Wonder Woman is seen as the embodiment of feminism in the comic world and her placement as the secretary of the Justice Society of America is seen as a crime against her character. Many blame Gardner Fox for this decision, but I argue that accusing him of sexism is an oversimplification. My work seeks to fill in the lack of knowledge regarding his writing of Wonder Woman and restore his name. While scholars are right to be attentive to the use of demeaning stereotypes that have long been used to keep women from access to power, the way in which Gardner Fox wrote Wonder Woman, conveys a sense of respect for women and their contributions to society in general; therefore, assertions that he is a sexist are not only misleading but inappropriately degrading the work of a man who was trying to accurately represent the women he saw around him.

The thesis examines how users of the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) negotiate feminism in their reviews of four superheroine films – Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel, Birds of Prey: The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, and Wonder Woman 1984. By combining critical discourse analysis with methods of corpus linguists, this corpus-based study of over 18,000 reviews analyses the frequency of the topic of feminism in the reviews, words and topics associated with it and the way the reviewers reflect broader mediated discourse over the four films, and the role of IMDb as a space for these reviews. The findings show that feminism is still understood as an anti-male movement where female-led films are shielded from criticism by the mainstream media by the virtue of the lead’s gender, the superheroines are criticised for being overpowered particularly where they have no equal male supporting character and that perceived feminist messaging is usually written off as a forced political agenda or as an insincere cash grab made by corporates which effectively use feminism for promotion. It also reveals IMDb as a highly polarised platform where the users leaving 1- and 10-star reviews are generalized as representatives of different sides of the political spectrum (antifeminist vs feminist, conservative vs liberal) regardless of the actual content of the review.

As the American superhero films continue to increase their popularity around the globe, and because of the reccurent criticism against their poor and stereotypical representation, this essay aims to analyse the two newly made productions Man of Steel and Wonder Woman from a gender perspective. The essay argues a difference in Superman and Wonder Woman’s superhero images and further discussess the opportunities as well as potential problems the superhero narratives can offer to discuss gender in the EFL classroom.

Syftet med denna uppsats är först och främst att undersöka om Wonder Woman är en komplett hjälte. Utefter Aristoteles dygdeetik och Voglers hjälteresa analyserar vi filmen Wonder Woman från 2017 samt ett icke producerat manus med samma titel. I uppsatsens sista kapitel diskuterar vi sedan kring hur genus har påverkat Wonder Womans möjlighet att framstå som en komplett hjälte. I analysen kommer vi fram till att filmen i jämförelse med manuset är nästintill strukturellt perfekt gällande hjälteresan och ytterligare förstärks av användningen av dygder. Vidare anser vi att gestaltningen av filmens Wonder Woman har påverkats av de karaktärsdrag som originalkaraktären påvisade under 1940-talet. Vi kommer fram till att det är framförallt av dessa två anledningar, samt att hon inte förhåller sig till det maskulina superhjälteidealet, som gör att Diana kan betraktas som en ultimat hjälte vid filmens slut, men inte vid manusets.

The focus of this thesis is to look at Geoff John's Justice League in the "New 52" universe. More specifically, the research concentrates on the relationship of the members of DC Comics "Trinity," Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The three heroes have a special relationship that spans over 75 years, and now, with the "New 52," there is an opportunity to examine the relationship from its beginning to its end in the modern era of comic book history. The scope of this project will span eight graphic novels and five years of storytelling. To properly evaluate the relationship of "The Trinity" this thesis will look at research on friendship, interpersonal relationships, and management styles, all through the lens of a thorough character study on each hero. In the end, "The Trinity" will grow from uneasy allies to friends to family. They will solidify their relationship through fighting for their lives, making mistakes together, and ultimately saying goodbye to each other. This thesis will find their relationship is unique amongst comic book characters and should be considered the archetype for all the superhero teams that would come after their creation. Moving forward, to build upon this research one should take the analysis approach followed in this thesis and apply it to either the "Rebirth" version of the Justice League or the 2017 Justice League film which also will feature a version of "The Trinity"

