Introduced in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941, Wonder Woman has endured multiple interpretations and adaptations since her inception. The details of her abilites, relationships and origin have changed and evolved over time. Intitially, Wonder Woman is an Amazon champion, armed with bulletproof bracelets, magic lasso, and Amazonian training, who wins the right to return Steve Trevor to "Man's World" and fight the evil of the Nazis. While Wonder Woman fights both Nazis and crime, her appearances had a noted sexual subtext, leading to debates over whether it provided an outlet for Dr. Marston's sexual fantasies or whether it was meant to appeal or influence, the developing sexuality of young readers.
During this period Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the first female member; albeit as the group's secretary, despite being one of the most powerful members.
During the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped, along with other characters during the era. The new origin story, increased the characters Hellenistic 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 Mercury".
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 super-powered 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.
Originally, Wonder Woman was 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. The TV series 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 backstory, 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."
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).
Diana possesses a host of superhuman powers granted to her by the gods and goddesses of Olympus, gifts which have been stated to be equal to their own abilities. Primary among these are superhuman strength and stamina, which she draws from a mystical link to the Earth itself granted by Demeter.
Diana is one of the strongest and most powerful superheroes in the DC Universe. Her stamina affords her an incredible degree of resistance to blunt force trauma. However, Diana's skin is not invulnerable and can be pierced by sharp projectiles.
Diana has heightened resistance to magical attacks and manipulation. She is experienced in battling foes who use sorcery as a weapon. She heals at an accelerated rate due to her superhuman metabolism. She is a master of armed and unarmed combat, proficient with nearly every weapon of her culture, especially the bow and the javelin. She has at times engaged in battle with beings such as Superman, Darkseid, or the Gods of Olympus and held her own against them.
She has enhanced senses, as well as being able to communicate with all forms of animals.
The God Hermes gifted Diana with the powers of super-human speed and unassisted flight. She possesses the "sight of Athena", or the gift of increased insight, allowing her to sense others' emotions, and is now fully immune to mind control.
Diana possesses great wisdom and intelligence, giving her heightened proficiency with languages, being able to speak her native Themysciran, Ancient and Modern Greek, English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese (she expressed "difficulty" with the tones of Cantonese during an interview with Lois Lane), Russian, and Hindi.
Wonder Woman is an accomplished strategist and tactician, leader, and diplomat. She has been shown to astrally project herself into various lands of myth. In some cases, she has shown the ability to place individuals into a state of sleep while under the power of her golden lasso. Queen Hippolyta used this technique on Diana herself during the Our Worlds at War event.
Wonder Woman was involved with the event Blackest Night. At the end of issue 5, Nekron, the Guardian of Death, resurrects Bruce Wayne, who releases a swarm of Black Lantern Rings which attach themselves to heroes who have died and were resurrected, which made Wonder Woman a Black Lantern. In issue 6, when each of the Corps were recruting a deputy member for 24 hours, Star Sapphire ring attached itself to Wonder Woman and expelled the Black ring from her, not only resurrecting her, but turning her into a Star Sapphire Corps member.
Starting with the renumbering of the Wonder Woman series, picking up from Volume 1 with the last chapter of issue #600 Diana's entire past was mysterious re-written in the Odyssey story arc. In this altered world Themyscira was destroyed and Hippolyta killed with the surviving Amazons relocating elsewhere taking young Diana with them. Diana grew up with no knowledge of what happened to her mother or her origin. Through meeting an Oracle, Diana discovers Themyscira was attacked and the Amazons slaughtered. She asks the oracle to show her how her mother died, and it was seen that Hippolyta has sacrificed herself and killed herself in the fire as to not reveal the whereabouts of her daughter. Diana helps to relocate other surviving Amazons after another attack is plotted against them, for the purpose of getting Diana out in the open. Diana's odyssey brings her in conflict with The Morrigan, two of a trinity of war goddesses related to the destruction of Themyscira, Annan, Bellona. The Diana in this continuity is the target of Maxwell Lord in Justice League Generation Lost who discovers no one has ever heard of her, to his bewilderment. Superman has recently met this version of Diana, but feels as if he knows her already, or at least some version of her.
The Morrigan sent a series of warriors and monsters after Diana in order to try and shape her to become more like them so she could become more like them and replace a fallen member of their trinity, Enyo, and make the Morrigan whole again.
