Thoughts on Wonder Woman

The first Wonder Woman film was released this month, and it was worth the wait. It has generated a lot of commentary. You don’t see this kind of attention paid to most superhero films. There’s a lot to recommend the film.

Here is a summary of the plot (WARNING: SPOILERS):

• In youth, the protagonist continually is told not to expect to be a hero or warrior, despite a desire to do so.
• Two of the protagonists mentors, one of whom is a military leader, disagree about whether the protagonist is ready to go to war.
• The mettle of the protagonist is proven during a combat exercise.
• The protagonist meets a competent and loyal spy, who works for an ally nation.
• The mentor who first had faith in the protagonist is killed.
• The protagonist is driven to subterfuge in a desire to join the war effort.
• The war is against German nationalists.
• Enemy agents attack the protagonist and the agent in their home city. The protagonist apprehends the attacker, but before questioning, the enemy commits suicide with a cyanide capsule.
• The protagonist carries a bulletproof shield.
• The protagonist and the spy recruit a rag-tag group of fighters to help them get behind enemy lines and sabotage a German weapon facility.
• The protagonist is ordered not to charge into battle, but disobeys the order, to save the lives of a a small number of people.
• The spy love interest teaches the protagonist to dance.
• There are two principle German villain characters. 
• One of the German villains is disfigured and wears a mask. 
• One of the German villains is a creepy little scientist.
• The German villain characters turn on their superiors, and have their own agenda of world conquest.
• The German villain’s plan is to use weapons of mass destruction against allied cities. The weapons are loaded onto a comically oversized German bomber plane.
• The blond-haired man climbs aboard the plane as it is taking off, fights the crew and pilot, takes over the plane, and sacrifices his life by ditching the plane away from populated areas.

Oh wait—this is the plot of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).