In the early 1940s, DC Comics and the comics industry as a whole was mostly superpower-endowed male characters such as the flagship character Superman, Batman, with his high-tech gadgets, and other Golden Age heroes such as the Green Lantern and Flash.

It wasn’t until Wonder Woman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston and artist Harry G. Peter and first appeared in All Star Comics #8 in December 1941 that a female character took center stage of their own comic book. cover-dated on Sensation Comics #1, January 1942. The character and concept of Wonder Woman have always been synonymous with women’s liberation, well before she was featured on the cover of the first issue of Ms. magazine in 1972.

Wonder Woman’s creation can be traced back to an interview Marston did for the October 25, 1940, issue of Family Circle magazine. The interview, conducted by a former student (and cohabitant) Olive Byrne (published under the pseudonym “Olive Richard”), the interview titled “Don’t Laugh at the Comics,” discussed what he believed to be the unfulfilled educational potential of the growing comic book medium. which caught the attention of publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that eventually became DC Comics

Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman, basing her character on the unconventional, liberated, powerful modern women of his day. Marston’s idea for this new kind of superhero was one who would conquer not with fists or firepower, but with love, but it was Marston’s wife Elizabeth that suggested to him that this character should be female, which he did, basing Wonder Woman’s character on the unconventional, liberated, powerful modern, early feminists, like Margaret Sanger the pioneer of birth control. Wonder Woman’s appearance was based on Olive Byrne, who lived with Marston and his wife Elizabeth in a polyamorous relationship

Marston hoped that the character could serve as an inspiration for young children but specifically female readers. Marston had been partially motivated to create this character because of the accomplishments of his own wife, who was also an accomplished academic at a time when it was difficult for women to fulfill this role. Marston had this to say about the character in 1943:

“Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don’t want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women’ s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.”

As a result, the first Wonder Woman series contained many complimentary articles and features which sought to provide guidance to a presumed female readership. There were articles for instance on the different career paths that women could pursue (according to the standards of the 1940s) as well as a series of stories on famous and accomplished women, called the Wonder Women of History.

William Moulton Marston was a fascinating character in his own right. He was a lawyer, psychologist, invented the first functional lie detector polygraph, created the DISC model for emotions and behavior of normal people, and authored self-help books. In his personal life he lived under one roof with two women, his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston, who boasted as many academic credentials as her husband, and she supported the family throughout his experiments with academia, Hollywood, and publishing and the former student Olive Byrne also supported the family, taking care of the children and writing articles in Family Circle (also under a pen-name), some of which involved interviews with Marston and arguments as to why mothers should let their children read comics. Both women also contributed to Wonder Woman’s stories and her iconography and clearly to Marston’s philosophy about love and power.

As one of the longest continually published comic book characters, a Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986 following Crisis on Infinite Earths. Over the years Wonder Woman’s history has undergone some changes over the years, with most of the elements of her origin remaining consistent in all of her depictions.

The consistent factors of Wonder Woman’s mythology through the ages (up until the New52 era) were:

She is the princess of the Amazons, a race of women who live free of men on Paradise Island (later dubbed Themyscira).

After growing up on this island, Wonder Woman (whom the Amazons named Diana) journeys to man’s world on a mission of diplomacy and peace.

Her mother, Hippolyta, created her out of clay, and the Greek gods bestowed her with life, making her the only Amazon who was not conceived by a man.

She grows up among the Amazons who teach her the skills of a warrior as well as the lessons of peace and love.

When Steve Trevor, an American pilot, crash-lands on Paradise Island, Diana enters and wins the contest to determine who should receive the honor of taking him back to man’s world and acting as an ambassador of all that the Amazons represent.

Diana, once returning Trevor to “man’s world.” like so many superheroes at the time, fought alongside the United States, to save the country during World War II

Was or has been a member of the many incarnations of the Justice League throughout the ages and a member of the DCU Trinity along with Superman and Batman

Over the next few weeks, leading to the first Wonder Woman solo movie premiere, I plan to explore the character of Wonder Woman from the Golden Age through the Cinematic Age, focusing mainly on the comic book appearances but also her appearances in other media and pop culture.

The different eras I will look at are:

The Golden Age

The Silver Age

Modern Age (Crisis on Infinite Earths through Flashpoint)

Cinematic Age (The New52 and Rebirth Era)

I will try to look at the origin, major stories, villains and other factors that influenced the Wonder Woman mythos from each Age

I hope you come along for the ride.