When she is preparing for the final game (Teaming up with Supergirl, Starfire, Bumblebee and Batgirl against Lobo, Maxima, Bleez, Mongal and Blackfire), the competition is interrupted by Lena Luthor. Wonder Woman starts putting civilians safe, including the Embassador, who, out of fear, orders her to star with him to protect him. She refuses and returns to the batlle, angering the Embassador. She fight Lena and then Brainiac. Upon their defeat, Wonder Woman rejoins with her mother, thinking she dissapointed her by no following the Embassador orders, but Hippolyta is proud instead, stating that Wonder Woman will be an amazing Queen.
Diana, Trevor, Sameer, and Charlie sat at a table together as Trevor proposed his plan to them. Sameer and Charlie were willing to join them, if they were paid for the job. Trevor, however, had no money. The two refused the job. Sameer told Diana that all the payment he needed was a photograph of her; Diana countered that he wouldn't need one, as she was going with them. He and Charlie were baffled by her response.
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]
Hermes, the messenger god of speed, granted Diana superhuman speed and the ability to fly.[183] She is capable of flying at speeds approaching half the speed of light.[181] She can react quickly 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.[184][185][better source needed]
The original significance of Wonder Woman had the intentions of influencing many women of all ages, displaying the physical and mental strengths, values, and ethical attributes that not only men acquire. "Wonder Woman symbolizes many of the values of the women's culture that feminists are now trying to introduce into the mainstream: strength and self-reliance for women; sisterhood and mutual support among women; peacefulness and esteem for human life; a diminishment both of 'masculine' aggression and of the belief that violence is the only way of solving conflicts," Steinem wrote at the time.[223]
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]
^ 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.
While the story is very flawed, the art of this arc has been fantastic, and this issue is no exception. Jesús Merino continues to show off his mastery as an illustrator with the battle against King Best. The design of the leader of the Dark Gods is terrific, and the Amazon twins have never looked better. Jason, in particular, looks great as the details in his powers make him appear more powerful than ever. Even if next issue falls apart, I do not doubt that the art will still go above and beyond.
Centuries ago, an argument between Aphrodite and Ares led to the creation of the Amazons, who have been guided and protected by the goddesses ever since. Ares' recent schemes to destroy the Amazons and his fellow gods led to an Amazon champion being chosen.[4] This champion was the Princess Diana, daughter of Queen Hippolyta, whom Hermes escorted to Man's World. There she was called Wonder Woman. Hephaestus forged Wonder Woman's golden Lasso of Truth from the girdle of the earth-goddess Gaea, and her silver bracelets which he formed from the splintered Aegis of Zeus. While the Olympian gods were her patrons, other gods were her foes. Ares and his progeny, Deimos and Phobos, quickly set about challenging the princess in her quest. Phobos created the creature Decay from the "heart of the Gorgon," which Diana quickly dispatched. Meanwhile, Deimos recruited humans on opposing sides, inciting them to war.[5]
Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman was rebooted in 1987, by writer Greg Potter, who previously created the Jemm, Son of Saturn series for DC, was hired to rework the character. He spent several months working with editor Janice Race[28] on new concepts, before being joined by writer/artist George Pérez.[29] Inspired by John Byrne and Frank Miller's work on refashioning Superman and Batman, Pérez came in as the plotter and penciler of Wonder Woman.[30] Potter dropped out of writing the series after issue #2,[31][32] and Pérez became the sole plotter. Initially, Len Wein replaced Potter but Pérez took on the scripting as of issue #18. Mindy Newell would return to the title as scripter with issue #36 (November 1989).[33] Pérez produced 62 issues of the rebooted title. His relaunch of the character was a critical and sales success.[34]
Would DC Comics introduce Diana's twin brother only to dispatch him so soon? And would he be defeated by Diana, after being manipulated by the Dark Gods? We would wager that Jason sees reason at some point - Diana's greatest superpower is love, compassion, and truth, after all - but anything is possible. Especially with the final splash page promising a war between gods that lives up to the name.
