Button Blues

I haven't posted on the whole issue of the conspicuous lack of Wonder Woman on a particular publicity image. Mostly because I don't have that much to say.

For me, I don't think it really means much. I do think the image seems oddly incomplete. It seems like it'd balance better if they scooched Superman over closer to Flash, and put Diana in the middle. But I don't think it's a particular sign that they're phasing Diana out in favor of Barry or Hal.

GL might be big right now, and the movie will help, but there's no way that Green Lantern has greater brand name recognition than Wonder Woman. Girls of all ages who've never picked up a comic carry Wonder Woman backpacks, lunchboxes, and have dolls and Halloween costumes. Women who weren't even born during the 1970s have practiced Lynda Carter's spin. In contrast, the vast majority of people you see wearing or carrying Green Lantern merchandise are 30-40-someting men. Nothing wrong with that, but it's not that well known a property. And honestly, as I pointed out in the comments of Ragnell's post. There's a great many people who, if you ask if they know who Green Lantern is, will answer "Oh, yeah! Bruce Lee played his sidekick Kato, right?" (This is actually a direct quote from my mother.)

My guess is cynically that they're marketing the pen to young men, so they put on the four main male characters. I don't think it's a conscious exclusion of women. Merely that there are times when the Big Two market toward women (I've always thought they've missed several opportunities myself, but no one asks me these things. :-)) and sometimes when they don't. This, I suspect is the latter.

A friend had an alternate suggestion on AIM that I thought was valid. He suggested from a design standpoint, the issue could be in Wonder Woman's logo. It IS a kind of awkward shape to be highlighted in silhouette. In her various costumes it would be too big, or two small, and if they used the girdle version, it wouldn't match up location wise with the other logos. In my opinion, they should have tried a little harder, but I appreciate that sometimes laziness wins out.

I definitely think that people have the right to be upset though. Because it's not really about the pin, but the feeling that people have that Wonder Woman (and by extension the female comic fanbase) isn't as appreciated as Batman and Superman. (Some of the commenters to Ragnell's post don't really help, let me add.) The thing is, it doesn't matter if you as a fan think Wonder Woman deserves her position in the big Three, or if you think she got in through some sort of comics marketing Affirmative Action. The fact is, you're dealing with the most mainstream SPECIFICALLY female-oriented franchise* with seventy-odd years of history.

(* Say what you will about Marston's bondage fetish. The fact remains that Wonder Woman was, from the beginning, marketed toward and directed toward female fans. I don't begrudge the guy for potentially getting his rocks off at the same time. Really, I just wish certain modern creators had his knack for subtlety.)

If you start knocking Wonder Woman's role in the DCU. You're going to offend a lot of female fans. You're going to offend a lot of female fans who don't even particularly care for Wonder Woman, the character, or even DC Comics. You don't HAVE to appreciate what she means as a symbol to many of us. Just don't be a complete dick about it.

And it'd be really nice to have a Wonder Woman button. I'd buy it.