Wonder Woman

Categories: Feminist theory | DC Comics titles | Justice League members | Justice Society members | All-Star Squadron members

Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine. Co-created by William Moulton Marston with his wife Elizabeth (Sadie) Holloway Marston, Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December, 1941). She was one of the first female superheroes and is still arguably the most famous.

In most adaptations, Wonder Woman is Princess Diana of the Amazon warrior tribe of Greek mythology. Diana, however, is the Roman name for the Greek goddess that this character is based off of; Artemis is her Greek name. The Amazon ambassador to the larger world, she possesses several superhuman abilities and gifts from the Greek Gods, including the Lasso of Truth, created from the Golden Girdle of Gaea and indestructable silver bracelets, formed from the Shield of Aegis. She is also a member of the all-star Justice League.

Marston designed Wonder Woman as a distinctly feminist character and many subsequent writers, especially those of the 1980s and afterwards, have written her as such.

Outside the comic book community, she is known for a popular, although often campy, television adaptation which starred Lynda Carter and aired from 1975 until 1979. She has also been featured on the all-star animated series Super Friends in the 1970s and 80s and Justice League in the 2000s.

Her origin and her creator

William Moulton Marston was an educational consultant in 1940 for Detective Comics, Inc. (now known as DC Comics). Marston saw that the DC line was filled with images of super men such as Green Lantern, Batman, and their flagship character Superman. Seeing all these male heroes, Marston was left wondering why there was not a female hero.

Thus inspired, Marston developed the character of Wonder Woman with his wife Elizabeth (Sadie) Holloway Marston who served as the partial model for this unconventional and liberated woman. The other inspiration was found in Olive Byrne, an equally unconventional individual, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship.

Marston then introduced the idea to Max Gaines (then head of DC Comics) who was intrigued by the concept and told Marston that he could create the female comic book hero—a Wonder Woman. Marston did that, using a pen name that combined his own middle name with the middle name of Gaines: Charles Moulton.

Marston was also the creator of the systolic blood-pressure test, which led to the creation of the polygraph (lie detector). From this work, Marston had been convinced that women were more honest and reliable than men, and could work faster and more accurately. During his lifetime, Marston championed the causes of women of the day.

In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston said:

"Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."

Early days

In December 1941, Wonder Woman made her debut in All Star Comics #8. Following this exposure in the second largest selling comic in DC's line, she was featured in Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942), and six months later in her own self-titled book (Summer 1942), making her the first super-heroine to have her own comic book. Until his passing in 1947, Dr. Marston wrote all of Wonder Woman's appearances. Artist H.G. Peter (previously best known for his Gibson Girl illustrations) drew the book, giving it a simplistic but identifiable "female" style that contrasted with other super-hero comic books of the day.

Armed with her bulletproof bracelets, magic lasso, and her Amazonian training, Wonder Woman was the archetype of the perfect woman from the mind of her creator, Dr. Marston. She was beautiful, intelligent, strong, but still possessed a soft side. At that time, her powers came from "Amazon concentration", not as a gift from the gods.

Wonder Woman's "magic lasso" was supposedly forged from the Magic Girdle of Aphrodite, which Queen Hippolyta (Wonder Woman's mother) was bequeathed by the Goddess. To make the lasso, the god Hephaestus had borrowed the Olympian belt, removed links from it, and forged the magic lasso from it. It was unbreakable, infinitely stretchable, and could make all who are encircled obey the commands of the wielder, most notably to tell the truth.

Wonder Woman was aided by the Holliday Girls (led by the Rubenesque, sweets-addicted Etta Candy), who were a sorority that would help Wonder Woman in a time of emergency, or vice versa. Based partly on comedian Hugh Herbert, Etta was the only member of the Holliday Girls who stood out, with her distinctive figure and propensity for saying "Woo-woo" all the time, and was - after Steve Trevor and Diana herself - the most lasting character in the series.

Images of men putting women into bondage commonly appeared on the covers of Sensation Comics and Wonder Woman from 1942 to 1947. In Wonder Woman issue #3, it is Wonder Woman herself who takes the dominant side, tying other women up, and, in one memorable scene, dressing them up in deer outfits and chasing them through the forest, only to tie them up later and display them on a platter. This subtle, yet identifiable, sexual subtext to the book has been noted by comic book historians, who have debated whether it was an outlet for Dr. Marston's own sexual fantasies (recent biographies indicate that he was an avid practitioner of bondage); or whether it was meant (unconsciously or otherwise) to appeal to the developing sexuality of young readers.

