Movie Gadget Friday: The Invisible Jet from Wonder Woman

w For the last Movie Gadget Friday Josie Fraser checked out the Death Star I from Star Wars

. For this week's installment she looks at the ultimate gadget hich needs no introduction, the Invisible Jet from Wonder Woman:

Last week we looked at possibly the coolest imaginary vehicle ever invented, the Death Star. This week we move from that extreme to another: The hands-down most ridiculous vehicle ever seen on screen. I hardly have to write anything this week. Just look at the pictures. You'll see that Wonder Woman's jet was so bad that the plastic toy model actually looks more feasible and has better detailing than the one Lynda Carter is flying.

Joss �Buffy� Whedon is due to resurrect the 64-year-old Wonder Woman and her undetectable alter ego Diana Prince some time next year, and the rumour mill is frantic with two questions: Who will play WW, and will the plane make an appearance?

The jet plane doubtless had some method of decreasing it�s radar signature, and it appears to be shiny transparent rather than actually invisible, so I guess someone on the ground might not notice a woman sitting in mid air if the sun was shining from behind her. This is the central, and almost Zen-proportioned paradox of WW�s plane: How do you give her the advantage invisible transport, and then actually show it in action on screen?

Although stealth engineering has come a long way since the introduction of Diana�s plane, the best way of ensuring the enemy doesn�t see you remains the same: fly at night.


Fortunately the viability of the plane doesn�t matter much, since Wonder Woman�s inventor Dr. William M. Marston not only equipped her with a ton of seriously cool wearable gadgets (including a razor-sharp, head-severing tiara/boomerang, and the unbreakable golden lasso of truth extraction) but also gave her exactly no seriously troublesome evil foes.

[Finishing.Law.School @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

I can't believe they are making this crap into a movie. I don't need to hope that it fails because it will.
Whoever in Hollywood that is responsible for greenlighting this should be maimed and shot.

[Ed Hardy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

The current version of Wonder Woman can fly without the jet, and I strongly suspect that's what she will do in the upcoming movie.

Sadly for me, I missed the transition from the earth-bound to the modern Wonder Woman. Can anyone tell me how this happened?

[Trish Mulvihill @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Dr. Marston was not only the creator of Wonder Woman.... he created the lie detector test as well. True!
Trish Mulvihill (former WW comic colorist)

[kevin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

dont forget the cool laser deflecting bracelets

[Mark Murray @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Trish (#2),
Now THAT was an interesting piece of trivia!

[010111 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

incorrect. the Death Star can not drive your trashed ass home from a bar. KITT can. therefore KITT is the best imaginary vehicle ever. CLEARLY.

[Jon Norman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

#1 If the fuselage of the plane is invisible,then the gasoline would be visible

#2 transparent skin doesn't reduce the planes radar cross section. Even if it did, Wonder Woman's body produces enough of a RCS signal to light her up on a radar screen.

#3 how can she see the the controls and the computer HUD?

#4 If her jet crashed, how would the rescue teams find it?

[strider_mt2k @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

mmm...invisible cola, er, aircraft.

[The Truth @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Ultimate Gadget??

Having everyone laugh at you while you fly through the air in the seated position wearing only underwear and a boomerang on your head... i'll pass.

[Jeffrey Davidson @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

So, Superman is flying around when he sees Wonder Woman laid out sunning herself nude. He decides to have a little fun. He swoops down, makes love to her, and flies away so fast she can hardly tell what has happened.

"What was THAT?" Wonder Woman asks? The Invisible Man says, "I don't know, but my ass is KILLING ME!"

[The Truth @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Whats the point of having an invisible jet when everyone can see your ass in the cockpit.

[Foof @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

#9 right on, cause the whole reason modern jets are visible is to protect the privacy of pilots' asses.

[The Truth @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

FooF (#11): Two things...

1) Im assuming you are commenting on my #10 post in which case let me rephrase myself for you non ghetto speaking type.

"yo ass" = "you" (i.e. Yo ass is grass)

2) Im pretty sure that ALL jets and not just "modern" jets are visible. Last time I checked I dont remember reading about the Red Baron flying around WWI Germany in an invisible biplane.

[Ed Hardy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

How does she remember where she parked?

[Dave @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Please....please....please....could just the top half of Wonder Women's outfit be invisible instead of the plane??!!

[Darius @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Ok People thr Invisible Jet is not a Jet. It is an alien lifeform that landed on Paridise Island and the Amazons watched over it as it healed itself. The alien lifeform can take the shape of anything and any vehicleand yes it is naturally transparent. Diana/Wonder Woman can fly and she does not need the jet or alien lifeform but when she need a space ship or some other vehicle to transport large amouts of people she uses the lifeform.

[Rob @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Back in the 1940's the collective level of applying reason to fantasy was much lower than it is today. Today people demand explanations from entertainment sources. Additionally, the age-level for which comics were made back when the invisible plan was thought-up was much lower than today.

Today's comics appeal to a much older audience. Hence, if Wonder Woman would've been invented today WITH an invisible jet it wouldn't have been such a simplistic and flawed (as proved by your arguments)design.

In Alex Ross's version of Wonder Woman, the invisible jet is INDEED invisible, and when she steps into it -- she "disappears" from view as well. Cool!

Another question to ask yourself would be -- how can Wonder Woman's lasso appear to be 3 or 4 loops hanging from her belt, and she sometimes lassoes things that are a football-field length away?

[Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

Her lasso is made of an indestructible material weaved from an ancient girdle. The original story was that it bended to her will...i.e. she could make it as long or as short as she needed it to be. In the original comics she could also conrol it telepathically. We are talking superheroes here guys, c'mon....how many times did Buffy die?

[DIANA PRINCE @ Dec 19th 2005 12:14AM]

I THINK SHE IS AN ICON, NOT ONLY FOR GAY WOMEN, BUT ONE MEANS TO WOMEN'S LIBERATION.
SHE WAS CREATED FOR WOMEN'S FREE TO VOTE AND WORK LIKE OTHER MEN DOES.
so I think others are jealous because it is either you would like to be wonder woman be _________ to WONDER WOMAN..... So I can not wait To have JUSTICE LEAGUE beating X-MEN.
If you think this is not cool, you must have hated your mom, sister, teacher, or even girlfriend because she is a woman, EXPERIENCE THE WONDER....... GREAT HERA IT'S WONDER WOMAN