Diana attends Clark's funeral in Smallville along with Bruce, with the latter paying for it as an anonymous donor. The two share a conversation about honoring Superman by bringing together the three other metahumans, in case a worse threat to the world should ever arise. Diana inquires why Bruce is proposing it. He replies that it is simply due to a feeling he has that things will imminently get worse (in reality, he was following the instructions given to him by the scarlet time-traveler that appeared in one of his "dreams", as well as heeding Lex Luthor's enigmatic warning). Diana walks away from the graveyard, pondering his words.[5]
In 2011's The New 52, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications to attract a new generation of readers, and thus released volume 4 of the Wonder Woman comic book title. Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang were assigned 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 Marston costume, utilizes a sword and shield, and has a completely new origin. No longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods, she is, instead, a demi-goddess and the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. Azzarello and Chiang's revamp of the character was critically acclaimed, but highly divisive among longtime fans of the character.[47][48][49][50]
Shortly after, Diana decides to venture to the Underworld to look for Zola. Lennox requests to come, but Diana shoots down his attempt, saying that she is going solo, save for Hermes as the only way to go to Hades is to either die or be escorted by Hermes. While in the Underworld, Hermes tells that the place is more or less an extension of Hades' (now preferring to call himself "Hell") will.
The chief chemist associated with General Ludendorff who specializes in chemistry and poisons.[29] On her role, Anaya said, "Well, it was a small role in this big ensemble, but it is an important character in the story. I'm going to be a big nightmare" for Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor.[40] Describing her character, Anaya said, "Dr. Maru loves rage and enjoys people's pain. She's creating terrible weapons, and her purpose in life is to kill as many people as possible, and provoke as much pain as possible". She researched World War I and Fritz Haber, the scientist who created mustard gas, to prepare for the role.[41] On the character's facial scars, Anaya stated, "I went to Patty Jenkins and asked, 'What happened to her?' And she said, 'She did it on purpose.' I was like, 'What? Patty, you're going further than I ever imagined.' She said, 'She wants to provoke painful suffering, so she tested her own gas on her own face. She wanted to know how deep this form of her gas would go, so she put it on her own face.' You can see half of her face is completely gone. This is the sadistic side of Dr. Maru". She also stated her character "is quite the opposite to the lead role of this movie, one of the strongest characters ever of DC comics, Wonder Woman. I can tell you that Doctor Poison is someone with a capacity to provoke so much pain."[42] On Dr. Maru's relationship with General Ludendorff, Anaya said, "I think that they have a relationship based on loyalty. Ludendorff is a very tormented General that lacks self-confidence. That's why, in part, he takes these drugs that Dr. Poison gives him. They are from different worlds, but they complement each other".[43]
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]
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]
As her injuries healed, Wonder Woman and her friends spent some time on New Genesis. She spoke to Highfather, who agreed to let her return to Earth. As soon as Diana and her friends returned to Earth, Orion decided to go with them. Arriving to London, they realized the First Born had wrecked the entire city and killed Lennox. The First Born summoned an army of hyena men to kill the intruders but Ares arrived to help Wonder Woman in the fight.[35]
An iron-fisted general of the German Army during World War I.[29] Huston described Ludendorff as a "pragmatist, realist, patriotic, fighting for his country", further explaining, "he lost his son on the German front lines and was just quite tortured, diabolical, stubborn and believes that what he's doing is for the betterment of mankind."[30] On his character, Huston said, "Ludendorff is a believer that war is a natural habitat for humans." Huston stated the film as an anti-war film and "somebody like Ludendorff would probably think that the idea that love conquers all is quite a naive concept. But finally it's true and sometimes the best way to examine mankind is from another perspective." On the genre of the film, Huston said, "It's Greek mythology. It's the origin of story and sometimes we need demigods to look at us to understand what our weaknesses are. It serves the mythological world."[31]
Wonder Woman made her debut in All-Star Comics at the end of 1941 and on the cover of a new comic book, Sensation Comics, at the beginning of 1942, drawn by an artist named Harry G. Peter. She wore a golden tiara, a red bustier, blue underpants and knee-high, red leather boots. She was a little slinky; she was very kinky. She’d left Paradise to fight fascism with feminism, in “America, the last citadel of democracy, and of equal rights for women!”
