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Wonder Woman
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Wonder Woman is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. First appearing in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company's 1944 inception (except for a brief hiatus in 1984).
Wonder Woman is a member of a fictional, all-female tribe of Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) who is sent to "man's world" as an ambassador of peace, charged with the mission of imparting the Amazonian ideals of peace and harmony to "Patriarch's World." Among the Amazons she is known as Princess Diana (being the daughter of Amazon queen Hippolyta); in "man's world" she takes the secret identity of Diana Prince.
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Encyclopedia
Wonder Woman is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. First appearing in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), she is one of three characters to have been continuously published by DC Comics since the company's 1944 inception (except for a brief hiatus in 1984).
Wonder Woman is a member of a fictional, all-female tribe of Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) who is sent to "man's world" as an ambassador of peace, charged with the mission of imparting the Amazonian ideals of peace and harmony to "Patriarch's World." Among the Amazons she is known as Princess Diana (being the daughter of Amazon queen Hippolyta); in "man's world" she takes the secret identity of Diana Prince. Her powers include super strength, enhanced speed and stamina, and (more recently) flight. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses an animal-like cunning and a natural rapport with animals, which has in the past been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She also makes use of her Lasso of Truth (which forces those bound by it to tell the truth), a pair of indestructible bracelets, and an invisible plane.
Created during World War II, the character was initially depicted fighting the Axis military forces, as well as an assortment of supervillains and supervillainesses. In later decades, some writers and their editors preferred to retain the World War II setting, while others updated the series to reflect an ongoing "present day." Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in the team books Justice Society (from 1941) and Justice League (from 1960). Arguably the most popular and iconic superheroine in comics, she is informally grouped with Superman and Batman as one of a "Trinity" of DC characters who are regarded as especially important, both within their fictional universe and without. She was named the twentieth greatest comic book character by Empire Magazine.
In addition to comics, the character has appeared in other media — most notably the 1975-1979 live-action Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter, but also in cartoons such as the Super Friends and Justice League. Although a number of attempts have been made to adapt the character to live-action film, none have yet emerged from "development hell." An animated film was released in 2009, starring Keri Russell in the title role.
History
Creation
In an October 25, 1940 interview conducted by former student Olive Byrne (under the pseudonym "Olive Richard") and published in Family Circle, titled "Don't Laugh at the Comics", William Moulton Marston described what he saw as the great educational potential of comic books (a follow up article was published two years later in 1942). 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 the future DC Comics. At that time, Marston decided to develop a new superhero.
In the early 1940s the DC line was dominated by superpowered male characters such as the Green Lantern, Batman, and its flagship character, Superman. According to the Fall 2001 issue of the Boston University alumni magazine, it was his wife Elizabeth's idea to create a female superhero:
Marston introduced the idea to Max Gaines, co-founder (along with Jack Liebowitz) of All-American Publications (Marston's pseudonym, Charles Moulton, combined his own and Gaines' middle names). Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with Elizabeth (whom Marston believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman). Marston was also inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship. Both women served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced the character's creation. Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), scripted by Marston and with art by Harry G. Peter.
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 and reliable than men, and could work more efficiently.
"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston wrote. Although Gloria Steinem placed Wonder Woman on the first standalone cover of Ms. in 1972, Marston, writing in an earlier time, designed Wonder Woman to represent a particular form of female empowerment. Feminism argues that women are equal to men and should be treated as such; Marston's representative of femininity is a 6-foot-tall Amazon wielding a golden lasso that forces obedience of those encircled. In Marston's mind, women not only held the potential to be as good as men: they could be superior to men.
In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:
During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the first female member; albeit as the group's secretary (the custom was for characters with their own books to hold honorary membership only).
Evolution of the character
Initially, Wonder Woman is 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 fight the evil of the Nazis and other crime.
During the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped, along with other characters during the era. The new origin story , increased the character's Hellenic roots, receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Hermes."
At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrenders her powers to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. A mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquires a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learns martial arts and weapons skills, and engages in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology.
