And, in turn, why not make her the hero of a female empowerment coming-of-age story?

And the great what-might-have-been of superhero cinema was Whedon’sWonder Woman, which he developed during the mid-2000s.

And quite frankly, all that black leather was making people nervous.''

Joss Whedon | Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer became a tiny culty movie and a genre-defining TV show, it was based on a simple conceptual flip. In most

Diyah Pera; Richard Cartwright/WB

ButFireflyalso explored notions of frontier civilization and the individual-versus-society in ways that the originalStar Trekonly glanced at.

Character Death

In some ways, Whedon’s penchant for main-character-fatalities has been oversold.

Unlike, say, George R. R. Martin, he doesn’t generally kill off lead protagonists.

Joss Whedon | It’s easy to forget that Whedon originally rose to prominence in the salad days of The WB, when the network was filled with teenagers who

Zade Rosenthal

But, if you’re a beloved supporting player, watch out.

Whedon offed a whole assortment of B-players fromBuffy(farewell, Tara!

So long, Buffy’s mom!).

Joss Whedon | Whedon often gets lumped together with J.J. Abrams, since both über-creators rose to prominence on television with geeky properties (and both have since gone on

Diyah Pera

HardcoreFireflyfans had to suffer through two big deaths inSerenity.

(As with Angel and Buffy before him, Coulson is staging a comeback onS.H.I.E.L.D.)

You were made to be ruled.''

Joss Whedon | In some ways, Whedon’s penchant for main-character-fatalities has been oversold. Unlike, say, George R. R. Martin, he doesn’t generally kill off lead protagonists. But, if

‘‘What do you want me to say?’’

‘‘Lie to me.’’

No one ever dies, and everybody lives happily ever after.

Joss Whedon | Big ideas run throughout the Whedonography, but if you had to pick one big one, it’s Whedon’s basic suspicion of any forces seeking to bring

Zade Rosenthal

Human life is a mess, but it’s a mess worth fighting for.

Ain’t about you, Jayne.

It’s about what they need.

Joss Whedon | Whedon is an avowed atheist, and, although his characters rarely address spirituality directly, there’s a running undercurrent of spiritual skepticism in his work that often

After the heroes leave, Fury’s subordinate notes that those cards were actually in Coulson’s locker.

Fury: ‘‘They needed a push in the right direction.’’

Dialogue in Whedon projects crackles with screwball flair.

Joss Whedon | All this chatter about philosophical subtext and spiritual deconstruction would be hot air if the Whedonography didn’t have another unifying factor: It’s funny! Dialogue in

Marvel

Whenever one character asks a serious question, another character almost always responds with a joke.

Structural Silliness

That sense of humor extends deeper than witty dialogue.

Whedon’s apparently silly flights of fancy might work because, bizarrely, he takes the silliness seriously.

Joss Whedon | That sense of humor extends deeper than witty dialogue. Whedon is willing to take on conceits that, on a conceptual level, sound downright goofy —

As he said ata panel at Comic-Con 2013, '' The appeal ofThe Avengersis that it doesn’t work.

Now pray for a muppet interlude inAvengers: Age of Ultron.

Horrible’s Sing-Along Blogtwists the idea by imagining a wannabe supervillain competing with the popular Captain Hammer.

Joss Whedon | It’s possible to look at the Whedonography as a to-do list of challenges the writer has set for himself: -Make a movie with a goofy

Kurt Iswarienko/FOX

The Whedon Repertory

Just got cast in a Joss Whedon project?

Good news: Now, you’ll be cast ineveryJoss Whedon project.

The Whedonography is filled with repeat appearances by familiar faces.

Joss Whedon | The science-fiction and fantasy genres generally favor epic heroes, but Whedon likes to drill down and tell stories about the people behind the heroes. One

Eliza Dushku’s role onBuffyled to the lead onDollhouse.

Felicia Day appeared towards the end ofBuffy, sang inDr.

Horrible, and featured prominently in the gonzo flashforward episodes ofDollhouse.

Joss Whedon | With his background in television, it’s not surprising that Whedon prefers to tell stories about communities. With one notable exception, all of his stories are

Marvel

What makes Whedon’s collaborations interesting is that he often casts his actors in radically different roles.

Horribleand the comic relief inMuch Ado.

Joss Whedon | Just got cast in a Joss Whedon project? Good news: Now, you’ll be cast in every Joss Whedon project. The Whedonography is filled with repeat