During a training session observed by Hippolyta, Diana sparred against her fellow warriors, demonstrating her weapons expertise and defeating each of them swiftly. Her final opponent was Antiope herself. The two fought with all their might. Diana managed to disarm Antiope and looked toward her mother for approval. Antiope seized the opportunity to push Diana to the ground and pick up her sword, admonishing her for letting her her guard down. As Antiope slashed at her and forced her backwards, Diana instinctively brought her arms together to block the attack. She clashed her arm gauntlets together, resulting in her unleashing a powerful shock-wave that sent Antiope flying back and left all spectating Amazons there, including Diana herself, in complete shock.[3]

In the issue's most surprising twist, made clear in this preview, is that the comic will begin after Diana's battle with the Dark Gods. Parting ways with Steve Trevor after the battle isn't a shock, since fans expect it to be a big, future-altering showdown for Diana (and potentially even more humans). But the fact that the future of Jason is left unclear may be the biggest tease.
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.
Arcane Lore Expert: Wonder Woman, as both an Amazon demigoddess and an antiquities expert, possesses immense knowledge of and skill in wielding mystical artifacts and arcane lore, notably her Sword of Athena and Lasso of Hestia. Her encyclopedic knowledge was demonstrated when Wonder Woman reacted in dismay to Lex Luthor's speech (knowing how he had twisted the Olympians' history concerning Zeus and Prometheus), when she instantly identified a Parademon in Commissioner Gordon's sketch, and when she explained the history behind Steppenwolf and the 3 Mother Boxes to the remainder of the Justice League.

Olive Byrne met Marston in 1925, when she was a senior at Tufts; he was her psychology professor. Marston was already married, to a lawyer named Elizabeth Holloway. When Marston and Byrne fell in love, he gave Holloway a choice: either Byrne could live with them, or he would leave her. Byrne moved in. Between 1928 and 1933, each woman bore two children; they lived together as a family. Holloway went to work; Byrne stayed home and raised the children. They told census-takers and anyone else who asked that Byrne was Marston’s widowed sister-in-law. “Tolerant people are the happiest,” Marston wrote in a magazine essay in 1939, so “why not get rid of costly prejudices that hold you back?” He listed the “Six Most Common Types of Prejudice.” Eliminating prejudice number six—“Prejudice against unconventional people and non-conformists”—meant the most to him. Byrne’s sons didn’t find out that Marston was their father until 1963—when Holloway finally admitted it—and only after she extracted a promise that no one would raise the subject ever again.


Wonder Woman’s appearance in the early golden age of comics made her the first prominent female superheroine. The psychologist William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman somewhat as a counter reaction to the presence of prominent male superheroes (at this time Superman, Batman and Captain America), as well as a counterbalance to the "blood curdling masculinity" that was dominant at the time, with the hopes that the character could serve as an inspiration for young children (though in certain ways it was geared more towards female readers.) Marston had been partially motivated to create this character because of the accomplishments of his own wife, who was also an accomplished academic at a time when it was difficult for women to fulfill this role. As a result, the first Wonder Woman series contained many complementary articles and features which sought to highlight the inner power of women. There were articles for instance on the different career paths that women could pursue (according to the standards of the 1940s) as well as a series of stories on famous and accomplished women, called the Wonder Women of History. Marston introduced the character in All-Star Comics #8 in 1941. She became the lead character in Sensation Comics in 1941, and got her first solo book in 1942.
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.
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 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]
^ Lyons, Charles. "Suffering Sappho! A Look at the Creator & Creation of Wonder Woman". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2006. Maxwell Charles Gaines, then publisher of All-American Comics, saw the interview and offered Marston a job as an educational consultant to All-American and sister company DC Comics.
Gaines was hugely relieved, at least until September 1943, when a letter arrived from John D. Jacobs, a U.S. Army staff sergeant in the 291st Infantry, stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. “I am one of those odd, perhaps unfortunate men who derive an extreme erotic pleasure from the mere thought of a beautiful girl, chained or bound, or masked, or wearing extreme high-heels or high-laced boots,—in fact, any sort of constriction or strain whatsoever,” Jacobs wrote. He wanted to know whether the author of Wonder Woman himself had in his possession any of the items depicted in the stories, “the leather mask, or the wide iron collar from Tibet, or the Greek ankle manacle? Or do you just ‘dream up’ these things?”
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]
Gods and Mortals (1987) Challenge of the Gods (1987–88) War of the Gods (1991) The Contest (1994) The Challenge of Artemis (1995) Paradise Island Lost (2001) Our Worlds at War (2001) The Hiketeia (2002) Down to Earth (2003–04) Who Is Wonder Woman? (2006–07) Amazons Attack! (2007) The Circle (2008) Ends of the Earth (2008) Rise of the Olympian (2009) Flashpoint (2011) The Lies (2016) Year One (2016) The Truth (2017) Godwatch (2017)

