Our lifelong hero celebrates a milestone! This year marks the 75th anniversary of Wonder Woman, the Amazing Amazon. San Diego Comic Con had Wonder Woman fans out in full force, promoting the new DC Rebirth comic drawn by Australian powerhouse Nicola Scott, and of course the first major female-led comic book movie...WONDER WOMAN.
Here at wonder | wander | women HQ we could NOT be more excited. Wonder Woman is our hero and inspiration (since one of us was 2 years old!) and we have followed her rising and falling popularity with unchanging devotion over the years. If you're a Wonder Woman fan, read on to share our love; if you've heard of her but aren't sure what all the fuss is about, we're happy to show you why she's so inspiring to us.
Many other people have written about her origin story, which the film and comic will also cover. Her real origin is just as fascinating: William Moulton Marston, inventor of the polygraph (yes, the lie-detector!) wanted a hero to counteract what he called the 'blood-curdling masculinity' of other comics of the time. It was 1941, and among all the Nazi-busting, tank-crushing, musclebound warriors of comics, Moulton wanted one who would win fights by reaching out first and punching only as a last resort. His wife Elizabeth insisted that this hero with godlike strength and infinite heart had to be a woman. And Wonder Woman was born.
Wonder Woman has always had a universal appeal; there's something about her that shines out through every story and inspires creators of all backgrounds, beliefs, and ages. She's been in cartoons, comics, movies, and since the 60s, feminist and fashion magazines alike.
Ms Magazine inaugural issue, 1972
Ms Magazine's Fall 2012 anniversary issue
Above all, Wonder Woman seeks peace, and the way she finds peace is through truth. She's adept with sword, shield and spear like all Amazons on the island where she was raised, but the only weapon she keeps permanently with her is her Lasso of Truth.
It's a tool she never hesitates to use on herself. Like everyone else, Wonder Woman has doubts, fears and second thoughts. Unlike many, she faces them directly and grapples with them until she can see the clearest way forward - and then she acts on it.
This is the part of Wonder Woman we most admire. It's one of the most difficult things in the world to see yourself as you really are.
Illustration by Mahala Urra
It's even more of a struggle to make decisions with full confidence, clarity and self-knowledge, to trust yourself, to act instead of hang back and wait if someone will have a 'better' choice. We need to seek this truth in action, even when we're afraid of it. What would Diana do?
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