Monday, July 27, 2015

Zeus' Family Values

"Wonder Woman III"
In the days of Greek Myth, the first illegitimate son of Zeus was birthed by a witch. This witch predicted to Zeus that this child would one day take his throne, but destroy humanity in the process. Knowing this threat to be true, Zeus commanded the witch to kill the child. In her sympathy for the child, the witch left it alone in the plains of Africa, hoping it's animals would devour the child. Little did she know a pack of hyena would raise the child as their own. When the child grew to be a teenager, he was met by an immortal traveller named Vandal Savage. Under his tutorship, the child grew to be a powerful warrior deemed "The First Born". After Savage told him of his destiny, The First Born sought out Zeus. In order to stop The First Born's attack on Olympus, Zeus banished him to the Earth's core. But-in the present-Zeus is seen on his death bed, his body unable to contain the growing power of a god. In the arms of his wife Hera, Zeus claims he will be reborn in The Last Born. After Zeus dies, word spreads to the Sun God Apollo who seeks the throne, Hera herself begins searching for The Last Born, and somewhere in the Himalayas The First Born emerges from the Earth after centuries of digging himself back up.
Diana has rekindled her relationship with The Amazons of Themyscira since "Wonder Woman II" and travels there at request of her mother, Hippolyte (Linda Carter). Hippolyte and the Amazonian Harbinger tell Diana that a prophecy has begun and she must help prevent The First Born from assuming the throne. To do this, Diana must find the Last Born child of Zeus. Because Zeus has had so many affairs, Diana asks for her boyfriend Agent Steve Trevor's help in locating a buried library in Egypt. After killing the monstrous guardian of the library, Diana finds a magic book chronicling Zues' many children. Steve spots Diana herself included in the book, but she denies this "forgery" and locates the Last Born in the book, the child of Sandsmark. Watching these events is the trickster Circe in the form of a crow and broadcasting what she sees to Apollo.
When Diana and Trevor get to Gateway City and find the home of The Sandsmark family, only Helena Sandsmark is there. She tells the two of them that she was an archeologist seventeen years ago and during an archeological dig in Rome she met a man named Bryne who had impregnated her and then left. When Cassandra Sandsmark was born she displayed superpowers Helen tried to keep secret. Diana is obviously enraged by Zeus' negligence and goes out alone to find Cassie.
Hera stares at the empty throne of Zeus, contemplating if Diana will be successful. Apollo appears and offers himself as Zeus' replacement, to which Hera refuses yet again. Apollo strikes a deal with Hera: whoever can kill The First Born may be Zeus' true heir, herself included. Hera accepts and the both of them travel to The First Born's location. The First Born this entire time has been seen going across country until finally reaching Gateway City. He has the ability to sense other Zeus children and enters an empty mall rebellious teenagers have turned into a club. Diana also arrives, avoiding the comments of prepubescent boys. She finds Cassie using her strength to tip over old vending machines and Cassie runs out immediately, almost running into Apollo, Hera, and finally The First Born. Without fear she knocks The First Born out of the building as children run out in a panic. Hera tells Diana of this deal for the throne. The First Born knocks Cassie aside and senses Diana's relation to Zeus, something Hera never wanted her to know. Just as the battle is going south, Apollo escapes as Hera is mortally wounded. Circe-as Donna Troy-shows up in a car and the four women drive away from The First Born, who is stabbed by Diana's sword.
They reach Helen's home and Diana convinces them that they need to escape before The First Born can find them, as Hera peers into Zeus' throne room, Apollo is attempting to breach the throne's magic barrier. Hera is slowly dying from the battle and says if she dies, the throne will be open. Trevor suggests calling in The League, but Diana refuses and summons Trevor's jet to fly them to Themyscira, assuring the Amazons will be enough. During the fly over, Hera tells Diana the truth: Zeus is her father. The reason why The Amazons were banished to Themyscira by Zeus centuries ago was not because of their harsh violence, but because Zeus had an affair with Hippolyte and knew their child could be more powerful than any god. He told Hippolyte to hide the truth from Hera to avoid her wrath, but when Hera found out later Diana was already born and she nearly put up with her existence. Learning she is a demigod doesn't deter Diana's life lessons, she claims this revelation is only further proof that something good can come out of something traitorous. Helen is guilted by this story and admits her own truth: Cassie isn't the only child she had. Cassie was told never to tell anyone, but Zeus had returned to Helen ten months ago as another human man and fooled her into bearing another child. When this child Zeke was born, a mysterious man exchanged vast amounts of money to Helen's family if she let him raise the child. Knowing she could not handle another superpowered baby, Helen agreed.