Where the story stars a conventional force lead by the same immortal who killed Hippolyta and now held the golden lasso, attacks a hidden Amazon temple. Diana's aid is enough to allow the Amazon's to retreat and their leader is slain by her, avenging Hippolyta and returning the lasso to it's rightful hands, and with it Diana's own power increases and she gains the ability to fly. The Morrigan's ruthless attacks do not end there, and even Diana's mentor Philippus fell when the Morrigan sent a minor god, a centaur Huntsman, after Diana, as well as a minotaur who had once been an innocent and made to fight, to drive her further into anger and hatred.
The Morrigan then took three fallen Amazons and imbued them with the spirits of Artemis, Giganta, and Cheetah and turned them against the enclave of Amazons that sheltered Diana. Against the might of the three warriors they couldn't stand and all were slaughter, and Diana herself was badly injured, though escaped death thanks to the unlikely aid of Doctor Psycho, who's powers allowed him to realize the timeline had been altered.
Using his psychic abilities, Psycho showed visions of alternate timelines of Diana's life. He explained that she could become Wonder Woman, but it would have to be something she chose to be, and said he'd rather be part of her life, even as a villain, than the current state of the world.
Outside the visions, wounded, Diana was taken to a hospital where she quickly recovered. There she met an elderly patient at the hospital, one of the fates, Clotho, who explained she had giving Diana a 'backup' fate, so that when hers was severed, she would survive and be able to fight back against the forces who had done so, and that was Diana now. The fate then gave Diana a cloth she had spun, a blue and white starfield similar to her pre-Odyssey outfit, which Diana donned as a cap as Artemis, Giganta, and Cheetah returned.
Finding her strength had increased once more, Diana easily defeated the three empowered Amazons, and convinced them to surrender and join her to avenge all of their comrades rather than follow the Morrigan's way and die.
When the quartet attack, though, things go badly, as a sword stabs Diana shortly after she opens a door, transfixing her in place, and the other three die to the Morrigan, though in turn a second Morrigan, Bellona, dies to the treachery of their own warrior Ajax (New Earth), freed by Psycho, leaving only the strongest, their leader Annan. Diana is shown a vision of what could happen if the Morrigan's plan for her succeeds, and she sees herself clad in green, wielding the Flashing Blade and it's green flames and lightning, at the head of an army of the dead, marching over the Earth with a cause of justice untempered by mercy, and slaying even her friends the Justice League, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, and finally dispatching Superman himself after he tries to stop her.
As the vision ends, Annan begins torturing Diana with her powerful magic to force her to give in and join the Morrigan, but while doing so she overlooks that her powers had not quite killed Artemis, and the badly burned Amazon regained her bow and shot the goddess in the neck, making Annan to lose the ability to release her magic, causing her to explode.
In the rubble of their building, Diana grabs her lasso that leads her back to the door where the vision had come from, but before she passes through she is met by the Gods of Olympus, who tell her what happened; they are in exile out of fear of Nemesis, a goddess gone mad. Knowing that within her own realm, only the strongest heart could hope to stand against Nemesis, they task Diana to succeed where they cannot.
Climbing through the doorway to Nemesis's realm, Diana fights through constructs in the shape of the dead, only to meet something unexpected holding the other end of her lasso; Herself, Wonder Woman, in her traditional uniform but also holding the Flashing Blade, who attacks.
As they fight, the other Wonder Woman is clearly stronger, and chides Diana for talking instead of acting. Diana attempts to break through to her with words, but the other Wonder Woman decides to show her what is happened and cuts her, giving Diana a vision once again.
Before the Odyssey began, the Morrigan were gathering an army to attack Themyscira, and Wonder Woman confronted the three goddesses, but it was a lure by the evil Nemesis, Goddess of Retribution. Wonder Woman fought the three Morrigan, causing the death of Envo when she was thrown into the path of a blow from Bellona meant for Diana, but as the other two pressed the attack out of anger, Nemesis herself came fourth and attacked the already worn Wonder Woman, impaling her with her sword- identical to the one the Diana in the vision and false Wonder Woman carries- and the truth of who the other Wonder Woman was came out, as Nemesis's sword bestowed upon Diana not death, but instead allowed Nemesis to steal her life, her form, and her power and take them on herself. Only thanks to the meddling of Clotho did a sliver of Diana escape, and the new timeline was forged.