The character would later return to her superpowered roots and the World War II-era, (due to the popularity of the Wonder Woman TV series), in Justice League of America and the eponymous title, respectively.
Following the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series, George Pérez and Greg Potter relaunched the character and wrote Wonder Woman as an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira to Patriarch's world, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world. In this revised continuity, basic keynotes of Wonder Woman's Golden and Silver Age origins are retained, such as her mystical creation and her besting her Amazon sisters for the right to become Themyscira's champion, though various elements were either expanded upon with greater depth, or altered altogether. Two of the more notable examples of these alterations would be the absence of the Diana Prince alter ego that had been embedded within the character's mythos since the Golden Age, as well as the re-introduction of Steve Trevor not as a young romantic interest for Wonder Woman, but as a Vietnam War veteran, roughly aged to his late forties who would come to share a sibling-like relationship with Diana and marry Etta Candy. Additionally, whereas Wonder Woman had previously operated out of Washington, D.C., in the post-crisis continuity, she originally was based in Boston, Massachusetts, and later, the fictional Gateway City, and eventually, New York City. On a more fundamental note, George Perez redefined her mission from being one less geared towards first-wave feminism for one governed by a third-wave feminist perspective. Though some of these changes to the character and her supporting cast created some controversy amongst fans, this thoughtfully re-imagined Wonder Woman proved to be successful enough to sustain itself, and despite some retconning that has taken place since George Perez's departure from the title in 1991, it still serves mainly as the basic template for the modern age version of the character and her supporting cast.
Diana's relationship with her mother, Queen Hippolyta, continues to evolve. The two were close when the series was relaunched in the '80s, but the relationship would become strained when Diana finds that her mother, in reaction to a prophetic vision, had arranged for Artemis of the rival Bana-Mighdall Amazon tribe to replace Diana as Wonder Woman so that she would die in Diana's stead against the villain known as the White Magician (ironically, while Artemis did die for a length of time, a result of Hippolyta's machinations would later indirectly result in Diana's death at the hands of the demonic Neron). The two would eventually reconcile after a period of time, though the abuse of power did remain a blight on Hippolyta's rule until the eventual abolishment of the Themysciran monarchy, which also marked a time of contention between Diana and her mother. Shortly following these events, Hippolyta tragically died in battle with an Imperiex probe in the 2001 crossover storyline, Our Worlds at War. She was later brought back to life by Circe in 2007's Amazons Attack!, but her actions during this storyline would see her exiled to Themyscira and the Amazons stripped of their history by the Gods. Diana and her mother are on speaking terms once again. She has recently brought home Thomas Tressor, better known as Nemesis, to meet Hippolyta. During this meeting it is revealed that Hippolyta has agreed with Diana's choice of a mate and made him a member of the Amazons. Her final comments before the couple leave the island is she hopes for Diana and Thomas to have many children as quickly as possible.
Final Crisis
Diana was brainwashed by the Anti-Life Equation and grotesquely deformed by the Morticoccous virus in Final Crisis #3. She served as the new leader of Darkseid's Female Furies in their quest to hunt down super-heroes and super-villains who escaped Darkseid's clutches and wears a mask/helmet resembling both an ape and a wild boar.
Powers and abilities
Pre-Crisis
Originally, Wonder Woman owed her abilities to the goddess Aphrodite creating Amazons superior to men, with Diana being the best of their best.
The Golden Age Wonder Woman was later updated by Marston to be able to will a tremendous amount of brain energy into her muscles and limbs by Amazon training, which endowed her with extraordinary strength and agility (Sensation Comics #46, Oct. 1945); this was later reconfirmed by writer Robert Kanigher in the Silver Age (Wonder Woman v1 #160, Feb. 1966). The TV series show took up this notion; "... we are able to develop our minds and physical skills ..." ["Fausta: The Nazi Wonder Woman" 1976]; and in the first episode of Super Friends [1973] Diana states to Aquaman "... the only thing that can surpass super strength is the power of the brain". In early Wonder Woman stories, Amazon training involves strengthening this ability using pure mental energy. Her powers would be removed in accordance with "Aphrodite's Law" if she allowed herself to be bound or chained by a male.