After defeating Giganta in battle, Wonder Woman was approached by a lawyer who informed her that she had inherited the estate of Hercules, who had been killed.[89] Shortly thereafter, she was told by A.R.G.U.S. that Hercules' body came from an area containing traces of energy unique to Apokolips. Diana visited Hercules' home and found a letter addressed to her, informing her of the location of her twin brother, Jason. She found him in Greece,[90] and the two seemingly began to bond, only for Jason to turn against Diana after the arrival of Grail, who he had secretly allied himself with.[91] Grail had begun killing children of the earthly gods in order to use their divine power to restore her father Darkseid to adulthood, as he had been turned into a baby at the end of the Darkseid War. Jason allied himself with her in order to exact revenge on Wonder Woman, as he resented her for not seeking him out after she learned of his existence some time ago and was envious of her. However, as Darkseid was about to drain Diana's life force, Jason regretted his actions and joined Wonder Woman in battle against Grail and Darkseid. Then, Hercules' lawyer revealed his true identity as the King of the Gods himself, Zeus.[92] Zeus fought Darkseid while Wonder Woman took on his daughter, Grail. Ultimately, Zeus was defeated and his life force was drained by Darkseid, restoring the Apokoliptian to his full adult form. The Justice League arrived, forcing Darkseid and Grail to retreat through a Boom Tube. In the aftermath of the battle, Diana forgave her brother for his deceit.[93]
Wonder Woman was now a princess and emissary from Paradise Island (called Themyscira) to Patriarch's world. She possessed stunning beauty and a loving heart, gifts from the goddess Aphrodite. From Athena, she received the gift of great wisdom; from Demeter, the power and strength of the earth; from Hestia, sisterhood with fire; and from Artemis, unity with beasts and the instincts and prowess of a hunter. Finally, Diana received the gift of speed and the power of flight from the god Hermes.[9]

