10 Ways Wonder Woman Is Worse In Joss Whedon’s Justice League

The original vision for Zack Snyder’s Justice League was changed dramatically when Joss Whedon took over the film. At first, nobody was sure just how much Whedon changed the film. However, just observing Wonder Woman as a character is a strong indicator of the amount of influence he ended up having over the final product.

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Wonder Woman’s role in the movie was unlike any other appearance she has made in the DCEU, and indeed unlike any appearance she has made ever, throughout her history. Directing women doesn’t always seem to be Whedon’s strong suit, and he destroyed Wonder Woman the same way he has torn down so many others. It was incredibly obvious that Joss Whedon fumbled hard and made Wonder Woman infinitely worse in his Justice League than she’s ever been before.

10 Camera Angles Specifically Designed For Gratuitous Body Shots

Never before has Wonder Woman worn so few articles of clothing and had so many upskirt shots taken of her in a single film. As is Joss Whedon’s standard, Wonder Woman was dressed in clothing as tight as possible and armor as skimpy as he could make it, all so that her shots directed towards the male gaze would be more appealing.

There are at least half a dozen upskirt shots of Diana in Joss Whedon’s Justice League alone in her scenes as Diana as well as her action sequences as Wonder Woman. In fact, no action scene in Justice League is complete without its gratuitous body shots of her thighs, butt, or cleavage. This has everything to do with how Whedon wanted her to dress, and nothing with how Diana herself would want to dress.

9 Diana & The Amazons Had Ridiculously Useless Armor

Before Joss Whedon’s Justice League even came out, people were commenting on the fact that the Amazons on the island Themyscira were wearing clothing so skimpy as to be impractical. While some argued that Amazonian loungewear also exposed the torso, the movie proved that, even when wearing armor and fighting in battle, the Amazons had exposed torsos and very little armor on.

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There is no actual, justifiable reason for the battle-ready Amazonian race of warrior women to wear such impractical armor, and Diana, living in the world of men, would be the least likely to unnecessarily expose herself in any way during a battle against monsters, aliens, and/or gods.

8 Costuming Actually Gave Up On Diana Altogether

In the solo Wonder Woman movie, and even in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Diana Prince had some of the best outfits of anyone. The costuming for Wonder Woman was absolutely gorgeous, with intricate and interesting pieces fitted for every character from the soldiers on the war-torn front, to classy but drab London, to bright and practical Themsycira.

However, in Justice League, Diana wears the dullest clothes the character has likely ever worn in her life. She wears a lot of brown and exposes a lot of unnecessary skin; even worse, Diana has an impeccable fashion sense in most DCEU depictions of her, and so this couldn’t even suit her. Not only is her armor impractical, but even her regular clothes are completely out of character.

7 Wonder Woman Inexplicably Had A Thing For Batman

When Diana Prince and Bruce Wayne first interacted with one another in Dawn of Justice, they did have a mild sort-of flirting thing going. However, it wasn’t flirting towards a romantic end; it was more of a manipulative charm that they were both using on each other. By the end of the film, it was obvious that Diana, Clark, and Bruce were all meant to be at least on the road to becoming the friends and comrades they often are in most depictions of the Justice League.

RELATED: 10 Justice League Episodes To Watch Before The Snyder Cut

This all went out the window when Joss Whedon took over Justice League and changed the characters’ romantic interests around completely. Bruce and Diana have multiple instances of forced flirting where neither of them seems comfortable with one another, and they’re often downright aggressive. At one point, Bruce even bitterly brings up Steve Trevor just to upset Diana, doing a disservice to Batman and Wonder Woman both in the process.

6 Diana Became Just Another Nagging Female Presence To Bother The Boys

While Wonder Woman really has no reason to fall into any stereotypical gender roles, she inexplicably becomes a nagging mother figure to the rest of the Justice League in Joss Whedon’s film. She has a problem with every single thing the male members— which is every other member of the team— says, and often tries to tear them down.

Joss Whedon turned Wonder Woman, the only woman present, into a nag trying to hold the rest of the team back while the guys try their best to get her to loosen up and listen to them, Bruce especially. Of all of the members of the Justice League, Diana has been around the longest and has the most experience, but nobody would know that by watching this movie.

5 Batman Is Somehow Wonder Woman’s Gruff Mentor, Even Though She’s Been Around Longer

This was just a reminder that Joss Whedon has very little respect for female characters, even if that character is Wonder Woman. In Justice League, Diana, who has literal centuries of experience fighting under her belt— never mind the fact that she is both a god-killer and a god in her own right— has to defer to Batman as leader.

For no real reason, Batman is the de facto leader of the Justice League. This is not just because he was the one who tried to unite him, but simply because he takes charge and everybody else, including Diana, simply defaults to him. Wonder Woman at one point even admits that she’s been too emotional to be a good team leader. It’s a complete mess for the character and for the team alike.

4 Most Of Wonder Woman’s Action Was Useless Fanservice

When Wonder Woman actually did get to have a hand in the action sequences in Justice League, she did not exactly feel like the skilled and seasoned warrior that Themsycira created her to be. Every time she was fighting, her battling was essentially useless.

RELATED: 10 Ways Batman Holds The Justice League Back

It was obvious that the main priority in Diana’s action sequences was to get shots of her in as many seductive battle poses as possible. This is exactly what happened to the Black Widow in the MCU as well in Joss Whedon-directed movies like The Avengers.

3 Wonder Woman Is Stuffy, Uptight, & Aggressive

Wonder Woman’s appearances in the DCEU before Joss Whedon’s Justice League— and even after— have been, in a word, enthusiastic. Diana is a person absolutely enthralled by the world around her, whether she’s watching her elders train for combat on her home island of Themsycira or she’s wandering around in the smoggy world of men.

Even encountering grey London for the first time made Diana inexplicably excited in Wonder Woman, which makes her uptight and aggressive demeanor in Justice League all the more bewildering. For somebody who seemed to take great joy and delight in the little things before, Diana seems basically unrecognizable in Whedon’s Justice League.

2 There’s No Real Reason For Her To Want To Work With The Justice League

Before the events of Justice League, Wonder Woman was probably the world’s most prominent superhero. After all, during World War I, she literally stopped the God of War. When she meets Batman and Superman for the first time, they do have an admittedly rocky start, but they start to work well together by the end of Dawn of Justice.

However, Diana— who, in most stories, likes working with a team and enjoys her spot in the Justice League— has no real reason to want to work with the other men on the team in Justice League. Batman is the only one with practical experience, and he frequently belittles her or is belittled by her. The other ones treat her more like a mom and ignore her more often than not.

1 Any Woman, Even Wonder Woman, Just Doesn’t Feel Like A Real Person When Directed By Joss Whedon

When it all boils down to it, the problem with Wonder Woman isn’t a problem with Wonder Woman— it’s a problem with Joss Whedon. In the end, Wonder Woman is worse in Justice League because she just doesn’t feel real. Unlike Bruce or Barry, Diana simply doesn’t feel like a real person and doesn’t say or do things a real person would.

Writing and directing women are not Whedon’s strong suits, and expecting him to do well when given a huge movie like Justice League— and a huge character like Wonder Woman— was simply hoping for too much. Whedon already proved that he couldn’t handle characters like this when he was working in the MCU, but this is just the last straw of evidence needed.

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About The Author Nicole Mello (211 Articles Published)

Nicole Mello is an author of horrors, romances, and comedies. On occasion, they will attempt to combine all three, as there really isn’t too much to life overall than fear, love, and laughter. Nicole currently resides in Massachusetts with their husband and two best friends. They encourage everyone reading this to question everything, stay hydrated, and treat others with kindness.

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