Wonder Woman is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in Sensation Comics #1 in January 1942. She was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter in 1941. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being his inspiration for the character's appearance. She is the biological daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. She is one of the first DC superheroes and is one of the most influential superheroes of all time. The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously ever since. An Amazon-Olympian princess and warrior, Wonder Woman is known in her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira, by her official title Princess Diana of Themyscira. When blending into the society outside her homeland, she sometimes adopts her civilian identity, Diana Prince. Wonder Woman's original/first origin story dates from the Golden Age of Comic Books, which relays that she was sculpted from clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and given a life as an Amazon and Olympian by birth, along with superpowers as gifts from the Greek goddesses. Following DC's continuity re-setting storyline Flashpoint in 2011, Diana was one of multiple characters who had their origins significantly altered, as in the Post-Flashpoint continuity she was re-written as the biological daughter of the Greek god Zeus. This current canon origin for Diana has been used in multiple adaptations since; it was the origin of Diana from the DCEU live action universe (2013-2023) and the DCAMU animated universe (2013-2020). However, alternate universe continuities have continued to use her original clay origin and it was re-established as her origin in DC's mainline continuity in the early 2020s after DC had begun re-inserting elements of pre-Flashpoint DC canon into the post-Flashpoint DC universe. Other popular adaptations like the DC Animated Universe have also established their own takes on Diana's origin, with their iteration of Diana potentially being the daughter of Hades, who claimed to have helped Hippolyta, a past lover of his in this continuity, mold her from clay. This included briefly losing her powers entirely in the late 1960s, and being reinvented in the 1980s by artist George Pérez with an athletic look which emphasized her Amazonian heritage. She possesses an arsenal of magical items, 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 character was created during World War II; the character in the story was initially depicted fighting Axis forces as well as an assortment of colorful supervillains, although over time her stories came to place greater emphasis on characters, deities, and monsters from Greek mythology. Many stories depicted Wonder Woman freeing herself from bondage, which counterpointed the "damsels in distress" trope that was common in comics during the 1940s. In the decades since her debut, Wonder Woman has gained a cast of enemies bent on destroying her, including her archenemy Cheetah and classic villains such as Ares, Circe, Doctor Poison, Giganta, Doctor Psycho, and Doctor Cyber, along with more recent adversaries such as Veronica Cale, the Silver Swan, Genocide and Grail. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society of America (1941) and Justice League (1960). The character is an archetypical figure in popular culture recognized worldwide, partly due to being widely adapted into television, film, animation, apparel, merchandise, video games, and toys, with Wonder Woman Day celebrated on October 21 of each year (the anniversary of her first appearance). Shannon Farnon, Susan Eisenberg, Maggie Q, Lucy Lawless, Keri Russell, Rosario Dawson, Cobie Smulders, Rachel Kimsey, and Stana Katic, among others, have provided the character's voice for animated adaptations. Wonder Woman has been depicted in film and television by Linda Harrison, Cathy Lee Crosby, Lynda Carter, Megan Gale, Adrianne Palicki, and Gal Gadot.
Publication history
Creation
In an October 1940 interview with the Family Circle magazine, William Moulton Marston discussed the unfulfilled potential of the comic book medium. 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. 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:
William Moulton Marston, a psychologist already famous for inventing the polygraph, struck upon an idea for a new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love. "Fine," said Elizabeth. "But make her a woman." Marston introduced the idea to Gaines. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman, whom he believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman. Marston also drew inspiration from the bracelets worn by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polyamorous relationship. Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (cover date Dec/Jan 1941/1942, released in October 1941). While Marston wrote the story, H. G. Peter did the artwork, and Marjorie Wilkes was responsible for inking, lettering, and transcribing the scripts. Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest than men in certain situations and could work more efficiently. Marston designed Wonder Woman to be an allegory for the ideal love leader; the kind of woman who he believed should run society. "Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world", Marston wrote. In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:
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. Marston was an outspoken feminist, polyamorist, and firm believer in the superiority of women. 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.
The only hope for peace is to teach people who are full of pep and unbound force to enjoy being bound... only when the control of self by others is more pleasant than the unbound assertion of self in human relationships can we hope for a stable, peaceful human society.