During this same early period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as its first female member. The Justice Society was the first super-team, featured in All Star Comics, and times being what they were, Wonder Woman, despite being one of the most powerful members, was the group's secretary.

From her inception, Wonder Woman was not out to just stop criminals, but to reform them. On a small island off Paradise Island was Transformation Island, a rehabilitation complex created by the Amazons to house and reform criminals. A large concept in his concept of Wonder Woman was one of "loving submission", in which one would be kind to others and be willing to surrender to them out of agape. This has often being parodied as male criminals being so enamored with her beauty that they surrender to enjoy her company however briefly in some fashion.

After Marston

In 1947, William Moulton Marston died, leaving Wonder Woman to be written by Robert Kanigher. While H.G. Peter still illustrated the stories, Wonder Woman became less of a feminist and more of a traditional American heroine. Peter remained on the title through #97, when the elderly artist was fired. Peter died soon afterward.

In later stories, her abilities expanded. Her earrings gave her air to breathe in outer space, her "invisible plane" (originally a propeller driven fighter that looked like either a P-40 Warhawk or P-51 Mustang, but soon upgraded to a jet aircraft, given that era's level of aviation technology level of progress) was given an origin, her tiara was found to be an unbreakable boomerang, and a two-way wrist radio like Dick Tracy's was installed in one of her bracelets allowing her to communicate with Paradise Island.

Dr. Wertham and the 1960s

In 1954, Dr. Frederic Wertham wrote his controversial book Seduction of the Innocent, which expounded on his anti-comic book views, and is seen by many comic book historians as the death of the Golden Age. Facing likely government censorship, the comic book industry established the Comics Code Authority. In the era of the Code, Wonder Woman no longer spoke out as a feminist, and was left to moon over Steve Trevor, and as time wore into the Silver Age, she also fell for Merman and Birdman.

Wonder Woman experienced many changes through the mid-1950s and throughout the 1960s. Wonder Woman's origin was revamped, with her powers instead being derived from a combination of the Greek and Roman deities.

In the 1960s, regular scripter Robert Kanigher adapted gimmicks which had worked for Superman under the editorship of Mort Weisinger. As with Superboy, Wonder Woman's "untold" career as the teenage Wonder Girl was chronicled. Then followed Wonder Tot, in which the infant Amazon princess in her star-spangled jumper went on improbable adventures with a genie she'd rescued from an abandoned treasure chest. The next step for Kanigher was to team all three ages of Wonder Woman in what were labeled "Impossible Tales," with her mother, Hippolyta joining in the adventures as "Wonder Queen."

Writer Bob Haney - apparently unaware that Wonder Girl was not a separate character - included her in his new team the Teen Titans, consisting of sidekicks Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and, joining shortly thereafter, Speedy. Some years later, an origin was provided in which Wonder Girl was revealed to be Donna Troy, an orphan that Wonder Woman saved and given super powers by the Amazons' healing Purple Ray.

The Diana Prince/I Ching Era

At the end of the 1960s, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers to remain in "Man's World" rather than accompany her fellow Amazons into another dimension so they could "restore their magick."

Now a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince soon came under the wing of a Chinese mentor known as I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana was trained to use her body as a weapon, learning martial arts and weapons skills, and proceeded to undertake secret agent-style adventures.

The new format of the comic book was strongly influenced by the Emma Peel era of the then-popular British spy series The Avengers. It also bore some similarities to the later TV series Kung Fu, with Diana being an inexperienced student to I Ching's master. Soon after the "new" Wonder Woman began, the editors removed one-by-one her connections to the superhero world, most notably killing off Steve Trevor (though the character would later be revived). One exception was a one-on-one confrontation with Catwoman.

This period of the comic book has its supporters and its detractors. Some critics welcomed the change from campy super-heroics to more serious, "topical" storytelling in the wake of the Batman TV series. Others felt that the comic had abandoned its history. Storylines included secret agent-style plots, as well as some occult tales. One controversial cover showed Diana Prince brandishing a machine gun and firing at an airplane; contrary to the traditional depiction of Wonder Woman, the updated version of Diana Prince was not against killing in order to defend herself or others.

The revised series attracted some writers not normally associated with comic books, most notably science fiction author Samuel R. Delany, who wrote two issues.

