Diana is a very kind, loving, compassionate, and strong-willed person, who, while initially somewhat naive, has become all the wiser through her time in Man's World. An outspoken egalitarian, she fights for what she believes in and generally for the betterment of mankind through love and mutual understanding, as taught to her by her mother and fellow Amazons.[9] Growing up, Diana also proved herself headstrong and determined to do what she wanted, such as training in hand-to-hand combat under her aunt Antiope's tutelage despite her mother initially forbidding it. In this way she is quite stubborn; if she believes something is the right thing to do, then she will do it - as evidenced by her attempt to leave Themyscira without her mother's permission and insistence in attending Ludendorff's gala despite Steve telling her not to. Alongside her kindness and compassion, however, Diana was also a very naive idealist when she first arrived in "Man's World", blindly believing that all men were corrupted by Ares and that the World War I Central Powers would simply abandon their sinister ways if she killed him. This blind naivety also translated to explicit indignation whenever she was treated with disrespect due to her status as a woman, such as when she was ignored by members of the War Office. Alongside this, Diana also voiced her opinions rather bluntly upon her arrival, such as when she perceived Etta Candy's job as Steve Trevor's secretary to be akin to slavery (which earns Diana Etta's admiration). Despite her outspokenness and behavior in Man's World, however, Diana remained caring and compassionate, as demonstrated by her initially rocky relationship with Charlie and willingness to step into No Man's Land to save the village of Veld.
Wonder Woman's origin story relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and was given a life to live as an Amazon, along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Greek gods. In recent years, DC changed her background with the retcon that she is the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, jointly raised by her mother and her aunts Antiope and Menalippe. The character has changed in depiction over the decades, including briefly losing her powers entirely in the late 1960s; by the 1980s, artist George Perez gave her an atheltic look and emphasized her Amazonian heritage.[11][12] She possesses an arsenal of advanced technology, including the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in older stories, a range of devices based on Amazon technology.
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:
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.
While Superman watched out for Zod, Diana visited the deserted Themyscira to speak to her mother, still a clay statue. In her absence, a demon from Tartarus had escaped from its prison and roamed free on the island. Wonder Woman destroyed the creature and sealed the gates to Tartarus with her lasso. Leaving the island, she received word from Batman that Superman was engaging Zod and Faora in battle. Reaching Superman’s side, Wonder Woman steadily overwhelmed Faora until Zod threatened Superman’s life. Wonder Woman was forced to let the criminals go.[61]
^ 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.
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]
^ "Superhero Makeovers: Wonder Woman, part two". The Screamsheet. Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2011. Desperate to save her daughter, she claimed that Diana had failed in her role as an ambassador to Man's World and called for a do-over on the contest that had determined Diana fit to carry the Wonder Woman mantle in the first place.
Princess Diana commands respect both as Wonder Woman and Diana Prince; her epithetical title – The Amazon Princess – illustrates the dichotomy of her character. She is a powerful, strong-willed character who does not back down from a fight or a challenge. Yet, she is a diplomat who strongly "favors the pen", and a lover of peace who would never seek to fight or escalate a conflict. She's simultaneously both the most fierce and most nurturing member of the Justice League; and her political connections as a United Nations Honorary Ambassador and the ambassador of a warrior nation makes her an invaluable addition to the team. With her powerful abilities, centuries of training and experience at handling threats that range from petty crime to threats that are of a magical or supernatural nature, Diana is capable of competing with nearly any hero or villain.
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, George Pérez rebooted the character in 1987. She wore an outfit similar to her 1970s one, but now with a larger glowing golden belt.[194] This outfit continued until William Messner-Loebs' run, which had Diana pass on the role of Wonder Woman to Artemis.[194] No longer Wonder Woman, Diana sported a new black biker-girl outfit designed by artist Mike Deodato Jr.[194] After John Byrne took over writing and art duties, he redesigned the Wonder Woman outfit (Diana was reinstated as Wonder Woman at the end of Loebs' run) and joined the emblem and belt together.[194]
In 2011, David E. Kelley attempted to launch a new Wonder Woman series. A pilot episode was filmed, but was not picked up by the network. The pilot was also roundly panned by fans and critics, with Palicki later claiming it was a "blessing" that the series was never picked up. Wonder Woman was portrayed by Adrienne Palicki, who would later portray Mockingbird in the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series.
A shocked Diana apologized to Antiope and abruptly left the training session. She wandered off to a cliff on the Themysciran seashore and examined her gauntlets in awe. As she stood there, she noticed an airplane burst through the forcefield surrounding Themyscira and crash in the nearby waters. Seeing even from a great distance away that someone was trapped inside the sinking aircraft, she leaped down the ocean and rescued the pilot, none other than a human soldier named Steve Trevor. She pulled him out of the water and onto the Themysciran shore. As he came to, she noted in disbelief that he was a man, as she had never seen one before. Though somewhat confused, Steve affirmed that he was, rhetorically asking whether or not he looked like one.
The next day, they decided to infiltrate Ludendorff's gala to learn more about the weapon he and Doctor Poison are creating and how to stop it. To enter the gala, Diana stole a dress from a guest where she dances with. She is prepared to kill Ludendorff, but her attempt is intervened by Steve. She hears Ludendorff release some of the gas where it kills citizens from that town.
While Diana stood admiring the replica, Bruce Wayne appeared. He proceeds to angrily confront her by grabbing Diana's arm and asking her about the information device that she had stolen. Bruce claims to see right through her "babe in the woods" act, saying that while Diana doesn't know him, he's met "a few women like [her]". Diana, however, calmly smiles and retorts that Bruce has never met any women like her. She then proceeds to tell Bruce that she was unable to obtain anything from Bruce's device, due to Lex Luthor's data having military-grade encryption. Diana explains her intention to re-obtain her photograph from Luthor, stating that she only borrowed Bruce's device, and has already returned it to him shortly beforehand (placing it into the glove compartment of his car), before calmly excusing herself and leaving.[5]
Superhuman Stamina: Wonder Woman's advanced musculature is considerably more efficient than that of a human and most of the other Amazons. As a result, her muscles virtually do not produce fatigue toxins during physical activity compared to humans and most other members of her race. Her virtually inexhaustible endurance allows her to exercise her maximum capacity for an indefinite period of time without tiring at all, as she never needs to slow down or catch her breath during her fierce battles with Ares, Doomsday, Steppenwolf and the resurrected Superman, despite being pressured considerably by all of them.