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Wonder Woman is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941). The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986. Due to her depiction as a heroine fighting for justice and to reduce male domination over the world, Wonder Woman is widely considered a feminist icon.

Wonder Woman is a warrior princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and is known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira. She is gifted with a wide range of superhuman powers and superior combat and battle skill. Also well-known is her arsenal of weapons, such as the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in some stories, an invisible airplane.

Created during World War II, the character was initially depicted fighting the Axis military forces, as well as an assortment of supervillains. Since then, Wonder Woman has earned a formidable cast of enemies bent on eliminating the Amazon such as classic villains like Cheetah, Ares and Circe and newer ones like Genocide, The Circle and many gods and monsters from Greek mythology . Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society (from 1941) and Justice League (from 1960).

In addition to the comics, the character has appeared in other media; most notably, the 1975–1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter, as well as animated series such as the Super Friends and Justice League. Although a number of attempts have been made to adapt the character to live-action film, none have yet emerged from development hell. An animated film was released in 2009, with Keri Russell voicing the title role. In 2011, Adrianne Palicki starred in the TV series pilot of Wonder Woman that did not get picked up due to "scheduling issues". In September 2012, it was revealed that CW, the creator of popular Superman show Smallville, was developing a potential Wonder Woman origin TV series titled "Amazon". Wonder Woman's popularity has led to her appearing in the form of a variety of toys, merchandise and pin-ups.

Publication History

Creation

In an October 25, 1940 interview with the Family Circle magazine, William Moulton Marston discussed the unfulfilled potential of the medium. This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics. At that time, Marston decided to develop a new superhero. Family Circle published a follow-up article two years later from issue of the Boston University alumni magazine, it was Marston's wife Elizabeth's idea to create a female superheroine:

William Moulton Marston, a psychologist already famous for inventing the polygraph (forerunner to the magic lasso), struck upon an idea for a new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love. "Fine," said Elizabeth. "But make her a woman."

Marston introduced the idea to Gaines, co-founder of All-American Publications. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with Elizabeth, whom Marston believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman. Marston was also inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship. Both women served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced the character's creation. Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), scripted by Marston and with art by Harry G. Peter.

Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest and reliable than men and could work more efficiently.

"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston wrote. Although Gloria Steinem placed Wonder Woman on the first standalone cover of Ms. in 1972, Marston, writing in an earlier time, designed Wonder Woman to represent a particular form of female empowerment.

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

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.

During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the female member.

Initially, Wonder Woman was an Amazon champion who wins the right to return Steve Trevor — a United States intelligence officer whose plane had crashed on the Amazons' isolated island homeland — to "Man's World" and to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis.

Silver and Bronze Age

During the Silver Age, under then-writer Robert Kanigher, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped, along with other characters'. The new origin story increased the character's Hellenic and mythological roots: receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, as strong as Hercules, and as swift as Hermes."

At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Becoming a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquired a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learned martial arts and weapons skills and engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology.

In the early 1970s the character returned to her superhero roots in Justice League of America and to the World War II era in her own title.

Modern Age

Following the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter relaunched the character, writing Wonder Woman as an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world. Pérez incorporated a variety of deities and concepts from Greek mythology in Wonder Woman's stories and origin. His relaunch of the character acted as the foundation for the more modern Wonder Woman stories as he expanded upon the widely-accepted origin of Diana being birthed out of clay and also the origin of Diana's powers being blessings from the Greek deities was created during this run. This relaunch was a critical and commercial success.

In August 2010 (issue #600), J. Michael Straczynski took over the series' writing duties and introduced Wonder Woman to an alternate timeline created by the Gods in which Paradise Island had been destroyed and the Amazons being scattered around the world. In this timeline, Diana is an orphan raised in New York who is learning to cope with her powers. The entire world has forgotten Wonder Woman's existence and the main story of this run was of Diana trying to restore reality even though she does not properly remember it herself. A trio of Death Goddesses called the Morrigan acted as the main enemy of Wonder Woman. In this run, Wonder Woman wore a new costume designed by Jim Lee. Straczynski determined the plot and continued writing duties till Wonder Woman #605. Writer Phil Hester then continued his run, which ultimately concluded in Wonder Woman #614.

The New 52

In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications to attract a new generation of readers. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang were assigned on writing and art duties respectively and revamped the character's history considerably. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman wears a costume similar to her original costume. Her origin is significantly changed and she is no longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods; instead, she is a demigoddess, the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Azzarello and Chiang's revamp of the character was critically acclaimed.

