In all three films Diana has been in, she is never referred to as "Wonder Woman". Likewise, the alias isn't seen anywhere in print either. The closest it has come is the logo used in Lex Luthor's data, being two "W"s. Likewise, Bruce Wayne is only called "Batman" three times in the run of the DCEU. Once by Perry White, once by Barry Allen, and once by Aquaman.
On occasions Wonder Woman has employed a magical sword of unknown (though presumably Amazon) origin. This sword has been used most specifically against those with the power of invulnerability as invulnerability generally does not work against magical items. It is generally represented as a short sword. In Wonder Woman (vol. 4) #15, Hephaestus modifies Diana's bracelets so that she can manifest two short swords from them during battle.
In 1954, Dr. Fredric Wertham alleged that there were lesbian subtexts to Wonder Woman and claimed comics contributed to juvenile delinquency in his book Seduction of the Innocent where despite a very obvious heterosexual relationship with Steve Trevor, Wertham asserted that Wonder Woman’s association with the Holliday Girls could be interpreted as a lesbian relationship. The Comics Code Authority was then introduced in reaction to Wertham 's claims against the entire industry.
In the 1910s, Peter was a staff artist at the magazine Judge, where he contributed to its suffrage page called “The Modern Woman,” which ran from 1912 to 1917. More regularly, the art on that page was drawn by another staff artist, a woman named Lou Rogers. Rogers’ suffrage and feminist cartoons very often featured an allegorical woman chained or roped, breaking her bonds. Sanger hired Rogers as art director for the Birth Control Review, a magazine she started in 1917. In 1920, in a book called Woman and the New Race, Sanger argued that woman “had chained herself to her place in society and the family through the maternal functions of her nature, and only chains thus strong could have bound her to her lot as a brood animal.” In 1923, an illustration commissioned by Rogers for the cover of Birth Control Review pictured a weakened and desperate woman, fallen to her knees and chained at the ankle to a ball that reads, “UNWANTED BABIES.” A chained woman inspired the title of Sanger’s 1928 book, Motherhood in Bondage, a compilation of some of the thousands of letters she had received from women begging her for information about birth control; she described the letters as “the confessions of enslaved mothers.”
Marston was an outspoken feminist, swinger, and firm believer in the superiority of women.[26] He described bondage and submission as a "respectable and noble practice". Marston wrote in a weakness for Wonder Woman, which was attached to a fictional stipulation that he dubbed "Aphrodite's Law", that made the chaining of her "Bracelets of Submission" together by a man take away her Amazonian super strength.[27][28][29]
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.
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]
Although created to be a positive role-model and a strong female character for girls and boys,[216] Wonder Woman has had to deal with the misogyny that was commonplace in comic book industry for decades. For example, Wonder Woman was a founding member of the Justice Society of America. This roster included the original Flash and Green Lantern. Wonder Woman was an experienced leader and easily the most powerful of them all, yet was rendered a secretary. This would also be accompanied with her losing her powers or getting captured on most Justice League adventures. During the '50s and '60s, comic writers regularly made Wonder Woman lovesick over Steve Trevor, a Major in the United States Army. Stories frequently featured Wonder Woman hoping or imagining what it would be like to marry Steve Trevor.
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]
Chris Pine was cast as Steve Trevor,[21][114] a character he described as a "rogue-ish, cynical realist who's seen the awful brutish nature of modern civilization" and added that he is a "worldly guy, a charming guy".[115] He signed a multi-picture deal.[21] Lucy Davis' performance as Etta Candy is the first live-action cinematic portrayal of the character.[116] As well, Elena Anaya's performance as Doctor Poison is the cinematic debut of that character. Nicole Kidman was in negotiations for the role of Queen Hippolyta, but was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Big Little Lies.[117][118]
It introduces us to the character of Diana in a new and important way, tying her origin to a larger overall story and presenting her as a character that both shares our weaknesses and possesses strengths we can't have. This book is a nearly perfect DC Comics story. You'll find the only thing that's disappointing about it is that it got canceled too soon.
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.
The Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age portrayals of Wonder Woman showed her using a silent and invisible plane that could be controlled by mental command[211] and fly at speeds up to 3,000 mph (4,800 km/h).[212] Its appearance has varied over time; originally it had a propeller, while later it was drawn as a jet aircraft resembling a stealth aircraft.[213]
The inspiration to give Diana bracelets came from the pair of bracelets worn by Olive Byrne, creator William Moulton Marston's research assistant and lover.[5] "Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons have to wear heavy bracelets to remind them of what happens to a girl when she lets a man conquer her," quoted Marston in a 1942 interview. "The Amazons once surrendered to the charm of some handsom Greeks and what a mess they got themselves into. The Greeks put them in chains of the Hitler type, beat them, and made them work like horses in the fields. Aphrodite, goddess of love, finally freed these unhappy girls. But she laid down the rule ("Aphrodite's Law") that they must never surrender to a man for any reason. I know of no better advice to give modern day women than this rule that Aphrodite gave the Amazon girls."[206]
The final remaining relics Darkseid needed were being guarded by A.R.G.U.S. at their HQ, so Darkseid decided to use a Boom Tube to transport the building and all its contents to his base in the Amazon Rainforest. The Female Furies retrieved the relics and put them into place while Wonder Woman fought Darkseid. With the relics' power, Darkseid was able to open a portal to Themyscira. As it is impossible for one who has set foot on Themyscira to return after leaving, Diana was unable to follow Grail through the portal. Grail invaded and began transforming the Amazons into creatures resembling Darkseid's Parademons.[98] As Jason had never actually set foot on Themyscira, he followed Grail and met his mother Hippolyta for the first time since his birth. While Jason and Hippolyta fought off the transformed Amazons, Wonder Woman was able to defeat Darkseid through her love for her deceased father, Zeus, and her half-siblings, calling their spirits out of Darkseid's body and destroying him from the inside. The Amazons captured Grail and imprisoned her in the prison beneath Themyscira, alongside Ares, while Darkseid re-emerged somewhere on Earth. Jason was gifted a magical spear from his mother and returned to Earth.[99]
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
As the men helped the Amazons prepare for battle against the First Born's army, Diana received news that the First Born had been attacking other gods' realms. With Eros and Artemis, Wonder Woman ambushed the Minotaur at Demeter's home. Unfortunately, the First Born had already defeated Demeter, so Wonder Woman sent her companions to safety while she confronted him by herself.[45]
Wonder Woman's advocacy for women rights and gay rights was taken a step further in September 2016, when comic book writer Greg Rucka announced that she is canonically bisexual, according to her rebooted Rebirth origin.[255][256] Rucka stated, "... nobody at DC Comics has ever said, [Wonder Woman] gotta be straight. Nobody. Ever. They've never blinked at this."[253] Rucka stated that in his opinion, she "has to be" queer and has "obviously" had same-sex relationships on an island surrounded by beautiful women.[257][258] This follows the way Wonder Woman was written in the alternate continuity or non-canon Earth One by Grant Morrison,[259] and fellow Wonder Woman writer Gail Simone staunchly supported Rucka's statement.[260] Surprised at the amount of backlash from her fanbase, Rucka responded to "haters" that consensual sex with women is just as important to Wonder Woman as the Truth is to Superman.[261]
Wonder Woman managed to stabilize the plane when it was hit by the shockwave. Hermes and Artemis also arrived at Olympus, where Artemis discovered that Apollo had died in the attack. Among the ruins of the tower, the First Born claimed the throne of Olympus. Wonder Woman confronted the First Born, but he gained the upper hand. However, Hera arrived at Olympus, having regained her Olympian powers, revealing that Apollo had restored them before dying. Hera teleported Wonder Woman and her allies to Paradise Island. There, Wonder Woman found Zola, safe. Hera had also restored the Amazons back to life. Wonder Woman chose to lead them to battle as the new God of War.[42]
Phobos returned alongside his sister Eris in alliance with Circe. Circe had amassed great power by bringing gods of various pantheons together. Among them were the Roman gods, who challenged the Olympians for their domain. It took much strength for Zeus to summon Hermes and Diana to New Olympus, where the gods had been trapped. Earth's heroes were able to turn the tide against Circe, but three gods died: Circe killed Hermes; Harmonia was killed by her sister Eris; and Eris herself was slain by Son of Vulcan. Zeus and the Olympians decided then to follow the call of Cronus and the Titans to help guide other worlds in the universe. New Olympus was left to the Roman gods.[14][15]
Wonder Woman's social reforms were not initially accepted by the Amazons, even if they were morally necessary. Later, she had a training session with Artemis, who urged her to accept the Amazons' worship as a goddess, but Diana refused. Unfortunately, Dessa, a fellow Amazon, kidnapped Zeke and threatened to throw him off a cliff, for she disagreed with Diana's new perspective. Diana convinced her to return the boy to Zola. Shortly afterwards, the men of Paradise Island returned to their original home, with Diana welcoming them with open arms.[44]
Alfred informs Bruce that people are in danger, which Batman tells Flash that he needs to save the civilians. Diana and Arthur try to keep Steppenwolf away from Cyborg by using the Lasso of Hestia to pull him down, then Steppenwolf attacked them both before he knocks Arthur into a wall breaking the ceiling before Diana saves him. Cyborg tries to keep Steppenwolf away from him, but fails which leads with Steppenwolf pulling off one of his legs.