This storyline lasted for two years, with Wonder Woman finally being restored to her powers and costume in the early '70s. Part of the credit for the revival of Wonder Woman as a superhero was due to a campaign in which feminist Gloria Steinem - who was offended to see the most famous female superhero depowered - had a hand. The 1972 first issue of Steinem's Ms. Magazine featured Wonder Woman in her 1940s costume on the cover, and contained an essay in appreciation of the character. Ironically, the change in format was originally an acknowledgement of the Women's liberation movement. The I Ching era, despite the controversy, would continue to resonate for some years to come, both in the comic book and in live action adaptations of Wonder Woman a few years later. The 1974 Cathy Lee Crosby telefilm, and the second and third seasons of Lynda Carter's popular series (see below), would borrow heavily from the characterization of Diana Prince in the early 1970s.

Following the return of the "original" Wonder Woman to the comic books, a major two-year story arc consisted of the heroine's attempt to be readmitted to the Justice League of America, the organization she quit after giving up her powers. To prove her worthiness to rejoin the JLA, Wonder Woman voluntarily underwent 12 "trials" (analogous to the 12 labors of Hercules), each of which was monitored in secret by a different member of the JLA.

Wonder Woman had barely won readmittance to the JLA when DC Comics ordered another format change. The popularity of the Wonder Woman TV series, which was initially set during World War II, resulted in DC setting the comic book in this era as well (this was made possible due to DC Comics' multiverse concept, which established that the 1970s Wonder Woman and the 1940s original version lived on two separate, yet parallel, worlds: The 1970s version on "Earth-One", and the 1940s version on "Earth-Two"). When the TV series later changed its setting to the 1970s, the comic book followed suit.

Wonder Woman fought a series of "epic" battles through the 1970s and 1980s, until the character was thought to have been slain during Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1986. But in reality, she had been thrown backwards through time, devolving back into the clay from which she had been formed. Thus setting the stage for her eventual re-vamping.

Post-Crisis

Post-Crisis, Wonder Woman was rebooted in 1987. Writer Greg Potter, who previously created the Jemm, Son of Saturn series for DC, was hired to rework the character. He spent several months behind the scenes working with editor Janice Race on new concepts before being joined by writer/artist George Pérez. Potter dropped out of writing the series after issue #2, and Perez became the sole plotter with help from writer Len Wein, who wrote the series' finished dialogue.

Comic book fans and critics consider Perez's 60-issue run one of the highlights of Wonder Woman's history. Pérez and Potter gave her a pro-woman personality, and Perez's extensive research into Greek mythology gave more depth and verisimilitude to Wonder Woman's world than in her previous incarnation.

In her new incarnation, Wonder Woman was Diana, a princess and an emissary from Paradise Island to Patriarch's world (read: man's world). She possessed incredibly stunning beauty, a gift from the goddess Aphrodite. From Athena, she received the gift of wisdom; from Demeter, the power and strength of the earth; from Hestia, sisterhood with fire; and from Artemis, a rapport with animals and the instincts and prowess of a hunter. Finally, from the god Hermes, she received the gift of speed and the power of flight.

Wonder Woman did not keep her identity a secret, and she was not at first a "superheroine". Indeed, her character was in many ways that of a babe in the woods, innocent and without guile. Diana spoke only classical Greek and had to learn English when she arrived in America, rather than knowing the language intuitively. Nonetheless, Diana was trained as a warrior and had no compunction against using deadly force when called for. Through Pérez's tenure on the book, Diana dealt with war, injustice, inequality, death, and conflicts involving the Olympian Gods.

The supporting characters of the comic were altered as well. For instance, Steve Trevor was changed into an Air Force officer considerably older than Diana's apparent age, thus sidestepping the traditional romance between the two. Instead, Trevor became involved with Etta Candy, who herself became a mature military officer of good standing and a large, but realistic physique. Diana's enemy The Cheetah became a woman who could become a powerful and ferocious feline-humanoid creature who could believably challenge Diana in combat.

After Pérez left the series, other writers and artists tried to follow in his footsteps, with varying degrees of success. William Messner-Loebs wrote the character respectfully and the series sold well, but the artwork portrayed the Amazon in skimpy outfits and sexualized poses, which drew criticism from feminists. John Byrne later tried a "back to basics" approach with mixed reviews, including a period with Diana's mother Hippolyta as Wonder Woman. Phil Jimenez produced a run which was likened in some ways to Pérez's, particularly since Jimenez' art bears a striking resemblance to his.

Recently, the writing on the series was turned over to Greg Rucka, whose initial story arc involved a book Wonder Woman had written which caused controversy. The initial arc was full of political subtexts, but more recent storylines have involved the mythology aspect.

