Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman” was praised by fans and critics alike (via Rotten Tomatoes), with many singling out the film’s feminist take on its central characters, almost all of whom were women. In particular, the costumes won a lot of praise: the battle armor for the residents of Themyscira actually seemed like armor! Small victories. A few years later, however, when those characters recurred in Zack Snyder’s “Justice League,” fans were quick to point out that the armor had changed.
A critic named Aasa T shared a side-by-side comparison on Twitter, showing the costumes in “Wonder Woman” right up against the skimpier ones in “Justice League.” They pointed out that the original version was designed by Lindy Hemming, a woman, while the ab-baring bikini variants were created by Michael Wilkinson. “Some steps backwards, methinks,” they wrote. Even actor Jessica Chastain chimed in on the controversy, writing in a since-deleted tweet, “Hey men, what would you wear to fight? Hint: don’t expose your vital organs.” One of the Amazon warriors defended the costume while speaking with USA Today, however. “The girls on set, we never thought of [the new costumes] as a sexy version,” said Brooke Ence, who played Penthiselea. “It felt a little more glamorous, if anything, because we had bigger, beautiful hair, which I loved.”