With the inclusion of Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot in Diana's back-story, writers provided new explanations of her powers; the character became capable of feats which her sister Amazons could not equal. Wonder Woman Volume One #105, reveals that Diana was formed from clay by the Queen of the Amazons and was imbued with the attributes of the Greek gods by Athena - "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules." Wonder Woman's Amazon training also gave her limited telepathy, profound scientific knowledge, and the ability to speak every language known to man.
Although Wonder Woman’s mythos was returned to its original interpretation between 1966 and 1967, new abilities were added: super breath (to blow jet streams or transform water into snow); ventriloquism; imperviousness to extremes of heat and cold; ride the air currents as if flying; mental telepathy (even to project images); microscopic vision; the ability to vibrate into another dimension, and others which are listed in the Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Two (1976).
Depending on the writer, Diana's invulnerability and power varied greatly with the story needs.
Post-Crisis
Wonder Woman's body is a mystical creation made from the clay surrounding Themyscira. Through divine means, her disembodied soul was nurtured in and retrieved from the Well of Souls. Once the soul was placed into the body it immediately came to life, and was blessed with metahuman abilities by six Olympian deities.
Demeter, the Goddess of agriculture and fertility, blessed Diana with strength drawn from the Earth spirit Gaea, making her one of the physically strongest heroes in the DCU . She has been observed assisting in preventing large chunks of the Moon from crashing onto the Earth, supporting the weight of bridges,, hefting entire railroad trains and she has even managed to physically overpower Supergirl.
While not invulnerable, she is quite durable , capable of shrugging off high powered rifle fire with some pain but no injury, and even capable of surivivng a warp core explosion. She is even durable enough to survive the depths of space for a period of time before running out of breath.
Aphrodite, the Goddess of love and beauty, blessed Diana with great beauty and a loving heart.
Pallas Athena, the Goddess of wisdom and war, granted Diana great wisdom, intelligence and military prowess. It is Athena’s gift that has enabled Diana to master over a dozen languages (including those of alien origin), multiple complex crafts, sciences and philosophies, as well as her amazon legacy of over 3000 years of leadership, military strategy, and armed and unarmed combat. More recently Athena bound her own eyesight to Diana's, granting her increased empathy.
Artemis, Goddess of the hunt, animals and the Moon, graced Diana with the Eyes of the Hunter and Unity with Beasts. The Eye of the Hunter ability gives Diana a full range of enhanced senses. Unity with Beasts grants her the ability to communicate with all forms of animal life, as well as to calm even the most ferocious of beasts.
Hermes, the messenger God of speed, granted Diana superhuman speed, and the ability to fly. Through the an act of concentration, Diana can mystically defy the laws of gravity and propel herself through the air to achieve flight. She is capable of flying up to sublight speeds. She is swift enough to deflect bullets, lasers and other projectiles with her virtually impenetrable bracelets.
Skills
Diana is an above Olympic-level athlete and acrobat. The “daughter” of more than 4000 warriors, Diana has been trained since infancy in the 3000 year old Amazon legacy of armed and unarmed combat. She is an accomplished military strategist, and highly skilled in using her golden lasso.
Weapons
Diana has an arsenal of powerful God-forged weapons at her disposal but her signature weapons are her indestructible Vambraces of the Aegis and the Lasso of Truth.
The Vambraces, sometimes called bracelets, were formed from the remnants of Zeus' legendary Aegis shield at the request of Athena to be awarded to her champion. These forearm guards have thus far proved indestructible, and can absorb the impact of incoming attacks, such as deflecting automatic weapons or energy blasts.
Diana can also slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force, capable of making Superman's ears bleed.
The Lasso of Truth, or Lariat of Hestia, was forged by Hephaestusfrom the golden girdle of Gaea. It possesses limitless length and virtually indestructibility , although it has been broken on occasion, such as by the Rama Khan of Jarhanpur, and by Bizarro.