Infinite Crisis

Wonder Woman took a dark turn during 2005, particularly in the final portion of the four part "Sacrifice" storyline, one of the major lead-ins to Infinite Crisis. Issue #219 of the current Wonder Woman title ("Sacrifice," Part 4) ended with Diana breaking the long-standing do-not-kill code of DC superheroes by snapping Maxwell Lord's neck in order to break the villain's mental control over Superman. (See The OMAC Project for more about this storyline.) The ramifications of this action are expected to resonate in future issues. So far, her actions have resulted in the ending of her friendship with both Superman and Batman. The cover of #220 shows her being arrested by police; however, no such event actually occurs within the issue itself and she is not actually taken into custody until issue #222. The status of Wonder Woman amongst the other heroes is uncertain seeing as in the final pages of OMAC Project, the Brother Eye satellite broadcasts footage of Wonder Woman murdering Maxwell Lord, preceded by the word MURDER, to media outlets all over the world.

In Issue #221, Wonder Woman had to defend herself from several OMACs who attacked her in her own home. Having repelled the assailants, she was delivering an injured boy to the hospital at the close of the issue and saw a broadcast of the damaging video on the waiting room's television. She witnessed first-hand how people viewing the footage reacted with fear and revulsion; Brother Eye had managed to kill the faith the world had in her. At the start of Infinite Crisis, Batman and Superman distrust her: the latter can only see her as a coldblooded murderer, the former sees in her an expression of the mentality that led several members of the League to decide to mindwipe their villains (and Batman himself).

This isn't the first time Wonder Woman has been shown "crossing the line". In Mark Waid's mini-series Kingdom Come, Wonder Woman is also shown taking a life, albeit in battle and directly in order to save the life of another. However, it should be noted that Kingdom Come takes place in an alternate reality, and is not canonical.

Graphic Novels

This current series is collected in several graphic novels:

• God and Mortals: Wonder Woman #1-7
• Challenge Of The Gods: Wonder Woman #7-14
• Beauty and the Beasts: Wonder Woman #15-19 & Action Comics #600
• The Contest: Wonder Woman #90-93 & #0
• The Challenge of Artemis: Wonder Woman #94-100
• Second Genesis: Wonder Woman #101-105
• Lifelines: Wonder Woman #106-112
• Paradise Lost: Wonder Woman #164-170 & Wonder Woman Secret Files #2

• Paradise Found: Wonder Woman #171-177 & Wonder Woman Secret Files #3
• Down to Earth: Wonder Woman #195-200
• Bitter Rivals: Wonder Woman #201-205

Specials & One-Shots

• The Once and Future Story: A tale about spousal abuse.
• The Hiketeia: Wonder Woman vs Batman.
• Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth

Alternate Universes

• Wonder Woman: Amazonia: by William Messner-Loebs. Set in an imaginary Victorian-era England.
• Just Imagine Stan Lee's Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman Parodies/Homage

Wonder Woman has inspired the creation of several other comic book characters:

• Image Comics have two pastiches of Wonder Woman such as:
  • Glory is a Image Comics comic by Rob Liefeld, featuring Gloriana Demeter, an half-Amazon, half-Demon warrior. In the normal world, she goes by the alias Gloria West.
  • Invincible's War Woman

• Wildcats member Zealot a Kherubim and a Coda warrior, Zealot is the former Majestrix of the Coda and helped develop their virtues and practices. She has lived for thousands of years and has had many relationships with both humans and aliens alike. After failing to follow her own rules under the Coda, she left their clan and they have hunted her since. Zealot has a close friendship with Grifter though she is equally devoted to her sister, Savant.

• Promethea is a young girl whose father is killed by a Christian mob in Alexandria in 411 AD. She is taken in hand by the twin gods Thoth and Hermes who tell her that if she goes with them into the Immateria - a plane of existence home to the imagination - she will no longer be just a little girl, but a story living eternally.

• Power Princess real name Zarda is a member of the superhero group, the Squadron Supreme. Her character was originally developed as a thinly disguised analog of DC Comics' Wonder Woman, contradicting her origins, she was a native of Utopia Island and was a peace ambassador and WWII superhero. Since the debut of Marvel's MAX title Supreme Power, rebooted the character, Zarda no longer bears the moniker Power Princess or acts like a superhero. She has alluded to similar origins to Hyperion, equivalent to the Marvel Universe's Attilan.