The Olympian Gods are featured in Injustice: Gods Among Us. In Wonder Woman's ending, Zeus and the Olympian Gods fear that what happened in the Regime's reality might happen in their own and begin a campaign to wipe out all the metahumans. Wonder Woman and her Amazons start a war against the Olympian Gods in rebellion for what they have done to the other metahumans and Zeus and the others are ultimately defeated with the Amazons becoming the new rulers in their place. Additionally, Ares appears as playable villain character and Athena appears briefly during Wonder Woman's fighting intro scene.
Director James Cameron continued this debate, through his critique of the representation of female power in Jenkins's film. In an August 2017 interview with The Guardian, Cameron qualifies Jenkins's vision of Wonder Woman as "an objectified icon" and called the film "a step backwards". In contrast, he states, his character Sarah Connor (from his Terminator films) "was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit."[254] Jenkins stated in response that Cameron's "inability to understand what 'Wonder Woman' is, or stands for, to women all over the world is unsurprising as, though he is a great filmmaker, he is not a woman". She further argued "there is no right and wrong kind of powerful woman" because "if women have to always be hard, tough and troubled to be strong, and we aren't free to be multidimensional or celebrate an icon of women everywhere because she is attractive and loving, then we haven't come very far have we."[255] Reaction to this debate was mixed. Julie Miller sided with Cameron, whom she states refers to himself as "a pretty hardcore feminist" and who told Vulture that "I have no problem writing a script in which the males become subservient to the females, which is what happens in Aliens ... It's up to Ripley to win the day." In contrast, Miller argues that Jenkins and Gadot envisioned Wonder Woman as "a woman who exuded both femininity and strength, along with genuine confusion as to why men would treat women differently than they do other men".[256] Susannah Breslin also agreed with Cameron, describing Jenkins's Wonder Woman as "a Playmate with a lasso" and "female power with no balls".[257] Others were more critical of Cameron's critique.[258] An article in Newsweek suggests that in contrast to his criticism of Jenkins, Cameron's own films include "lot of objectification" and quotes a few Hollywood celebrities who echoed this view. One of the quotes came from Jesse McLaren who states that "James Cameron's just confused there's a female hero whose motivations aren't centered around motherhood."[259] Noah Berlatsky found areas of agreement between both Cameron and Jenkins, stating that while Cameron's objection is "an old point that's been made over and over for decades", Jenkins's film is not "solely focused on objectifying Gal Gadot for a male audience".[260]
Steve Rose in The Guardian criticized the film for failing to explore the material's potential for "patriarchy-upending subversion".[221] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone criticized the film's over-reliance on exposition: "Wonder Woman is hobbled by a slogging origin story and action that only comes in fits and starts. Just when Gadot and director Patty Jenkins...are ready to kick ass, we get backstory."[222]

Stealth Expert: Wonder Woman is exceptionally stealthy, as she was able to quickly sneak away from Chief and Charlie to General Ludendorff's gala, and later to steal the hacking device that Bruce Wayne had plugged into the LexCorp Industries servers and leave it in his car, without getting caught on either occasion. Later, Wonder Woman noticed Cyborg spying on her and Batman from a distance. Shortly thereafter, along with Batman and Cyborg, she was able to swiftly slip away when Commissioner Gordon turned away for a moment, and even Flash was left incredulous at how he didn't notice his teammates leave, despite having superhuman reflexes and standing right beside them. Wonder Woman even managed to enter the highly-secure Batcave itself on her own, impressing Batman.
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]
As Zola defeated Poseidon, the First Born returned to Olympus and ordered the Minotaur to attack Wonder Woman. The Minotaur, however, refused to kill her and the First Born killed him instead. Upon seeing the unmasked Minotaur, Diana discovered her foe was the creature she had spared in the labyrinth.[48] Wonder Woman furiously threw the First Born into the abyss he was originally trapped in while Zola placed Zeke on the throne. Zola revealed herself to be Athena and Zeke to be another iteration of Zeus himself. Both had planned for Wonder Woman to fight the First Born and accept her destiny as a goddess. With the conflict ended, Athena planned to put an end to her human identity and become a goddess once more, but Wonder Woman convinced her to allow Zola and Zeke to live without godly interference.[49]

Wonder Woman had its world premiere on May 15, 2017, in Shanghai. It premiered on May 25, 2017, in Los Angeles.[146] The film's London premiere, which was scheduled to take place on May 31 at the Odeon Leicester Square, was cancelled due to the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.[147] The film had its Latin America premiere in Mexico City on May 27. It was released in most of the world, including in IMAX,[148] on June 2, 2017, after originally being scheduled for June 23.[149][150] Belgium, Singapore and South Korea received the film first, with May 31 openings.[151][152][153] On April 17, it was announced that Wonder Woman would be released in China on June 2, the same day as its North American release.[154]
Expert Social Intuit: Wonder Woman, as Diana Prince, has a high degree of social confidence (having had a century of experience living in "Man's World" after World War I), allowing her to intuitively determine how to interact with others, gain their respect and get her point across with calmness, eloquence, and charisma. Hence, Diana swiftly befriended the Wonder Men, she diplomatically greeted Bruce Wayne, matter-of-factly showing him that she can intellectually keep up with him (calmly responding to Bruce's anger at having been stolen from by her), she tactfully accepted a wine glass from the Gotham City Museum of Antiquities curator (despite seemingly disliking alcoholic beverages), she tactfully avoided correcting the curator on his claim that the fake replica of Alexander the Great's sword was the actual relic, and only when Lex Luthor insulted her father Zeus' memory did Diana have a look of visible dismay on her face (but even then she avoided making a scene), and only when Batman insulted her beloved Steve Trevor's memory did she finally lose her temper and shove Batman back. As a result, Diana remains extremely well-respected at the Louvre Museum, by fellow antique museum curators, by the Justice League, and even the extremely experienced Batman is almost instantly intrigued by her.

