The story behind the writing and editing of Wonder Woman can be pieced together from Bender’s papers, at Brooklyn College; Frank’s papers, at the University of Minnesota; and Marston’s editorial correspondence, along with a set of original scripts, housed at the Dibner Library at the Smithsonian Institution Libraries. In his original scripts, Marston described scenes of bondage in careful, intimate detail with utmost precision. For a story about Mars, the God of War, Marston gave Peter elaborate instructions for the panel in which Wonder Woman is taken prisoner:
Duing the Perez run on the character, there were not as many story arcs either, but they did become more defined. Her entrance into Man’s World was to stop a global nuclear war created by Ares. She also had introduced a modern version of the Cheetah, Circe, Doctor Psycho and Silver Swan. One of the defining story arcs at this time was the Challenge of the Gods, where she discovers the truth about her own past as she journeys into the underworld. In this time as well she was a part of numerous company-wide crossovers including Millennium, Invasion and one focused on herself, the War of the Gods. The latter was Perez’s swansong on the character and with Messner Loebs taking over afterwards the direction of the character changed again somewhat. Under his direction, Diana became involved in battle factions of organized crime in Boston, and faced off against Ares Buchanan and the White Magician. This resulted in Wonder Woman being marooned in space, and returning to uncover the plot. During the events of Zero Hour a slightly different version of her origin is told, and Artemis wins the right to be Wonder Woman in another contest. This ends eventually with Diana battling the White Magician after Artemis has been killed. The John Byrne run equally was without as many defined story arcs except specifically with how her death affected others. This was also incorporated into the company wide Genesis event. Once she returned she faced a new villain known as Devastation who she battled occasionally, and she also took responsibility for Cassandra Sandsmark (who would later become Wonder Girl.) As a prominent character within the DC universe she took part in company-wide crossovers like Our Worlds at War and the Joker’s Last Laugh. When Rucka took over, some of the character's most memorable story arcs occurred, and most famously among them Stoned and the Superman story arc Sacrifice which ended in Wonder Woman #219 with her killing Maxwell Lord.
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]
^ Esposito, Joey; Norris, Erik (December 14, 2011). "The Best of DC Comics in 2011. What are the best books coming out of the DC relaunch?". IGN. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved September 16, 2012. Sometimes it takes a completely fresh set of eyes to reignite the flame of creativity...By deeply rooting their new Wonder Woman series in Greek mythology, Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang have tapped into a creative well that appears bottomless.
Villains Angle Man • Baron Blitzkrieg • Baroness Paula Von Gunther • Badra • Bizarra • Blue Snowman • Captain Wonder • Cheetah • Children of Cronus • Circe • Cyborgirl • Dark Angel • Decay • Devastation • Doctor Cyber • Doctor Poison • Doctor Psycho • Duke of Deception • Eviless • Genocide • Giganta • Hypnota • Jinx • Mask • Medusa • Minister Blizzard • The Morrigan • Osira • Queen Atomia • Queen Clea • Queen of Fables • Shim'Tar • Silver Swan • Superwoman • Tezcatlipoca • Trinity • Veronica Cale • Villainy, Inc. • White Magician • Zara
Sword Mastery: Wonder Woman is an extremely skilled swordswoman, with centuries of experience wielding her magical God Killer sword (and later the Sword of Athena) in many battles, including those of World War I. Thus, she managed to slash at enemy soldiers with her sword even while racing past on horseback, to instantly slice apart in mid-air a car hurled at her by Doomsday with the Sword of Athena, to later do the same to massive piece of debris hurled at her by resurrected Superman, and to sever one of Doomsday's arms during her battle with the monster, delivering wounds that would have otherwise been lethal, had it not been for the monster's incredible healing factor and adaptive evolution.
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.
Hermes attacked Wonder Woman there, refusing to simply give up the child, but during their battle, War ripped the baby from Demeter's womb and disappeared. Unable to let a grave wound such as that go unattended, Diana saw to Demeter first, and the goddess warned that War could not be trusted. Worriedly, Diana and Orion returned to Manhattan to find that War had returned the baby to Zola. At last, the baby and his mother were reunited - and Orion would not have to look any further for the child he needed to kill.[31]
Zeus Action Comics #267 (August 1960) Zeus is the ruler of Olympus, King of the Gods, God of the Sky, Thunder, Law, Order, and Justice who is based on the god of the same name. Post-Crisis, he became enamored with Wonder Woman's beauty and grace. Later, Ares used his son Eros in a plot to make Zeus fall in love with the amazon Artemis, which enraged Hera into destroying Themyscira. He was later overthrown by Athena, though he attempted to reclaim his throne with the help of Hades and Poseidon. In the New 52, it was revealed that Zeus was Wonder Woman's father. Post-Rebirth, Zeus appeared as an ally for Wonder Woman in the form of a Falcon.
