Who is Wonder Woman?

If you’re into your super-hero comics, you’ll be very familiar with the iconic character of Wonder Woman.

Part of the DC Comics universe, Wonder Woman first appeared in 1941, and has been a mainstay of the comic world ever since.

In her homeland, the island nation of Themyscira, Wonder Woman’s official title is Princess Diana of Themyscira, Daughter of Hippolyta. She has no father – she was created out of clay and brought to life by the gods of Olympus. Her civilian alter-ego is Diana Prince.

Wonder Woman on screen

There’s been a number of incarnations of Wonder Woman on screen, but the two that stand out are Linda Carter and Gal Gadot.

Linda Carter took the role of Wonder Woman for a TV series that aired between 1975 and 1979.

Gad Gadot picked up the torch for the Wonder Woman film released in 2017. Directed by Patty Jenkins, the film was a critical and commercial success – establishing Gadot as a major star.

Who created Wonder Woman?

The creative origins of Wonder Woman are fairly queer to begin with.

The character was devised by William Moulton Marston – who used the pen name Charles Moulton.

Marston and his wife Elizabeth were in a ménage à trois with Olive Byrne – both women were strong feminists.

Marston drew inspiration for Wonder Woman from the combined forces of Elizabeth and Olive.

How queer is Wonder Woman?

Wonder Woman’s earliest adventures – created by William Marston – contained lots of subversive bondage and Lesbian subtext. One of her early catchphrases was Suffering Sappho.

After Marston’s death, a lot of Wonder Woman’s queerness was lost. However, in more recent comic-book incarnations, there’s been an enthusiastic embrace of her unmistakable Lesbionic appeal and her status as a queer icon.

Gal Gadot has added a bit of fuel to this fire, discussing the ever-present sexual tension between Wonder Woman and her nemesis Cheetah. However, director Patty Jenkins has said that while that story-line is certainly something that’s possible, it’s not something that’s explored in this latest instalment.

“It might have happened in a different story-line…” said Jenkins. “But because this story-line was so clearly about Steve coming back, the whole story was about Steve. It’s all a love story with Steve. There wasn’t room for two for Diana.”