Wonder Woman Research Article
In the article, Wonder Woman: Superheroine Not Superhero, Peter Coogan explores the idea that Wonder Woman is unlike any other superhero. Coogan acknowledges that the title superhero is inherently a masculine term as primarily superheros are male. He sights David Boone in saying that most super heros remain formulaic. He suggests that superheros are generally male, and possess similar origin stories. Pre-Wonder Woman, superheros were predominantly male characters who faced some form of adversity to then be exiled from a community. Once exiled they begin to realize and understand their strength and power, thus returning to the community as its protector or guardian. However, Wonder Woman did not start like this. Instead, Wonder Woman came from the gods, plural rather than the christianity singular form. Wonder Woman left her sanctuary from which she was not originally exiled to aid in the salvation of the human world. This alone opens the idea of a separate class of superheros which are not male and do not share the same origin story template. Coogan says that this pattern of breaking the template is normal for Wonder Woman as her narratives do not follow the same story line as many superheros. At least while under Marston’s pen Wonder Woman represented something larger than the: hero, universe, narrative pattern. This is because Wonder Woman’s universe was not relatable to ours. We could not, as readers, fully identify with Wonder Woman’s story because she is not the average hero with a earth bound backstory. Instead she is harder to relate to. Thus exiling herself from the superhero category and creating her own superheroine category. Another difference pointed out by Coogan is that Wonder Woman does not pull her powers or experiences from men. Many other heros have strong male figures to show them the way, or be the cause of their resilience. However the superheroine Wonder Woman only has the experiences of love from her home of soly women.
Ultimately, Wonder Woman differs from other other superheroes in her origin story, her narrative, and her propelling figures. This is why Coogan believes that she deserves her own category which is aside from all other formulaic superheros and claim her rightful spot as a superheroine. I think that the differences between wonder woman and formulaic superheros in present, but not fully represented in this article. Specific examples from panels would have been helpful in understanding the small details and differences which make up the new category of superheroines proposed by Coogan. Overall this article was interesting, and could be used when discussing the differences between wonder woman and other comic characters.
Coogan, P. (2018). Wonder Woman: Superheroine, not superhero. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics, 1–15
