Wonder Woman was more than a lasso slinging, bullet dodging super hero; she is an American feminist’s icon. Wonder Woman was introduced to Americans during World War II, by William Moulton Marston, a Harvard trained psychologist and lawyer. She represented nationhood at a time when our nation was at war. She was the daughter of Queen Hippolyte ruler of an all-woman race of Amazons living on Paradise Island, somewhere located in the Bermuda Triangle. She was named Princess Diana, after the Romanized version of the Greek Goddess Artemis (Emad, 2006). Since the inception of Wonder Woman, her origin has changed twice. Originally she earned her power and title she embodied for decades when she won a power competition amongst the other Amazonian women. In the second version of her origin she did not win her powers but instead was given them to her by the Gods themselves.
Wonder Woman was much more than a comic book super hero. According to historian Lori Landay, “Wonder Woman operated in wartime popular culture as a metaphor for the movement in femininity out of the garden and into the war” (p. 11). She contained her super human powers from the public and lived a dual life, nurse and super hero. This reinforced the perception that women need to hide the power and strength allowing men to remain the dominate species.
By the late 1990’s, Wonder Woman’s image changed and began to align with the times. She bared a more determined look, her body was toned and she donned a more “ready to battle” costume. This was the time when female power started emerging.
When William Moulton Marston created this character, he set into motion an iconic gender-bender that challenged people’s views of woman. Throughout its printing her character changed and evolved. As she became stronger and threatening