Why Wonder Woman Worked for DC
Unlike Zack Snyder’s contrarian takes on Superman and Batman, Patty Jenkins’s film embraced its character’s heroism.
This post contains spoilers about the ending of Wonder Woman.
Zack Snyder had a difficult task on his hands when he was announced as the director of 2013’s Man of Steel. The last attempt at a cinematic Superman, Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, had gotten a muted reception from critics and audiences in 2006 after it aimed to replicate the more stirring, old-fashioned valor of the hero’s earlier films. Christopher Nolan, who produced Man of Steel and wrote its story, had drawn acclaim for his darker, more grounded take on Batman in the Dark Knight movies. So Snyder’s 2013 film focused on a hero largely alienated by humans, unsure of his purpose on Earth, and compelled to save the planet only when a hostile
