Wonder Woman Creates a Double Standard and Exposes Bias

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WONDER WOMAN sent a flying knee kick to the box office this weekend as it shattered windows and expectations, charging towards a potential $100 million weekend.

As it continues to pull in rave reviews from nearly everyone there doesn't seem to be a lot of criticism about the influence this movie gets from its predecessor's. I'm speaking about MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V SUPERMAN. Here is a quick rundown of what people were angered about in regards to those Zack Snyder directed movies:

  • Color Filtering
  • Bleak Setting
  • Hero That Kills

***MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD***

Once Wonder Woman leaves Themiscrya (after a battle that left many people dead) she runs off to a world that has left many more people dead. World War I presents a setting that delivers the bleakest of circumstances. Between London, Berlin and Veld, the sky is gray and the colors of this movie have been drained. Even the final battle commences under the shroud of night. It's not until the sun rises, in a symbolic way, that color is restored to this movie.

In MAN OF STEEL, Superman is faced with the difficult decision of what to do with General Zod. Zod was hellbent on destroying all of mankind and with no prison that can hold him, Superman needed to find a resolution before others were killed. His last plea for Zod to stop his madness went ignored. Superman was left with no choice but to kill him.

It sent fandom into a frenzy as detractors declared that Superman "doesn't kill" and that "there's always another way".

In BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE, Batman kills his way to rescuing Martha Kent who was tied to a chair waiting to die. People were outraged that Batman violated his "no kill" rule.

So why is Wonder Woman, who promotes 'peace' and 'love' held to a lower standard and is allowed to kill without any backlash? Aside from the multitude of German soldiers she killed throughout the movie, when she impales her primary target she learns that HE WASN'T ARES! So she didn't even need to kill him. Where's the outcry? Oh, and not to mention she 'rage kills' a lot more soldiers through Ares' prodding. It's not until she sees the deformed Dr. Poison laying on the ground, defenseless, that she decides she should win with "love".

Then she kills Ares.

I loved Wonder Woman. You know why? Because it was a killer movie (pun slightly intended) with great action, a little bit of humor and all the fantasy fitting of the character. I also loved MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN V SUPERMAN, because I understand that sometimes a hero must do what's necessary to save the day.

So if you loved WONDER WOMAN but hated on Zack Snyder's movies for those reasons, I'm calling you out. It's a double-standard if Patty Jenkins can avoid criticism for doing what Zack Snyder did in his movies. Congratulations Patty "Anything you can do, I can do (and get away with it) better" Jenkins, you've made a critic proof movie using Snyder's template. WONDER WOMAN's bracelets and shield are somehow deflecting criticism as well as bullets and mortars.