In 1911, when Marston was a freshman at Harvard, the British suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst, who’d chained herself to the gates outside 10 Downing Street, came to speak on campus. When Sanger faced charges of obscenity for explaining birth control in a magazine she founded called the Woman Rebel, a petition sent to President Woodrow Wilson on her behalf read, “While men stand proudly and face the sun, boasting that they have quenched the wickedness of slavery, what chains of slavery are, have been or ever could be so intimate a horror as the shackles on every limb—on every thought—on the very soul of an unwilling pregnant woman?” American suffragists threatened to chain themselves to the gates outside the White House. In 1916, in Chicago, women representing the states where women had still not gained the right to vote marched in chains.
As Themyscira's emissary to Man's World, Diana has made it her duty to lead by example, even if the differences between her birthplace and new home sometimes present hurdles for her to jump. She has come to represent the possibility and potential of life without war, hate or violence, and she is a beacon of hope to all who find themselves in need. She stands as an equal among the most powerful Super Heroes, with a sense of purpose to protect the world from injustice in all forms.
It was later retconned by Gail Simone that Wonder Woman's outfit design had Amazonian roots. During a flashback in Vol. 3, Hippolyta is shown issuing orders to have a garment created for Diana, taking inspiration from the skies on the night Diana was born; a red hunter's moon and a field of stars against deep blue, and the eagle breastplate being a symbol of Athena's avian representations.[volume & issue needed]
Wonder Woman was soon faced with a new threat. Some years ago, Diana saved a young girl, Vanessa Kapatelis, from death at the hands of Major Disaster. She continued to visit Vanessa for many years as she recovered from her injuries, and encouraged her to undergo experimental treatment involving nanites, which allowed Vanessa to walk again. Eventually, Wonder Woman's superheroics forced her to cease her visits. During Diana's absence, Vanessa's mother Julia died, and Vanessa was left alone and felt that Diana had abandoned her. She began to resent Wonder Woman and declared herself her enemy, using the nanites in her blood to create a metallic, winged suit of armor and adopting the name Silver Swan.[94] Silver Swan murdered a family of people that Diana had recently saved, causing Wonder Woman to fight her alongside Jason. Diana managed to drown Silver Swan until she lost consciousness, causing her to revert to her human form. She left Vanessa to recover in the care of A.R.G.U.S.[95]
As Themyscira's emissary to Man's World, Diana has made it her duty to lead by example, even if the differences between her birthplace and new home sometimes present hurdles for her to jump. She has come to represent the possibility and potential of life without war, hate or violence, and she is a beacon of hope to all who find themselves in need. She stands as an equal among the most powerful Super Heroes, with a sense of purpose to protect the world from injustice in all forms.
Wonder Woman is a fictional superheroine, appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a founding member of the Justice League. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in October 1941[1] with her first feature in Sensation Comics #1, January 1942. The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.[3] In her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira, her official title is Princess Diana of Themyscira, Daughter of Hippolyta. She has no father; she was created out of clay and brought to life by the gods of Olympus. When blending into the society outside of her homeland, she sometimes adopts her civilian identity Diana Prince.[4]
Wonder Woman's supporting characters were altered as well. In addition to the introduction of the Kapatelises, Steve Trevor was changed into an Air Force officer considerably older than Diana, thus sidestepping the traditional romance between the two. Instead, Trevor became involved with Etta Candy, a mature military officer possessing a plump physique. The Greek war god Ares and the witch Circe eventually became two of Diana's greatest enemies. Her rogues gallery included the Cheetah, a woman who could transform into a ferocious feline-humanoid creature; and the Silver Swan, a once-deformed radiation victim granted beauty, wings and deafening sonic powers through genetic engineering.[9]
