Superman fights for truth, justice, and the American Way, but the writer of Wonder Woman wanted to highlight that she fights for equality, sisterhood, peace, and justice. Wonder Woman was designed by William Moulton Marston (who also invented the lie detector test) to be the ultimate woman, embodying power, grace, wisdom, and wonder. Of particular interest is the fact that through this male lens of the ultimate woman, she has no actual weaknesses unlike Superman and his infamous weakness to Kryptonite, making Wonder Woman a perfect female fantasy in a male dominated world.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Wonder Woman then became Diana Prince in the 1960s as written by men who did not understand Moulton's vision. She opened a mod boutique and forsake her Amazon roots. It was not until Gloria Steinem and Ms. Magazine put her on the cover of their publication in 1971 as a feminist icon that the writers brought her back to her roots, forsaking the mod fashions for her lasso, bracers, and an untraditional role as a woman who champions equality.

​

She’s had countless appearances on television shows, starting with Lynda Carter in the 1970s and the animated DC universe through today. In May 2011, she ranked fifth on IGN’s Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time. But the fact remains that the first major motion picture with Wonder Woman in over 70 years would be her appearance in The LEGO Movie (2014). Then the following year, she was in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, as the lesser side character to the two MALE superheroes, which is ironic, seeing that many ended up viewing her as the best part of the film.

​

What makes Wonder Woman a character that has endured is her restraint and her compassion. She does not accept rewards, expecting nothing in return for her services. Recently, Wonder Woman has been declared bisexual, which has painted her as an LGBT icon, prompting some regressive backlash, though several of her past writers support the decision.

​​

Paige Averett in her article “The Search for Wonder Woman: An Autoethnography of Feminist Identity” summarized Wonder Woman thusly: “Wonder Woman is complicated and dichotomous. She is feminine, sexual, submissive, and dependent. She is also strong, capable, independent, fierce, and ultimately a warrior. Unlike so many other female role models, she does not promote a one-dimensional view of the lived experience of being a woman.”