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Essa dissertação de mestrado pesquisa a presença, representação e importância da mulher, da heroína, nos quadrinhos. O foco é a Mulher-Maravilha, de sua criação em 1941 a 2002. Analisando e comparando a personagem com dois outros personagens masculinos do mesmo país de origem, época e editora, Super-Homem e Batman, tentando entender os diferentes níveis de poder entre eles e os caminhos pelos quais a heroína passou. As diferenças serão analisadas dentro e fora dos quadrinhos. Além disso, consideramos a evolução da mulher dentro do mesmo recorte temporal de análise da personagem, relacionando os dois mundos e suas múltiplas influências. A intenção é alimentar e ampliar os estudos historiográficos sobre uma história das mulheres e também de resgatar a presença da mulher na história. A análise tem um especial foco sobre o tratamento aplicado à Mulher-Maravilha pela indústria cultural no Brasil, especialmente na metade dos anos cinqüenta, quando a personagem foi lançada aqui. Igualmente importante é a discussão entre globalização e mundialização, mas, mais do que isso, os sinais, fatores e a estrutura de um novo arranjo planetário na economia, política e cultura. A globalização e o resgate da mulher na história são fatos quase contemporâneos. Este trabalho vai tentar mostrar questões para compreender ambos os fenômenos, com a análise da Mulher-Maravilha que pretendemos fazer aqui. / This MA dissertation investigates the female presence, representation and significance in action comic books as heroes. The focus will be in Wonder Woman since 1941 to 2002. Analysing and comparing her character with two others big male characters from the same origin country, time and publishing company, Superman and Batman, we try to understand, the different levels of power between them and the ways that Wonder Woman to went through. These differences will be analysed inside and outside of the comics itself. Besides, this analysis is concerned on female evolution at the same period that Wonder Woman was created to the present. Our propose is to relate both worlds, the comic books and our world, and their mutual influences as well. These aspects are connected with the intention to provide and increase the historiography studies on a female history and also to rescue the female presence in history. The analysis has a special focus about the treatment applied to Wonder Woman by the cultural industry in Brazil. Equally important to this propose is the aspect about the last forty years (or near by) we have the process of global issues. A infinite discussion between global and worldwide matters but more than this, the signs, factors and structure from a new planetary arrangement in economy, politics and cultural aspects. The global process and the rescue of a female history are events almost contemporary. And in this work we will try to show questions to help us to understand both phenomenon because they are perfectly lynked with the analysis we will try to do here. Plus we could link with another significant part of this study which is the levels of the power.

Essa dissertação de mestrado pesquisa a presença, representação e importância da mulher, da heroína, nos quadrinhos. O foco é a Mulher-Maravilha, de sua criação em 1941 a 2002. Analisando e comparando a personagem com dois outros personagens masculinos do mesmo país de origem, época e editora, Super-Homem e Batman, tentando entender os diferentes níveis de poder entre eles e os caminhos pelos quais a heroína passou. As diferenças serão analisadas dentro e fora dos quadrinhos. Além disso, consideramos a evolução da mulher dentro do mesmo recorte temporal de análise da personagem, relacionando os dois mundos e suas múltiplas influências. A intenção é alimentar e ampliar os estudos historiográficos sobre uma história das mulheres e também de resgatar a presença da mulher na história. A análise tem um especial foco sobre o tratamento aplicado à Mulher-Maravilha pela indústria cultural no Brasil, especialmente na metade dos anos cinqüenta, quando a personagem foi lançada aqui. Igualmente importante é a discussão entre globalização e mundialização, mas, mais do que isso, os sinais, fatores e a estrutura de um novo arranjo planetário na economia, política e cultura. A globalização e o resgate da mulher na história são fatos quase contemporâneos. Este trabalho vai tentar mostrar questões para compreender ambos os fenômenos, com a análise da Mulher-Maravilha que pretendemos fazer aqui. / This MA dissertation investigates the female presence, representation and significance in action comic books as heroes. The focus will be in Wonder Woman since 1941 to 2002. Analysing and comparing her character with two others big male characters from the same origin country, time and publishing company, Superman and Batman, we try to understand, the different levels of power between them and the ways that Wonder Woman to went through. These differences will be analysed inside and outside of the comics itself. Besides, this analysis is concerned on female evolution at the same period that Wonder Woman was created to the present. Our propose is to relate both worlds, the comic books and our world, and their mutual influences as well. These aspects are connected with the intention to provide and increase the historiography studies on a female history and also to rescue the female presence in history. The analysis has a special focus about the treatment applied to Wonder Woman by the cultural industry in Brazil. Equally important to this propose is the aspect about the last forty years (or near by) we have the process of global issues. A infinite discussion between global and worldwide matters but more than this, the signs, factors and structure from a new planetary arrangement in economy, politics and cultural aspects. The global process and the rescue of a female history are events almost contemporary. And in this work we will try to show questions to help us to understand both phenomenon because they are perfectly lynked with the analysis we will try to do here. Plus we could link with another significant part of this study which is the levels of the power.

Throughout history, comic books and the media they inspire have reflected modern society as it changes and grows. But women’s roles in comics have often been diminished as they become victims, damsels in distress, and sidekicks. This thesis explores the problems that female characters often face in comic books, but it also shows the positive representation that new creators have introduced over the years. This project is a genealogy, in which the development of the empowered superwoman is traced in modern age comic books. This discussion includes the characters of Kamala Khan, Harley Quinn, Gwen Stacy, and Barbara Gordon and charts how these four women have been empowered and disempowered throughout their comic canon. It rejects the lens of postfeminism and suggests that an intersectional feminism is still needed in today’s ever-evolving and diversifying world. Popular culture must be representative of everyone, and today’s women authors will be the driving force of diversity in comic books.

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