Know Your Heroes: 10 Things You Should Know About Wonder Woman

On March 25, 2016, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was released, and, all over the world, millions of fans were introduced to Gal Gadot as the Amazing Amazon. This summer, (and again in November) DC fans will get the chance to feel that love all over again. And all over the world, millions of fans will fall in love with Wonder Woman. Making her first DC Comics appearance in 1941’s All Star Comics #8, she has transformed into a larger-than-life pop culture phenomenon. As a founding member of the Justice League, she has become as recognizable as her counterparts Batman and Superman (the three of them are commonly referred to as DC’s Big Three).

Created to inspire women of all ages, Diana Prince has proven that females can kick as much butt and sell as many comics as the male superheroes. She is, more often than not, on the frontlines during attacks from armies determined to destroy the world as we know it. Her lasso of truth, indestructible shield, sword and bracelets, and even her tiara, paired with her quick and cunning mind on the battlefield, make her one of, if not the most powerful character in the 82-year history of DC Comics.

As loved and admired as Wonder Woman is as a hero under the DC creative umbrella, there are a few aspects of her history that often go unnoticed. Let’s take a look at some of the most impressive, but unknown, parts of her overall story.

1. The man who created her also helped created the Polygraph test.

William Moulton Marston is widely credited as being the mastermind behind the creation of Wonder Woman in the early 1940s. During this time, Superman, Green Lantern and Batman ruled the pages of DC Comics, and the comic industry as a whole suffered from a lack of female representation. During a creative session, Marston had the idea to create a hero with more brain than brawn, but could easily hold their own if it came to a fight. His wife, Elizabeth, was there while he was brainstorming and told him to make her a woman as a favor to her, and the rest is history. Years before he was creating a character that would change the landscape of superhero characters for the rest of eternity, Marston created the systolic blood pressure test, which helped discover the link between emotion and blood pressure levels, and eventually became a key component to the first modern polygraph. No wonder one of her weapons is the lasso of truth.

2. She is the daughter of Zeus.

When Wonder Woman was first introduced to the DC Universe, she was born from a clay figure that was brought to life by the magic of the gods. She shows up to save Steve Trevor (played by Chris Pine in 2017’s Wonder Woman) after his plane crashed in the Amazonian homeland of Themyscira. She was a strong Amazon warrior, bred to fight the good fight and rid the world of threats too great for anyone else to conquer. Well, in 2011, as a part of the drastic and controversial reboot of DC Comics’ entire line of publications, Wonder Woman’s origin was completely altered. Now, instead of being a former clay figure blessed with life, she is now a goddess and the biological daughter of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, and Zeus, king of the gods. She was born to rule a kingdom, but instead, she chooses to be a warrior and protect the human race from evil.

 3. She is seemingly immortal.

As mentioned above, Wonder Woman is the princess of the Amazons, which is an immortal race of super-women from a mystical island not found on modern maps or GPS systems. While it is never made clear by writers of her stories, evidence points to her being around for quite some time. She is the daughter of Zeus, which should make her an immortal demigod. In stories, she is often quoted telling tales of events and disasters she encountered hundreds of years ago. One particular story shows a glimpse into the Justice League’s future, and, while Superman is drawn to have gray hairs and a long gray beard, Wonder Woman looks exactly the same as she did years prior. In the aforementioned New 52 reboot of DC Comics, she is only 23 years old, but in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, she says she “left the troubles of Earth over 100 years ago.” It is currently being speculated among fans that she is going to be confirmed to be almost 2,000 years old in the DC Extended Universe (similar to Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe).

4. Her secret identity is actually a completely different person.

During Wonder Woman’s first journey to the United States to look after her beloved Steve Trevor, she comes across a distraught and crying woman named Diana Prince. She stops to check on the woman and finds out that she is an army nurse who is crying because she wishes to follow the man she loves to South America but can’t due to lack of funds. Coincidentally, Wonder Woman and Nurse Prince looked strikingly similar, and they both struck a deal for Wonder Woman to supply the money to pay for Diana’s trip if she poses as Diana Prince and works as an army nurse for the following years.

5. She served as the Justice League’s secretary.

After the overwhelming demand for Wonder Woman to join the famous team of DC heroes in the comics, she was finally permitted to join the ranks of the early version of the Justice League, the Justice Society. The team included the Atom, the Flash, Green Lantern and Hawkman, and while her abilities were more than enough to earn her a place on the battlefield among the men, the 1940s were, unfortunately, a different time. Wonder Woman, now celebrated and praised as a feminist hero, was subjugated to replying to the men’s mail and answering phone calls for quite some time. The most powerful female hero in history was once Hawkman’s secretary.