As the soldiers landed on the shore and began to open fire, several archers leaped from the cliffs. Diana watched, horrified, as a bullet fired from one of the German soldiers hit an archer, killing her almost instantly. Amazonian cavalry stormed the beach, engaging the soldiers and quickly overwhelming them. Though Trevor told her to stay back as he fought one of the German soldiers, Diana picked up a sword from a fallen Amazon and easily dispatched a soldier.
The girl who wondered has seen wonders... has become a woman who has traveled the world, who has traveled worlds! A woman who has touched countless lives, has made them better in ways beyond measure. A woman who has brought hope, and joy, and love. A woman who is the hero of so many. The truth of you has never changed, Diana. Even the gods themselves could not take that from you. Why would we? It's one of the many reasons we love you.
Diana's 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 NIGH-indestructible (the Omega Beams of Grail have proven able to shatter them), and are able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts.[203] Diana can slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force capable of making strong beings like Superman's ears bleed.[63] 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.[204] After the 2011 relaunch of the character, it was revealed that Diana was the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta[136] and that the bracelets are able to keep the powers she had inherited from Zeus in check.[189] In addition, Hephaestus has modified the bracelets to allow Wonder Woman the sorcerous ability to manifest a sword of grayish metal from each bracelet. Each sword, marked with a red star, takes shape from a flash of lightning, and when Wonder Woman is done with them, the swords disappear, supposedly, back into her bracelets. As such, she has produced other weapons from the bracelets in this way such as a bow that fires explosive arrows, spears and energy bolts among others.[205]
The New 52 version of the character has been portrayed to be a younger, more headstrong, loving, fierce and willful person.[citation needed] Brian Azzarello stated in a video interview with DC Comics that they're building a very "confident", "impulsive" and "good-hearted" character in her. He referred to her trait of feeling compassion as both her strength and weakness.[75]
Poseidon Flash Comics #9 (September 1940) Poseidon is the God of the Sea, Earthquakes, and Horses who is based on the god of the same name. Post-Crisis, Poseidon was most often seen as an ally to Wonder Woman, though he eventually sided with Zeus and Hades after Athena took over Mount Olympus. In New 52, Poseidon's Appearance is blue-skinned half Toad, half Octopus.
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.
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]
Although they do not appear in Justice League: War, the Olympian Gods are briefly mentioned by Wonder Woman during a conversation with Superman about the other five heroes, referencing Batman as Hades (who is just as dark and mysterious just as Maxie Zeus did in the "Fire From Olympus" episode of Batman: The Animated Series), Green Lantern as Apollo (the God of Light), Flash as Hermes (the Messenger of Olympus and God of Speed), Cyborg as Hephaestus (the Blacksmith of Olympus and God of Metal) and Shazam as Zeus (God of Lightning).
