Wonder Woman gets tough, modern makeover

DC Comics has unveiled a tougher new look for Wonder Woman, as part of a darker, contemporary storyline that reboots the iconic super heroine's tale.

DC officials revealed the dramatic change late Tuesday for Wonder Woman #600, which is available in comic book stores on Wednesday.

The Amazonian heroine's image has been redesigned by comics artist and recently named DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee for a new tale penned by noted writer J. Michael Straczynski (who is also behind DC's just announced Superman Grounded series) that drastically changes her backstory.

"Suppose someone went back in time and changed one thing, and it changed your life to the point that you had little or no memory of what life had been like before the change happened. What would you do to get it back? Should you get it back? Who did it? And maybe more important…why did they do it? That is the question faced by Diana starting in issue 600," Straczynski told fans in a statement on the DC website.

In the alternative new arc, Wonder Woman's idyllic birthplace Paradise Island is attacked by an unknown force that slaughters most of the Amazonian clan. Before her death, doomed queen Hippolyta passes her infant daughter Diana to a few guardians who escape the island and raise the child in an urban setting — though the refugees remain constantly hunted and on the run.

Though the revamped costume features revamped versions of the character's magical accessories (the famed bracelets, tiara and lasso), it is considerable less revealing than the one-piece swimsuit-like original, with a dark red tank top tucked into black leggings and boots. A cropped, midnight blue jacket completes the ensemble.

Street-fight look

The "street-fighter's look" is a bit more universal considering the original's undeniable connotations to the American flag, Lee has said.

It is not the first major image change for Wonder Woman, who made her debut in an issue of All Star Comics in 1941 before eventually earning her own title.

During the 1960s, she adopted a mod look and took up martial arts; in the 1990s, she donned a black leather outfit when the mantle of Wonder Woman was briefly assumed by another character named Artemis.

The new costume is "a look designed to be taken seriously as a warrior, in partial answer to the many female fans over the years who've asked, 'how does she fight in that thing without all her parts falling out?,'" Straczynski said in his online posting.

Along with Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman is considered to be one of the core DC Comics heroes. The character has also been featured in cartoons and in a popular late-1970s TV series starring Lynda Carter.