More to wonder: New Wonder Woman movie promises another side to the story

With her silver screen debut in the wildly successful movie directed by Patty Jenkins this past June, Wonder Woman rose to the pinnacle of pop culture.

The DC heroine is the first female hero to have a standalone film in this era of interconnected superhero film universes that started with Marvel’s “Iron Man” in 2008. The film has been considered one of the best among DC characters since Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” trilogy by fans and critics alike.

There are so many reasons to love this Amazonian princess, and this Friday will bring us another. The biopic “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women,” written and directed by Angela Robinson, comes to theaters Friday to tell the unconventional off-screen and off-page history of the creation of Wonder Woman in the 1940s.

The film focuses on William Moulton Marston, a psychology professor, lie detector inventor and the creator of Wonder Woman. Starring Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote, the movie follows the complicated and dramatic series of events that led to the creation of Wonder Woman.

“Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” opened at Toronto International Film Festival in September, then made rounds at other festivals. It has been praised at these festivals for its progressive portrayal of sexuality and feminism.

The story of Wonder Woman’s origins has remained largely unknown and will probably come as a surprise to many fans. I certainly was surprised when details about this Annapurna Pictures production were released.

It’s definitely not a conventional origin, but that makes Wonder Woman even more special. She’s a feminist icon created as a role model for girls in the market of mostly male comic book heroes. The history of her creation supports the ideas she stands for — women empowerment and love.

“Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” seems like an appropriate pairing for Patty Jenkins’ summer blockbuster, which showed us the legendary heroine and her inspiring hope and love. The biopic shows us the legend of where that hope and love originated.

Nicki Zelenak is a sophomore television, radio and film major. She can be reached by email at nezelena@syr.edu.