Dear DC,

I spent most of my childhood idolizing Wonder Woman - my brother and I religiously watched Justice League, and my brother was always trying to decide who his favorite superhero was. After all, he had soooo many options (Batman, Superman, Aquaman, the Flash, Green Lantern, to name a few). But I always idolized Wonder Woman. She was smart and strong, took no shit from the men of the Justice League, and always caught the bad guy. She was never the damsel in distress. I mean, how could she be? She has the Lasso of Truth, her bracelets, sword and shield, and of course, the tiara given to her by her aunt. In a time where popular female superheroes were few and far between, how could a girl who was raised by strong women NOT love Wonder Woman?

And now onto 2017, when the Wonder Woman movie came out. Even though I waited three weeks to see it (as always, I am late to the party), I walked out of the theater in awe. I laughed, I cried, and I was filled with such pride. I won't say the movie was without its flaws, but as a feminist in the 21st century, I have stopped expecting perfection. But this movie did female superheroes right. Marvel, to their defense, has Black Widow, but she has become a shell of the hero she was in the comic books, where her story line is blurred with romance and pointless side plots which distract from her badassery. But not Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman's love plot hardly takes over the film at all. It maybe takes over five minutes of the entire movie. Dianna continues to be a strong, independent woman who takes no shit and plows her own path. Steve and his posse spend most of the movie chasing after her as she demolishes the enemies. She is of strong moral standing, with morals and values any girl would be proud to emulate. She does not do what's right because mankind deserves it, but because she has faith in them. To make her even better, she comes from a species of women where men do not exist, and every woman is a true badass warrior. What more can a young girl ask for?

So, this is all to say, DC: thank you. Thank you for bringing my idol to the screen without diminishing all that makes her wonderful. Thank you for taking the care to get the details right, to cast Gal Gadot, a true Wonder Woman off the screen. Thank you for breathing life into my most beloved character, my most beloved woman to look up to. Thank you for giving girls the representation they deserve, and for understanding how important that representation is. Thank you for reminding me what made me love Wonder Woman in the first place, what made me constantly steal my brother's Wonder Woman action figure and refuse to give it back.

Thank you for reminding me that I'll always have a little Wonder Woman in me.