Fictional Character Biography

Golden Age

In her debut in All Star Comics #8, Diana was a part of a tribe of female women named the Amazons, native to Paradise Island- a secluded island set in the middle of a vast ocean. Captain Steve Trevor's plane crashes on the island and he is found alive by Diana and a fellow Amazon. Diana has him nursed back to help and falls in love with him. Her mother, the Queen of the Amazons Hippolyte holds a competition among all the Amazons to decide who is the most worthy of all the women. The winner would then be given the chance of delivering Captain Steve Trevor back to man's world and fight for freedom and liberty. Diana enters the competition wearing a mask to conceal her identity, as her mother forbids her to enter the competition. She wins the competition and then reveals her identity. The winner nevertheless, she is chosen to take Steve Trevor back and is awarded a special dress made by her mother for her new role as Wonder Woman.

When she came to America for the first time, Wonder Woman came upon a weeping army nurse named Diana Prince. The nurse wanted to leave for South America with her fiancé but was unable to due shortage of money. As both of them looked identical and Wonder Woman needed a job and identity to monitor on Steve, who was admitted in the same army hospital, she gave her the money she had earned earlier to help her go to her fiancé in exchange of her credentials. Thus, Diana's secret identity of Diana Prince was created and she started to work as an army nurse.

Wonder Woman then took part in a variety of adventures, mostly side by side with Trevor. Her most common foes during that period would be Nazi forces, and sometimes villains like Baroness Paula Von Gunther, The Cheetah, Doctor Psycho and Duke of Deception.

Silver Age

In the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's history received many changes. Her earlier origin, which had significant ties to World War II was changed. Wonder Woman's powers were the product of the God's blessings- "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Mercury". The concepts of Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot were introduced during this period.

Wonder Woman Vol 1 Issue #179 (November, 1968) showed Wonder Woman giving up her powers and returning her costume to her mother in order to continue staying in Man's World as all the other Amazons were moving to a new dimension and Diana needed to stay back to help a wrongly-convicted Steve. Thus, she no longer had the title of Wonder Woman and after meeting and training under a blind martial arts mentor I-Ching, fought crime as the powerless Diana Prince. She also ran a mod-boutique as a business and dressed in a series of jumpsuits while fighting crime.

Bronze Age

Starting from Wonder Woman Vol 1 #204, Diana's powers and costume were returned to her and her memories were restored by her mother. She was once again reinstated as Wonder Woman. I-Ching is killed by a sniper in the same issue. Diana also meets her 'sister' Nubia, who is Hippolyta's daughter fashioned out of dark clay (hence Nubia's dark complexion). Nubia was the Wonder Woman of "The Floating Island", she challenges Diana to a duel which ends in a draw. Returning to her home, Nubia would have further adventures involving Diana.

The last issue of Volume 1 showed Diana and Steve Trevor announce their love for each other and their subsequent marriage.

Modern Age

The events of Crisis on Infinite Earths greatly changed the history of the DC Universe. Wonder Woman's history and origin was also considerably revamped. Wonder Woman was now an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira (the new name for Paradise Island) to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world. A variety of deities and concepts from Greek mythology were blended into Wonder Woman's stories and origin. She was formed out of clay of the shores of the island by Hippolyta, who wished for a child and the clay figure was then brought to life by the Greek deities. She was then blessed with unique powers and abilities by the Greek deities- beauty from Aphrodite, strength from Demeter, wisdom from Athena, speed and flight from Hermes, Eyes of the Hunter and unity with beasts from Artemis, and sisterhood with fire and ability to discern the truth from Hestia. Due to the reboot, her previous history, and her marriage to Steve Trevor was erased. Trevor was introduced as a man much older than Diana and would later on marry Etta Candy.

Starting in Wonder Woman Vol 2 #51, The Amazons, who had revealed their presence to the outer world in Wonder Woman Vol 2 #50, are blamed for a series of murders and the theft of various artefacts. The Amazons are taken into custody, Queen Hippolyta seems nowhere to be found and Steve Trevor is forced by General Yedziniak to attack Themyscira. These events lead to the major crossover event titled "War of the Gods", with Wonder Woman as its main character. The culprit of the murders, thefts and the framing of the Amazons is revealed to be the witch Circe, who "kills" Diana by reverting her form back into the clay she was born from. Later, Wonder Woman is brought back to life and together with Donna Troy, she battles Circe and ultimately defeats her. Circe would later return by unknown means.

In Wonder Woman Vol 2 #73, Wonder Woman started to work as a waitress at a local Taco Whiz franchise due to her facing a money deficiency. She later left the job and started working as a private eye.