The demon Neron engaged Diana in battle and managed to kill her.[112] The Olympian Gods granted Diana divinity and the role of the Goddess of Truth who started to reside in Olympus; her mother Hippolyta then assumed the role of Wonder Woman and wore her own different incarnation of the costume.[112] 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).[112] 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.[112] Their fight remained unsolved, as Hippolyta died during an intergalactic war.[112] Themyscira was destroyed during the war, but was restored and reformed as a collection of floating islands.[112] Circe later resurrected Hippolyta in Wonder Woman Vol 3 #8.[113]
Superhuman Strength: As a demigoddess, Wonder Woman possesses incredible superhuman strength, making her the second strongest member of the Justice League, only surpassed by Superman. She can effortlessly bend metal bars, slam through solid walls and reinforced glass, and pry open steel doors. Even before accessing her full divine powers, Wonder Woman was strong enough to dominate several Amazons during her training, knocking down one with a whip and another with a shield, as well as kicking Antiope's sword out of her hand. Wonder Woman's strength extends to her ability to leap great distances. In a bar fight, she was able to throw a man across a room with an effortless shove of her hand. She effortlessly lifted an adult man with one arm and held him in the air, and threw an armored Ehrhardt E-V/4 tank in the air with ease. She was also able to effortlessly knock down many German soldiers with her shield and lasso. Wonder Woman was also able to deflect a missile with her shield, and withstand hundreds of shots at a time on her shield, albeit with considerable effort, as well as deflecting with her bracelets bullets and energy blasts with relative ease. Diana's immense strength allowed her to fight Ares, the powerful God of War, despite the considerable divine power of her older brother, managing to grab him from the waist and throw him against the roof of a warehouse. However, she was still easily dominated by the much stronger Ares. After obtaining and releasing her true divine power, Wonder Woman was able to fight Ares to an even greater degree, managing to knock him down and hit him in the face twice, as well as defeat a small German battalion using only her strength, and raise a very large and heavy German tank without much effort, which weighed 29 tons.[11] One hundred years later, Wonder Woman had become powerful enough to face the powerful Kryptonian deformity known as Doomsday, with her blows being powerful enough for the monster to wobble, stopping a massive blow of the monster with her sword. She was even able to knock him down with one strike of her shield on one of Doomsday's legs, as well as cut a car thrown toward her by Doomsday in half. Wonder Woman was also able to fight several times against the powerful Steppenwolf, managing to take him from the waist, knock him down through a wall, and shove him against a concrete wall. She was able to stab her sword into one of the feet of the New God, cut him at the waist, and, with the help of Aquaman, knock him down before he reached Cyborg. Wonder Woman was also able to break Steppenwolf's Electro Axe with her sword after Superman froze it with his freezing breath. In addition, after his resurrection, Wonder Woman was able to defend herself briefly against Superman during his confusion, the two generating a powerful shockwave with a single headbutt. The only beings that surpass the strength of Wonder Woman are Doomsday, Steppenwolf and Superman.
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]
Wonder Woman grossed $412.6 million in the United States and Canada and $409.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $821.8 million, against an estimated production budget of $120–150 million.[5] Estimates for the number the film needed to surpass internationally in order to cover its production and promotional costs and break even ranged from $300 million[174] to $460 million.[175] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $252.9 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the 6th most profitable release of 2017.[176]
In 2016, "Issue #48" of Sensation Comics, featured Wonder Woman officiating a same-sex wedding, drawn by Australian illustrator Jason Badower. "My country is all women. To us, it's not 'gay' marriage. It's just marriage", she states to Superman. Inspired by the 2015 June Supreme Court ruling that established marriage equality in all 50 United States, Badower says DC Comics was "fantastic" about his idea for the issue. In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, he said his editor "Was like 'great, I love it! Let's do it.' It was almost anticlimactic."[250] "Diana's mother, the queen, at the very least authorized or in some cases officiated these weddings," Badower says. "It just seems more like a royal duty Diana would take on, that she would do for people that would appreciate it."[238]
The debate continued with the release of Jenkins's 2017 film, Wonder Woman, which according to the BBC had "some thinking it's too feminist and others thinking it's not feminist enough".[235] Kyle Killian found an inherent contradiction in the construction of Wonder Woman as "a warrior" who, she states, is also highly sexualized. Killian thus suggests that these elements "should not be the focus of a kickass heroine—her beauty, bone structure, and sexiness—if she is to be a feminist icon".[236] Theresa Harold concurred, comparing Wonder Woman to Katniss Everdeen (of The Hunger Games), who "didn't have to wear a teenager's wet dream of a costume to fight in".[237] Christina Cauterucci also felt that Wonder Woman's ability to be considered a "feminist antidote" was undermined by her "sex appeal".[238] Other critics refer to the construction of Wonder Woman in the film as "an implausible post-feminist hero".[227][239]
The Gods, led by Athena, create the Amazons in Greece to realize their ideals and bring humans into following them. The leader of the Amazons, Hippolyta feels a yearning for a child). She makes a clay form of a child and prays to the Gods. Hearing this the Gods give the clay form, transforming it into a live child blessed with Gaea's gift, life. The Gods grant her various abilities and she grows up as Diana of Themyscira.
^ Sanderson, Peter (September–October 1981). "Thomas/Colan Premiere Wonder Woman's New Look". Comics Feature. New Media Publishing (12/13): 23. The hotly-debated new Wonder Woman uniform will be bestowed on the Amazon Princess in her first adventure written and drawn by her new creative team: Roy Thomas and Gene Colan...This story will appear as an insert in DC Comics Presents #41.