Golden Age
Initially, Wonder Woman was an Amazon champion who wins the right to return Steve Trevor – a United States intelligence officer whose plane had crashed on the Amazons' isolated island homeland – to "Man's World" and to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis. In her first appearance in All-Star Comics Vol. 1 #8 (January 1942), one of the most iconic moment, Diana enters the Amazon tournament in disguise, wearing the identity of "Contestant Number 7." The final trial is to deflect bullets with her bracelets—an ultimate test of Amazonian skill. Diana succeeds flawlessly. When Queen Hippolyta meets the winner, Diana removes her mask, revealing her true identity. Hippolyta realizes it was her daughter all along, and acknowledges that Diana truly deserves the title of Amazon Champion. During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the team's secretary.
Silver Age
During the Silver Age of the 1960s, under writer Robert Kanigher, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped, along with other characters'. The new origin story increased the character's Hellenic and mythological roots: receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, strong as Hercules, and swift as Hermes." At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Wonder Woman was always Diana Prince and opens a mod boutique. She acquires a Chinese mentor named I Ching, who teaches Diana martial arts and weapons skills. Using her fighting skill instead of her powers, Diana engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology. This phase of her story was directly influenced by the British spy thriller The Avengers and Diana Rigg's portrayal of Emma Peel.
Bronze Age
In the early 1970s the character returned to her superhero roots in the Justice League of America and to the World War II era in her own title. This, however, was ultimately due to the popularity of the TV series at the time also having Wonder Woman set in the WWII era, and was shifted back to the 1970s era once the TV show did the same. With a new decade arriving, DC president Jenette Kahn ordered a revamp in Wonder Woman's appearance. Artist Milton Glaser, who also designed the "bullet" logo adopted by DC in 1977, created a stylized "WW" emblem that evoked and replaced the eagle in her bodice and debuted in 1982. The emblem in turn was incorporated by studio letterer Todd Klein onto the monthly title's logo, which lasted for a year and a half before being replaced by a version from Glaser's studio. The series was canceled with issue #329 (February 1986) written by Gerry Conway, depicting Steve Trevor's marriage to Wonder Woman.
Modern Age
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.
21st century
2010s
In August 2010 (issue #600), J. Michael Straczynski took over the series' writing duties and introduced Wonder Woman to an alternate timeline created by the Gods in which Paradise Island had been destroyed and the Amazons scattered around the world. In this timeline, Diana is an orphan raised in New York. The entire world has forgotten Wonder Woman's existence and the main story of this run was of Diana trying to restore reality even though she does not properly remember it herself. A trio of Death Goddesses called The Morrigan acted as the main enemy of Wonder Woman. In this run, Wonder Woman wears a new costume designed by Jim Lee. Straczynski determined the plot and continued writing duties until Wonder Woman #605; writer Phil Hester then continued his run, which ultimately concluded in Wonder Woman #614. Following the events of the Flashpoint storyline in 2011, DC rebooted their primary comics continuity and in The New 52 continuity, Wonder Woman was one of the many major books to be relaunched for the start of the new continuity, with Brian Azzarello as the author and Cliff Chiang as the artist. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman's costume was changed to one inspired by her original Marston costume (except with a red-black-silver color scheme rather than the classic red-blue-gold). In accordance with the DC-wide reboot, Azzarello and Chiang's run revamped much of the Wonder Woman lore, including changing her origin to that of a demi-goddess who is the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. In 2016, DC Comics entered the DC Rebirth era. Due to the controversial nature of some of the changes made to the DC Universe in the New 52 era, the Rebirth era, specifically the story Doomsday Clock, saw a partial revamp of DC's main continuity wherein certain aspects of pre-New 52 continuity were restored to the current timeline while also continuing some aspects and