Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a fictional DC Comics superheroine co-created by William Moulton Marston and wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston. Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (Dec. 1941). more...

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She is among the first — and most famous — comic book superheroines, and is written as a founding member of the Justice League.

In most adaptations, Wonder Woman is Princess Diana of the Amazon warrior tribe of Greek mythology, "Diana" being the Roman name for the Greek goddess Artemis on whom the character is based. The Amazon ambassador to the larger world, Diana was awarded several gifts by the Olympian gods, including the Lasso of Truth (created from the Golden Girdle of Gaea) and indestructible bracelets/gauntlets (formed from the shield Aegis). For several years she was described in the splash page of each story, as "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Mercury and stronger than Hercules."

Marston designed Wonder Woman to reflect his conception of an empowered independent female character, with several subsequent writers also working this idea into the character.

In addition to comic books, the character was featured in the popular 1975–79 television adaptation starring Lynda Carter, as well as the Super Friends and Justice League animated series. Plans for a motion picture adaptation are also underway.

History

Her origin and creator

In 1940, William Moulton Marston was an educational consultant for Detective Comics Inc (now DC Comics). Judging that the DC line was dominated by übermensch characters such as the Green Lantern, Batman and its flagship character, Superman, Marston decided to create a superheroine to serve as a female role model of sorts. He introduced the idea to Max Gaines, cofounder (along with Jack Liebowitz) of All-American Publications. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with his wife, Elizabeth (Sadie) Holloway Marston, who Marston believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman. In creating Wonder Woman, Marston was also inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship. Marston's pseudonym, Charles Moulton, combined his own and Gaines' middle names.

Marston was also 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.

In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:

Early days

Wonder Woman was introduced in All Star Comics (issue #8; Dec 1941), the second bestselling comic in DC's line. Following this auspicious debut, she was featured in Sensation Comics #1 (January 1942), and six months later appeared in her own book (Summer 1942). Wonder Woman was not the first comic book to star a female character: that distinction goes to the less popular, Canadian-produced Nelvana of the Northern Lights which inspired a short-lived comic strip. Until his death in 1947, Dr. Marston wrote all of the Wonder Woman stories. H.G. Peter pencilled the book, providing a simplistic yet identifiable style that distinguished it from the other superhero comic books.

Read more at Wikipedia.org