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]
After saving Zola from Hades, Wonder Woman tries to protect her further from Apollo, as it is prophesied that one of Zeus' children will be his downfall whom Apollo considers to be Zola's child.[144][145] 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.[146][147] This man is later revealed to be Zeus' first son, known only as First Born, who seeks to rule over Olympus and the rest of the world, and take Diana as his bride.[volume & issue needed]
Born among the legendary Amazons of Greek myth Princess Diana has a fierce warrior's heart while being an emissary of peace. On a hidden island paradise she was trained in the arts of combat as well as justice and equality. Diana ventured into the 'world of men' armed with magical gifts from the Gods and a message for all men and women - that all the world can be united through compassion strength and understanding.
Later, in London, Diana talked with Hessia about what being Queen really meant. Hessia told her the changes she was trying to impose were hard, and it might take a long time for the Amazons to accept them. Wonder Woman was called by the Justice League to look for the survivors of another missing village. As part of the operation, Superman explored the interior of a volcano until he was attacked by insects and lost contact with the League.[52] Wonder Woman and Batman were next to enter the volcano and found Superman safe and sound. Exploring the volcano further, the heroes found the missing villagers dead and their remains encased in cocoons by one of the volcano’s insectoid denizens. Wonder Woman almost killed one of these creatures, until the League intervened and took the creature to the Watchtower for medical attention. Upon returning to Paradise Island, Diana spoke to the spirit of Hippolyta. Comforting her daughter, Hippolyta motivated Diana into accepting her duty as God of War. Diana also learnt that relations between Amazons and the Sons of Themyscira had gone sour and the Amazons had created Donna Troy from magical clay, an Amazon who sought to replace Diana as Queen.[53]
"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."
As the daughter of Zeus, Wonder Woman has incredible control over the supernatural divine energy of the Olympian Gods, which she usually emits through her Bracelets of Submission. When she clashes her bracelets together, she releases a large spherical blast of orange (or sometimes white-hot) energy, with it being powerful enough to accidentally injure Antiope, send the mighty gods Ares and Steppenwolf flying back, and even push back the gigantic monster Doomsday. At full power, Wonder Woman could generate these shock waves from her body, notably to destroy the restrains Ares put her in and knock down a small German battalion with a very powerful omni-directional shock wave. She was also capable of using the energy to shield herself, as the debris Ares sent flying at her disintegrated against the invisible field as she built up her attack. She could also freeze the momentum of targets in front of her, causing Ares to be forcibly suspending in the air when he tried flying into her before she blasted him away. Wonder Woman can also transmit this energy through her shield. By striking one of her bracelets with her shield, she generated an energy wave that knocked down a bridge, and Cyborg and Steppenwolf with it.
Superman begged his fellow heroes to arrest him, and while he was taken to the A.R.G.U.S. facilities, Diana expressed disapproval at Steve’s secret Justice League. Wonder Woman travelled to the Temple of Hephaestus and demanded Hephaestus tell her about what the box really was. Hephaestus answered that the box was not created by the Gods of Olympus and the truth was a mystery even to them. Wonder Woman decided to seek help from the Justice League Dark.[66] Suddenly, the three Justice Leagues converged at the House of Mystery, where the heroes were divided, one side led by Wonder Woman, the other by Batman. Zatanna, having taken Wonder Woman’s side, teleported the group away.[67] Wonder Woman’s group tracked Pandora’s box to Lex Luthor’s prison cell, where Pandora was offering the box to Luthor. Wonder Woman grabbed the box but was overwhelmed by its power.[68]
During the fight, Steve approaches Diana who can't hear him speak due to an explosion temporarily rupturing her eardrums. Steve, after much talking, departs and leaves Diana with his watch before boarding the plane which is taking off with the mustard gas. Ares eventually restrains Diana, imploring her to surrender and realize the futility of their fight. Diana notices the plane in the sky as she's pinned to the ground and watches in horror as it explodes with Steve sacrificing himself to save billions of lives.