storylines of the New 52 era. In Rebirth, Wonder Woman relaunched to its fifth volume was released semi-monthly with writer Greg Rucka. This fifth volume of Wonder Woman is part of the "DC Universe", the current continuity established after Rebirth. Initially, the new series does not use a regular storyline that exists between each issue; instead two separate storylines share the book, with an installment of one story published every other issue, and those of the other storyline published in between those. This practice began with the storyline "The Lies", for the odd numbered issues, and "Year One", for the even numbered issues. The new storyline as presented in these issues effectively retcons the events from the previous New 52 series. "The Lies" storyline reveals that numerous events from the previous Wonder Woman series, in which Diana was made the Queen of the Amazons and the God of War, were in fact all an illusion created by a mysterious villain, and she had never once been back to Themyscira ever since she left, nor is she capable of returning there. The "Year One" story is presented as an all-new origin story for Diana, which reveals how she received her powers from the Olympian Gods, which was intended to bring her back to her classical DC roots. Wonder Woman appears in DC Rebirth with a revised look with an ancient Greek motif, including a red cape and light armor fittings, such as pteruges and shin guards. Along with her lasso and bracelets, she now regularly uses her sword and shield. Wonder Woman: Rebirth artist Liam Sharp described the new armor as a utilitarian piece which allows her to move more freely. Rucka used this storyline to remove the controversial changes that Azzarello and Chiang's run has made to long-standing Wonder Woman lore, including a storyline which depicted the Amazons as rapists that raided ships and had children with male sailors, with any male children they had being abandoned. However, elements like Diana's New 52 origin as Zeus's daughter were not altered, as other storylines still referenced this version of Diana's origin, like Justice League: The Darkseid War by Geoff Johns.. In 2018, DC Comics announced G. Willow Wilson as the new writer on the Wonder Woman ongoing series. Wilson began her run in November, with the first story arc titled "The Just War."
2020s
Steve Orlando took over from Wilson in 2020 with Mariko Tamaki taking over from him later in the year. 2020 also saw the Wonder Woman comics issues' numbering order restructured as DC's Doomsday Clock event united the current series to the original Golden Age as one continuous run. This meant the next issue was #750 despite the previous issue being numbered only #83. To celebrate, the issue was extra length and collected a variety of short stories celebrating the character of Wonder Woman with previous writers such as Phil Jimenez, Gail Simone and Greg Rucka returning. In early 2021, it was announced that Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad would serve as the writers of Wonder Woman starting with issue 770 as a part of Infinite Frontier, with Travis Moore serving as the initial artist. Their run would last up to issue 800 in June 2023, where it was then announced that the series would receive a new #1 as a part of the Dawn of DC relaunch. During their run, Hippolyta ascended to Olympus and became an Olympian goddess. Tom King will serve as the writer and Daniel Sampere providing the art, with the first issue launching on September 6, 2023, and a short story in issue 800 that will set up the series by introducing Diana's future daughter Elizabeth Prince/ Trinity. In late 2024, King's run coincides with the events of the company-wide crossover event Absolute Power as she and other heroes face off against Amanda Waller after their powers are stolen from them by Waller. Diana works with Damian Wayne/Robin and Steve Trevor to free multiple imprisoned metahumans from a secret prison created by Waller King's run also used Diana's clay origin instead of the newer one used in the New 52, notably referencing Diana's clay origin where Diana molds her daughter Elizabeth from clay, combines her and Steve Trevor's essences, and calls upon her mother to bring the child to life, noting it as parallel to Diana's own birth. Mark Waid's New History of the DC Universe (2025) and later also referenced Diana's original clay origin. Despite King's usage of the clay origin, according to DC Comics in their reference books released in collaboration with Dorling Kindersley, including the latest 5th edition, have cited Diana as being the daughter of Zeus as the current canon origin of the character.