When Hippolyta and the other Amazons were in a demonic dimension, she started receiving visions about the death of Wonder Woman. Fearing her daughter's death, Hippolyta created a false story that she claimed Diana was not worthy of continuing her role as Wonder Woman, and arranged for a contest to determine who would be the new Wonder Woman, thus protecting Diana from her supposed fate. The participants of the final round were Diana and Artemis, and due to some mystical manipulation by Hippolyta, Artemis won the contest. Thus, Artemis became the new Wonder Woman and Diana was forced to hand over her costume, who then started fighting crime in an alternate costume. Artemis later died in battle with the White Magician- Hippolyta vision of a dying Wonder Woman did come true, albeit not of Diana as Wonder Woman. Diana once again became Wonder Woman, a request made by Artemis in her last seconds. Artemis would later return as Requiem. Prior to Artemis' death, Hippolyta would admit to her daughter about her own part in Artemis' death, which strained their relationship as Diana was unable to forgive her mother for sending another Amazon to her death knowingly for the sake of saving her own daughter.

The demon Neron engaged in battle with Diana in Wonder Woman Vol 2 #125 and managed to strike her fatally and kill her. Diana then attained divinity and the status of the Goddess of Truth and started to reside in Olympus, her mother Hippolyta then assumed the role of Wonder Woman and wore her own different incarnation of the costume. In Wonder Woman Vol 2 #136, Diana was banished from Olympus due to interfering in earthly matters (as Diana was unable to simply watch over people's misery on earth). She immediately returned to her duties as Wonder Woman, but ran into conflicts with her mother over her true place and role as Hippolyta seemed accustomed to her life in America. Their fight remained unsolved, as Hippolyta tragically died during the Our Worlds at War event. Even Themyscira was destroyed during the event, but was restored and reformed as a collection of floating islands. Circe later resurrected Hippolyta in Wonder Woman Vol 3 #8.

One of the events that led to Infinite Crisis was of Wonder Woman killing the villain Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman Vol 2 #219. Maxwell Lord was mind-controlling Superman, who as a result of this was near to killing Batman. Unable to mind control Wonder Woman, Lord made Superman see her as Doomsday killing Lois Lane. Superman then attacked Wonder Woman, and a vicious battle ensued. Buying herself time by slicing Superman's throat with her tiara, Wonder Woman caught Lord in her Lasso of Truth and asked him how to stop his control over Superman. As the lasso forced the wearer to speak only the truth, Lord told her that the only way to stop him was to kill him. Left with no choice, Wonder Woman snapped Lord's neck. Unknown to her, the entire scene was broadcast live around every channel in the world by Brother Eye. The viewers were not aware of the entire situation, and saw only Wonder Woman murdering a Justice League associate. Wonder Woman's actions put her at odds with Batman or Superman, as they saw Wonder Woman as a cold-blooded killer, despite the fact that she saved them.

At the end of Infinite Crisis, Wonder Woman, along with fellow members of DC's Trinity Batman and Superman, temporarily retires from her costumed identity. Diana, once again using the alias Diana Prince, joins the Department of Metahuman Affairs. Donna Troy became the new Wonder Woman, but is captured by Diana's enemies. Diana then goes on a mission to rescue her sister, battling Circe and Hercules. In the end, Diana defeats the villains, frees Donna and takes up the role of Wonder Woman again. Circe also places a spell on Diana, which renders Diana as a normal human being without any powers when in the role of Diana Prince; her powers come to her only when she is the role of Wonder Woman.

The storyline "The Circle" (Wonder Woman Vol 3 #14-#17) was focused on the revelation of a failed assassination attempt on Diana when she was newly-born, by four rogue Amazons. These Amazons were collectively referred to as The Circle, and consisted of Myrto, Charis, Philomela, and Alkyone. The four Amazons were Hippolyta's personal guards and extremely loyal and devoted to her. However, when Hippolyta decided to raise a daughter, The Circle was horrified and considered the baby ill-fate, one who would ruin their race. Thus, after Diana was given sculpted out of clay and brought to life, The Circle decided to kill the baby. Their attempt was foiled however, and the four Amazons were imprisoned. After years, the Circle escaped their prisons with the help of the Nazis, and decided to accomplish their previously failed mission and kill Diana. Diana defeated Myrto, Charis, Philomela and then approached Alkyone, who revealed that Diana could have been her daughter as even she had always pined for one but ignored her desire. Alkyone runs off and succumbs to her death by falling into the ocean. The other three Amazons return to their prisons.

