Happy 75th Birthday, Wonder Woman!

Wonder Woman has survived and thrived through three-quarters of a century, albeit not without some pitfalls along the way. William Moulton Marston’s creation was a hit right out of the gate, but subsequent creators faced an impossible job recreating the inspiring weirdness that made that early WWII-era work so extraordinary. Much ink has been spilled about Marston’s unconventional life and ideas, but suffice it to say that his unique mix of early feminism, girl power, and an obsessive interest in the unifying power of bondage made for a book unlike anything before or since.
For decades after, Diana carried on as one of DC’s flagship characters, but in generally workmanlike style, without the panache or the message that she had been born with. (The less said about attempts to revamp the character as a super-powerless kung fu master in the 70s, the better.) Things picked up dramatically in the ’80s, and she’s seen some of her all-time best adventures in the years since. Still, it’s absolutely shocking how few female creators have written or drawn Diana’s adventures over the years. You can count them on one hand, and most of those came within the past couple of years.
As a kid, I instinctively shied away from Wonder Woman comics. As a nerdy gay weirdo, I think I had the sense that being seen walking around with “girl” comics would have been a bridge too far. (I already had enough to get beaten up over, thank you very much.) (Of course, reruns of the Lynda Carter TV series were exempt.)
It was only as an adult that I came to appreciate the power of Diana. She’s a superhero who inspires by fighting with her fists, yes, but also with her heart and her lasso of truth. At her best, Wonder Woman faces not only the world, but herself, with an unflinching sense of honesty. That truth can be ugly, which is where her unfailing compassion and tireless devotion to progress come in.
When it comes to pop culture figures, we tend to carry the ones we love the most deeply from childhood, but Wonder Woman inspires me now, more than I ever gave her the chance to do so when I was a kid. It’s too bad. I wish I’d come to know her sooner. I think that Diana could have helped me to see then what I know now: we all need to accept and love the truth of who we are, and we all need a little compassion.
Oh, and once in a while you need to kick some butt. Happy birthday, Diana.
To celebrate, here are a few of my own personal favorite moments:

I love. Everyone.

Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s 3-year run on the main Wonder Woman book (which began in 2011) is controversial, and justifiably so: a radical retcon to her origin story had the advantage of tying her more story more closely to Greek myth, but also threw out a lot some of what made the character unique. Similarly, the the creators played up the Amazons as warrior while removing much of the idealism about matriarchy that they were created to represent.
Still, it’s a epic long-form story that looks amazing, and the essence of Diana is there, particularly the ways in which her growing powers and responsibilities only lead her back to the single innocent child that she’s sworn herself to protect. One of the moments that exemplifies the run, and also captures Diana’s spirit, is this scene from Volume 2. Diana is maneuvered into a marriage with Hades as a means of protecting her charges. It goes south, of course, and leads to a chase through (literal) hell. At the climax, Hades challenges her on her earlier protestation of love for him.

A Day in the Life
In Wonder Woman #170 from 2001, Wonder Woman “teams up” with Lois Lane for a quiet story in which the Daily Planet’s star reporter follows Diana for a day in order to chronicle the life of the Amazon.
The two have very different approaches to life, but come to understand each other by the end. In this moment, Diana explains to Lois how she manages all of the varied contradictions of her life.
It’s that thing again about always facing the truth, good or bad. And then doing something about it.

Zombie Nazis

I’ve loved everything about Renae De Liz’s Legend of Wonder Woman series. Everything. Put Wonder Woman in the hands of a brilliantly talented woman, and you get gold. Who knew?
The whole thing is a long-form reworking of Diana’s origin set during World War II. And it has zombie Nazis. After a lot of build-up, here’s where she first faces them as Wonder Woman.

Power Play

The war god Ares is making his play on Earth in George Perez’ mid-80s reboot. His manipulations have lead the world to the brink of nuclear armageddon, and Wonder Woman has pushed herself to the edge of death (and a bit beyond, actually) in order to stop him.
At the climax, the two have a confrontation in which Diana confronts her nemesis not with fists (though there’s been plenty of that) but with logic and truth: his own plan is so grandiose that it will leave the earth devoid of humans, ending conflict forever and leaving no one to worship him. He almost sheds a tear with the comprehension of what he’s almost done.

Wonder Pig

It doesn’t have to all be serious for Diana. This is in no way her greatest moment from the very-good-indeed Justice League cartoon series, but this bit from “This Little Piggy” an inspired bit of silliness that still manages to make me cheer. Transformed into a pig by her nemesis, the evil sorcerer Circe, Wonder Woman has lost much of her human understanding.  She ultimately finds herself facing a man with a shotgun in a slaughterhouse. We soon discover that Diana is far from defenseless, even as a pig.

Eyes of the Gorgon