Back in the present, Nemesis explained that while her power was sufficient to fend off foes in her realm, she needed to scour humanity of it's valor and bring it's greatest warrior to heel, so that she could bring vengeance upon all who deserved it by ending humanity. With Wonder Woman's justice bent to vengeance and even her brought around to her way, nothing would be strong enough to stop the mad goddess's retribution. Diana rebuked that living among mortals didn't make her hate them, but Nemesis said it didn't matter and Diana'd become part of her now, impaling her with the sword once more.
Using Clotho's strand of fate, however, now close enough to do so, Diana freely merges with her old self and power, casting the spirit of Nemesis out, and declaring herself Wonder Woman once more. Wonder Woman then declared Nemesis's plan a mad scheme, as the soul of an Amazon could never be bent to her merciless hate and she would never be her champion.
Declaring she could die, Nemesis attacked once more in her own body, but this time Wonder Woman was strong enough to resist, not only now unwounded like when Nemesis attacked at the end of her battle with the Morrigan before, but with her new strength added to her old. Beating her down, Nemesis transformed by calling upon the strength of all murdered souls who cry out for vengeance, but Wonder Woman seizes her own sword and slays her with it. As Nemesis dies, Nemesis revealed Diana had passed a final test, and expressed joy that she would be freed in death, the cries of the murdered no longer roaring in her ears, while Diana would take her place to mete out punishment, and if Diana would not be her champion, she would take up her wrath and become the new Nemesis.
As Nemesis died, armor reminiscent of the armor in her first vision covers Diana, and the truth of Nemesis's words sink is, as she feels the pain of the unjustly killed that had driven Nemesis mad over thousands of years and filled her with her terrible strength. However, also within Diana's heart still resided the memories of those who loved her and turned to her for protection. Wonder Woman declared she would take Nemesis' place and be the new wielder of the Flashing Blade, but would also be it's last wielder, as she broke it over her knee.
With that, the spells and changes of fate on the rest of the world were broken, and Wonder Woman suddenly found herself on Themyscira, intact and whole, again, in the way of an archery contest between Artemis and Phillipus. She rushed forward and hugged Phillipus, then ran off to see her mother, leaving the two amazon warriors confused. Diana meets Hippolyta and the two talk, Hippolyta commenting on her new outfit, and Diana discusses the Odyssey she's been through. She also comments that she can feel there's another change coming, but Hippolyta reassures her that whatever change comes, Diana'll remain her daughter, they'll remain Amazons, and Diana'll always be Wonder Woman. Holding the words with her, Diana, Wonder Woman, then flies off into the sky.
Professor Zoom causes a massive time distortion that completely alters the timeline. In this alternate timeline, Wonder Woman is a brutal conqueror at war with Aquaman over the ravaged remains of Europe. Eventually the timeline is repaired, although the mysterious Pandora shapes it into a newer form.
Following changes to the timestream, Wonder Woman's origin was changed. While she had been taught since birth that she was a creation of clay, come to life by the power of her mother's need, it was not so. In reality, her mother had long ago had a tryst with Zeus, and their affair led to Diana's conception. The truth of her divinity was kept secret in order to protect Diana from the wrath of Hera, whose jealousy was notorious. When she discovered the truth, Wonder Woman cast off all other names, and chose never to return to Paradise Island.
Diana tries to reconcile with her mother, but unfortunately, Hera has turned the entire Amazon population to stone. Wonder Woman also comes to the help of Zola, a girl who is pregnant by Zeus' child. Hermes tells Wonder Woman that she must protect Zola from Hera. In order to do so, Wonder Woman asks the help of Lennox, an illegitimate child of Zeus and Diana's older brother. The four realize that Zeus has disappeared, leaving a power vacuum that other gods seek to fill. Poseidon and Hades attack Wonder Woman's group in London.
