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In the theme of Comic-Con and all things super hero related, the hugely popular convention isn’t the only event to make news in the comic book world this month. In early July, issue No. 600 of the Wonder Woman series hit the shelves with a brand new story line and a surprising new look, causing an uproar among fans. Under the helm of new writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Jim Lee, Wonder Woman’s iconic red and gold bustier, star-spangled blue hot pants and red stiletto knee-high boots have been banished and replaced with a blue jacket (sleeves rolled up!), a tight red top and black leggings. Huh?! Straczynski explained his reasoning behind this new look in an e-mail to The New York Times. “She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941. If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual,” he wrote. Lee and Straczynski have certainly made some odd fashion choices for a 21st century female super hero.

The signature gold tiara and belt have been minimized and downgraded to cheap accessories, while the blue jacket with epaulets looks oddly like something made by Members Only. Congratulations guys, you’ve successfully brought Diana Prince’s outerwear into 1983. Most puzzling are the square-toed western style boots with spurs (!). Come on! She’s an Amazon princess, not Annie Oakley. Her trademark gold bracelets have morphed into fingerless gloves that leave a stylized W mark when she punches someone. While the idea of branding your logo on someone’s face with one punch is awesome, the gloves themselves look like Street Fighter hand-me-downs.

In an interview with IGN.com, Straczynski further discusses Wonder Woman’s classic costume saying, “Female friends of mine kept asking, ‘how does she fight in that thing without all her parts flying out? How does she carry her stuff?’” What stuff? Wonder Woman is obviously a minimalist. She fights baddies in an outfit that would be considered underwear by most non-Amazon princesses, and flies an invisible jet. She’s a super hero. She doesn’t need a lot of stuff. Granted, her classic garb is not the most practical crime fighting gear, was obviously created by a man and can be viewed as sexist. But, she owned it, dammit! Nothing says power like a well-filled bustier, 5-inch heels and glossy flowing black hair. This new Wonder Woman with shorter hair and casual clothes, just looks like a twenty-something girl going to the gym… in Texas. (Sorry, still can’t get over the spurs.)

Straczynski, who previously wrote for the Spider-Man series at Marvel and created the television show Babylon 5, wanted to re-energize Wonder Woman by giving the series a re-boot. The writer explains his new take on the story to newsarama.com. Issue 600 offers an alternate timeline for the heroine. She now has a new origin story and supporting cast – Paradise Island was destroyed when she was a baby and she was raised in New York by a group of Amazons who fled the destruction. Her mission is to discover what altered her timeline and fix it, fighting bad guys along the way. The timeline re-boot may be a common comic book device, but it’s still no comfort to those mourning the loss of Wonder Woman’s classic look. Oh, Lynda Carter, where art thou? The only consolation is that Diana Prince has gone through several makeovers in her 69 years, some of them more hideous than the current look, yet the classic costume has always returned. Hopefully it will return soon. Don’t these guys know that the retro look is in?

What do you think of the new Wonder Woman look? Love it or hate it? Leave a comment below and let us know.