The events of Crisis on Infinite Earths greatly changed and altered the history of the DC Universe. Wonder Woman's history and origin were considerably revamped by the event. 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. Various deities and concepts from Greek mythology were blended and incorporated into Wonder Woman's stories and origin. Diana was formed out of clay of the shores of Themyscira by Hippolyta, who wished for a child; the clay figure was then brought to life by the Greek deities. The Gods then blessed and granted her unique powers and abilities – 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 the ability to discern the truth from Hestia.[101] Due to the reboot, Diana's operating methods were made distinctive from Superman and Batman's with her willingness to use deadly force when she judges it necessary. In addition, her previous history and her marriage to Steve Trevor were erased. Trevor was introduced as a man much older than Diana who would later on marry Etta Candy.[102] Instead, Perez created Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis, a Greek-American scholar and her teenage daughter whom Diana would live with when she was in Man's world and would be major supporting characters in the series for years.
The New 52 universe does not have a "Diana Prince" identity as stated in an interview by series writer Brian Azzarello.[67] However, when she and Superman began dating, for her civilian identity she used the Diana Prince alias whenever she was around Clark Kent; such as when she introduced herself to Lois Lane at Lois's housewarming party under that name.[68]
In March 2005, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct the film.[74] Early drafts of his screenplay included Steve Trevor as the narrator, a fierce battle between Diana and her mother over Trevor's welfare, and after leaving Themyscira, his need to frequently rescue a Diana rendered helpless by the modern world.[75] Whedon was not able to complete a final version of his screenplay, and left the project in 2007.[76][77]
She also had an array of mental and psychic abilities, as corresponding to Marston's interest in parapsychology and metaphysics. Such an array included ESP, astral projection, telepathy (with or without the Mental Radio), mental control over the electricity in her body, the Amazonian ability to turn brain energy into muscle power, etc.[173] Wonder Woman first became immune to electric shocks after having her spirit stripped from her atoms by Dr. Psycho's Electro Atomizer; it was also discovered that she was unable to send a mental radio message without her body.[174]
Superhuman Strength: Diana possesses far greater strength than the finest human athletes. She kept an A.R.G.U.S aircraft from crashing by holding it up. She dispatched numerous Parademons during Darkseid's invasion and broke the Fortress of Solitude's doors down when H'el locked Superman out and took control of it. She has also managed to briefly overpower both Green Lantern and Aquaman, as well as Supergirl. She managed to defeat the goddess Artemis, as well as draw blood from The First Born.[citation needed]
On October 21, 2016, the United Nations controversially named Wonder Woman a UN Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in a ceremony attended by Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Cristina Gallach and by actors Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot.[231][232] The character was dropped from the role two months later after a petition against the appointment stated Wonder Woman was "not culturally...sensitive" and it was "alarming that the United Nations would consider using a character with an overtly sexualized image".[233]
Wonder Woman's sexual and bondage themes in her earliest days were not without purpose, however. Her creator, William Moulton Marston, theorized that human relationships could be broken down into dominance, submission, inducement and compliance roles which were embedded into our psyche. Because males were, more often than not, dominant in societies, Marston believed that "Women as a sex, are many times better equipped to assume emotional leadership than are males." [262] Marston wanted to convey his progressive ideals, through his use of bondage imagery, that women are not only capable of leadership roles, but should be in charge of society. Although Marston had good intentions with these themes, in Wonder Woman's early appearances, the bondage elements were controversial, as they were often seen to overly fetishize women in power rather than promote such women. Noah Berlatsky criticized this imagery in Wonder Woman's earliest days noting that "the comics take sensual pleasure in women’s disempowerment." [263] Despite having the mixed messages of this imagery, Marston fiercely believed that women would soon rule the earth and meant to showcase his predictions through sexual themes in his stories. He was an open feminist while studying at Harvard where he once said "Girls are also human beings, a point often overlooked!" [264]
One of the things I love about event comics is that sometimes even a middling to bad event can lead to a great spin-off or post event tie in. Day of Judgement gave us J.M. DeMatteis's run on The Spectre. Infinite Crisis gave us Jeff LeMire's great run on Superboy. While not a new series, Dark Nights Metal allowed James Robinson to have the near perfect ending to Jason's story in Wonder Woman.