Wonder Woman and Lennox try to negotiate with the two gods. Using a distraction, Wonder Woman takes Hades's staff and teleports to Mount Olympus, where she swears retribution on Hera for what she did to her people. By the time Wonder Woman returns to London, however, Hades kidnaps Zola. Wonder Woman, Hermes and Lennox go to Italy to find Eros, so that he can take them to the realm of Hephaestus. Wonder Woman hopes Hephaestus will give them what they need in order to face Hades. The group travels to Mount Etna, where they are greeted by Hephaestus' labourers. Eros and Hephaestus explain that the labourers are in fact the discarded male children of the Amazons. Whenever Amazon children are born, the females are accepted while the males are thrown to sea. Hephaestus rescued them and raised them with love.
Wonder Woman, armed with Eros' guns, and Hermes travel to the Underworld. There, Hades says that he will give Zola to them if Diana makes a new deal with him. Their previous bargain dictated that he would be able to marry Hera as his new queen, but since Wonder Woman cannot convince Hera to do so, a new bargain must be made. Hades wants Eros' guns and Diana gives them to him. Receiving the guns, Hades returns Zola to Wonder Woman and Hermes. Suddenly, Hades shoots Wonder Woman in the heart, saying that she will be Hades' queen. Hermes and Zola are forced to leave Diana behind.
Diana is forced to go through the wedding. She also meets Persephone, Hades' first wife, who tried to escape by slitting her wrists. As she is taken to the altar, Hades creates a noose from her Lasso of Truth. Hades is confused whether Diana is feigning love towards him in order to protect Zola, so he will test her love. If she is dishonest, then she will be hanged and he will capture Zola.
As the lasso is placed around her neck, Diana says she truly loves Hades. Suddenly, she breaks free of her bonds, saying that she will not marry him, whether she loves him or not. Lennox and Hephaestus enter the underworld in order to help her. During the confrontation, Hephaestus tells Hades that Diana indeed loves Hades, just as she loves everyone. Wonder Woman says that even with Eros' guns, Hades cannot make anyone fall in love with him if he does not love himself. Hades allows the trio to leave the underworld, but not before Wonder Woman shoots Hades in the heart while he is staring at a mirror, hoping that he will finally love himself.
The group travels to Coloma, Michigan, just as Zola is about to give birth. Zola is taken to a doctor, but Apollo and Artemis arrive in order to kidnap Zola and the child. Although Wonder Woman, Lennox work together, the two gods defeat them and take Zola to Olympus. Wonder Woman and Hermes travel to Olympus, reaching Zeus's throne, where Hera has met up with Strife and Apollo.
Hera reveals that she had made a pact with Apollo in which he would get to be ruler of Olympus while she gets to destroy Zola and her child. Just as she is about to throw Zola off a cliff, Wonder Woman rescues her. Apollo becomes the new ruler of Olympus and exiles Hera. Wonder Woman gets Hermes to take Zola back to Earth so that she can deliver her child. Artemis attacks Wonder Woman again, but Wonder Woman removes her bracelets, easily defeating her foe. Apollo agrees to let Diana leave in peace, but he speaks of a prophecy in which the ruler of Olympus will be killed by a child of Zeus. If Zola's child turns out to be the one mentioned by the prophecy, Diana will kill the child herself. Wonder Woman returns to Earth and Zola gives birth to her child, but in that moment, Hermes takes the child and leaves. Wonder Woman swears to rescue the child and bring Hermes to justice.
Wonder Woman and Lennox agree to protect Zola and a now mortal Hera from Olympus. Lennox tells Diana that he knows of a child of Zeus who had been killed by Hera. Her name is Siracca, and she had been giving information to Lennox before he joined Diana. In order to find Siracca, Wonder Woman travels to Lybia, where she finds a child. Wonder Woman takes the child to an underground temple, where the child dissipates into a cloud of sand and attacks Diana, revealing herself to be Siracca.
Wonder Woman refuses to fight Siracca, as they have both been victimized by Hera. Instead she asks for her help to find Zola's child. Ceasing her attack, Siracca agrees to help. She says that her brother, Milan, might be able to help Wonder Woman. He lives in New York. Wonder Woman and Lennox travel to New York City. As their reach a subway tunnel, Hephaestus briefl appears before Diana and modifies her bracelets. Suddenly, she sees Lennox being threatened by Orion and prepares to fight. In that moment, her bracelets create two swords for her to wield. Before a fight breaks out, Milan appears and summons a swarm of insects from his mouth, enveloping everyone present.