With Artemis' help, Wonder Woman tracked Zola down to a subway station, where they found a lock of fox fur. Realizing that Zola was with Dionysus, they went to Providence, where Dionysus was currently located. They found Dionysus captured by Cassandra's minion, the Minotaur. When Cassandra's forces were about to depart to Olympus, Wonder Woman ambushed them and hung onto their plane. When the jet arrived to Olympus, the mountain was hit by a massive explosion.[41]
For unexplained reasons, Heracles struck a deal with a mortal man, Harold Campion, whereby the two would exchange places (Earth for Olympus) Heracles used the mirror of Circe to conceal his identity and adventured under the name Champion.[16] He cast a love spell on Diana and accompanied her for a time, until Diana discovered his true identity.[17]
^ Mozzocco, J. Caleb. "The Many Loves of Wonder Woman: A Brief History Of The Amazing Amazon's Love Life". ComicsAlliance. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012. When the next volume of Wonder Woman would start, Trevor was sidelined as Diana's love interest. He still appeared in the series, but as an older man, one who would ultimately marry the post-Crisis version of Wondy's Golden Age sidekick, Etta Candy.
That hardly ended the controversy. In February 1943, Josette Frank, an expert on children’s literature, a leader of the Child Study Association and a member of Gaines’ advisory board, sent Gaines a letter, telling him that while she’d never been a fan of Wonder Woman, she felt she now had to speak out about its “sadistic bits showing women chained, tortured, etc.” She had a point. In episode after episode, Wonder Woman is chained, bound, gagged, lassoed, tied, fettered and manacled. “Great girdle of Aphrodite!” she cries at one point. “Am I tired of being tied up!”
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.
A day before Whedon's departure from Wonder Woman, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures purchased a spec script for the film written by Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland. Set during World War II, the script impressed executives at Silver Pictures.[77] However, Silver stated that he had purchased the script because he did not want the rights reverting; while stating the script had good ideas, Silver did not want the film to be a period piece.[81] By April 2008, Silver hired Jennison and Strickland to write a new script set in contemporary times that would not depict Wonder Woman's origin, but explore Paradise Island's history.[82]
Diana lifts a tank ready to crush Doctor Poison with it, but hesitates when she thinks about the love and compassion that Steve brought to her life when she realizes that he professed his love for her before leaving to sacrifice himself. Dropping the tank, Diana spares Doctor Poison, telling Ares that he is wrong about humanity. She tells him that while humans are everything Ares says and can be capable of the worst crimes, she's learned that they are equally capable of so much more: unbridled love and compassion. Ares engages Diana in a final fight, but is defeated after she fully embraces her powers as the God Killer and blasts Ares with powerful divine lightning. The soldiers, free from Ares' corruption, stop their fighting, thereby finally ending the war.[3]
The British War Council quickly gathered to discuss the notebook. Their codebreakers were unable to decipher the two different languages that it was written in, but Diana quickly identified them as Ottoman and Sumerian. She read the book out loud, informing the council that Doctor Poison had created a new form of mustard gas based on hydrogen instead of sulfur, which gas masks would be useless against.
Gaines didn’t know any of this when he met Marston in 1940 or else he would never have hired him: He was looking to avoid controversy, not to court it. Marston and Wonder Woman were pivotal to the creation of what became DC Comics. (DC was short for Detective Comics, the comic book in which Batman debuted.) In 1940, Gaines decided to counter his critics by forming an editorial advisory board and appointing Marston to serve on it, and DC decided to stamp comic books in which Superman and Batman appeared with a logo, an assurance of quality, reading, “A DC Publication.” And, since “the comics’ worst offense was their blood-curdling masculinity,” Marston said, the best way to fend off critics would be to create a female superhero.