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.
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]
GenresuperheroCharactersWonder Woman [Diana of Themyscira]; Star Sapphire [Miri]; Star Sapphire [Miss Bloss]; Jason; The Dark Gods [Mob God; The God with No Name; Savage Fire; King Best]; unidentified civilians; Supergirl [Kara Zor-El]; Steve Trevor; unnamed A.R.G.U.S. staff; Justice League [Batman [Bruce Wayne]; Aquaman [Arthur Curry]; The Flash [Barry Allen]; Hawkgirl [Kendra Saunders]; Cyborg [Victor Stone]; Martian Manhunter [J'onn J'onzz]]SynopsisWhile Diana is away with the Star Sapphires on Zamaron, Jason is left to fend for himself as The Dark Gods launch their attack on Earth. He soon gets help from Supergirl and the Justice League, but the situation gets worse when King Best absorbs the powers of the League and Supergirl making him even more powerful than before.Reprints
It was the fall of 1985...I walked into editor Janice Race's office to find out about the fate of Diana Prince. I was curious to learn who was going to draw her. Superman had [John] Byrne and [Jerry] Ordway, Batman had [Frank] Miller and [Alan] Davis (and later [David] Mazzucchelli). Wonder Woman had...No one. A writer, Greg Potter, had been selected but no established artist wanted to handle the new series. After exhaustive searches, it seemed Wonder Woman would have to be assigned to an unknown...I thought of John Byrne and Superman. What a giant coup for DC. A top talent and fan-fave on their premier character..."Janice" I heard myself say "What if I took on Wonder Woman for the first six months – just to get her out of the starting gate?"
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]

As Themyscira's emissary to Man's World, Diana has made it her duty to lead by example, even if the differences between her birthplace and new home sometimes present hurdles for her to jump. She has come to represent the possibility and potential of life without war, hate or violence, and she is a beacon of hope to all who find themselves in need. She stands as an equal among the most powerful Super Heroes, with a sense of purpose to protect the world from injustice in all forms.


The costs for television advertisements for Wonder Woman are higher in comparison to that of previous DCEU film Suicide Squad. Warner Bros. has spent over $3 million on advertisements for Wonder Woman, whereas they spent $2.6 million on advertisements for Suicide Squad.[157] Ticket selling site Fandango reported that Wonder Woman rounded the final leg of its marketing campaign as the most anticipated blockbuster of summer 2017, according to a poll conducted by 10,000 voters, the biggest survey in company history.[158] Separately, Fandango also found that 92% of people surveyed said that they are looking forward to seeing a film that features a standalone woman superhero, and 87% wished Hollywood would make more women-led superhero films.[159] In May 2017, NASCAR driver Danica Patrick drove her No. 10 car with a Wonder Woman paint scheme at the Go Bowling 400 in Kansas and at the Monster Energy Open in Charlotte.[160]
Principal photography on the film began on November 21, 2015,[119][120] under the working title Nightingale.[121][122] Among the film sets were Lower Halstow, Kent,[123] and Australia House[124] in England and the Sassi di Matera,[125] Castel del Monte[125] and Camerota[126] in Southern Italy. Matthew Jensen was the director of photography,[127] filming in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.[128] Production in London concluded on March 13, 2016.[129] On March 20, 2016, filming was underway in Italy. In late April, filming took place at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, where a Wayne Enterprises truck was spotted alongside Gadot.[130] Principal photography finished on May 9, 2016.[131] Patty Jenkins and director of photography Matt Jensen said that the film's look was inspired by painter John Singer Sargent.[132] Reshoots took place in November 2016, while Gadot was five months pregnant. A green cloth was placed over her stomach to edit out her pregnancy during post-production.[133]

