The Wonder Woman FAQ
So, you want to know about Wonder Woman, or there’s some nagging lil detail that you don’t quite understand out of that plethora of continuity that our Amazing Amazon has collected over the years. Well, fear not little grasshopper, for within this FAQ I will try to address and explain all those questions about Diana that are keeping you awake at night.
The Basics
1) What’s Wonder Woman’s real name?
Diana. She has no last name, regardless of those who tell you it’s ‘Prince’. When she was told she would need a last name so there would be no confusion between herself and Princess Diana from the UK, She argued that ‘this other Diana hasn’t changed her name, why should I?’ or something to that effect. Often diana is known as 'Diana of Themyscira', a title she chose to use on her first novel, 'Reflections'.
2) Does she belong to any superhero teams?
Yes, she is currently a member of the JLA and has been for a number of years. In one incarnation she was even its leader.
3) What is her origin?
Well for a more in-depth version hop on over to the Wonder Woman Profile pages under the Amazon Profile List heading in the menu bar. This is as brief as I can retell her origin. Diana was formed from clay on the beach of her island home Themyscira, possessing the reincarnated soul of an unborn child from thousands of years before and imbued with special gifts by the Greek Gods, including life from Gaea herself. She was raised an Amazon but uses her powers in the world to promote the ideals of peace, equality and the Amazon way, as well as protecting man from otherworldly threats and his own path of self-destruction.
4) What was her first appearance?
The current incarnation of Wonder Woman first appeared in Wonder Woman issue 1, 1987. Before this however, the Pre-Crisis version of Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics issue 8, 1941.
5) What is all this ‘Pre’ and ‘post-Crisis’ stuff about?
This is a tough one. The best way that I can describe Crisis is as a Crossover event that happened in most if not all major DC Comics titles in the mid 80s, causing the death of many characters including the Wonder Woman of the time. After Crisis, many characters were ‘rebooted’ or reinvented with a fresh origin in place of the old versions, which were erased from current comics continuity. Wonder Woman was one such character who was reintroduced in Wonder Woman Volume 2 with a fresh spin on a very old character. Pre-Crisis therefore refers to anything that existed before the Crisis event happened, including the origins powers and such of the ‘previous’ Wonder Woman who now has no real bearing on current comics continuity. Post Crisis refers to anything after the event, including the current Wonder Woman as seen in the pages of this site. Its best not to think about it too hard.
Powers
1) What are Wonder Woman’s Powers?
Diana was given a variety of ‘gifts’ from the Gods when she was born, which have translated as powerful superpowers. They are as below:
From Demeter, power and strength, like that of the Earth itself. Many people believe that in current post Crisis continuity this places Diana as second in strength to Superman, who is considered the strongest in the DCU.
From Aphrodite, great beauty and a loving heart.
From Athena, wisdom.
From Artemis, the eye of the hunter and unity with beasts. This has allowed Diana the ability to communicate with animals.
From Hestia, sisterhood with fire, that it may open men’s hearts to her. This is basically the ability to draw out the truth from people, in that many will find it hard to lie to Diana. With her Lasso, Diana can more acutely apply this ability, using the fires of the golden lariat to draw truth from whoever is within its grasp.
From Hermes, speed and the power of flight. Yes folks, Diana can fly, contrary to pre-crisis belief, which had Diana as ‘riding on air currents’. Nowadays Diana has perfected the art of flying and combat in the air. She has also been known to fly at supersonic speeds, causing a sonic boom that deafens her enemies.
2) Does she have any weapons?
Yes, well sort of, they’re not exactly offensive. Firstly, she has the Bracelets of Aegis. They are formed from the splintered remains of Zeus’ impenetrable shield and are completely unbreakable. Diana often uses them in battle to deflect bullets and other projectiles because, no folks, Diana is not bulletproof and certainly not invulnerable. However her speed at using the bracelets means it would be pretty damn hard to get Diana with a bullet, but it has been known to happen (twice that I can think of right now). The bracelets also generate a small energy shield when crossed, to protect Diana against explosions and such.
As mentioned before, Diana also has ‘The Golden Lasso’, formed from the Golden Girdle of Gaea, the Earth Mother herself. The Lasso, like the bracelets is completely indestructible and helps Diana to draw out the truth from people within its grasp. Though often depicted to be on fire, the ‘flame’ is Hestia’s fire of truth, and it does not actually burn anything other than lies.
