The Wheel and Axle

Wonder Week: Amazing Amazons

by on May.28, 2017, under Film & TV, Geeky, Queer

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Wonder Countdown: four days to go in the Philippines!

Any good movie with great protagonists also requires a great cast of supporting characters portrayed by great performers. In the case of Wonder Woman, it’s even more imperative that those supporting characters have a strong female representation as, ultimately, the empowerment of women is one of the comic book’s primary themes. Fortunately, they managed to snatch some great actresses to portray key roles in the Wonder Woman world.

Connie Nielsen portrays Hippolyte, Queen of the Amazons and mother to Wonder Woman. Oh, and yes, I deliberately spell it Hippolyte – as this was how Marston and later on Perez addressed the character. (I also prefer her to be the brunette version, by the way, but I can set that aside for the movie.)

Robin Wright is Antiope, sister to Hippolyte, aunt to Diana, and general of the Amazons. There have been different iterations of Antiope in the comics throughout the decades, but I do kind of like the role she takes on here – apparently as Diana’s mentor in the arts of war. (I would actually have preferred Philippus more, but Antiope’s okay.)

Finally, Lucy Davis comes through as the moxie-filled Etta Candy. As with Antiope, there have been different iterations of Etta. From Holliday sorority girl to army officer to anorexia-affected woman (ugh) to aspiring singer, Etta has mostly been portrayed as a strong woman, usually confident, and a value ally. She has been Wonder Woman’s Jimmy Olsen and deserves her inclusion in this movie. I’m glad they seem to be going for her roots – a woman who’s not a soldier but a sassy, humorous woman who can obviously still kick your ass.

I’m also liking Lucy’s portrayal so far, based on the trailers and clips at least. I didn’t recognize Lucy at first until I checked IMDB and realized she was in Shaun of the Dead, one of my favorite movies. That really sold the deal for me with her casting.

With women like these, you just know Wonder Woman will be true to the spirit of empowerment at its very core.

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