6. Her powerful bracelets keep the full strength of her powers restrained.

For years, Wonder Woman’s bracelets were no more than an added offensive and defensive weapon to use against her enemies. They were fabled as being the remains of Zeus’ powerful shield and were virtually unbreakable. She has shown her astonishing ability to use these bracelets to block gunshots and ray blasts with extraordinary and unmatched precision and skill. In the rebooted New 52 continuity, Wonder Woman removes her bracelets to battle Artemis, the Goddess of the hunt, forests, and hills, the moon and archery. She takes her bracelets off in order to unleash the full potential of her powers. However, those unattainable and unparalleled powers have yet to be explored and are now known, among fans, as “Full God Mode.”

7. Her tiara is strong/sharp enough to slice Superman’s skin.

“Tell me. Do you bleed?” Maxwell Lord is one of the most formidable arch enemies of the Justice League. His powers include extremely powerful mind control, and he is respected as one of the greatest masterminds in the entire DC Universe. During one particular battle between the Justice League and Lord, he uses his powers to take over the mind of Superman. Bad news for all involved parties. Superman turns into a savage and starts obliterating his friends because Lord is forcing him to. Being the last hero standing during the fight, she finds a way to hogtie Lord in her lasso of truth. After subduing the opponent, she turns her attention to Superman, launching her famed golden tiara at his throat and slicing it clean. In a world where the only substance in the universe that can harm Superman is Kryptonite, it was a shocking and mind-blowing development to see Wonder Woman able to use one of her weapons to take down the Man of Steel.

8. She is a feminist.

Feminism is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. For decades, women from all walks of life have joined together in order to be provided the same basic human rights that men have been afforded since the beginning of recorded history. Widely considered the first and the greatest female hero of all time, Wonder Woman has been an unofficial face of the feminist agenda for a very long time. During her 82 years as a staple of DC Comics, she has been the voice of the voiceless on several different occasions. She has ran for president of the United States twice, been used in campaigns to get women to enlist, and she even has gone well out of her way to inspire and motivate women in the DC Universe to not be damsels in distress, and to instead take up their own swords and show men that they are just as capable and willing to fight to survive as men are.

 9. Technically, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was not her first theatrical film appearance.

While Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice can tout the first live-action appearance of Diana Price, it is not the first time Wonder Woman has appeared on the big screen. In 2014, The Lego Movie was released and featured a bevy of DC characters reimagined in the world of Legos. Batman played such a pivotal role in the film that he is being given his own spinoff. This animated adventure is actually the first time viewers were introduced to Wonder Woman in the cinema. She only appeared for a matter of minutes, was voiced by Cobie Smulders (Agent Maria Hill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother), and didn’t get her deserved amount of time to shine in the film. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice depicted the powerful goddess in a way that will stick with viewers for years to come.

10. She is worthy.

Everyone knows what Mjolnir is—the famous hammer of Thor that can only be lifted and wielded by those truly worthy of the power of Thor. After the infamous scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron, fans have got to be wondering who could possibly be able to lift Mjolnir. Wonder Woman is included on that very short list of names. During one of Marvel and DC’s crossover events in 1996, appropriately titled Marvel vs. DC, Thor is in a fight with Shazam and drops Mjolnir. As the battle rages on, Wonder Woman catches a quick glance of the hammer laying on the ground. In a storm of lightning and thunder, she lifts the hammer high above her head and is officially deemed worthy of the prestigious honor. Any other person in their right mind would take that extremely rare and precious chance to use the hammer and win the fight for their side. However, Wonder Woman decides that using Mjolnir would give her an unfair advantage, and she drops it. This allows Storm to gain the upper hand in the war and ultimately leave Diana lying in the dirt.

There it is. Wonder Woman is the most empowering and valuable character in the DC playbook. She has stood on the side of truth and justice and is respected as much as Batman and Superman in comic book lore. She stands head and shoulder above the rest of the female heroes that have been created in the wake of her dominance. Wonder Woman has been a character with a story that is rich with adversity and overcoming hardships. Gal Gadot is being praised by men and women all over social media as the perfect amount of power and sass. She will star in the first-ever live action film adaptation, Wonder Woman, which will be released right before Justice League, Part 1 and will tell her origin story as well as map out her motivation for being the hero she is.

• Christian Hubbard, Social Media Administrator

Wonder Woman opens in theaters worldwide on June 2, 2017.

Before she was Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana meets an American pilot (Chris Pine) who tells her about the massive conflict that’s raging in the outside world. Convinced that she can stop the threat, Diana leaves her home for the first time. Fighting alongside men in a war to end all wars, she finally discovers her full powers and true destiny.