Wardrobe change leaves ’em wondering

She’s been ruined! Covered up! De-patriotized!

And that’s only what they’re saying down here on Earth.

Heaven knows what the gods are saying about Wonder Woman’s new wardrobe change – goodbye, star-spangled hot pants! – a generational twist that has comic fans searching for meaning, and DC Comics searching for higher sales.

The change came last week, when DC put out its 600th issue in the 69-year-old Wonder Woman saga.

Gone are the ample red bustier, star-flecked hot pants and red knee-high boots, a 1940s-pinup look that Lynda Carter brought to life in the 1970s TV series.

Now, Wonder Woman, aka Diana Prince, wears black leggings or tights. She sports a motorcycle jacket and little bootie-like shoes. Her tiara is there, but mostly covered by her flowing hair.

She looks less like Wonder Woman and more like a modern-day urban hipster with perhaps a costume on under her clothes.

Which is pretty much the point, says DC Comics co-publisher Dan DiDio.

Because in the updated story, penned by new “Wonder Woman” writer J. Michael Straczynski, our heroine wakes up confused and uncertain of her identity, haunted by enemies unknown, DiDio explains.

And so, as she goes about figuring out who exactly she is, she needs to blend in with modern society. And it’s pretty hard to avoid attention on the street in her original getup, “especially when you’re a 6-foot-6 Amazon!” DiDio quips.

But he wants fans to know that Wonder Woman still has all her iconic tools.

“She still has the tiara, the chest plate, the belt, the magic lasso – the bracelets too, though we’ve molded them a bit,” DiDio says. Her new getup is simply more functional.

Whatever the reasoning, complaints have been coming fast and furious.

“She’s gone from Paris to Poughkeepsie,” says noted fashion publicist and MTV reality show habitue Kelly Cutrone. “She’s a superhero! This is NOT a good fashion look.”

For one thing, she says, “There are too many accessories competing here.”

Not all fashion followers were dismayed by the new look, created by DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee.

“I’m actually not a comic fan, but I have to say the new outfit is pretty fabulous,” says Jimmy Contreras, a Philadelphia boutique owner. “From a fashion and practical standpoint it works.

“The leggings, bustier top and fitted jacket really give Wonder Woman a chic, modern, yet sophisticated look. And the accessories are just enough to keep her feminine, but strong.”

One theory: The new Wonder Woman is intended to be less American and more global.

“She no longer looks as though she’s wearing a flag,” wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic Robin Givhan of the Washington Post. “She has shrugged off parochialism to become an international sophisticate.”

Others praised the covering up of Wonder Woman’s legs as a step forward in gender equality.

“It’s about time,” wrote Alex DiBranco on Change.org. “She … looks a lot more like the kind of superhero who demands respect and can kick butt in the name of justice, rather than somebody who belongs in the Miss America swimsuit lineup.”

Feminist author Gloria Steinem isn’t so sure.

Steinem embraced Wonder Woman as a role model for girls and in 1972 put her on the cover of Ms. magazine with the caption: “Wonder Woman for President.”

Adding pants, Steinem said in an e-mail message, “gives us the idea that only pants can be powerful – tell that to Greek warriors and Sumo wrestlers.”

Besides, she added, “in fact, they’re so tight that they’ve just painted her legs blue; hardly a cover-up.”

But Steinem isn’t too upset with the clothes. It’s an accompanying story change she really dislikes.

Before, Wonder Woman had been raised on an island by her Amazon mother and sisters. Now, that island was destroyed when she was a baby, and she was shepherded off, to be raised elsewhere.

“It’s an exact copy of Superman who came as a baby from the exploding planet Krypton,” Steinem noted. “This destroys her home, her Amazon mother and sisters, and gives her no place to go to gain strength and create an inspiring storyline.”

Why the changes? DiDio acknowledges that Wonder Woman, despite her place in the “triumvirate” of most important comic superheros along with Superman and Batman, sells less than those two.

“We’re really hoping to grow our fan base, and really re-establish her as one of the premier superheroes in comics,” he says.

With the current issue, sales have almost doubled, DiDio says – and the second printing will now proudly show the new Wonder Woman, no longer a secret, on the cover.

One fan of the new look: Carter, who’ll always be associated with the original costume.

“I think it’s going to be very sexy and it’s new and I love the cap sleeve,” she told ABC News. “She’s a hip girl.”