Why Wonder Woman's Costume In The Snyder Cut Makes No Sense
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Contains spoilers for Zack Snyder's Justice League
Wonder Woman might be one of the most powerful beings in the DC universe, but one of her costumes in the Snyder Cut of Justice League, now streaming on HBO Max, really pushes the boundaries of believability.
After receiving a message from her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen), in the aftermath of an attack in Themyscira, Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) travels from Paris to the ancient Shrine of the Amazons. Clad in a crisp white trench coat and heels, Diana explores the ruins, discovering a distinct arrow. Quickly, Diana crafts a makeshift torch and drops down into a mysterious and shrouded tomb to explore it and read the runes beneath the surface ... but for some reason, Diana makes that drop in impeccable white stiletto heels, landing perfectly without hurting herself or even damaging her footwear.
There's no question that Diana, an Amazonian goddess with super strength and a whole host of incredible powers, can do anything she sets her mind to ... but for anyone who's ever worn heels in real life, the sequence is pretty silly. Here's how fans reacted to Wonder Woman's most ridiculous costume inconsistency in the Snyder Cut.
Fans found Diana's high-heel jump both ridiculous and inspiring
In the aftermath of the Snyder Cut hitting HBO Max, fans took to Twitter to share their reactions, which ranged from mild outrage to complete astonishment. For one, user @Zimmsy wrote, "They couldn't get #wonderwoman some more comfortable shoes for the descent into the center of the Earth?" @Mrdigglesworth8 agreed, Tweeting, "Tell me how #WonderWoman jumps down a deep pit lands on her feet and doesn't break her heels? Must be wonder shoes."
"Currently watching the #SnyderCut it's certainly better," Twitter user @MikeHarrod89 wrote. "But there's a scene [where] Wonder Woman jumps down a deep hole while wearing heels. When she lands they making a gentle 'tap'. They'd be decimated surely?" Meanwhile, @lucyfishwife had a simple question: "Why does Wonder Woman have to wear heels?"
In response to comedian Leslie Jones, who live-tweeted the entire movie (with hilarious results) and noticed that apparently one of Diana's superpowers is "clean clothes" — referencing her spotless white coat — Twitter user @AriannaEditrix weighed in. "She's Wonder Woman so of course she has a constant supply of dirt resistant clothing that is made by a high-end designer it is also the reason that the heels don't break off of her shoes and make her fall down," she joked.
However, some fans thought the moment made Diana even cooler. "Diana's heels must be one of the most sought after items by ladies," user @TaurooAldebaran wrote, while @WellsLucasSanto wrote, "the most impressive thing in this movie so far is wonder woman jumping down hundreds of feet into the underground cave and landing with those heels intact."
For some fans, the heels were something they just couldn't accept; as Twitter user @blooperreelz put it, "when aquaman swims in jeans and boots i can accept it. but i draw the line at wonder woman wearing strictly heels."
Women running in heels is one of the worst action movie tropes
However, as any action movie fan can tell you, women performing completely unrealistic stunts in spiky, uncomfortable stiletto heels is nothing new. In recent movies, starlets like Bryce Dallas Howard, Sienna Miller and Rachel McAdams have been forced into a form of footwear that any woman knows is notorious for their limited mobility and overt discomfort — and not only that, they're then tasked with performing outrageous action sequences in shoes that would never withstand a difficult situation. (This is to say nothing of television shows like House of Cards, where Robin Wright's Claire Underwood spends a bizarre amount of time in stilettos while in her own house).
Perhaps the most controversial pair of stiletto heels in recent memory were Howard's in 2015's Jurassic World, which sees its heroine, Claire Dearing, tottering around the dangerous park and fleeing dinosaurs in a pair of patent leather stilettos that would definitely impede her movement pretty intensely. Eventually, the backlash over Claire's footwear became so intense that the film's director, Colin Trevorrow, was forced to comment, claiming that Howard herself insisted on the shoes. Apparently, this was true, and the heels, which Howard trained in especially for the role, made a reappearance in the 2018 sequel Fallen Kingdom.
Meanwhile, in 2016, Howard's famous father Ron Howard directed the action movie Inferno, which finds all of its female leads, including Miller, traipsing through cobblestoned European streets in stilettos of their own, continuing this baffling trend. Apparently, Snyder, like many other directors, thinks heels are no obstacle when it comes to death-defying chases and stunts.
The Snyder Cut of Justice League is streaming on HBO Max now.