During 1942 to 1947, images of bound and gagged women frequently graced the covers of both Sensation Comics and Wonder Woman. An early example includes a scene in Wonder Woman #3 (Feb.-March 1943), Wonder Woman herself ties up several women, dresses them in deer costumes and chases them through the forest. Later she rebinds them and displays them on a platter.[3][4]
Gaines was troubled. Roubicek, who worked on Superman, too, had invented kryptonite. She believed superheroes ought to have vulnerabilities. She told Gaines she thought Wonder Woman ought to be more like Superman and, just as Superman couldn’t go back to the planet Krypton, Wonder Woman ought not to be able to go back to Paradise Island, where the kinkiest stuff tended to happen. Gaines then sent Roubicek to Bellevue Hospital to interview Bender. In a memo to Gaines, Roubicek reported that Bender “does not believe that Wonder Woman tends to masochism or sadism.” She also liked the way Marston was playing with feminism, Roubicek reported: “She believes that Dr. Marston is handling very cleverly this whole ‘experiment’ as she calls it. She feels that perhaps he is bringing to the public the real issue at stake in the world (and one which she feels may possibly be a direct cause of the present conflict) and that is that the difference between the sexes is not a sex problem, nor a struggle for superiority, but rather a problem of the relation of one sex to the other.” Roubicek summed up: “Dr. Bender believes that this strip should be left alone.”
Shortly thereafter, Wonder Woman is shown being able to summon it with her tiara, have it hover by the War Department, and extend from it a rope ladder with which she could board it. She uses the plane to fly into outer space, and frequently transports Etta Candy and the Holliday Girls, Steve Trevor, and others. During the 1950s, the plane becomes a jet, and is often shown swooping over Lt. Prince's office; she strips out of her uniform at super speed and bounds to the plane. Though the Plane was depicted as semi-transparent for the reader's convenience, in-story dialogue indicated that it actually was completely invisible, or at least able to become so as the need arose.[199]
After the 2011 relaunch, Diana gained new powers. These new abilities, which included superhuman speed, durability, immortality, accelerated healing, and even flight came in addition to her previous attributed Olympian strength. She is now considered to be stronger than Hercules. In addition to her weaponry, Diana's bracelets can now create an thunderous explosion when she clashes them together. These new abilities are attributed to being the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Her powers are now considered nearly unmeasurable if she goes without her Bracelets of Submission, which keep her powers in check. She uses these powers in battle against the goddess Artemis and quickly renders her unconscious with ease with a series of carefully positioned counterattacks. While using her godly strength, her outfit and accoutrements lit up and her eyes glowed like her father's.[185][189][better source needed][190]
Robinson's run has not been inspiring and, while I'd argue that this is better than his earlier two volumes - in that there's at least an attempt at some characterisation amidst the fighting - it's still not really enough. The main problem is the rather uninteresting villains, generic manifestations of war, chaos, and so on, whose powers don't even seem terribly consistent. Plus, Jason gets a bunch of new powers, that essentially allow him to do whatever the plot requires so long as he can think ...more
Wonder Woman’s costume has come under heavy criticism throughout the years. Many find that as an example of a character that is supposed to represent female empowerment that by wearing a costume which reveals a gratuitous amount of skin that the character is being contradictory. Numerous attempts have been made to make her costume more realistic, however in terms of the character’s history there are few problems with it. Despite that it offers little protection, Wonder Woman does not require very much protection, either from harm or from the elements. The costume is also sometimes criticized for its symbolism closely related to American themes, that despite the fact that she is meant to be an emissary of peace to the whole planet, that her costume looks very American This is explained as one of the motivations for her role in Man’s World world. The costume is a breastplate inspired by the colors and symbols of a downed World War II airplane being flown by Steve Trevor’s mother . As an American pilot, it is therefore not surprising that stars (on the lower part of her breastplate) and stripes (one her boots) are evident parts of the design. In the summer of 2011 it was announced that DC Comics would reboot its entire lineup and create the new 52. Debate immediately surfaced as the head creative force behind the reboot (Jim Lee) decided that all female characters should be drawn with "pants" or full leg covering as part of their costume. This was in line with the redrawn Wonder Woman after issue #600 in volume 3. However, as the summer progressed images began to appear with Diana in a costume which appeared to be a synthesis of her traditional one and the reimagined one. With the actual reboot this is the costume that was decided on, essentially with the breastplate in the general shape of the traditional costume, and the theme being more in line with the redesign of the previous year. She additionally has added aspects of her uniform which didn't exist before such as a braided armband.
Superhuman Agility: Wonder Woman naturally possesses superhuman agility, dexterity, balance and body coordination, allowing her to jump up immense distances and come down in elaborate somersaults, to swiftly and easily take down many World War I soldiers, while dodging and weaving around their attacks, and to even dodge quite a few attacks from the equally fast Ares and Doomsday.
“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.”
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.
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]
