Here is a Wonder Woman story I reblogged from "Pappy's Golden Age Blog". It was originally published in 1954 in WONDER WOMAN # 68.
Pappy's Golden Age Blog may be seen at http://pappysgoldenage.blogspot.com/
Wonder Woman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wonder Woman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wonder Woman | |
 | Cover for Wonder Woman #1 (1942). Art by Harry G. Peter. |
| Series publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Fantasy, superhero |
| Publication date | (vol. 1) Summer 1942 – February 1986 (vol. 2) February 1987 – April 2006 (vol. 3) August 2006 – July 2010 (vol. 1 cont.) August 2010 – October 2011 (vol. 4) September 2011 – Present |
| Number of issues | (vol. 1): 329 (vol. 2): 226 (+ 8 Annuals, 1 Special) (vol. 3): 44 (+ 1 Annual) (vol. 1 cont.): 15 (vol. 4): |
| Main character(s) | Princess Diana of Themyscira |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | (vol. 1) William Moulton Marston, Mike Sekowsky, Robert Kanigher, Martin Pasko, Gerry Conway, Dan Mishkin (vol. 2) Len Wein, George Pérez, Mindy Newell, William Messner-Loebs, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez, Greg Rucka (vol. 3) Allan Heinberg, Gail Simone (vol. 1 cont.) J. Michael Straczynski (vol. 4) Brian Azzarello |
| Penciller(s) | (vol. 1) Harry G. Peter, Ross Andru, Mike Sekowsky, Dick Giordano, John Rosenberger, Jose Delbo, Gene Colan (vol. 2) George Pérez, Chris Marrinan, Mike Deodato, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez (vol. 3) Terry Dodson, Aaron Lopresti (vol. 1 cont.) Don Kramer (vol. 4) Cliff Chiang |
| Inker(s) | (vol. 1) Mike Esposito, Dick Giordano, Vince Colletta (vol. 2) Bruce Patterson, Andy Lanning (vol. 3) Rachel Dodson, Matt Ryan |
| Colorist(s) | (vol. 2) Carl Gafford (vol. 3) Alex Sinclair |
Wonder Woman is a warrior princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by Marston, an American, as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men." [2] Known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira, her powers include superhuman strength, flight (even though the original Wonder Woman did not have this ability), super-speed, super-stamina, and super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses animal-like cunning skills and a natural rapport with animals, which has been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to tell the truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in some stories, an invisible airplane.
Created during World War II, the character was initially depicted fighting the Axis military forces, as well as an assortment of supervillains. In later decades, some writers maintained the World War II setting, with many of its themes and story arcs, while others updated the series to reflect the present day. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society (from 1941) and Justice League (from 1960). Arguably the most popular and iconic female superhero in comics, Wonder Woman is also considered a feminist icon.[2] She was named the 20th greatest comic book character by Empire magazine.[3] She was ranked sixth in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.[4]
In addition to the comics, the character has appeared in other media; most notably, the 1975–1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter, as well as animated series 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 has yet emerged from development hell. An animated film was released in 2009, with Keri Russell voicing the title role. In 2011, Adrianne Palicki starred in a failed pilot for a would-be series about the character.
In May 2011, Wonder Woman placed fifth on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.[5]
Publication history
Main article: Publication history of Wonder Woman
Creation
In an October 25, 1940 interview 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.[6] 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 decided to develop a new superhero. Family Circle published a follow-up article two years later from issue of the Boston University alumni magazine, it was Marston's wife Elizabeth's idea to create a female superheroine:Marston introduced the idea to Gaines, co-founder of All-American Publications. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with Elizabeth, whom Marston believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman.[7] Marston was also inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship.[8] Both women served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced the character's creation.[7] 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.[9]
"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston wrote.[1] 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 on those it encircles.[neutrality is disputed] In Marston's mind, women not only held the potential to be as good as men but to be superior to men.[original research?]
In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:
During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the female member,[10] albeit as the group's secretary, since the custom was that characters who had their own comic books would hold only honorary membership.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.
Evolution of the character
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During the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped,[11] 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 "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Hermes."[12]
At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Becoming a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquired a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learned martial arts and weapons skills and engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology.
Due in part to popular demand -- including Gloria Steinem choosing to feature the original super-powered version of Wonder Woman on the cover of the first issue of her Ms. Magazine -- in the early 1970s the character returned to her superhero roots in Justice League of America and to the World War II era in her own title.
