TOP 10 WONDER WOMAN COSTUMES

 

“Wonder Woman! Wonder Woman!
All the world is waiting for you and the power you possess
In your satin tights, fighting for your rights
And the old red, white and blue!”

There was no doubt about Wonder Woman for top spot in my Top 10 Girls of Comics – it simply had to go to THE most famous, THE most iconic and THE most enduring superheroine in comics.

But in which costume? In which satin tights has she fought best for your rights? Which red, white and blue – or even other colors – has been best?

Wonder Woman has had a surprisingly prolific number of costumes – well, perhaps not that surprisingly given her reign as top girl of comics for decades, since her debut in the 1940s.

Not all her costumes are equal however, so these are my Top 10 Wonder Woman Costumes.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

But first a note on the visual images used in this top ten. Given the copyright in such images, I only use a visual image as fair use for the purposes of comment and review in each entry – a feature image to identify the costume, either in general or in its most iconic version as I review it to be (or both), sourced from comics panels or covers and cinematic images, often which I review to be iconic of itself or which influenced my view of their most iconic version.

I also include a special section in each entry under the subtitle of art and cosplay – not for any actual art and cosplay as such but instead where I identify the source of the image, as well as potentially nominate any art, cosplay or images of note for the costume which you can look up for yourself.

As for the title feature image I’ve chosen for this page, it is the cover art of DC Comics Wonder Woman 750 by Australian artist Nicola Scott, showcasing just a small part of the range of her costumes – indeed enough for a top ten of itself, given the ten costumes featured in it. Scott and visual artist Annette Kwok also did poster art to a similar theme in Wonder Woman of the Multiverse, which again features enough costumes for a top ten of itself. One might think I was spoilt for choice but I’ve eschewed the more minor variations of costume as showcased on that 750 issue cover or the more in-depth knowledge of her multiverse versions showcased in the poster.

 

 

 

(1) CLASSIC

 

Top spot has to go to what I’ve dubbed her classic costume – essentially a star-spangled swimsuit (with the star-spangled part in her bottoms) and boots. From what I can find, it appears to originate from the 1970s, although the classic variant – with the Wonder Woman W-logo on her chest – emerged in the 1980s.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Like many of the costume variants in my top ten, I chose cover art by J. Scott Campbell, again for DC Comics Wonder Woman 750 (cover version B), as part of a series of variant covers in tribute to Wonder Woman’s different costumes.

It also is the costume that features in the most art or cosplay, whether by my favorite artists or models – or as my favorite examples of art and cosplay. It’s also the costume worn by Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series.

 

 

(2) MODERN

 

Next top spot has to go to what I’ve dubbed her modern costume – that is, in the style of the 2017 film, adapted from her costume in the 2016 Batman v Superman film – which in turn seems to follow or be similar to her costume design from the 2016 DC Rebirth comics relaunch, all of which seem inspired by classical Greek or Roman military uniform designs.  

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Like many of the costume variants in my top ten, I chose the cover art by J. Scott Campbell, yet again for DC Comics Wonder Woman 750 (cover version A), as part of a series of variant covers in tribute to Wonder Woman’s different costumes.

It also is the costume that rivals her classic costume in art and cosplay, given that it is the costume worn by Gal Gadot in the cinematic adaptation.

 

 

(3) VINTAGE

 

Rounding out her holy trinity of costumes is her original costume which I’ve dubbed as her vintage costume. I mean, there’s a certain continuity between her costume designs, at least for the three most iconic (classic, modern and vintage) but this adds a cute star-spangled skirt instead of hot pants. 

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

And yes – it’s another variant cover by J. Scott Campbell for DC Comics Wonder Woman 750, cover version C in this case, in which he showcased her iconic trinity of costumes. Sadly, it doesn’t get the same attention in art and cosplay as the other two costumes in the trinity.

 

 

(4) CINEMATIC PRINCESS OF THEMISCYRA

 

Her basic bronze (or golden) cinematic design as princess of Themiscyra, again clearly modelled on classical Greek or Roman design.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Not too much art or cosplay of this one

 

 

 

(5) GOLDEN EAGLE ARMOR

 

Popularized by the 2020 sequel film Wonder Woman 1984, this eagle-themed winged golden armor actually originated in the comics, albeit in alternative Earth versions of the character.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

This one not only got cover art from J. Scott Campbell, but also some fan art – at least by Logan Cure.

 

 

 

(6) AME-COMI WONDER WOMAN

 

I have a soft spot for this one.

Based on the anime-inspired figures from DC Collectibles, the 2012 DC Ame-Comi series (an obvious shortening of American Comics but one with some resonance with anime titles or the word anime itself) has the added twist of a setting in a world where only women have superpowers, heroes and villains alike. As such, it involved restyling her costumes from the mainstream continuity.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

The Ame-Comi Wonder Woman art, both covers and panels, was by Amanda Conner. Sadly it hasn’t seen much fan art or cosplay.

 

 

(7) BOMBSHELLS WONDER WOMAN

 

Also originating from a line of figures by DC Collectibles, DC Comics Bombshells evolved into its own franchise within DC Comics, including variant cover art and comics. It seems particularly apt for Wonder Woman, as her original publication in the 1940s lines up with the 1940s retro style of DC Comics Bombshells.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

My iconic feature image here is the cover art by Terry Dodson for DC Bombshells United Volume 1 in 2017. Dodson was a recurring artist for the Bombshells comics covers – and the art for Bombshells Wonder Woman (as well as other Bombshells characters) I’ve seen is that by artists for the comics and their covers.

 

 

(8) ALL-NEW WONDER WOMAN

 

Wonder Woman – with pants!

I suppose it was a matter of time before Wonder Woman decided she needed more clothing – pants and jacket in this case. It was the All-New Wonder Woman look she wore during her Odyssey storyline by J. Michael Straczynski for Wonder Woman 600 in 2010, with the costume designed by Jim Lee.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Again, the art is that by artists for the comics and their covers – as represented here by Alex Garner’s cover art for Wonder Woman 601.

 

 

(9) 90s WONDER WOMAN

 

Ah – the 90s, the so-called Dark Age of Comics, a dark age that included Wonder Woman in a black biker-styled costume.

 

ART & COSPLAY

 

Mike Deodato Jr did a good job of this costume in my iconic feature image but the less said about this costume the better.

 

 

 

(10) DIANA PRINCE

 

That’s right – Wonder Woman without a costume. Or superpowers, as she went through a phase without superpowers or costume simply as Diana Prince in the 1960s, before DC saw sense and returned her to her superhero roots in the 1970s.