Issue #600 introduced Wonder Woman to an alternate timeline created by the Gods in which Paradise Island had been destroyed and the Amazons being scattered around the world. In this timeline, Diana is an orphan raised in New York who is learning to cope with her powers. The entire world has forgotten Wonder Woman's existence and the main story of this run was of Diana trying to restore reality even though she does not properly remember it herself. Diana has no memories of her prior adventures as Wonder Woman and recollects her memories in bits and pieces and also receives different abilities and resources, such as the power of flight and her lasso during the progression of her adventure. A trio of Death Goddesses called the Morrigan acted as the main enemy of Wonder Woman. Diana ultimately defeats the evil goddesses and returns everything back to normal.

The New 52

In September 2011, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publication to cater to the needs of a new generation, dubbing the event "The New 52". Wonder Woman now appeared wearing a new costume similar to her older one. Her character also received major changes and her origin was changed completely.

In this new continuity, Wonder Woman's origin is significantly changed in the way that she is no longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods. Instead, she is the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. The earlier origin story was revealed by Hippolyta to be a ruse thought up by the Amazons, to protect Diana from the wrath of Hera, who is known for hunting and killing several illegitimate offspring of Zeus.

Wonder Woman meets and protects a young woman named Zola, from Hera's wrath. Zola is pregnant with Zeus's child and Hera, seething with jealousy intends to kill the child. The major event in this story is the revelation of Diana's true parentage. Long ago, Hippolyta and Zeus battled each other. Their battle ended with the couple making love and thus Diana was conceived. The first six issues of the New 52 series are collected in a hardcover titled Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood.

The story then focuses on Wonder Woman's quest to rescue Zola from Hades, who had abducted her and taken her to Hell at the end of the sixth issue of the series. The male Amazons are introduced and their origin story is revealed- the Amazons used to infrequently invade the ships coming near the island and force themselves on the sailors, and then kill them. After nine months, the birth of the female children are highly celebrated and inducted into the proper ranks of the Amazons while the male children are rejected. In order to save the male children from being drowned to death by the Amazons, Hephaestus trades them with the Amazons in exchange for weapons.

Wonder Woman then tries to protect Zola from Appollo, as it is prophesied that one of Zeus' children will be his downfall which Apollo considers to be Zola's child. Wonder Woman receives the power of flight by one of Hermes' feathers piercing her thigh and Zola's baby is stolen by Hermes at the end and given to Demeter. The issue's last page shows a dark and mysterious man rising from the snow, taking a helmet and disappearing. Issues 7-12 are collected in a hardcover titled Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Guts, scheduled for release in January 2013.

A stand-alone #0 Issue was released in September which explored Diana's childhood and her tutelage under Ares, the God of War. The issue was narrated in the style of a typical Silver Age comic book and saw Diana in her childhood years. The main plot of the issue was Diana training under Ares as he thought of her being an extraordinary girl with immense potential. The issue ultimately concluded with Diana learning and experiencing the importance of mercy, as she hesitates and refuses to kill the Minotaur- a task given to her by Ares; however, this show of mercy makes her a failure in Ares' eyes.

Wonder Woman also appears as one of the lead characters in the new Justice League title written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Jim Lee

In August 2012, she and Superman shared a kiss in Justice League Vol 2 #12, hinting a possible romance, which, according to Chief Creative Officer and Justice League writer Geoff Johns, will be the new status quo.

Secret Identity

Wonder Woman's secret identity is that of Diana Prince. The alias was created by William Moulton Marston.

During Marston's run, Diana Prince was the name of an army nurse whom Wonder Woman met. The nurse was in need of money to go to her fiancé in South America. As Wonder Woman needed a secret identity and also wanted to monitor and look after Steve (who was admitted in the same army hospital Diana Prince worked at), and because both of them looked identical, Wonder Woman gave the nurse money to go to her fiancé in exchange for the nurse's credentials and took Diana Prince as her alias. She also started to work as an army nurse and later in the Air Force.

The identity of Diana Prince played in an important part in Wonder Woman's adventures during the 1960s, which featured a de-powered Diana fighting crime without her mystic powers. As she was no longer Wonder Woman, she used the Diana Prince alias while fighting crime.

Wonder Woman was broadcast worldwide killing a villain named Maxwell Lord, as he was mind controlling Superman into killing Batman and the only way to stop him was to kill him, so as a last resort Diana snapped his neck. Due to the trauma of killing and the aftermath of Infinite Crisis, the Amazon went into a year's exile. Once she returned to public life, Diana realized that her life as a full-time celebrity superhero and ambassador had kept her removed from humanity. Because of this she again donned the persona of Diana Prince and became an agent at the Department of Metahuman Affairs. During a later battle with Circe, the witch placed a spell on Diana leaving Wonder Woman powerless when in the role of Diana Prince.

In the current New 52 universe, Diana does not have a secret identity as stated in an interview by series writer Brian Azzarello.