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.
Morgan appears and reveals himself as Ares. He tells Diana that although he has subtly given humans ideas and inspirations, using Ludendorff and Maru as pawns in the process, it is ultimately their decision to resort to violence as they are inherently corrupt. When Diana attempts to kill Ares with the "Godkiller" sword, he destroys it, then reveals to Diana that she herself is the "Godkiller", as the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. He fails to persuade Diana to help him destroy mankind in order to restore paradise on Earth. While the two battle, Steve's team destroys Maru's laboratory. Steve hijacks and pilots the bomber carrying the poison to a safe altitude and detonates it, sacrificing himself. Ares attempts to direct Diana's rage and grief at Steve's death by convincing her to kill Maru, but the memories of her experiences with Steve cause her to realize that humans have good within them. She spares Maru and redirects Ares's lightning into him, killing him for good. Later, the team celebrates the end of the war. In the present day, Diana sends an email to Bruce Wayne thanking him for the photographic plate of her and Steve and continues to fight and give on the world's behalf, understanding that only love can truly save the world.
GenresuperheroCharactersWonder Woman [Diana of Themyscira]; Jason; Steve Trevor; The Dark Gods [King Best; Savage Fire; Mob God; Karnell; The God with No Name]; Isabella; Danny; unnamed London residents; Ai; Vitaly; unnamed shooting victims; unnamed Chinese residents; unnamed A.R.G.U.S. staffSynopsisWonder Woman and Jason battle King Best in Washington, while the other Dark Gods attack other parts of the world. Jason then pursues Savage Fire to Paraguay.Reprints
Ares appears as a major antagonist in the live action Wonder Woman film. In Queen Hippolyta's story about Ares which she reads to Diana, Ares was condemned by the other Olympian Gods for his warmongering which led to him killing the Gods where the images show him killing Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Hades, Hestia, and Poseidon until Zeus drove him off of Mount Olympus with his thunderbolts. In his dying breath, Zeus created Themyscira for the Amazons and left them the "Godkiller" required to kill Ares should he rise again. This happens during World War I where Wonder Woman managed to slay Ares.
In the first story arc, Wonder Woman meets and protects a young woman named Zola, from Hera's wrath. Zola is pregnant with Zeus's child and Hera, seething with jealousy intends to kill the child.[62] [63][64][65] [66][67] The major event in this story is the revelation of Diana's true parentage. Long ago, Hippolyta and Zeus battled each other. Their battle ended with the couple making love and thus Diana was conceived.[62] The first six issues of the New 52 series are collected in a hardcover titled Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood.[68]
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.
Lasso of Truth: The Lasso, also referred to as the Golden Perfect, is a sacred relic of the Amazons and was given to them by the Gods of Olympus. It was bestowed to Wonder Woman when she embarked to Man's World. The Lasso's most known power is to force anyone ensnared by it to speak only the truth. It also possesses a number of other magical abilities. The Lasso is capable of tethering the hearts and minds of the individuals holding it, creating a telepathic link between them, as well as allowing for language translation.[113] It can also be used to bind and ensnare the souls of beings, including even gods, within it.[8][114] Diana can use the Perfect to locate individuals who share an emotional connection to her. It can also be used to force a biophysical reset of those who have been corrupted by some external influence, such as poisons and toxins or mind control, who are bound by it.[5][85] Diana is highly proficient at using the Lasso of Truth as both a tool and a weapon, and is capable of easily binding people and objects using it.
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]
