Clad in red, white and blue, whip in hand, Wonder Woman has become the regular for modern female superhero. Wonder woman has a very interesting back story, and an even more interesting publishing history.

Wonder woman first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December of 1941. Like many heroes of the time, she wore the colors red, white and blue, obviously based on the American flag. Her whip forces those caught in it to tell the truth, and her gauntlets can reflect bullets. Its a pretty great combo.

the reason for the whip is actually a very interesting one. During WW1, William Marston (the creator of the character) worked on the systolic blood-pressure test while a graduate student in psychology at Harvard University where he earned a Ph.D. in 1921. Blood pressure was one of the elements used in polygraphs, and the research done by Marston was used help with polygraph tests. This is all rather coincidental, since according to Marston, this actually had nothing to do with the Lasso of Truth. turns out, he made it as an allegory to feminine charm.

What Wonder Woman represents, is much more interesting though. Like any Amazon, Wonder Woman is a strong, independent woman who don’t need no man. Wonder Woman symbolizes many of the values of the women’s culture that feminists are trying to introduce into the mainstream: strength and self-reliance for women; sisterhood and mutual support among women; peacefulness and esteem for human life; a diminishment both of “masculine” aggression and of the belief that violence is the only way of solving conflicts.

Wonder Woman’s history in terms of feminism is certainly interesting. When She was fist being written, Wonder woman was a strong individual that certainly embodied feminist attitudes. When writers changed, so did the attitude to what Wonder Woman represented. Before going on hiatus in 1986, wonder Woman became a joke. One of her enemies was basically an Egg with a mustache. I wish I was kidding, but trust me, it exists. Because of the terrible writing of this period, Wonder woman was taken out of print.

So why is Wonder Woman part of the Hero’s Journey blog? Like all the others here, she has her own journey like any other hero. Born on the fictional Paradise Island, She would meet Captain Steve Trevor after his plane crashed on the hidden isle of women. Against the Amazon code, she would fall in love with a man. To decide who will return Trevor home, the queen of the Amazons holds a completion to decide who is most fit for the task. Naturally, wonder Woman is the victor and goes the States to fulfill her mission. She ends up trading places with a woman called Diana Prince to work closely with Trevor. One thing leads to another, and Diana and Trevor go on a bunch of adventures including defeating Nazi forces and much more.

Diana Prince is once again back, and bigger than ever. With Gal Gadot taking up the mantle of Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman, the princess of power is back and better than ever.