Elise Jost of Moviepilot observed that "Gadot's take on Wonder Woman is one of those unique cases of an actor merging with their story, similar to Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark. Gal Gadot is Wonder Woman, and Wonder Woman is Gal Gadot."[202] Jost praised Gadot's interpretation of Wonder Woman as the one in which Gadot "absolutely nails the character's unwaveringly positive outlook on life. She's a force of nature who believes in the greater good; her conviction that she's meant to save the world is stronger than her bullet-deflecting shield. She's genuine, she's fun, she's the warm source of energy at the heart of the movie."[202] The Federalist suggests that Wonder Woman is "a story of Jesus". "The movie is wrapped up in faux Greek mythology, true, but there's no mistaking the Christology here."[219] "Perhaps Christ in the form of a beautiful and kick-ass Amazon is all that our contemporary society can handle right now", stated M. Hudson, a Christian feminist.[219] On HuffPost cultural critic, G. Roger Denson, who regards the superhero genre as a source of contemporary "Mainstream Mythopoetics" ("the making of new yet vitally meaningful, if not symbolic, stories filled with imagery reflecting, yet also shaping and advancing, the political, legal, moral and social practices of today"), wrote that the "No Man's Land" scene "that people are crying over in theaters and raving about afterward happens to be among the most powerfully mythopoetic scenes ever filmed at the same time it is one of the oldest myths to have been utilized by artists and writers after it had been invented by early military strategists and leaders." Specifically "used by director Patty Jenkins", the scene raises "the esteem for powerful yet compassionate women as heroes and leaders to a level equal with that of men for having won over a huge and adoring popular audience around the world".[220]
Upon their arrival, the Dark Gods waste no time in making their presence felt. Right off the bat, we see Cheetah snap out of her slumber in a daze of rage, swearing off Urzkartaga, the god she once worshiped and now hates. Unable to be contained or controlled, she lashes out at anyone who stands in her way, making them pay with their blood. As she does so, she warns that new, dark gods are coming, and she needs to purge her connection to Urzkartaga in order to face them.
After recruiting a newly mortal, but still very bitter Hera into her group of companions, Wonder Woman retreated to London. Lennox revealed that there had been seven bastard children of Zeus. He and Diana were two, two others had been killed, and three remained. He suggested that for information on where the baby had been taken, Diana should contact their sister Siracca in Libya.[26] Her encounter with Siracca did not begin well, but after Wonder Woman appealed to her sense of family, she suggested that Diana seek out their brother Milan in New York City.[27]
Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot reacted positively to Diana's rebooted orientation, and agreed her sexuality was impacted by growing up in the women-only Themyscira. Gadot stated that Wonder Woman feels she need not be "labelled sexually", and is "just herself". "She's a woman who loves people for who they are. She can be bisexual. She loves people for their hearts."[251][252] Coming from a society that was only populated by women, "'lesbian' in [the world's] eyes may have been 'straight' for them."[253] "Her culture is completely free from the shackles of heteronormativity in the first place so she wouldn't even have any 'concept' of gender roles in sex."[254]
John Byrne's run included a period in which Diana's mother Hippolyta served as Wonder Woman, having traveled back to the 1940s, while Diana ascended to Mount Olympus as the Goddess of Truth after being killed in issue #124. In addition, Wonder Woman's Amazon ally Nubia was re-introduced as Nu'Bia, scripted by a different author.[40] Byrne posited that Hippolyta had been the Golden Age Wonder Woman. Byrne restored the series' status quo in his last issue.[41]
Star Sapphire Ring (Formerly): Diana first wielded the Violet Lantern Ring when she served with the Star Sapphire Corps during the Blackest Night. She was later recruited as temporary leader of the Star Sapphires during a crisis on Zamaron and wore the ring once more. After the conflict, Diana retired from the Corps to continue her mission on Earth.[102]
Her various durability levels originally stemmed from her Amazonian training. In post-Golden Age and Pre-52, Demeter (Goddess of the Earth) granted her immunity to radiation and the coldness of space; she also possesses a high level of resistance against fire and high temperatures, she has been shown taking fire, lava, thermonuclear explosions, hell fire and even superman's heat vision, however, her invulnerability has a vulnerable point against piercing weapons. Wonder Woman can fight with and withstood considerable damage in the form of hand to hand combat with opponents such as Superman and Gods. Wonder Woman possesses a high resistance to damage and magical attacks. Also she was self-sufficient in the fact that Wonder Woman did not have to eat or sleep and could hold her breath under water for hours and hours. This may still hold true in the new 52, Wonder Woman has still shown the ability to fight on with little to no rest or food to replenish her strength.
