Search
Resize text+=

Wonder Woman Wednesday: Super Fan Spotlight – Todd Carney

Hey there, Wonder Fans! We’re back after a two-week hiatus, and let’s waste no time getting back on track.

This week, we bring you another Super Fan Spotlight for Super Fan Todd Carney. In his own words, here’s his story:

Hello, fellow Wonder Fans!

I was 5 when Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman premiered, but I still remember it — the way they kept rebroadcasting the pilot while we waited for more episodes. Every Saturday morning, I watched the Super Friends, and I started collecting comic books. I had lots of action figure male dolls (G.I. Joes, superheroes, etc.), and Wonder Woman was my only female doll. I remember reading my first Marston reprint around 12. It was Sensation Comics #19, and I was in awe of Wonder Woman going mad with power when her bracelets were removed.

image1 c71

Years passed, and Wonder Woman fell back in with the rest of my beloved superheroes, but, admittedly, I wasn’t reading her comics. I left small-town Indiana, went to college in Chicago, and moved around the country until settling in Los Angeles, where I work in television post production on documentaries and reality TV. At home, I watched the Justice League cartoons, and then watched them all again with my sons.

What eventually made Wonder Woman an obsession was when Warner Bros. ended their deal with Joss Whedon, who seemed the perfect choice to bring Wonder Woman to the big screen, but after 2 years and a script, he seemed to give up trying to come to an agreement with the studio. WB bought someone else’s script and then stalled. Meanwhile, I became obsessed with this question: What was so difficult bringing Wonder Woman to the screen? This was 10 years ago, and while we are now about to finally see her in theaters this June, back then it looked hopeless. But why? People kept saying she couldn’t translate to film, people wouldn’t get her, or the most insulting: solo superheroine movies won’t work.

I began to study her like crazy, and I talked to everyone about her. What did they like about her? What did they want to see in a movie? What I found was that everyone has a slightly different perception of her. Wonder Woman fans are like snowflakes; no two are exactly the same. They have preferences as to her attitude, interpretation, and powers: Is she a warrior or peaceful ambassador? Does she have a sword or not? Is she a female Superman or not, etc.? While reviewing her comic history, what fascinated me most was her creator. Marston himself was an amazing character, and his family situation and creation of Wonder Woman was a huge story in itself. And his early adventures for her were quite frankly shocking to your standard, modern-day Wonder Woman fan, but I was hooked.

Along with reading and interviewing fans, I started writing my own takes of her, trying to find her hook with people. There is something about her that makes her extremely important to people — possibly because for the longest time (and arguably still) she is the lone female on the top tier of well-known superhero characters, and probably because of that fans are very possessive of her. Apparently, her comics have not sold as well since Marston’s run, so she is tweaked from time to time to shake things up. One tweak for the current generation of fans is that she should be seen as an armed and armored warrior, but for older generations of fans, this may take away from what made her so unique and appealing. I definitely hope her movie in June is a financial success, so the insulting talk about superheroine movies not being profitable will end, but I do have concerns over its writing and quality… I am hoping it will be good. Great cast — especially their Etta Candy!

Oh, and if I could be any fictional character, I’d be Steve Trevor. Just because.

– Todd Carney

Thanks, Todd, for sharing your “Wonderful” story with us!

If there’s anyone out there that has a Wonder Woman story they’d like to share, please feel free to send it to justmichaeltroy (at) msn (dot) com.

That’s all for this week’s Wonder Woman Wednesday! See you back here next week and make sure you check out the I Am Wonder Fan! Facebook page and follow me on Instagram @michaelfitztroy.

Michael Fitzgerald Troy, Fanbase Press Contributor

ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=150&d=mm&r=gforcedefault=1

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top