science

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Wonder Woman rather than just read about it. In short: Wonder Woman is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in Sensation Comics #1 in January 1942.

Key takeaways

Wonder Woman belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Wonder Woman to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Wonder Woman from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Wonder Woman is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in Sensation Comics #1 in January 1942. She was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter in 1941. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being his inspiration for the character's appearance. She is the biological daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. She is one of the first DC superheroes and is one of the most influential superheroes of all time. The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously ever since. An Amazon-Olympian princess and warrior, Wonder Woman is known in her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira, by her official title Princess Diana of Themyscira. When blending into the society outside her homeland, she sometimes adopts her civilian identity, Diana Prince. Wonder Woman's original/first origin story dates from the Golden Age of Comic Books, which relays that she was sculpted from clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and given a life as an Amazon and Olympian by birth, along with superpowers as gifts from the Greek goddesses. Following DC's continuity re-setting storyline Flashpoint in 2011, Diana was one of multiple characters who had their origins significantly altered, as in the Post-Flashpoint continuity she was re-written as the biological daughter of the Greek god Zeus. This current canon origin for Diana has been used in multiple adaptations since; it was the origin of Diana from the DCEU live action universe (2013-2023) and the DCAMU animated universe (2013-2020). However, alternate universe continuities have continued to use her original clay origin and it was re-established as her origin in DC's mainline continuity in the early 2020's after DC had begun re-inserting elements of pre-Flashpoint DC canon into the post-Flashpoint DC universe. Other popular adaptations like the DC Animated Universe have also established their own takes on Diana's origin, with their iteration of Diana potentially being the daughter of Hades, who claimed to have helped Hippolyta, a past lover of his in this continuity, mold her from clay. This included briefly losing her powers entirely in the late 1960s, and being reinvented in the 1980s by artist George Pérez with an athletic look which emphasized her Amazonian heritage. She possesses an arsenal of magical items, including the Lasso of Truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in older stories, a range of devices based on Amazon technology. Wonder Woman's character was created during World War II; the character in the story was initially depicted fighting Axis forces as well as an assortment of colorful supervillains, although over time her stories came to place greater emphasis on characters, deities, and monsters from Greek mythology. Many stories depicted Wonder Woman freeing herself from bondage, which counterpointed the "damsels in distress" trope that was common in comics during the 1940s. In the decades since her debut, Wonder Woman has gained a cast of enemies bent on destroying her, including her archenemy Cheetah and classic villains such as Ares, Circe, Doctor Poison, Giganta, Doctor Psycho, and Doctor Cyber, along with more recent adversaries such as Veronica Cale, the Silver Swan, Genocide and Grail. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society of America (1941) and Justice League (1960). The character is an archetypical figure in popular culture recognized worldwide, partly due to being widely adapted into television, film, animation, apparel, merchandise, video games, and toys, with Wonder Woman Day celebrated on October 21 of each year (the anniversary of her first appearance). Shannon Farnon, Susan Eisenberg, Maggie Q, Lucy Lawless, Keri Russell, Rosario Dawson, Cobie Smulders, Rachel Kimsey, and Stana Katic, among others, have provided the character's voice for animated adaptations. Wonder Woman has been depicted in film and television by Linda Harrison, Cathy Lee Crosby, Lynda Carter, Megan Gale, Adrianne Palicki, and Gal Gadot.

Publication history

Creation

In an October 1940 interview with the Family Circle magazine, William Moulton Marston discussed the unfulfilled potential of the comic book medium. This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form DC Comics. At that time, Marston wanted to create his own new superhero; Marston's wife and fellow psychologist Elizabeth suggested to him that it should be a woman:

William Moulton Marston, a psychologist already famous for inventing the polygraph, struck upon an idea for a new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love. "Fine," said Elizabeth. "But make her a woman." Marston introduced the idea to Gaines. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman, whom he believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman. Marston also drew inspiration from the bracelets worn by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polyamorous relationship. Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (cover date Dec/Jan 1941/1942, released in October 1941). While Marston wrote the story, H. G. Peter did the artwork, and Marjorie Wilkes was responsible for inking, lettering, and transcribing the scripts. Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest than men in certain situations and could work more efficiently. Marston designed Wonder Woman to be an allegory for the ideal love leader; the kind of woman who he believed should run society. "Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world", Marston wrote. In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Wonder Woman: Original illustration of Wonder Woman by H. G. Peter, circa 1941. — Original illustration of Wonder Woman by H. G. Peter, circa 1941.

Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman with Batman and Superman on the cover of Wonder Woman (vol. 5) Annual #1 (July 2017). Art by Nicola Scott and Romulo Fajardo Jr. In the 21st century, the three have appeared together in multiple titles as part of DC's trinity of its most popular and important superheroes. — Wonder Woman with Batman and Superman on the cover of Wonder Woman (vol. 5) Annual #1 (July 2017). Art by Nicola Scott and Romulo Fajardo Jr. In the 21st century, the three have appeared together in multiple titles as part of DC's trinity of its most popular and important superheroes.

Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman as depicted in the promotional character art of Trial of the Amazons. Art by Joëlle Jones. — Wonder Woman as depicted in the promotional character art of Trial of the Amazons. Art by Joëlle Jones.

Wonder Woman: Cover of Wonder Woman (vol. 2)#1 (February 1987), showing the character's look after the Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot. Art by George Pérez. — Cover of Wonder Woman (vol. 2)#1 (February 1987), showing the character's look after the Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot. Art by George Pérez.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Wonder Woman

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Wonder Woman claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Wonder Woman before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Wonder Woman ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Wonder Woman

In research: Wonder Woman appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Wonder Woman in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Wonder Woman is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1941 comics debuts, All-American Publications characters, Characters created by H. G. Peter, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Wonder Woman outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Wonder Woman in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Wonder Woman means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Wonder Woman out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Wonder Woman in simple terms?

Why does Wonder Woman matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Wonder Woman?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Wonder Woman.