In a welcome if slightly ridiculous victory for superhero fandom, Warner Bros. has confirmed that Wonder Woman will play a major part in the merchandise for the Justice League franchise.
Wonder Woman is slated to appear in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice next year, with a solo movie to follow. Anyone with half a brain can see that this means merchandising opportunities galore, from Wonder Woman costumes to t-shirts to action figures. But given toy companies’ reluctance to put female characters on superhero products, it was far from a done deal.
Black Widow is erased from Marvel merchandise so often that her inexplicable absence has become a meme, while DC Comics (which owns the copyright to Wonder Woman) has a similarly dire track record, producing things like this.
https://twitter.com/SizzlerKistler/status/516432011612147712
The good news is that, according to a licensing report from Warner Bros., Wonder Woman will not be excluded from Batman v Superman merchandise like Black Widow was from Avengers toys.
“Our comprehensive program will include Wonder Woman in the merchandise lines and in standalone products supporting the film,” said Karen McTier, executive vice president at Warner Bros. Consumer Products.
“We have always had a robust line for Wonder Woman, and her role in this film and future films offers us more opportunities to feature her character and empowering attributes in many creative ways.”
The report also mentions Super Hero Girls, an upcoming DC/Mattel collaboration of female superheroes aimed at 6 to 12-year-olds.
Persuading an international entertainment conglomerate to sell female character merchandise is basically the lowest possible rung for feminist victories. But hey, it’s still a victory. At least young Wonder Woman fans will no longer be discouraged from seeing their favorite character as a rightful equal to Batman and Superman.
Yay, capitalism?
H/T The Mary Sue | Photo via JD Hancock/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)