Wonder Woman's reign as a United Nations honorary ambassador will end this week less than two months after the appointment of the scantily clad, curvaceous comic book character sparked outcries of protest.

There were plans to use Wonder Woman in an empowerment campaign for women and girls in 2017, according to the comic book's publisher, but the character's role is ending on Friday, a UN spokesman said.

The appointment on October 21 of the comic superhero as UN honorary ambassador to fight for gender equality, especially to appeal to young people, sparked heavy criticism that the choice sent the wrong messages.

Nearly 45,000 people signed an online petition asking UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to reconsider selection of the buxom character, typically clad in a red, white and blue body suit.

"Although the original creators may have intended Wonder Woman to represent a strong and independent 'warrior' woman with a feminist message, the reality is that the character's current iteration is that of a large breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit," the petition read.

The UN did not provide further details as to why the Wonder Woman campaign was ending this week, but spokesman Jeffrey Brez said campaigns using fictional characters often last no longer than a few months.