In other media

The first attempt to translate Wonder Woman to the small screen was in 1967, when the success of the Batman television show led to a flurry of copycat series. Greenway Productions, the company behind the Batman show, produced a four-and-a-half-minute Wonder Woman test reel starring Ellie Wood Walker as Diana Prince, Linda Harrison as Diana's Wonder Woman alter ego and Maudie Prickett as her mother. As with Batman, the reel took a comic slant on the character. This pilot episode was never broadcast.

Wonder Woman's first broadcast appearance is as a guest in a Brady Kids cartoon in 1972, entitled "Beware of Gifts Bearing Greeks". (Wonder Girl, either Diana's younger sister or a teenaged version of Diana herself depending on which comics continuity is to be believed, had already appeared on television in a series of Teen Titans cartoon shorts, part of the Batman/Superman Hour cartoon show.) This was quickly followed by the heroine's inclusion in the long running Superfriends cartoon series.

Her second live-action outing was a TV movie made in 1974, starring Cathy Lee Crosby as a blonde non-superpowered Amazon. This version owed little to the Wonder Woman comic book character current at the time of screening, being closer indeed to the "I Ching period" abandoned by the comic book some years before.

Though not successful at the first attempt, network interest was such that within a year another pilot was in production. Scripting duties were given to Stanley Ralph Ross, who'd worked on the original pilot reel, but this time he was instructed to be more faithful to the comic book and create a subtle "high comedy". The new TV series ran from (1976-1979), and starred Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and Lyle Waggoner as Steve Trevor, and is probably the best known version of the character. See Wonder Woman (television series) for details.

Wonder Woman was also a team character in the various incarnations of the Super Friends animated series that aired on Saturday mornings throughout the 1970s and 1980s This incarnation is voiced by Shannon Farnon, and later by B.J. Ward.

The animated Justice League series on the Cartoon Network in the 2000s was the first chance to add Wonder Woman (voiced here by Susan Eisenberg) to the DCAU, her rights having been previously tied up in possible movies and television shows. To introduce her anew into a landscape already populated by famed and experienced heroes like Batman and Superman, Bruce Timm and his team decided to take a cue from the George Pérez newcomer-to-Man's-world interpretation. This Diana started off with complete innocence of Man's world, coupled with a certain adherance to Amazonian dogma and class structure (causing her teammates to react to her attitude by calling her "Princess" somewhat disdainfully). Also like the Pérez version, she does not keep a secret identity, and so she quickly becomes an international celebrity for her heroism (as seen in Maid of Honor). Seemingly unique to this incarnation, though, is the noticable effect of Man's World on Diana. Her first appearances are marked by her constantly acting off of Amazonian beliefs and ideas (in Fury, she questions how necessary men really are), but as time passes, she becomes more interested in men - in particular, Batman, with whom she has a consistently flirtatious relationship - and also experiences the emotional excesses of Man's world, as compared to the Amazons (who are portrayed as emotionally stunted and stiff). She finds joy, but she also begins to develop a massive temper that on multiple occasions needs to be derailed by her teammates (Hereafter, Hawk and Dove, Eclipsed, and many more). After recent episodes that have dealt directly with her temper, Diana seems to be keeping it relatively in check and has adopted the role of ambassador of the Amazons (on the request of her mother) as first seen in To Another Shore, making for another comic-borne trait that the DCAU Wonder Woman has taken to heart.

During the 1990s, there were many rumors of a possible Wonder Woman feature film at that time, but nothing came of it. There are many who feel Lynda Carter's portrayal has made it impossible for anyone suitable to be found to inherit the role (much as studios until recently had spent several years without success searching for a new actor to succeed Christopher Reeve as Superman).

In 2005, a new Wonder Woman (movie) was announced with Joss Whedon, who has considerable experience with female action heroes with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, writing and directing. Whedon has been quoted as saying his interpretation of the hero will not wear "star-spangled panties", raising concern that he may be planning to redesign the character in some way [1], but he has also said that he will not do anything 'silly' with the character. [2] The film is scheduled for release in 2007.

Wonder Woman also appeared in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo fighting game.

Scholarship

Sociologist Susan Hopkins in her text Girl Heroes, juxtaposes the image of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman with Girl Power action heroines of the late 1990s.

External links

• Boston Globe article
• Fanpage
• JLU's Wonder Woman profile on JLResource.com
• The Ultimate Wonderwoman Site
• Wonder Woman: The Continuity Pages
• Wonder Woman Index - An Index of all of Wonder Woman's Earth-1 adventures
• Wonder Woman Online
• Synopses and history of Wonder Woman television episodesde:Wonder Woman

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