Characterization

While many writers have depicted Diana in different personalities, what has remained constant is her ability to feel compassion and give love without discrimination. This trait had been the reason for her induction into the Star Sapphires. The modern version of the character has been shown to perform lethal and fatal actions when left with no other alternative. A primary example of this is when she snapped Maxwell Lord's neck, building the events that led to Infinite Crisis. The reason for this was that he was mind-controlling Superman into killing Batman and when Diana caught him in her lasso, he revealed that the only way to stop him was to kill him.

Wonder Woman's personality and tone has wavered between that of a typical warrior, a highly compassionate and calm Ambassador, and sometimes also as a naive and innocent person. Writer Gail Simone was applauded for her portrayal of Wonder Woman during her run on the series, with comics reviewer Dan Phillips of IGN noting that "she's molded Diana into a very relatable and sympathetic character."

The New 52 version of the character has been portrayed to be a more young, headstrong, loving, fierce and willful person. Brian Azzarello stated in a video interview with DC Comics that they're building a very "confident", "impulsive" and "good-hearted" character in her and that her strength and weakness both is her compassion for others.

Powers and abilities

Pre-Crisis

Below are Wonder Woman's powers before the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths-

The Golden Age Wonder Woman was endowed with superhuman strength and speed. Compared to a normal human being, she was much stronger- an example of this is when she was able to tear a steel door off its hinges. In one of her earliest appearances, she is shown running easily at 60 mph, and later jumps from a building and lands on the balls of her feet.

Her powers would be removed in accordance with "Aphrodite's Law" if she allowed herself to be bound or chained by a male. However the effects of this varied.

Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #105 reveals that Diana was formed from clay by the Queen of the Amazons and was imbued with the attributes of the Greek and Roman gods by Athena — "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, as swift as Hermes, and as strong as Hercules." Wonder Woman's Amazon training also gave her limited telepathy, profound scientific knowledge, and the ability to speak every language known to man and beyond. She was even fluent in caveman and Martian.

Although Wonder Woman's mythos was returned to its original interpretation between 1966 and 1967, new abilities were added: super breath, the ability to blow jet streams or transform water into snow, which apparently came from Hercules; ventriloquism; imperviousness to extremes of heat and cold; the ability to ride the air currents as if flying, even sensing air updrafts with her fingers; telepathy, including the ability to project images; microscopic vision; the ability to bestow wisdom to other beings; the ability to throw her tiara with such skill it could stop bullets; and others.

Depending on the writer, Diana's invulnerability and power varied greatly according to the needs of the story.

In the Silver and Bronze ages of comics, Wonder Woman was able to further increase her strength. In times of great need, removing her bracelets would temporarily augment her power tenfold, but go insane in the process.

Post-Crisis

After the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman's powers received changes-

In the Post-Crisis universe, Wonder Woman receives her powers as a blessing from the Olympian deities.

Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, blessed Diana with strength drawn from the Earth spirit Gaea, making her one of the physically strongest heroes in the DC Universe and the strongest female heroine of all in the DC Universe. Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, granted Diana great wisdom, intelligence, and military prowess. Athena's gift has enabled Diana to master over a dozen languages (including those of alien origin), multiple complex crafts, sciences and philosophies, as well as leadership, military strategy, and armed and unarmed combat. She can mimic voices, although it is more difficult for her to mimic a man's voice. More recently, Athena bound her own eyesight to Diana's, granting her increased empathy. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, animals, and the Moon, graced Diana with the Eyes of the Hunter and Unity with Beasts. The Eyes of the Hunter ability gives Diana a full range of enhanced senses, including telescopic vision and super hearing. Unity with Beasts grants her the ability of empathy particularly that to communicate with all forms of animal life and to calm even the most ferocious of beasts. Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, granted Diana "sisterhood with fire, that it might open men's hearts to her." This power has been shown to control the "Fires of Truth," which Diana wields through her lasso, making anyone bound by it unable to lie. This ability also grants her resistance to both normal and supernatural fire. Hermes, the messenger god of speed, granted Diana superhuman speed and the ability to fly. She is capable of flying at speeds approaching half the speed of light. She is swift enough to deflect bullets, lasers, and other projectiles with her virtually impenetrable bracelets. After the 2011 relaunch of the character, Wonder Woman does not naturally possess the power of flight. She gains it once she is hit by a feather thrown by Hermes.

While not invulnerable, she is capable of withstanding great concussive force

Diana possesses the ability to relieve her body of physical injury and toxins by becoming one with the Earth's soil and then reforming her body whole again. During John Byrne's run, it was stated that this is a ritual so sacred that it is used only in the most dire of circumstances.

