No. 4: ‘Wonder Woman’ costume changed after outcry

Bad fashion and bad TV pilots: Is that any way to treat our favorite Amazon warrior princess, who turns 70 this month? (Unless you count October 25 as her “real-world” debut, or January as her independent premiere.)

Wonder Woman fans revolted in March when they caught a glimpse of the newly designed costume for the updated TV series. The red-starred tiara and flashy bodice were accounted for, but the superhero was now touting blue spandex leggings with blue boots to match. Holy hot mess!

Adrianne Palicki as Wonder Woman

After the outcry, creators changed the boots back to the more familiar red. Unfortunately, even this quick change could not save a weak TV pilot, and the series was canned for good.

Wonder Woman made her debut in All Star Comics No. 8 in December 1941, and she remains the third most famous name in the DC Comics collection. The native of a mythical island of women with superhuman strength also enjoyed tremendous popularity in the ’70s series starring Lynda Carter. But while two of her Justice League counterparts, Superman and Batman, have had their own film adaptations, Wonder Woman is still waiting for her big-screen break. What’s a femme crusader gotta do?

DC Entertainment co-publisher Jim Lee has a theory about the heroine’s super snub. “The action-adventure genre still skews toward the young, male demographic, who are looking to identify with the main character,” he says. “It’s trickier when you adapt a female hero.  You want to make sure you have it right.”

While Wonder Woman waits for her call from Hollywood, DC has given her a makeover in the series “The New 52.” In it, the butt-kicking brunette gets a edgier, harder look. Her tiara and bracelets have less bling and more metal for combat.

“We’ve accentuated the WW symbol so it reads like a warrior’s breastplate, while the boots are tall and extend slightly past her kneecaps, like greaves,” says artist Cliff Chiang.

Writers have also upped Wonder Woman’s street cred by changing her origins; she is now said to be a daughter of Zeus. Maybe the sharp, new update will be just what it takes for Wonder Woman to finally lasso a movie deal.

Photo: Warner Brothers/Everett Collection

Pueng Vongs is the San Francisco editor for Yahoo! Local. She has spent the past 20 years in print and online media, working at such outlets as MercuryNews.com, Pacific News Service, MarketWatch.com, and Money magazine. Follow her on Twitter.