The Geek Beat: All the World is Waiting For You!

by Elisabeth Rappe Nov 18th 2008 // 1:20PM

Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Fandom, Comic/Superhero/Geek, The Geek Beat



By necessity, I spend a lot of time on the Internet – and that time is quite narrowly focused on movie and comic book sites, with quick dashes to CNN or Jezebel to see what is going on outside of Warner Bros or Marvel. I'm constantly plugged in, Borg style, and the trailers, rumors, debunkings, rants, and reviews fly by in a rapid stream of information. I'm generally a month or two ahead of everyone I know in "real life," and I've gotten used to the fact that most of my friends and family are only just now hearing something about this weird Watchmen movie. Movie news just doesn't move the same way "out there."

Occasionally, though, a story will shatter through the space-time continuum and everyone will be chattering about it while its still on my radar. Last week, it was Beyonce as Wonder Woman. It was being argued over everywhere I went, and was still being hashed out at my gamer/comic hangout last night. The staying power of this story is not only impressive, it's refreshing for one reason – people really care about Wonder Woman. Men and women of all ages and levels of geekery were incredibly passionate about this story; they all had very definite opinions, and there was little debate. Beyonce shouldn't be Wonder Woman. End of story.


It's kind of sad -- not because I want Beyonce to be the Amazon goddess (I don't), but because the original story wasn't much of a casting rumor. It was really just one fan talking out loud ... albeit a fan who had access to DC and Warner Bros executives in order to pitch her idea. And I know it was that small fact that made everyone loudly proclaim their opposition, because we know executives will think Beyonce+Wonder Woman=easy peasy lemon squeezy. You start to get a little worried when you hear someone's been to the top levels and offered up their mega stardom. But honestly, I expected the fan reaction to be more mixed, and a lot of people cheering Beyonce on. "She's gorgeous! She has a great body! She should totally be Wonder Woman!" That's the argument that follows Megan Fox, so why not Beyonce? Instead, no one was into the idea. Not Beyonce fans, not Wonder Woman fans, or anyone casually caught in between. Sorry, Beyonce. I don't know if you surf the Internet, but I bet that isn't the response you expected.

The overwhelming consensus is that people Wonder Woman done right -- and I'm thrilled to see how many people are still invested in seeing her on the big screen. Again, I was surprised with how many comments the Beyonce piece logged -- the last time I wrote about Wonder Woman, it logged a grand total of 11 comments. And when I complained about superheroines getting short shrift on the big screen, there wasn't a real clamor to see Wonder Woman. Maybe fans were still too depressed over Joss Whedon being dumped. But fans were certianly fired up when Beyonce made a grab for the part -- and there has been so much discussion on blogs and forums that I wouldn't be surprised if Warner Bros is spurred into some action. Frankly, I've always been mystified as to why the studio has dragged their feet on bringing her to the big screen -- is anyone at the studio thinking twice about that, when everyone from Beyonce to Diane von Furstenberg is worshipping Princess Diana? Will the rise in buzz see the Amazon get a faster track into production? Maybe it will. I hope so.

And on that same token, I'm just as confused by the sneering Wonder Woman still gets from my fellow movie writers. With this latest casting rumor came the usual digs, the I-don't-get-her, and "Wonder Woman would never work." I'll never buy that she's more implausible or ridiculous than Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, or the Green Lantern, or that she lacks a definable fan base. I think she has a mainstream appeal that few comic characters do -- girls buy Wonder Woman pajama sets when they wouldn't be caught dead touching a comic book. Would von Furstenberg ever design t-shirts for Dark Phoenix or Ms. Marvel? Does she even know who they are? Wonder Woman's popularity outstripped nerdom long ago. She's iconic. I fail to see how her movie, in the words of the Movie Examiner, could ever be "a screamingly bad idea." No, it's "screamingly" pathetic to let her languish on the back burner with vague excuses that she's too expensive, too unmarketable, or too silly. If fans know who Wonder Woman isn't (and she's clearly not Beyonce), then they know who she is. And it's about time Hollywood did too.

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