She is able to astrally project herself into various lands of myth. Her physical body reacts to whatever happens to her on the mythical astral plane, leaving her body cut, bruised, or sometimes strengthened once her mind and body are reunited. She can apparently leave the planet through meditation, and did this once to rescue Artemis while she was in hell.

After the 2011 relaunch, Diana has gained new powers. As the natural born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus, she has inherited some of her father's powers, which is suppressed by wearing her bracers. She uses these powers in battle against Artemis (the Goddess; not the Amazon) and quickly renders her unconscious with a series of carefully positioned counter-attacks. While using her godly strength, her costume and accoutrements lit up and her eyes glowed like her father's.

Skills and Resources

Diana is depicted as a masterful athlete, acrobat, fighter and strategist, trained and experienced in many ancient and modern forms of armed and unarmed combat, including exclusively Amazonian martial arts. In some versions, her mother trained her, as Wonder Girl, for a future career as Wonder Woman. From the beginning, she is portrayed as highly skilled in using her Amazon bracelets to stop bullets and in wielding her golden lasso. She is a superior warrior who has beaten Batman, Big Barda, and Black Canary in sparring matches. Batman once noted her as the "best melee fighter in the world". The modern version of the character is known to use lethal force when she deems it necessary. In The New 52 continuity, her superior combat skills are the product of her training with Ares in her childhood.

Diana has an arsenal of powerful god-forged weapons at her disposal, but her signature weapons are her indestructible bracelets and the Lasso of Truth.

Her bulletproof bracelets were formed from the remnants of Athena's legendary shield, the Aegis, to be awarded to her champion. The shield was made from the indestructible hide of the great she-goat, Amalthea, who suckled Zeus as an infant. These forearm guards have thus far proven indestructible and able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts. Diana can also slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force capable of making Superman's ears bleed. Recently, she gained the ability to channel Zeus's lightning through her bracelets as well. Zeus explained to her that this power had been contained within the bracelets since their creation, because they were once part of the Aegis, and that he had only recently unlocked it for her use. After the 2011 relaunch of the character, it was revealed that Diana was the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta and that she wears the bracelets to keep the powers she has inherited from Zeus in check.

The Lasso of Truth, or Lariat of Hestia, was forged by Hephaestus from the golden girdle of Gaea. It is virtually indestructible; the only times it has been broken were when Wonder Woman herself refused to accept the truth revealed by the lasso, such as when she confronted Rama Khan of Jarhanpur, and by Bizarro in Matt Wagner's non-canonical Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity. In Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942), Hippolyta claims that not even Hercules can break it. The Lasso burns with a magical aura called the Fires of Hestia, forcing anyone within the Lasso's confines to be truthful. It also at one time had the power to force anyone caught to obey any command given them, even overriding other kinds of mind control; this was effective enough to defeat strong-willed beings like Captain Marvel. Diana wields the lasso with great precision and accuracy and can use it as a whip or noose.

As early as the 1950s, Wonder Woman's Golden Tiara has also doubled as a dagger, and throwing weapon, returning to her like a boomerang. Its sharpness and mystical nature proved enough to cut even Superman. It is also possible for Diana to contact Amazons back on Themyscira using the telepathic power of the red star shaped, star ruby, in the centre of her tiara.

Diana once possessed the Sandals of Hermes, or talaria, which granted the wearer great speed and flight, and the ability to travel beyond the mystical veil that protected the island of Themiscyra from Man's World. Diana also once possessed the Gauntlets of Atlas, which magnify the physical strength and stamina of the wearer.

The Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age portrayals of Wonder Woman showed her using an Invisible plane that could be controlled by mental command. It was variously described as being either a creation of Amazon technology or the legendary winged horse Pegasus transformed into an aircraft, in any case it is the first recorded use of cloaking device technology. Its appearance varied as well; originally it had a propeller, while later it was drawn as a jet aircraft resembling a stealth aircraft.

Diana occasionally uses additional weaponry in formal battle, such as ceremonial golden armour with golden wings, pteruges, chest-plate, and golden helmet in the shape of an eagle's head. She also possesses a sword forged by Hephaestus that is sharp enough to cut the electrons off an atom.

As a recent temporary inductee into the Star Sapphires, Wonder Woman gained access to the violet power ring of love. This ring allowed her to alter her costume at will, create solid-light energy constructs, and reveal a person's true love to them. She was able to combine the energy with her lasso to enhance its ability.