3) Is Diana immortal?
No, but her Amazonian sisters are. Firstly though you need to know the DCU Amazon definition of ‘immortal’. Yes the amazons don’t age, but no they are not invulnerable. If an Amazon from Themyscira never reached any harm, then yes she could probably live forever, but if injured fatally then that would be it, kaput. The gift of immortality was granted to the amazons when they took up residence on the first island Themyscira, so that their duty of guarding Doom’s doorway could be eternal. However when Diana destroyed Doom’s Doorway, the Amazons were allowed to use their immortality as they wished. Diana, being born after the gift was initially given does not have immortality and will age like any other mortal.
Home is where the heart is…
1) Where does Wonder Woman live?
Currently? Well Diana was last seen as sharing a swanky New York Penthouse with her sister, Donna Troy. After Donna's death during the 'Graduation Day' event, Diana moved into the Themysciran Embassy and sold the apartment. In the past Diana has resided in Gateway city with Helena and Cassie Sandsmark, in Boston with Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis and on the Wonder Dome, her temporary floating sanctuary in the sky. Before all of those addresses Diana resided with her sister amazons on Themyscira.
2) Who or what is Themyscira?
Well the first Themyscira was a city in Turkey built by the Amazons a few thousand years ago. The city of Amazons was a grand masterpiece, ruled by the sister Queens Hippolyta and Antiope. However Heracles and his army ransacked the city and enslaved the Amazons. Hippolyta eventually was freed and led her people to victory over Heracles and his army.
However, as penance for seeking vengeance over Heracles and for partaking in such bloodshed, Hippolyta and her people were taken to a remote island paradise to guard the demon dimension it housed beneath. Hippolyta and the amazons used this as an opportunity to erect a new city of Themyscira, more splendid than before. They lived there secluded from the rest of the world for a few thousand years, protected by the vortex of chaos, which surrounded the little island. Diana was eventually formed from the clay on the Themysciran shore. Themyscira was also known as Paradise Island.
During the Imperiex War, Themyscira was destroyed and the island devoid of life. The Greek and Egyptian Goddesses intervened and resurrected the island anew, making it a beautiful paradise once more, only this time floating above the seas. With Diana’s help the amazons rebuilt on Themyscira using the Lansanarian technology that had formed her invisible jet. Themyscira is now a University of knowledge, constructed out of both ancient and new technology, and open to all who seek knowledge from across the galaxy. It is governed by Chancellor Phillipus. A mystical enchantment has been placed on the Island, so that no weapons can work on it, save on one small isle along its shore.
3) Who are Wonder Woman’s family?
Diana’s mother was called Hippolyta, the Wonder Woman of WW11 and Queen of the Amazons. She is now deceased. Her aunt (also deceased) was Antiope. Her sister (again also deceased) was Donna Troy, the Titan known as Troia. More details on Donna Troy and Hippolyta can be found on their profile pages.
Clothes make the woman
1) If Diana was born and raised on Themyscira, why does she wear an American Flag Costume?
Diana’s costume, contrary to popular belief has nothing to do with her status as an ‘American Citizen’ per se, but more her status as an Amazon. The suit of armour she wears is homage to a woman called Diana Trevor, an American Pilot who crash-landed on Themyscira before Diana was born. The woman, as you can see from her name, was the mother of Stephen Trevor. When she crashed on Themyscira she found the Amazons in the midst of a battle with a demon from Doom’s Doorway, the demon dimension lying beneath the island. She aided the women fighting the demon, and died trying to keep it contained. The Amazons took the remains of her US Air Force jacket and constructed armour out of the symbols on it. Two coats of armour were made, one worn by Diana Trevor in her funeral pyre and the other by our own Diana as Wonder Woman.
2) So where does the double-w come from?
The double-w insignia was also part of Diana Trevor’s uniform signalling her status as a pilot. The Wonder Woman motif was created by the newspaper press when trying to guess what it meant when Diana made her first appearance.
3) Does Wonder Woman always wear her battle armour?
Definitely not. In fact, Diana has more outfits then Carrie from 'Sex in The City'. With the recent and incredibly abrupt addition of the ‘Wonder-Spin’ to Diana’s collection of abilities, she can now magically clothe herself in whatever outfit she needs by twirling herself round a few times. Yes we know its a pretty ridiculous power, but it looks pretty.