They arrive at Themyscira and Trevor pulls Diana aside. He questions why she hasn't called The League in, but Diana's pride and connection to this prophecy has clouded her judgement. Diana and her party discover all the Amazons have been turned to stone. By who? Circe, who reveals that she was Donna Troy this whole time and has been telepathically feeding Apollo all this information. Hera tries to fight Circe, but she finally dies in mid combat. Apollo assumes Zeus' throne and commands Circe to return, as he is certain he has won. Diana, Cassie, Helen and Steve gather around Hera as she tells them the true Last Born will unlock his power when he sits upon the throne.
The First Born is told by Apollo about the true Last Born and he travels to his breeding ground of Africa where he senses the boy. The boy is being read the works of Aristotle by Vandal Savage. As Savage puts it, "he needed to raise a new god-born since the last one didn't work out". The First Born tries to kill the child, but Savage fights him. Diana arrives with Cassie (now sporting her own bracelets and lasso courtesy of Hera's dying spell). Helen takes Zeke and runs back into Steve's jet, but The First Born throws Diana's sword into Helen's chest, almost killing Zeke if Steve hadn't taken him. Cassie is enraged by her mother's death and fights harder. As Diana is knocked to the ground, Savage orders her and Cassie to escape with the child. Cassie is dragged onto the jet by Diana and they leave as Savage is beaten to death and tossed into a canyon by The First Born, who regarded him as is true father. The First Born leaves the sight, but Savage miraculously survives his "death".
King God Apollo is told by Circe of Diana's travel to Olympus, but Apollo worries not. He summons a hydra to attack Trevor's jet, Diana and Cassie are able to defeat the monster by taking out all three heads at once and Trevor's jet crashes on Olympus. The four of them get inside to see Circe summoning The First Born there. Apollo tells The First Born he's open to challenge him for the throne if he can kill Diana. Diana and Cassie fight The First Born while Trevor dodges Circe's attacks on him and Zeke, Trevor uses Zeke as a shield seeing as how Zeus' power protects the child from magic. after knocking Circe aside, Trevor and Zeke face Apollo. The First Born's fight sprawls onto the stairs of Olympus and the girls aren't able to put him down. Luckily, Trevor uses Apollo's ego to trick him into getting up off the throne and then tossing Zeke onto it.
Zeke's body is then possessed by Zeus' soul and he uses his power to banish Apollo, Circe and The First Born to the underworld. The new Zeus gifts Diana with a power she will one day unlock, bids farewell to his sister Cassie and uses his power to reverse Circe's stone curse on Themyscira. While Steve joins a special Argus search team to find Savage's body, Diana takes Cassie to Themyscira to hone her powers and join her new family. Cassie reluctantly takes the title of "Wonder Girl" and begins her training. Diana confronts her mother and Hippolyte begs for her apology. She reveals to Diana that before her birth, Hippolyte was the first "Wonder Woman" back in World War II, she fought evil men and slept with brave warriors in combat. She was reigned in by Zeus, who promised her a child if she never invaded man's world again. This is how Diana's conception started, not out of force, but out of desire for a child. Diana forgives her mother.
After the credits, Diana is at a small diner with Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne, the trinity of heroes are enjoying a private meal. Clark tells the both of them that he got a ring from Atlantis to propose to Lois with, but Diana suggests not to spring it too quickly, its only been a year and a half for them after all. Clark has already decided he wants Bruce to be the best man. While this doesn't surprise Bruce, he is surprised by the confirmation that Kryptonians are capable of breeding with humans, meaning Clark and Lois could very well have children in the future. Bruce makes the joke of needing to make reenforced baby cribs. Bruce then asks if Clark would even want to bring a child into the kind of life he leads, but Clark and Diana are both certain that as long as heroes have each other, there is hope for the heroes of tomorrow. Diana drinks to that.
I hope you liked this third Wonder Woman film pitch. "Aquaman: The 8th Sea" is next! Thanks for reading!

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