Wonder Woman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton),[2] and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne,[5] are credited as being his inspiration for the character's appearance.[2][6][7][8][9] Marston's comics featured his ideas on DISC theory,[10] and the character drew a great deal of inspiration from early feminists, and especially from birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger; in particular, her piece "Woman and the New Race".
In an October 25, 1940, interview with the Family Circle magazine, William Moulton Marston discussed the unfulfilled potential of the comic book medium.[19] This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics.[20] At that time, Marston wanted to create his own new superhero; Marston's wife and fellow psychologist Elizabeth suggested to him that it should be a woman:[21]
Wonder Woman has also appeared in the 2013 NetherRealm Studios fighting game, INJUSTICE: Gods Among Us, as a playable character with her own set of super moves and alternate constumes, one of which was a New 52 skin. In the game, Wonder Woman is summoned alongside Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Batman, and the Joker into a world where Superman rules with an iron fist and said world's Wonder Woman is his second-in-command. Wonder Woman must unite with the others and this world's Batman to defeat Regime Superman for good. She is voiced by Susan Eisenberg.
Principal photography on the film began on November 21, 2015,[119][120] under the working title Nightingale.[121][122] Among the film sets were Lower Halstow, Kent,[123] and Australia House[124] in England and the Sassi di Matera,[125] Castel del Monte[125] and Camerota[126] in Southern Italy. Matthew Jensen was the director of photography,[127] filming in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.[128] Production in London concluded on March 13, 2016.[129] On March 20, 2016, filming was underway in Italy. In late April, filming took place at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, where a Wayne Enterprises truck was spotted alongside Gadot.[130] Principal photography finished on May 9, 2016.[131] Patty Jenkins and director of photography Matt Jensen said that the film's look was inspired by painter John Singer Sargent.[132] Reshoots took place in November 2016, while Gadot was five months pregnant. A green cloth was placed over her stomach to edit out her pregnancy during post-production.[133]

