Every boy knew (and worshipped) Wonder Woman back in the day. Probably not many people today are aware that Wonder Woman is nearly as old as Batman himself -- it was in the early 1940s that William Moulton Marsten was hired as an educational consultant for the future DC Comics, and his wife, Elizabeth, suggested a female character for the role of the superhero that triumphs with love. Wonder Woman is a relic of the past, now, but we feel the time is right for a major revamp … and as such, we're looking at the history of those little Wonder Woman figures that still hold prized places in many homes.
The origins of Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman began as an Amazon champion, who initially came over to Man's World to return Steve Trevor, a crash-landed pilot. She stayed to fight Nazis and other crime -- she was a very topical superhero.
Origins revamped
Wonder Woman's origins were revamped, in classical Greek style, during the Silver Era of DC Universe legends. Diana received the blessings of deities while she was just a baby, and was destined to become as wise as Athena, as beautiful as Aphrodite, stronger than Hercules (wow!) and swifter than Mercury.
However, she gave up all of these birthrights in order to stay in Man's World, when her Amazon sisters returned to another dimension. Seems she had grown too fond of fighting crime! Her name was Diana Prince, and she was an ordinary mod boutique owner until her Chinese mentor named I Ching taught the Wonder Woman to be martials arts, weapons skills, and espionage.
After 1985, Wonder Woman was re-written as an emissary from Themyscira to 'Patriarch's World', as 'Man's World' had now been renamed. Her mission was to bring peace.
Wonder Woman's Powers
Wonder Woman's powers have come from a wide range of origins over the years. Some of these include:
- The ability to will brain energy into her limbs and muscles, giving her extraordinary strength and speed
- In the television series, her magic belt allowed her to retain her powers
- The blessings of the deities she received at birth was a later addition to her natural Amazonian powers.
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