But enough about me and more about Wonder Woman [film and comic spoilers ahead... so...]
From the very beginning of the film, it's made clear that Diana is an archetype of Christ. Let's lay it out:
- Initial, unknown divine origin which she must learn
- Key in a vast plan of God to save humanity
- LITERAL offspring of God
- Loves all people
- Must fight a fallen angel/brother to save humanity from his evil influences
Even Superman doesn't hit all those marks.
Take it from an English major/teacher, (or just go read some books) it is not uncommon to find women as archetypes of Christ, or at least symbols. (I mean, it's definitely more common to find men, but women exist there.) What makes Wonder Woman special is this: she's Fighting Jesus. Most female symbols of Christ are Submissive Christ and rarely people possible to emulate or even desirable to emulate.
Some examples of female symbols of Christ in other places through the eons:
Beatrice, Dante's Inferno
One inconvenience given to women as archetypes of Christ is that they can be impossible to emulate in that they are so perfect that the distance between the reader and the pedestal can alter the way she is seen. Beatrice in Dante's Inferno is his muse and guide and is perfect enough to be missing any kind of defining characteristic or personality. It's like trying to be the human version of perfect khakis: sure it's perfect, but it's sooooooo boring. And where would you even start?
Grushenka, The Brother's Karamazov
The other common inconvenience in the female Christ archetype is that she is not someone you want to emulate: she's unhappy and exists solely for the saving of men, not women. Grushenka in The Brothers Karamazov, who is rumored to be a prostitute, is the saving grace of several of the main characters in this book. Grushenka, however, is left without personality or plot of her own. In fact, the book does not even pass the Bechdel test (for those of you unfamiliar with this test, what??? And here's a link).
Babette, Babette's Feast
Similar to Grushenka, Babette is not someone anyone wants to be: because of her self-sacrifice, she begins and ends in rags and is grossly underappreciated.
In all the examples I can think of in mainstream media and literature, women are the Helpful Jesus, Submissive Jesus and are never the center of their own story (unless you consider Babette mainstream, you hipster).
HERE is why Wonder Woman is important:
Wonder Woman takes her place among Superman, Optimus Prime, Aslan, Harry Potter, The Doctor, Neo and SOOOO many other archetypes of Jesus who fight for good. Christian women and men are told to emulate Christ, but we are shown that it means different things for the different sexes. IT DOES NOT. Men can be submissive like Christ was when he was subjected to the scorn of wise men in his day or prayed for us or took on the cross. Women can be strong and heroic like Christ when he threw out the money-changers or stood up for the weak or like he will be when he comes again. Wonder Woman is important because it breaks through this barrier and shows that there is no one way to be like Christ.
(Sidebar: I know a lot of ladies are crying out there because of this normal portrayal of women, but I got suuuuuper angry with everyone else who hasn't done this already. Like, if it's so easy, wtf Marvel?)
