Woman in Peril

I had never really thought about it all that much—probably because, aside from the magicalness of Lynda Carter, I haven't given Wonder Woman tons of mental hard-drive space—but for a character with titanic strength, descended from the gods themselves, she finds herself tied up, trussed up, or chained up an awful lot. Yes, in the back of my head, I know about the bondage undercurrents, what with the big ol' metal bracelets and the lasso. But, well, take a look at this video...



Weird dudes in drag aside, the sheer number of times this "hero" is in peril is kind of staggering. It seems like putting her in jeopardy—or covering her in goop—is the quick route to a Wonder Woman cover. It's actually amazing that she's still seen as a model for female empowerment considering that if you go by these images, the only person she ever rescues is herself...and only after she's done something boneheaded enough to wind up strapped to a buoy with a big phallus-torpedo heading her way.

Don't get me wrong...I like the character, I just don't like, by and large, what's being done with her.

(Thanks to the Occasional Superheroine for the tip.)