Todd and Munley appeared together on Oprah yesterday and on the Today show this morning (clip above), and both made clear that Sgt. Todd was the one who disarmed shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan after Sgt. Munley was injured. An eyewitness who spoke with the New York Times concurred with their account. The Times's James McKinley Jr. explains,

The witness, who asked not to be identified, said Major Hasan wheeled on Sergeant Munley as she rounded the corner of a building and shot her, putting her on the ground. Then Major Hasan turned his back on her and started putting another magazine into his semiautomatic pistol.

It was at that moment that Senior Sgt. Mark Todd, a veteran police officer, rounded another corner of the building, found Major Hasan fumbling with his weapon and shot him.

But initial reports said that Munley's shots had stopped Hasan, and some news outlets were continuing to report this version of the story as recently as yesterday. Ewan McAskill of the Guardian wrote,

Although there is still some confusion about which shots brought down the alleged gunman, officials have attributed the bullets that brought him down to Munley.

The commander of the base, Lieutenant-General Bob Cone, said of Munley: "It was an amazing and an aggressive performance by this police officer."

Note the singular "officer." Cone also told CNN that Munley was the one who stopped Hasan, and that "the critical factor here was her quick response to the situation." Initially, the military appeared to be holding up Munley as the sole hero of Ft. Hood, a story which gained enough media credence that Gawker used it to argue that more women should be in combat positions (they've since published an update).

If the military actually knows whose gun brought Hasan down, they aren't talking — Lt. Col. John Rossi said at a press conference, "These questions are specific to the investigation and I am not going to address that." And when asked whether Sgt. Todd was the one who stopped Hasan, Lt. Col. Lee Packnett said, "It could have been, but the final outcome will be determined by the results of the ballistics tests." So if military sources are so reticent now, why were they so quick to hold up Munley as a heroine.

One possibility is that the initial version of the story is, as Gawker's Ravi Somaiya puts it, an "Oprah-friendly narrative." Munley is the mother of a young daughter who once stopped an intruder in her home, and this "petite police officer" may have seemed to both military and media like a compelling hero. Curry too harps on Munley's small size, saying, "you're 5'2", 125 pounds, why didn't you call for backup?" It's possible that officers and reporters reeling from the violence at Ft. Hood simply settled on the cliche of the feisty little woman who saved the day. A more upsetting possibility is that Munley was given more credit and media attention because she is white and Todd is black. I would hope this isn't the case — Munley described the scene as "confusing and chaotic," and it's certainly possible that Cone and others were simply mixed up as to who did what. But because of this mix-up, as Somaiya points out, conspiracy theories are bound to fly.

At Fort Hood, Witness Credits Second Officer [NYT]
Heroine Officer Tells Of Fort Hood Shooting [Guardian]
Full Interview With Ft. Hood Witnesses [Today]
The Heroes Of Fort Hood [Oprah.com]

Luckily, the early buzz is good: EW's Ken Tucker calls it "a satisfying version of the Wonder Woman origin-story that ought to please both hardcore fans and newbies." He claims the flick is not about WW being a "Barbie-doll fanboy-fantasy" but a "shrewd warrior."

WW is voiced by Keri Russell, who watched the Lynda Carter version on TV when she was a kid. She tells the L.A. Times that she had "a certain feeling of responsibility" about playing the iconic superhero:

"She was the strong female among all these male heroes and for little girls she was an important symbol, so I do take it seriously." Although she finds the Amazon's getup questionable: "It's a bikini, and she's jumping around and fighting? I'm glad it was a cartoon."

The L.A. Times notes that even though this flick is animated, it is not for kids: there are "saucy" scenes and violent beheadings. That said, there's still a sadness in Wonder Woman being animated and going straight to DVD, when Batman, Spider-Man, Superman and the Hulk get huge summer releases with big-budget, non-animated movies and fast-food toys.

The question now is what to do? Do we sulk because Hollywood won't back a female superhero flick? Do we support this animated Wonder Woman, with hopes that loads of interest will prompt producers to revisit the project? Or do we ignore the film in protest of a strong woman being shoved in an animated, straight-to-DVD ghetto?

'Wonder Woman,' A New DVD: Snap Judgment [EW]
"Wonder Woman's" Keri Russell Is 'A Tourist' With A Tiara [LA Times]

Earlier: Wonder Woman Trailer Released

Phibbs thinks she is. But first off, what exactly constitutes a feminist icon? Surely, it's a title that is bestowed upon a person, rather than sought out. And it probably has less to do with what the icon has actually done, and more to do with what it meant for and how it affected the fan.

For me, Dolly Parton is totally a feminist icon. But not for "9 to 5." Instead, it was "Just Because I'm a Woman," a song about fighting sexual double standards that — released in 1968 — was far ahead of it's time.

I can see you’re disappointed
By the way you look at me
And I’m sorry that I’m not
The woman you thought I’d be
Yes, I’ve made my mistakes
But listen and understand
My mistakes are no worse than yours
Just because I’m a woman

So when you look at me
Don’t feel sorry for yourself
Just think of all the shame
You might have brought somebody else

Just let me tell you this
Then we’ll both know where we stand
My mistakes are no worse than yours
Just because I’m a woman

Now a man will take a good girl
And he’ll ruin her reputation
But when he wants to marry
Well, that’s a different situation

He’ll just walk off and leave her
To do the best she can
While he looks for an angel
To wear his wedding band

Now I know that I’m no angel
If that’s what you thought you’d found
I was just the victum of
A man that let me down

Yes, I’ve made my mistakes
But listen and understand
My mistakes are no worse than yours
Just because I’m a woman

No, my mistakes are no worse than yours
Just because I’m a woman

Dolly Parton: Feminist Icon? [The Guardian]