Wonder Woman’s appearance in the early golden age of comics made her the first prominent female superheroine. The psychologist William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman somewhat as a counter reaction to the presence of prominent male superheroes (at this time Superman, Batman and Captain America), as well as a counterbalance to the "blood curdling masculinity" that was dominant at the time, with the hopes that the character could serve as an inspiration for young children (though in certain ways it was geared more towards female readers.) Marston had been partially motivated to create this character because of the accomplishments of his own wife, who was also an accomplished academic at a time when it was difficult for women to fulfill this role. As a result, the first Wonder Woman series contained many complementary articles and features which sought to highlight the inner power of women. There were articles for instance on the different career paths that women could pursue (according to the standards of the 1940s) as well as a series of stories on famous and accomplished women, called the Wonder Women of History. Marston introduced the character in All-Star Comics #8 in 1941. She became the lead character in Sensation Comics in 1941, and got her first solo book in 1942.
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:
In the Gods' absence, the Amazons began to revert to clay. To justify the Olympians' return to Earth, Zeus summoned Diana and several of her friends to testify before him. It was Hippolyta who tipped the scales, however. She played a secret card which greatly swayed them. In truth, she simply reminded Ares that before her reincarnation, Hippolyta had been Ares' daughter, and thus Zeus' granddaughter. At this time, Zeus also granted strength and flight to Cassie Sandsmark.[18] Soon, Highfather of the New Gods summoned Zeus and Heracles to once gain battle Darkseid. To this end, Zeus, Odin, Ares, Jove and Highfather merged into one being and entered the Source. When cast out, Zeus was gravely injured and remained bonded to Jove. Heracles returned with him to Olympus.[19][20]
Hybrid Physiology: Due to her Amazonian and Old God heritage, Wonder Woman possesses the superhuman abilities typical of these two species, such as superhuman strength, durability, speed, reflexes, agility and stamina, as well as an accelerated regenerative healing factor and the ability to live for thousands of years without visibly aging. In addition, she possesses incredible supernatural powers that allow her to generate and manipulate divine energy in the form of powerful shock waves, as well as possess some mastery over divine electricity. Wonder Woman's amazing abilities far surpass those of any other Amazon, and they are enough to rival the power of an Ancient God, such as Ares or a New God, such as Steppenwolf. Therefore, Wonder Woman is the second most powerful member of the Justice League, second only to Superman.
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]
Wonder Woman was taken to Zamaron where the Star Sapphires informed her that a Dark God had taken hold there, too. Diana fought the newly-emerged Karnell, Dark God of Love, who informed Diana that he and his brethren had come from the Dark Multiverse, which the Justice League had recently encountered. When Diana wore the Tenth Metal during the climax of the Justice League's battle with Barbatos, Diana had wished for the gods' return. Though she had meant the Gods of Olympus, the Dark Multiverse's gods were chosen instead, and thus she had unintentionally caused their invasion. Together with the Star Sapphire Corps, Wonder Woman was able to defeat Karnell, who retreated back to Earth. Wonder Woman left the Corps and returned home.[102] In her absence, Jason had united with the Justice League and fought the Dark Gods, who had plunged Earth into chaos. Suddenly, the Dark Gods disappeared, only for them to return with Jason at their side.[103] Jason fought Wonder Woman, but after he led her away from the Dark Gods, he revealed that he was using his armor to channel the power of Dolos, God of Deception, and was in fact deceiving the Dark Gods. Using the wisdom of Athena, Jason developed a plan to convince the Dark Gods to retreat back to their reality. He offered himself, along with the power of the Greek Pantheon, in exchange for the Dark Gods leaving Earth. The Dark Gods accepted the proposal and Diana tearfully said goodbye to her brother, who was taken with them to the Dark Multiverse. The planet was saved and its people returned to normal, but Diana was distraught over the loss of her brother.[104]
Wonder Woman and the other heroes were finally released from the Firestorm Matrix when Batman used the Lasso of Truth on Firestorm. Superman was still infected with the Kryptonite shard inside his nervous system, but Lex Luthor was able to extract it, saving Superman's life. Luthor also assembled a group of villains that defeated the Crime Syndicate. Later, at the Batcave, Wonder Woman and the Justice League talked about the enemy that destroyed the Crime Syndicate's world and came to the conclusion that Darkseid would return.[74]
Invisible Plane: Wonder Woman possesses an airplane capable of rendering itself completely invisible to the human eye. Like her bracelets, Diana's invisible plane is forged with Eighth Metal, making it almost indestructible.[115] The Invisible Plane was originally the aircraft Steve Trevor crashed onto Themyscira; it was repaired by the Amazons and upgraded with their technology.[116][117]

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]


Starting in Wonder Woman vol. 2 #51, the Amazons, who had revealed their presence to the world in Wonder Woman vol. 2 #50, are blamed for a series of murders and for the theft of various artifacts. The Amazons are then taken into custody, Queen Hippolyta is nowhere to be found and Steve Trevor is forced by General Yedziniak to attack Themyscira. These events lead to the "War of the Gods" occurring. The culprit of the murders, thefts and the framing of the Amazons is revealed to be the witch Circe, who "kills" Diana by reverting her form back into the clay she was born from. Later, Wonder Woman is brought back to life and together with Donna Troy, battles Circe and ultimately defeats her.[103][104][105][106] Circe would later return by unknown means.
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