Others
Diana, after her death, was granted divinity as the Goddess of Truth by her gods for such faithful devotion. During her brief time as a god of Olympus, Diana was replaced in the role of Wonder Woman by her mother, Queen Hippolyta. Unlike Diana receiving the title of Wonder Woman in honor, Hippolyta's role as Wonder Woman was meant to be a punishment for her betrayal in Artemis' death as well as for unintentionally killing her own daughter. John Byrne, the writer that introduced the concept of Hippolyta as the first Wonder Woman, has explained his intentions in a post in his message board:
I thought George's one "mistake" in rebooting Wonder Woman was making her only 25 years old when she left Paradise Island. I preferred the idea of a Diana who was thousands of years old (as, if I recall correctly, she was in the TV series). From that angle, I would have liked to have seen Diana having been Wonder Woman in WW2, and be returning to our world in the reboot. Not having that option, I took the next best course, and had Hippolyta fill that role. As Wonder Woman, Queen Hippolyta immediately got involved in a time travel mission back to the 1940s with Jay Garrick. After this mission, she elected to join the Justice Society of America and remained in that era for eight years, where her teammates nicknamed her "Polly". During that time she had a relationship with Ted Grant. Hippolyta also made visits into the past to see her godchild Lyta, daughter of Hippolyta's protege Helena, the Golden Age Fury. These visits happened yearly from young Lyta's perspective and also accounted for Hippolyta's participation in the JSA/JLA team ups. When she returned from the past, Hippolyta took Diana's place in the JLA as well. Following Wonder Woman's ascension to heaven and return to the living in Infinite Frontier, she officially gives her blessing for her mother Hippolyta and her Amazon sister Nubia to share the title of Wonder Woman, meaning there are now three Wonder Women in current continuity.
Fictional character biography
20th century
==== Origin ==== In her debut in All Star Comics #8, Diana was a member of a tribe of women called the Amazons, native to Paradise Island – a secluded island set in the middle of a vast ocean. Captain Steve Trevor's plane crashes on the island and he is found alive but unconscious by Diana and fellow Amazon, and friend, Mala. Diana has him nursed back to health and falls in love with him. A competition is held among all the Amazons by Diana's mother, the Queen of the Amazons Hippolyta, to determine who is the most worthy of all the women; Hippolyta charges the winner with the responsibility of delivering Captain Steve Trevor back to Man's World and to fight for justice. Hippolyta forbids Diana from entering the competition, but she takes part nonetheless, wearing a mask to conceal her identity. She wins the competition and reveals herself, surprising Hippolyta, who ultimately accepts, and must give in to, Diana's wish to go to Man's World. She then is awarded a special uniform made by her mother for her new role as Wonder Woman and safely returns Steve Trevor to his home country.
Golden Age
Coming to America for the first time, Wonder Woman comes upon a wailing army nurse who happens to look identical to her. Inquiring about her state, she finds that the nurse wanted to leave for South America with her fiancé but was unable due to shortage of money. As Wonder Woman needed a job and a valid identity to look after Steve (who was admitted in the same army hospital), she gives her the money she had earned earlier to help her go to her fiancé in exchange for her credentials. The nurse reveals her name as Diana Prince, and thus, Wonder Woman's secret identity was created, and she began working as a nurse in the army. Wonder Woman then took part in a variety of adventures, mostly side by side with Trevor. Her most common foes during this period would be Nazi forces led by a German baroness named Paula von Gunther, occasionally evil deities/demigods such as Mars and the Duke of Deception, and then colorful villains like Hypnota, Doctor Psycho, and Cheetah.
Silver Age
In the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's history received several changes. Her earlier origin, which had significant ties to World War II, was changed and her powers were shown to be the product of the gods' blessings, corresponding to her epithet, "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Hermes". The concepts of Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot were also introduced during this period. Wonder Woman #179 (November 1969) showed Wonder Woman giving up her powers and returning her costume and title to her mother, to continue staying in Man's World. The reason behind this was that all the Amazons were shifting to another dimension, but Diana was unable to accompany them as she needed to stay behind to help Steve, who had been wrongly convicted. Thus, she no longer held the title of Wonder Woman and after meeting and training under a blind martial arts mentor I-Ching, Diana resumed crime fighting as the powerless Diana Prince. She ran a mod-boutique as a business and dressed in a series of jumpsuits while fighting crime.