The Lasso burns with a magical aura called the Fires of Hestia, forcing anyone within the Lasso's confines to be truthful. Diana wields it with great precision and accuracy, and can use it as a whip or noose.
Wonder Woman's golden tiara has also doubled as a dagger and a throwing weapon, returning to her like a boomerang. It is sharp enough to cut even Superman.
Diana once possessed the Sandals of Hermes which granted the wearer great speed and flight. They were passed on first to Artemis, and later to Wonder Girl.
Diana also possesses the Gauntlets of Atlas, which magnifies the physical strength and stamina of the wearer.
The Golden Age and Silver Age Wonder Woman used an invisible airplane that could be controlled by mental commands. It was variously described as being either a creation of Amazon technology, or alternately the legendary winged horse Pegasus transformed into an aircraft. Its appearance varied as well, originally having a propeller and later being drawn as a jet aircraft, resembling a fighter plane.
The Post-Crisis Wonder Woman has at her disposal a small lightweight disc of alien (Lansinar) technology that, when triggered by her thoughts, transforms into a transparent version of whatever object or vehicle that is appropriate for her needs. However, following the One Year Later continuity jump, Diana was given a new invisible plane, created by Wayne Industries, because her original Invisible Plane was stuck on Themyscira.
Diana occasionally uses additional weaponry in formal battle, such as ceremonial golden armor complete with golden wings, war-skirt and chest-plate, and a golden helmet in the shape of an Eagle's head. She also possesses a sword (also forged by Hephaestus) that is sharp enough to cut the electrons off of an atom.
In other media
- See also: Justice League in other media
TV series
A television series based on Wonder Woman aired for three seasons from 1975-1979. The series starred Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman.
Animated film
A direct-to-video animated film adaptation of Wonder Woman was released on March 3, 2009 on DVD and Blu-ray disc as part of the DC Universe Original Animated Movies series produced by DC Comics animation veteran Bruce Timm and released by Warner Bros. The film stars Keri Russell as Wonder Woman and is directed by Lauren Montgomery. It feature Russell's Waitress costar Nathan Fillion as Steve Trevor, as well as Alfred Molina, Rosario Dawson, and Virginia Madsen.
Undeveloped projects
Live action film
In January 2001, producer Joel Silver approached Todd Alcott to write a Wonder Woman screenplay, with Silver Pictures backing the project. Early gossip linked actresses such as Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock, Rachel Bilson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones to the role of Wonder Woman. Leonard Goldberg, speaking in a May 2001 interview, named Sandra Bullock as a strong candidate for the project. Bullock claimed that she was approached for the role, while wrestler Chyna expressed interest. Turning down the part in the past, Lucy Lawless indicated that she would have been more interested if Wonder Woman was portrayed as a "flawed hero." The screenplay then went through various drafts written by Alcott, Jon Cohen, Becky Johnston, and Philip Levens. By August 2003, Levens was replaced by screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis.
| "Besides [Wonder Woman's] great origin story, there's nothing from the comics that felt right 100 percent, no iconic canon story that must be told. Batman has it made — he's got the greatest rogues gallery ever, he's got Gotham City. The Bat writes himself. With Wonder Woman, you're writing from whole cloth, but trying to make it feel like you didn't. To make it feel like it's existed for 60 years, even though you're making it up as you go along. But who she, and what the movie, is about, thematically, has never been a problem for me. But the steps along the way, it could be so easy for them to feel wrong. I won't settle. She wouldn't let me settle." | | — Joss Whedon in November 2006, explaining the delay in developing a proper script. |
In March 2005, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures announced that Joss Whedon would write and direct the film adaptation of Wonder Woman. Whedon's salary was reported to be between $2 to $3 million. Since Whedon was directing Serenity at the time, and required time to research Wonder Woman's background, he did not begin the screenplay until late 2005. According to Joel Silver, the script would cover Wonder Woman's origin and include Steve Trevor: "Trevor crashes on the island and they go back to Man's World." Silver wanted to film Wonder Woman in Australia once the script was completed. While Whedon stated in May 2005 that he would not cast Wonder Woman until he finished the script, Charisma Carpenter and Morena Baccarin expressed interest in the role.
