When a Godwave spilled forth from the creation of the Fourth World, the Earth was seeded with great power. It first manifested in the form of old gods, then of metahumans. Some of the oldest of these gods were hidden from the universe until the time of ancient Greece by the sorceress, Hecate. Hecate reasoned that the Olympian Gods (as they would eventually be called) were greatly weakened after usurping power from their father Cronus and the Titans of Myth. She feared that other powerful gods in the universe (notably Darkseid of Apokolips) would seize Earth for himself. Because of Hecate's enchantment, Darkseid wrongly believed that he and the other New Gods pre-dated the Olympians.[1][2]

Diana is a very kind, loving, compassionate, and strong-willed person, who, while initially somewhat naive, has become all the wiser through her time in Man's World. An outspoken egalitarian, she fights for what she believes in and generally for the betterment of mankind through love and mutual understanding, as taught to her by her mother and fellow Amazons.[9] Growing up, Diana also proved herself headstrong and determined to do what she wanted, such as training in hand-to-hand combat under her aunt Antiope's tutelage despite her mother initially forbidding it. In this way she is quite stubborn; if she believes something is the right thing to do, then she will do it - as evidenced by her attempt to leave Themyscira without her mother's permission and insistence in attending Ludendorff's gala despite Steve telling her not to. Alongside her kindness and compassion, however, Diana was also a very naive idealist when she first arrived in "Man's World", blindly believing that all men were corrupted by Ares and that the World War I Central Powers would simply abandon their sinister ways if she killed him. This blind naivety also translated to explicit indignation whenever she was treated with disrespect due to her status as a woman, such as when she was ignored by members of the War Office. Alongside this, Diana also voiced her opinions rather bluntly upon her arrival, such as when she perceived Etta Candy's job as Steve Trevor's secretary to be akin to slavery (which earns Diana Etta's admiration). Despite her outspokenness and behavior in Man's World, however, Diana remained caring and compassionate, as demonstrated by her initially rocky relationship with Charlie and willingness to step into No Man's Land to save the village of Veld.

Straczynski's run focused on an alternate timeline created by the Gods where Paradise Island was destroyed leading to many Amazons being raised in the outside world. It revolves around Wonder Woman's attempts to restore the normal timeline despite the fact that she does not remember it properly. Wonder Woman in this alternative timeline has been raised in New York City as an orphan and is coming into her powers. She is aware of the presence of Amazons, but does not remember her childhood on Paradise Island.[54][55] Wonder Woman wore a new costume designed by DC Comics co-publisher Jim Lee.[56] Writer Phil Hester continued the storyline.[57]

After a training session, Diana happened to come across Captain Steve Trevor during his escape from the Imperial German Army. A battle soon followed, as the Germans tracked Trevor to Themyscira, where they invaded in pursuit of Doctor Poison's notes. The loss of her aunt and realization of Mankind's downfall during the absence of the amazons convinced Diana to join the war effort, recognizing Ares as the instigator of the conflict.

The second storyline 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.[69][70][71][72] 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 children from being killed by the Amazons, Hephaestus trades them with the Amazons in exchange for weapons.[69]

Aphrodite	All-Star Comics #8 (December 1941)	Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love and Beauty who is named after the goddess of the same name. In the 1940s, Aphrodite was Wonder Woman's patron goddess. Later, Athena joined her as Diana's main patron. Post-Crisis, Aphrodite was joined by Athena, Artemis, Hestia, Demeter, and Hermes as Wonder Woman's patrons, though she most often abstained from interacting with the amazons. Post-Crisis, Aphrodite's role was severely minimized, appearing as a faceless, beautiful naked woman. Post-Rebirth, Aphrodite appeared as an ally to Wonder Woman in the form of a dove. It is unknown if Aphrodite continues to serve as patron of the amazons.

During his greeting speech, Lex made a reference to how Zeus cruelly punished the Titan Prometheus for enlightening humankind, much to the visible dismay of Diana. Shortly thereafter, she covertly stole a hacking device of Bruce Wayne's, who is likewise investigating Lex Luthor. She exited the party with Bruce pursuing her, but manages to make it to her car and drive off just in time for Bruce to see her depart.[5]

Receiving a signal from Chief, she infiltrates Ludendorff's base. She and General Ludendorff fight each other where Diana kills him. Thinking that killing Ludendorff would solve the problem, she gets confused when she sees the German soldiers loading the weapons onto the planes thinking that humankind is corrupted and it doesn't deserve her help.[3]

Wonder Woman engaged the First Born, but he quickly gained the advantage and attempted to kill Zeke. However, War challenged the First Born to a fight while Wonder Woman recovered. Then, Wonder Woman grabbed a spear and impaled both Ares and the First Born. As he died, Ares congratulated Wonder Woman for being a great warrior. Wonder Woman spared the First Born's life and went with Hades to take Ares' body to the River Styx.[36]

Storylines "American Dreams" · "Breakdown" · "Breakdowns" · "Crisis of Conscience" · "Crisis Times Five" · "Cry for Justice" · "The Dark Things" · "Divided We Fall" · Earth-2 · "Earth-Mars War" · "Extinction" · "Golden Perfect" · Justice · Identity Crisis · "In the Dark" · "Injustice League Unlimited" · JLA/Avengers · "Justice For All" · "The Lightning Saga" · "A Midsummer's Nightmare" · "A New Beginning" · "New World Order" · "The Obsidian Age" · "Omega" · "Origin" · "Pain of the Gods" · "The Queen of Fables" · "The Rise of Eclipso" · "Rock of Ages" · "Royal Pain" · "Rules of Engagement" · "Sanctuary" · "The Second Coming" · "The Signal Masters" · "Strength in Numbers" · "Syndicate Rules" · "Team History" · "The Tenth Circle" · "Terror Incognita" · "Throne of Atlantis" · "The Tornado's Path" · "Tower of Babel" · "Trial by Fire" · "The Villain's Journey" · "When Worlds Collide" · "World War III" · "World Without a Justice League" · Year One