Following the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter relaunched the character, writing 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 August 2010 (issue #600), DC Comics replaced the character's iconic stars-and-stripes singlet with a blue jacket (later discarded), red and gold top and dark pants, retaining only her tiara and lasso.[13]
In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications to attract a new generation of readers. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman wears a costume similar to her original costume. Also, her origin is significantly changed and she is no longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods. Instead, she is a demigoddess, the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus.
Powers and abilities
Originally, Wonder Woman owed her abilities to the goddess Aphrodite creating Amazons superior to men, with Diana being the best of their kind.
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 because of her Amazon training, endowing her with extraordinary strength and speed. According to her first appearance, she is stronger and more agile than a hundred of the best human athletes. In Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942), she is able to tear a steel door off its hinges. In one of her earliest appearances, she is shown running easily at 60 mph.[14] In the same comic, she jumps from a building and lands on the balls of her feet. She can even type at a rate of over 160 words a minute during a test given to her. It was implied, and ultimately confirmed, that any woman who underwent Amazon training would gain superhuman strength.[15] The TV series took up this notion,[16] and in the first episode of Super Friends, Diana states to Aquaman, "...the only thing that can surpass super strength is the power of the brain." In early Wonder Woman stories,[17] 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. However the effects of this varied.[18]
In the television series, her magic belt allowed her to retain her powers when she was not on Paradise Island; removing it weakened her.[16] Also, she had no powers when she was her alter ego Diana Prince; there was no given explanation for this.
In the comic books, 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 (vol. 1) #105 reveals that Diana was formed from clay by the Queen of the Amazons and was imbued with the attributes of the Greek and Roman gods by Athena — "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules."[12] Wonder Woman's Amazon training also gave her limited telepathy, profound scientific knowledge,[12] and the ability to speak every language known to man and beyond. She was even fluent in caveman[12][19] and Martian.[19]
Although Wonder Woman's mythos was returned to its original interpretation between 1966 and 1967, new abilities were added: super breath, the ability to blow jet streams or transform water into snow, which apparently came from Hercules; ventriloquism; imperviousness to extremes of heat and cold; the ability to ride the air currents as if flying, even sensing air updrafts with her fingers; telepathy, including the ability to project images; microscopic vision; the ability to vibrate into another dimension; the ability to bestow wisdom to other beings; the ability to throw her tiara with such skill it could stop bullets; and others, according to the Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes.[20]
Depending on the writer, Diana's invulnerability and power varied greatly according to the needs of the story. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Robert Kanigher, for example, portrayed Wonder Woman as being so strong that she, after standing atop her hovering plane and lassoing it with her magic lasso, was able to effortlessly lift Themyscira out of the way of an approaching tsunami using just one hand. As prominently featured in all existing Wonder Woman Showcase (Volumes 1 to 4) her strength and even speed seem to be limitless. She could lift and throw buildings and houses. Lasso and swirl huge items like Ferris' wheels and Icebergs. She was able to make a coin into a bridge with her strength, or drill through a mountain within seconds, as well as hurl spaceships with enough accuracy she could bowl over a whole fleet. Her fingernails could cut through a steel door.[21] She was even able to flip straight over while nearly paralyzed, and split a tree falling on her with her Amazonian boots.[22] Kanigher showed Wonder Woman as a preteen able to lift whales, push a ship away from a whirlpool, and also as a toddler able to blow so hard on her birthday cake that she sent it into orbit.[23]
In the Silver and Bronze ages of comics, Wonder Woman was able to further increase her strength. She was unable to remove her bracelets without going insane. In times of great need, however, she would do just that, in order to temporarily augment her power tenfold. Since she would become a threat to friend and foe alike, she would use Amazonian berserker rage only as a weapon of last resort.[24]
Before Crisis on Infinite Earths there were two Wonder Women: the first one lived on Earth-Two; the second, on Earth-One. The first canonical appearance of the Earth-One Wonder Woman is Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #80 (February 1956). Their first published meeting is Justice League of America (vol. 1) #100 (August 1972); however, their earliest meeting within the DC continuity is Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #228 (February 1977), which takes place in 1943, prior to the events of the Justice League of America story.
