especially when sales of related merchandise are included. (Wonder Woman tiara for cats, on sale for $59.50.) But how much speeding spandex and computer-generated visual effects can audiences take?More than you think, said David A. Gross, who runs Franchise Entertainment Research, a film consultancy. “If the stories are well written and the production values are strong,” he said, “then there will be little sign of fatigue.”Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Warner Bros. involves the recent prioritization of HBO Max. “The risk is, will watching these movies first on television degrade the entertainment experience, and later the value,” Mr. Gross said. “For an individual movie, there is no more profitable business model than a successful theatrical release — creating the biggest pop culture event possible. It’s the locomotive that pulls the entire train: merchandise, theme park licensing, other income.”On Friday, Warner Bros. released “Wonder Woman 1984” in North America, where it collected $16.7 million. Citing the coronavirus pandemic (only 39 percent of cinemas in the United States are open), the studio simultaneously distributed the film in theaters and on HBO Max. Warner Bros. will release its entire 2021 slate in the same hybrid fashion.WarnerMedia provided only vague information about the sequel’s performance on HBO Max, saying in a news release that “millions” of subscribers watched it on Friday. Andy Forssell, WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer general manager, said the movie “exceeded our expectations across all of our key viewing and subscriber metrics.”So far, “Wonder Woman 1984” has collected $85 million worldwide, with $68.3 million coming from cinemas overseas, where HBO Max does not yet exist. The film, starring Gal Gadot and directed by Patty Jenkins, cost at least $200 million to make and an estimated $100 million to market worldwide. It received much weaker reviews than its series predecessor.Toby Emmerich, president of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said on Sunday that he had “fast-tracked” a third Wonder Woman movie. “Our real life Wonder Women — Gal and Patty — will return to conclude the long-planned theatrical trilogy,” Mr. Emmerich said.Mr. Hamada rose to power through New Line, a Warner Bros. division that mostly makes midbudget horror films and comedies. Among other achievements, he worked with the filmmaker James Wan and others to build “The Conjuring” (2013) into a six-film “world” with $1.8 billion in global ticket sales. (“The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” arrives in June.)“A lot of times in studio meetings, executives just repeat buzzwords, and it becomes a joke,” Mr. Wan said. “Walt always brings something constructive, useful and important to the table. He talks to me in a language that I understand.”Mr. Hamada and Jason Momoa, the star of “Aquaman,” which was the lone superhero movie from Warner Bros. in 2018.Credit…Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesWhen Mr. Hamada arrived at DC Films in 2018, the division was in urgent need of stability.Two terrifyingly expensive movies, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016) and “Justice League” (2017), both directed by Zack Snyder, were deemed almost unwatchable by critics. Ben Affleck, who played Batman in the films, wanted to move on, complicating sequel plans. At the same time, filmmakers were developing other DC movies that had nothing to do with the existing story lines — and, in fact, contradicted some of them.Mr. Hamada and Mr. Emmerich had two options: Figure out how to make the various story lines and character incarnations coexist or start over.The answer is the multiverse. Boiled down, it means that some characters (Wonder Woman as portrayed by Ms. Gadot, for instance) will continue their adventures on Earth 1, while new incarnations (Mr. Pattinson as “The Batman”) will populate Earth 2.“The Flash,” a film set for release in theaters in 2022, will link the two universes and feature two Batmans, with Mr. Affleck returning as one and Michael Keaton returning as the other. Mr. Keaton played Batman in 1989 and 1992.To complicate matters further, HBO Max gave Mr. Snyder more than $70 million to recut his “Justice League” and expand it with new footage. Mr. Snyder and Warner Bros. had clashed over his original vision, which the studio deemed overly grim, resulting in reshoots handled by a different director, Joss Whedon. (That didn’t go well, either.) “Zack Snyder’s Justice League,” now four hours long, will arrive in segments on HBO Max in March.At least for now, Mr. Snyder is not part of the new DC Films blueprint, with studio executives describing his HBO Max project as a storytelling cul-de-sac — a street that leads nowhere.The multiverse concept has worked on television, but it is a risky strategy for big screens. These movies need to attract the widest audience possible to justify their cost, and too much of a comic nerd sensibility can be a turnoff. New actors can take over a character; James Bond is the best example. But multiple Gothams spinning in theaters?“I don’t think anyone else has ever attempted this,” Mr. Hamada said. “But audiences are sophisticated enough to understand it. If we make good movies, they will go with it.”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story More