After Darkseid and Grail's retreat, they returned to a base in the Amazon Rainforest, where Darkseid was setting his mysterious plans into motion. He tasked his loyal Female Furies with tracking down a godly relic he needed, but they were unable to do so thanks to the intervention of Steve Trevor and his A.R.G.U.S. forces. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman fought a number of villains that had been recruited by Veronica Cale: Zara of the Crimson Flame, Blue Snowman and Anglette. As Diana caught up with Steve at A.R.G.U.S. HQ, Jason returned wearing a suit of armor gifted to him by the gods, but with no knowledge of its purpose.[96] As news came in of an attack by Grail, Wonder Woman and Jason immediately responded just in time to prevent Grail from killing another demigod. Wonder Woman bound Grail in the Lasso of Truth and forced her to reveal Darkseid's plans. Grail explained that Darkseid was looking to build himself an army of Amazons. Due to her half-Amazon blood, Grail was able to break free from the Lasso's grip and retreated.[97]

Granted by Hermes (God of Messengers), her top speed has never been well documented, but she has entered the speed force under her own power, implying she can accelerate to at least light speed. The Flash has said that Wonder Woman can easily keep up with him and she has been seen keeping up with Flash going faster than hypersonic speed. She has been shown to be on par with some of the fastest characters in the DC Universe such as Jesse Quick. She can disarm human opponents of their weapons instantly and she can immobilize her opponents in the blink of an eye, as she showed when she speedblitzed White Martian and Genocide into space in no time and was able to take down Amazo before he could finish a word. She is such a well trained athlete that in combat, her reflexes even surprise the likes of Superman.

“Closeup, full length figure of WW. Do some careful chaining here—Mars’s men are experts! Put a metal collar on WW with a chain running off from the panel, as though she were chained in the line of prisoners. Have her hands clasped together at her breast with double bands on her wrists, her Amazon bracelets and another set. Between these runs a short chain, about the length of a handcuff chain—this is what compels her to clasp her hands together. Then put another, heavier, larger chain between her wrist bands which hangs in a long loop to just above her knees. At her ankles show a pair of arms and hands, coming from out of the panel, clasping about her ankles. This whole panel will lose its point and spoil the story unless these chains are drawn exactly as described here.”

"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."

Preparing to get Zola back from Hades, Wonder Woman and her male companions sought out Eros in Italy. She hoped that he could lead them to Hephaestus, who might have been able to arm them appropriately for battle with the ruler of Hell. He lead them to Mount Etna, where the blacksmith agreed to arm them. As retribution for his aid, though, Hades sent a monster to kill them all, which had to be dispatched by Diana.[20] Afterwards, Hephaestus armed Diana with new weapons, insisting that she take Eros' guns of love with her to Hell.
Superhuman Speed: Wonder Woman, while not as fast as Superman or the Flash, can move at inhuman speeds. She was able to make it from the Metropolis Airport to Gotham Port in minutes after seeing Doomsday on television. She was fast enough to get up from her seat, disarm a man of his gun, and toss him across a room in seconds; to leave Lex Luthor's fundraiser before Bruce managed to reach her; to save Batman from Doomsday's thermal attack; and to instantly use the Sword of Athena to slice apart in mid-air a car that Doomsday hurled at her. Indeed, Wonder Woman appeared as a blur when charging back at Doomsday after being knocked back by him. She was also capable of landing blows on Superman, even though she was outmatched.

Though Diana was able to admit honestly that she did love Hades, she escaped her bonds anyway, explaining that she could still love him and refuse his proposal. Angrily, Hades sent all of the forces of Hell to kill her, but she and her friends were rescued by Strife. Confronted by her fiancé again, Diana explained that she had not lied. Wonder Woman has the capacity to love everyone - a concept that could never be understood by one incapable of love, such as he. The realization that he was loved unconditionally disgusted Hades so much that he sent them all away. Before leaving, Hephaestus gifted Hades with a mirror, and shot him with Eros' pistols, allowing, at least, for Hades to love himself.[23]

Since her attack on Veronica Cale, Cheetah had been captured by Cale and held in the basement of Empire Industries, where she was being experimented on by Doctor Poison. Cheetah suddenly dropped into a coma, before waking and massacring Empire Industries' staff, while screaming about the return of the so-called 'Dark Gods'. She attempted to kill Cale once again, but was restrained due to the timely intervention of Wonder Woman. Steve Trevor informed Diana that all over the world, people had begun acting strangely and warning of the Dark Gods. As she flew through the skies of Washington, she was suddenly attacked by a deranged Supergirl.[100] After a lengthy battle, Wonder Woman was able to defeat Kara and restrained her in the Lasso of Truth, which knocked her unconscious. Jason returned after learning from the Fates that the armor that had been gifted to him by the gods was originally created for Diana, but had been mistakenly given to Jason after Zeus' death. It also allowed Jason to channel the power of any member of the Greek Pantheon, though he could only use one god's powers at a time. Jason began to explain his discoveries to Diana, but they were interrupted by a group of giant monoliths appearing in the sky, which began to activate. As soon as the siblings began to investigate, Wonder Woman was taken by a pair of Star Sapphires who needed her assistance due to an emergency on Zamaron. As Diana was forcefully teleported, Jason was left alone before the activating monoliths.[101]
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]