Costume

Wonder Woman's costume has varied from time to time, although almost all of her costume reincarnations have retained the W shaped breastplate, the tiara, the bracelets and her signature stars. At the time of her debut, Wonder Woman sported a red top with a golden eagle emblem, a white belt, a star-spangled blue skirt and red and golden go-go boots. This costume was entirely based on the American flag, as Wonder Woman at that time was purely an American icon. Later in 1942, Wonder Woman's costume received a slight change- the skirt was converted entirely into skin-tight shorts and she wore sandals. While earlier most of her back was exposed, during the imposition of the Comics Code Authority in the mid-1950s, Wonder Woman's costume was rectified to make her back substantially covered to comply with the Authority's rule of minimum exposure. During Mike Sekowsky's run in the late 1960s, Diana surrendered her powers and started using her own skill to fight crime. She then wore a series of jumpsuits as her attire, most popular out of these was a white one. After Sekowsky's run ended in the early 1970s, Diana's roots were reverted back to her old mythological ones and she wore a more modernized version of her original costume, a predecessor to her "bathing suit" costume. Later on in the 1976, her white belt was turned into a yellow one.

After Crisis On Infinite Earths, George Pérez rebooted the character in 1987. She now wore a costume similar to her 1970s one, but now with a larger golden belt. This costume continued until William Messner-Loebs' run had Diana pass on the role of Wonder Woman to Artemis. Now no longer Wonder Woman, Diana sported a new black biker-girl costume designed by artist Mike Deodato Jr.. After John Byrne took over writing and art duties, he redesigned the Wonder Woman costume (Diana was back as Wonder Woman at the end of Loebs' run) and made the emblem join the belt.

Her costume did not receive any prominent change until after Infinite Crisis. Her W shaped eagle emblem was turned into a chest-plate and her belt was also shaped into a W. This costume continued until issue #600. J. Michael Straczynski's run of Wonder Woman's altered timeline changed her costume drastically. Her costume was redesigned by Jim Lee and included a redesigned emblem, a golden and red top, black pants and a later discontinued blue-black jacket.

Another costume change came after DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications dubbed The New 52. Her original swim-suit costume was restored, although the colours had changed from red and blue to red and black. Her chest-plate, belt and tiara had also changed from gold to silver (in fact, only the Lasso of Truth remained golden). She also wears many accessories such as arm and neck jewellery. The design previously included black pants, but they were removed and the swimsuit look was restored during the time of publication. This is Diana's current costume.

Reception

Wonder Woman was named the 20th greatest comic book character by Empire magazine. She was ranked sixth in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. In May 2011, Wonder Woman placed fifth on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.

Alternative Versions

Wonder Woman has appeared in a wide variety of media outside of comic books since her initial appearance including comic strips, film, television and video games.

Wonder Woman was featured in her own self-titled TV series, which originally aired from 1975 to 1979. It starred Lynda Carter in the lead role as Wonder Woman. The show earned solid ratings and helped Wonder Woman reach the peak of her popularity.

In the animation stream, Wonder Woman has appeared in a variety of shows- notably Super Friends, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. She has starred in her own animated film too, which released in 2009. The title role was voiced by Keri Russell. The film was well-received and much appreciated. She has also appeared in other animated films, mostly those based on the Justice League.

The CW, Warner Bros. Television and DC Comics are developing a script for a possible television series, titled Amazon, about the origin of Wonder Woman.

Collected editions

See also

• Alternative versions of Wonder Woman for Elseworlds and other characters to bear the title
• Amazons (DC Comics)
• Darna
• Diana Prince
• List of Wonder Woman enemies
• List of Wonder Woman supporting characters
• Orana (DC comics)
• Portrayal of women in comics
• List of female action heroes
• Woman warrior
• Wonder Woman in literature

References

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3. Adalian, Josef (9/6/12). "The CW Is Developing a Wonder Woman Origins Series". Retrieved 16 September 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. Lyons, Charles. "Suffering Sappho! A Look at the Creator & Creation of Wonder Woman". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved August 23, 2006. In October 1940, the popular women's magazine "Family Circle" published an interview with Marston entitled "Don't Laugh at the Comics," in which the psychologist discussed the unfulfilled potential of the medium.
5. Lyons, Charles. "Suffering Sappho! A Look at the Creator & Creation of Wonder Woman". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved August 23, 2006. Maxwell Charles Gaines, then publisher of All-American Comics, saw the interview and offered Marston a job as an educational consultant to All-American and sister company DC Comics.
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115. Wonder Woman (vol. 2) Issue #219
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117. Infinite Crisis #7
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120. Blackest Night #6 (2010)}
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122. Wonder Woman (vol. 2) Issue #219
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125. Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942)
126. Sensation Comics #46 (October 1945)
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128. ^ Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #115 (July 1960)
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131. Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #1 (February 1987)
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138. Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #30 (May 1989)
139. Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #120 (April 1997)
140. Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #56, #75, #77, #97 (July 1991 – May 1995); Wonder Woman Special #1 (May 1992); Artemis: Requiem #1 (June 1996)
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142. Ambush Bug: Year None #4 (December 2008)
143. Justice League of America #13 (2007)
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147. Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #39 (February 2010)
148. Brian Azzarello (w), Cliff Chiang (a). "Clay" "Wonder Woman", vol. 4, no. 3 (January 2012).
149. JLA #62 (March 2002)
150. Wagner, Matt (July 1, 2005). Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1-4012-0187-6.
151. War of the Gods #1 (September 1991)
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153. ^ Wonder Woman #93 (1995)
154. Sensation Comics Issue 1
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156. Wonder Woman Volume 1 Issue #1
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External links