Skills
All versions of Diana depict her as a masterful athlete, acrobat, fighter and strategist, trained and experienced in many ancient and modern forms of armed and unarmed combat, including exclusively Amazonian martial arts. Batman even noted that she is the greatest melee fighter of all. In some versions, her mother trained her, as Wonder Girl, for a future career as Wonder Woman. From the beginning, she is portrayed as highly skilled in using her Amazon bracelets to stop bullets and in wielding her golden lasso.[34] She is a superior warrior who has beaten Batman, Big Barda, and Black Canary in sparring matches.Weapons
Diana has an arsenal of powerful god-forged weapons at her disposal, but her signature weapons are her indestructible bracelets and the Lasso of Truth.Her bulletproof bracelets were formed from the remnants of Athena's legendary shield, the Aegis, to be awarded to her champion. The shield was made from the indestructible hide of the great she-goat, Amalthea, who suckled Zeus as an infant. These forearm guards have thus far proven indestructible and able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts.
The Lasso of Truth, or Lariat of Hestia, was forged by Hephaestus from the golden girdle of Gaea.[28] It is virtually indestructible;[28] the only times it has been broken were when truth itself was challenged, such as when she confronted Rama Khan of Jarhanpur,[38] and by Bizarro in Matt Wagner's non-canonical Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity.[39] In Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942), Hippolyta claims that not even Hercules can break it. The Lasso burns with a magical aura called the Fires of Hestia, forcing anyone within the Lasso's confines to be truthful. It also at one time had the power to force anyone caught to obey any command given them, even overriding other kinds of mind control; this was effective enough to defeat strong-willed beings like Captain Marvel.[40] Diana wields the lasso with great precision and accuracy and can use it as a whip or noose.
As early as the 1950s,[23] Wonder Woman's Golden Tiara has also doubled as a dagger and a throwing weapon, returning to her like a boomerang.[28] It is also possible for Diana to contact Amazons back on Paradise Island using the power of the star shaped, star ruby, in the center of her tiara.[35]
Diana once possessed the Sandals of Hermes, or talaria, which granted the wearer great speed and flight, and the ability to travel beyond the mystical veil that protected the island of Themiscyra from Man's World. They were passed on first to Artemis and later to Wonder Girl. Diana also once possessed the Gauntlets of Atlas, which magnify the physical strength and stamina of the wearer; they too were passed on.
The Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age portrayals of Wonder Woman showed her using an Invisible Airplane that could be controlled by mental command. It was variously described as being either a creation of Amazon technology or the legendary winged horse Pegasus transformed into an aircraft. Its appearance varied as well; originally it had a propeller, while later it was drawn as a jet aircraft resembling a fighter plane. The Modern Age Wonder Woman has continued to use the Invisible Plane, in the form of a small lightweight disc of alien (Lansinar) technology that, when triggered by her thoughts, transforms into a transparent version of whatever object or vehicle is appropriate for her needs. This disc was revealed to be a sentient life-form. 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 with golden wings, war-skirt, chest-plate, and a golden helmet in the shape of an eagle's head. She also possesses a sword forged by Hephaestus that is sharp enough to cut the electrons off an atom.[28]
As a recent temporary inductee into the Star Sapphires, Wonder Woman gained access to the violet power ring of love. This ring allowed her to alter her costume at will, create solid-light energy constructs, and reveal a person's true love to them. She was able to combine the energy with her lasso to enhance its ability.
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I removed all references to Wonder Woman killing people, making Superman's ears bleed, cutting Superman, etc. I have no idea why they'd do things like that.
I left in "Themyscira" for "Paradise Island", because that is evidently the term that is now in use. Since I don't read the modern comics, it's not the term I'm familiar with. I would have said "Paradise Island".
Occasionally you see where someone claims that stopping bullets with her bracelets would shatter Wonder Woman's wrist bones. This is something like saying you'd suffer broken bones even if you wore a bullet proof vest. The real problem would be that it isn't possible to block bullets that accurately by moving a small shield around in front of you.
Wonder Woman's secret identity is Diana Prince- it's really a secret identity she borrowed from the real Diana Prince.
Wonder Woman and the Holliday Girls.
The Holliday Girls were briefly revived in the 1960's.
Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor.
[left to right] William Moulton Marston, Harry G. Peter, Sheldon Mayer and Max Gaines (1942)
Robert Kanigher was an editor on Wonder Woman. Here we see Kanigher with the Amazing Amazon and some of his other other characters, including Sgt. Rock and Easy Company, Enemy Ace, Hawkman, The Flash, and the Metal Men.
Mike Sekowsky and the model he drew as Wonder Woman.
Lydnda Carter as Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman triumphs over the "crisis".
Wonderland:
http://www.wonderland-site.com/
Wonder Woman Museum:
http://www.wonderwomanmuseum.com/
Wonder Woman Online:
http://www.wonderwoman-online.com/
Wonder Woman on Wikipedia:
Wonder Woman Wonderland ( Yahoo Club ):
