Grant Morrison Weighs In On "Batman v Superman's" Wonder Woman

CBR

By Stephen Gerding

Published Jul 17, 2015

The writer says he understands why Zack Snyder's take on the icon is so aggressive, but it's "not what William Marston wanted."

Grant Morrison says that while he can appreciate why current takes on Wonder Woman are so aggressive, readers should expect something closer to her creator's vision when they pick up the "Wonder Woman: Earth One" graphic novel. "I can understand why they're [depicting a warrior Wonder Woman]," Morrison said in an interview with Nerdist. "I get all that, but that's not what [creator] William Marston wanted, that's not what he wanted at all!"

While Morrison's comments seem to encapsulate a number of modern interpretations of Wonder Woman, the writer points specifically to the way she's portrayed in the trailer for director Zack Snyder's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice."

"[Marston's] original concept for Wonder Woman was an answer to comics that he thought were filled with images of blood-curdling masculinity," Moirrison explained further. "And you see the latest shots of Gal Gadot in the costume, and it's all sword and shield and her snarling at the camera. Marston's Diana was a doctor, a healer, a scientist. So I went back to those roots and just built it up again."

Of course, that doesn't mean he and "WW: Earth One" artist Yanick Paquette aren't putting their own spin on the Wonder Woman mythology. The pair have been working on their OGN for years, and have developed a new take on the character and her culture that's based firmly in Moulton's own work.

"Yanick Paquette did this amazing design job, where there are no phallic objects. The only phallic objects are like these Greek towers that are almost like this haunting echo of the culture they came from... Wonder Woman's Invisible Plane is now shaped like a vagina, it's the most incredible thing. It opens up in the back and it has a little clitoris hood, everything is a female-based design. It's all based on shells and natural stuff. He's created this entire newly designed world for the Amazons. And for the first 48 pages, there are no men -- it's just women talking to each other."

But old habits die hard, and despite his intent, Morrison nearly gave into the trap of having a superhero book culminate in a massive battle sequence. However, he says he managed to catch himself and go against old tendencies.

"[H]alfway through the book, we're building up to this big fight, and then I thought, 'No, I'm not.' This book isn't about fights, there's not going to be any fights. So we threw out the rules of traditional boy's adventure fiction."

"Wonder Woman: Earth One," by Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette, is scheduled to arrive in April 2016.