Following the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter rewrote the character's origin story, depicting 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 rendition of the character acted as the foundation for the modern Wonder Woman stories, as he expanded upon the widely accepted origin of Diana being birthed out of clay. The relaunch was a critical and commercial success.[41]
Superhuman Durability: Diana possesses a high resistance to damage and magical attacks. Her resistance to injury is not quite as great as Superman or Supergirl. However, due to her vast threshold for pain and her Amazonian ability to heal at a superhuman rate, this easily makes up for the difference. She has withstood considerable bludgeoning damage in the form of hand to hand combat with metahuman opponents such as Superman and Shazam.[105] She has considerable resistance to human weaponry, though this is not absolute; bullets, and edged weapons can cause minor to moderate injury, but never life threatening.[82] She once survived an Eighth Metal bullet to the head and was back on her feet and fighting again a few moments later.[106]
In the New 52, the night when she turned 8, Ares appeared before Diana and offered to train her above and beyond the abilities of the Amazons, having seen her potential to eventually become his replacement as the God of War. Though the training was one for one night each month, the year was noticed with Diana improving tremendously compared to the other Amazons.
While not completely invulnerable, she is highly resistant to great amounts of concussive force and extreme temperatures and matches Superman[186] in this regard. She is completely immune to his heat vision, virtually any damage, or even the core of the sun. However, edged weapons or projectiles applied with sufficient force are able to pierce her skin.[181][187] Due to her divine origins, Diana can resist many forms of magical manipulation.
After Jimenez, Walt Simonson wrote a six-issue homage to the I Ching era, in which Diana temporarily loses her powers and adopts an all-white costume (Wonder Woman vol. 2, #189–194). Greg Rucka became writer with issue #195. His initial story arc centered upon Diana's authorship of a controversial book and included a political subtext. Rucka introduced a new recurring villain, ruthless businesswoman Veronica Cale, who uses media manipulation to try to discredit Diana. Rucka modernized the Greek and Egyptian gods, updating the toga-wearing deities to provide them with briefcases, laptop computers, designer clothing, and modern hairstyles. Rucka dethroned Zeus and Hades, who were unable to move with the times as the other gods had, replacing them with Athena and Ares as new rulers of the gods and the underworld. Athena selected Diana to be her personal champion.[9]
Although seemingly only a purely decorative aspect of her costume, in the golden and silver ages, her earrings were sometimes depicted as giving her the ability to breathe in outer space. Gelignite Grenade Earrings and Grappling Hook Bracelet - In her depowered mod girl phase, Diana on rare occasion employed these devices, which were concealed to look like regular parts of her costume. She acquired them from a demolitions expert and villain which she had helped reform. The grenades were strong enough to blast through a thick steel door and the grappling hook could support easily her body weight to aid in climbing.
Wonder Woman's signature weapon was her Lasso of Truth; consequently, much of her crime-fighting powers came from bondage, and her only exploitable weakness was, essentially, bondage. Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette had teamed up to work on Wonder Woman: Earth One.[246] Paquette confirmed that he and Morrison would be bringing back the bondage theme that was popular in Wonder Woman comics during the 1940s. However, he stated that Morrison was looking for a way to not only modernize it, but to use the bondage theme as a form of female empowerment. Paquette acknowledged that Wonder Woman has become more than just a beloved character, she is a symbol for feminism. "By bringing in sex and, yes, bondage, it reasserts [William Moulton Marston's core] idea that it is okay for women to have a healthy sexual appetite." Paquette elaborated more on this by pointing out the blatant double standards in comics when it comes to sex: "Could Wonder Woman really ever have a healthy and active sex life without it becoming political fodder for Fox News? And what of women and girls who want to be like her? Do we truly think they wouldn't be labeled sluts? I have my doubts."
Diana's treacherous paternal half-brother, based on the Greek mythological god of war, who masquerades as a speaker for peace on the Imperial War Cabinet as part of his deceptive master plan of conquest and destruction.[32][33][34] Describing the Sir Patrick persona of his character, Thewlis said, "Sir Patrick's entire drive through the other half of the story is to bring about the armistice. That's his whole intention no matter what's going on. He meets Diana and see in her somebody who is sympathetic to his cause, quite vehemently so."[35]