After being handed the role of script-writer for close to two years though, Whedon still had not managed to write an actual script. "It was in an outline, and not in a draft, and they [studio executives] didn't like it. So I never got to write a draft where I got to work out exactly what I wanted to do." In February 2007, Whedon departed from the project, citing script differences with the studio. Whedon reiterated: "I never had an actress picked out, or even a consistent front-runner. I didn't have time to waste on casting when I was so busy air balling on the script." Whedon stated that with the Wonder Woman project left behind, he would focus on making his film Goners.
"I would go back in a heartbeat if I believed that anybody believed in what I was doing. The lack of enthusiasm was overwhelming."
A day before Whedon's departure from Wonder Woman, Warner Bros. and Silver Pictures purchased a spec script written by Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland. Set during World War II, the script impressed executives at Silver Pictures. However, Silver has made clear that he purchased the script because he didn't want it floating around in the industry; although it has good ideas, he doesn't wish for the Wonder Woman film to be a period piece. By April 2008, Silver hired Jennison and Strickland to write a new (modern day) script that would not depict Wonder Woman's origin, but explore Paradise Island's history.
According to an August 2008 article in The Wall Street Journal, featuring Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov speaking about their DC property films, a Wonder Woman film is among other superhero films currently in "active development." Beyoncé Knowles is interested in the role.
Justice League film
A Justice League film was slated for a 2009 release, before being put on indefinite hiatus in April 2008. It was based upon the DC Comics publication, the Justice League which has included a number of superheroes in the past including Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Atom, Hawkman, Black Canary, and Captain Marvel. An October 29, 2007 article quoted Joel Silver as stating that due to the impending release of Justice League, the Wonder Woman film will be placed on moratorium:
- 'They're going to make the Justice League movie, and we're kind of pausing on Wonder Woman now [...] Let them go ahead and do that picture [first]' [...] The Amazon superhero from the DC Comics series will be a major part of the upcoming JLA. 'And if that comes together, Wonder Woman will be a part of that story,' Silver said. 'And then we'll see where we go from there. But we struggled with it for a while. I hope that we can solve it and make it one day.'
A number of actresses had reportedly been under consideration for the role of Wonder Woman in the Justice League film. Jessica Biel was approached for the role, but passed on it, while Missy Peregrym, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Teresa Palmer, Shannyn Sossamon, and Christina Milian expressed interest. It had been reported that Australian supermodel Megan Gale was cast as the heroine. In early January 2008, it was reported that production of the JLA film was delayed due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. When asked if the film would still affect the solo Wonder Woman movie in April 2008, Silver said it would not as the Justice League film had been put on indefinite hold. In August 2008, however director George Miller as well as actress Megan Gale confirmed that the film was still on, with a plan to resume filming in 2009.
In an article in The Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros. president Jeff Robinov said that they are interested in doing a Justice League film, but confirmed that the project that had been in development had been shelved. They are currently focusing on solo films for their DC properties.
See also
Bibliography
- Wonder Woman (Vol. 1) # 1 - 329 (Summer, 1942 - February 1986)
- Wonder Woman (Vol. 2) # 1 - 226 (February 1987 - April 2006), #0 (October 1994), #1,000,000 (November 1998)
- Annuals 1 - 8 (1988-1999)
- Special 1 (1992)
- Wonder Woman Vol. 3 # 1 (August 2006-present)
- Les Daniels, Wonder Woman: The Complete History, (Chronicle Books, 2000).
- Michael L. Fleisher (with the assistance of Janet E. Lincoln), The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Volume 2: Wonder Woman, (DC Comics, 2007; orig. pub. 1976).
- Joshua Glen, " The Boston Globe, 4 April 2004.
- Malcom, Andrew H."". The New York Times. 18 February 1992.
- Marguerite Lamb, " Boston University, Fall 2001.
- Richard, Olive. . Family Circle, 14 August 1942.
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