June 2017 saw the release of the new Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot as the female heroine. Women across the world praised the movie for the strong female cast and its female director. The original Wonder Woman TV series featured Lynda Carter as the lead and aired over 40 years ago. With the passing of so much time, it is interesting to look at the differences and similarities between the original and renewed Wonder Woman franchise, as well as the two leading ladies, Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter.
The Movie Features More of an Origin Story
Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman fought local crime each week and acted as more of a female Lou Ferrigno/Hulk character. The 2017 movie is more of a traditional comic book movie, similar to films like the recent Captain America and Superman releases, and gives us more of a backstory about Wonder Woman and her Amazonian tribe. The movie shows us how Wonder Woman falls in love for the first time, deals with humans for the first time, and goes into combat for the first time. While the TV show does begin with an original story, the movie is more in-depth.
Both Wonder Women were Introduced During Wars
Gal Gadot’s character begins the movie world during WWI, whereas Lynda Carter’s character begins the television series during WWII. Both characters rescue men and end up leaving their home to help fight in the war. While the TV show and movie are very different, both are shown during the war to show how humans must look to gods.
Gal Gadot has More Fighting Scenes
In the TV series, Lynda Carter tends to catch the bad guys by throwing her tiara or capturing them with her lasso. It wasn’t until the last season that Wonder Woman was shown kicking and punching. On the other hand, the movie has Gal Gadot taking on intricate fight scenes where she is kicking, punching, flying and using weapons. One massive difference between the two Wonder Women is the variance in fighting scenes.
Both Wonder Women Tackle Feminism
In the movie, Wonder Woman has no preconceived notions on how a woman should act during the era the film is set in and so smashes through those barriers. In the TV series, Lynda Carter uses comedic lines to put her male counterparts in their place and was well-known for fighting for more feminist script-changes. Even with over 40 years difference, it is clearly seen that Wonder Woman is a much needed, strong character that females around the world can resonate with.
Read our review of this year’s Wonder Woman here, and check out this link for all of our coverage of the film.
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