Bronze Age
In Wonder Woman #204, Diana's magical powers and costume were returned to her and she is once again reinstated as Wonder Woman. I-Ching is killed by a crazy sniper in the same issue. Later, Diana meets her sister Nubia, who is Hippolyta's daughter fashioned out of dark clay (hence Nubia's dark complexion). Nubia claimed to be the "Wonder Woman of The Floating Island", and she challenges Diana to a duel which ends in a draw. Returning to her home, Nubia would have further adventures involving Diana. The last issue of Volume 1 showed Diana and Steve Trevor announce their love for each other and their subsequent marriage.
Modern Age
==== Crisis on Infinite Earths ==== The events of Crisis on Infinite Earths greatly changed and altered the history of the DC Universe. Wonder Woman's history and origin were considerably revamped by the event. Wonder Woman was now an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira (the new name for Paradise Island) to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world. Various deities and concepts from Greek mythology were blended and incorporated into Wonder Woman's stories and origin. Diana was formed out of clay of the shores of Themyscira by Hippolyta, who wished for a child; the clay figure was then brought to life by the Greek deities. The gods then blessed and granted her unique powers and abilities – beauty from Aphrodite, strength from Demeter, wisdom from Athena, speed and flight from Hermes, Eyes of the Hunter and unity with beasts from Artemis and sisterhood with fire and the ability to discern the truth from Hestia. Due to the reboot, Diana's operating methods were made distinctive from Superman and Batman's with her willingness to use deadly force when she judges it necessary. In addition, her previous history and her marriage to Steve Trevor were erased. Trevor was introduced as a man much older than Diana who would later on marry Etta Candy.
War of the Gods
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. When Hippolyta and the other Amazons were trapped in a demonic dimension, she started receiving visions about the death of Wonder Woman. Fearing her daughter's death, Hippolyta created a false claim that Diana was not worthy of continuing her role as Wonder Woman, and arranged for a contest to determine who would be the new Wonder Woman, thus protecting Diana from her supposed fate. The participants of the final round were Diana and Artemis, and with the help of some mystic manipulation by Hippolyta, Artemis won the contest. Thus, Diana was forced to hand over her title and costume to Artemis, who became the new Wonder Woman and Diana started fighting crime in an alternate costume. Artemis later died in battle with the White Magician – thus, Hippolyta's vision of a dying Wonder Woman did come true, albeit not of Diana as Wonder Woman. The demon Neron engaged Diana in battle and managed to kill her. 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. 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). 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. Their fight remained unsolved, as Hippolyta died during an intergalactic war. Themyscira was destroyed during the war, but was restored and reformed as a collection of floating islands. Circe later resurrected Hippolyta in Wonder Woman (vol. 3) #8.
The OMAC Project
One of the events that led to the "Infinite Crisis" storyline was Wonder Woman killing the villain Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #219. Maxwell Lord was mind-controlling Superman, who as a result was near to killing Batman. Wonder Woman tried to stop Superman, Lord (who was unable to mind control her) made Superman see her as his enemy Doomsday trying to kill Lois Lane. Superman then attacked Wonder Woman, and a vicious battle ensued. Buying herself time by slicing Superman's throat with her tiara, Wonder Woman caught Lord in her Lasso of Truth and demanded to know how to stop his control over Superman. As the lasso forced the wearer to speak only the truth, Lord told her that the only way to stop him was to kill him. Left with no choice, Wonder Woman snapped Lord's neck and ended his control over Superman. Unknown to her, the entire scene was broadcast live around every channel in the world by Brother Eye. The viewers were not aware of the entire situation, and saw only Wonder Woman murdering a Justice League associate. Wonder Woman's actions put her at odds with Batman and Superman, as they saw Wonder Woman as a cold-blooded killer, despite the fact that she saved their lives.
One Year Later
At the end of Infinite Crisis, Wonder Woman temporarily retires from her costumed identity. Diana, once again using the alias Diana Prince, joins the Department of Metahuman Affairs. Donna Troy becomes the new Wonder Woman and is captured by Diana's enemies. Diana then goes on a mission to rescue her sister, battling Circe and Hercules. Diana defeats the villains, freeing Donna and takes up the role of Wonder Woman again. Circe places a spell on Diana, which renders Diana into a normal, powerless human being when in the role of Diana Prince; her powers come to her only when she is in the role of Wonder Woman.