• Wonder Woman Official website at DC Comics.com
• Origin story of Wonder Woman at DC Comics.com
• Carol A. Strickland's Wonder Woman site
• AmazonArchives.com
• Wonder of Wonders
• Wonder Woman Wiki
• Glen, Joshua (April 4, 2004). "Wonder-working Power". The Boston Globe.
• Malcom, Andrew H. (February 18, 1992). "She's Behind the Match For That Man of Steel". The New York Times.

v t e Wonder Woman
William Moulton Marston Elizabeth Holloway Marston Olive Byrne H. G. Peter Other contributors
Characters	Wonder Women Diana Prince Orana Artemis of Bana-Mighdall Hippolyta Nubia Wonder Girls Cassie Sandsmark Donna Troy Yara Flor Supporting characters Antiope Etta Candy Fury Hephaestus Heracles/Hercules Hermes I Ching Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis Justice League Mala Nemesis (Thomas Tresser) The Olympian Paula von Gunther Philippus Poseidon Queen Desira Helena Sandsmark Sarge Steel Steve Trevor Wonder Man Zeus Zola Enemies Ares Baron Blitzkrieg Baroness Paula von Gunther Blue Snowman Veronica Cale Cheetah Circe Dark Angel Decay Doctor Cyber Doctor Poison Doctor Psycho Duke of Deception Egg Fu Eviless First Born Genocide Giganta Hades Hypnota Kung Mask Maxwell Lord Medusa Minister Blizzard Osira Queen Clea Silver Swan Superwoman Tezcatlipoca Zara Factions Amazons of Themyscira Amazons of Bana-Mighdall Children of Ares Godwatch Olympian Gods THEM! Titans of Myth Villainy Inc.
Locations	Aeaea Themyscira (The Paradise Islands)
Publications	All Star Comics Wonder Woman Amazonia Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity Comic Cavalcade Crossover The Legend of Wonder Woman Sensation Comics Superman and Wonder Woman: The Hidden Killer Superman/Wonder Woman Wonder Woman '77 The Wonder Woman Chronicles Wonder Woman: Earth One Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons The World's Greatest Superheroes
Storylines	“Introducing Wonder Woman” (1941) Gods and Mortals (1987) Challenge of the Gods (1987–88) War of the Gods (1991) The Contest (1994) The Challenge of Artemis (1995) Paradise Island Lost (2001) Our Worlds at War (2001) The Hiketeia (2002) Down to Earth (2003–04) Who Is Wonder Woman? (2006–07) Amazons Attack! (2007) The Circle (2008) Ends of the Earth (2008) Rise of the Olympian (2009) Flashpoint (2011) The Lies (2016) Year One (2016) The Truth (2017) Godwatch (2017) Trial of the Amazons (2022)
Technology	Golden Girdle of Gaea Invisible Plane Lasso of Truth Mental radio Wonder Woman's bracelets
In other media	Film 1974 film 2009 film Wonder Woman: Bloodlines DC Extended Universe Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2017 film soundtrack Justice League Zack Snyder's Justice League Wonder Woman 1984 soundtrack Peacemaker: It's Cow or Never Shazam! Fury of the Gods The Flash Television Wonder Woman episodes 2011 TV pilot
Miscellaneous	Alternative versions Earth-Two Bizarra Superwoman Cultural impact Professor Marston and the Wonder Women Literature Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
Category

• All-American Publications characters
• Atlantis in fiction
• Characters created by William Moulton Marston
• Comics characters introduced in 1941
• DC Comics Amazons
• DC Comics characters with accelerated healing
• DC Comics characters with superhuman strength
• DC Comics martial artists
• DC Comics titles
• Fictional aviators
• Fictional diplomats
• Fictional empaths
• Fictional Greek people
• Fictional immigrants to the United States
• Fictional princesses
• Fictional women soldiers and warriors
• United States-themed superheroes
• Wonder Woman