Changes: Wonder Woman

Latest revision as of 21:58, 17 April 2024

Princess Diana of Themyscira, also known as Wonder Woman, is a female superhero, and a member of the Justice League.

Description

Wonder Woman is one of the main characters of the series and appears in half of the episodes.

Appearance

She is a tall, slim woman with a lightly tanned complexion, long black hair and blue eyes. She wears her traditional costume except that it has thigh-high boots and a short, dark blue skirt of dangling strips in the style of that of an ancient Greek warrior.

Character

Wonder Woman is an Amazon warrior and occasionally reminds us of her prowess and her need for daily training. Although an Amazon, she speaks with a very American voice. By nature she is tough and confident and, although she has a strong sense of justice, is less tolerant than Superman towards captured criminals. Perhaps to explain this, she tells us that as a child she did not have toys and had to fight a cyclops instead. She can be both romantic and condescending towards men at times. Occasionally she exclaims "Great Hera!" when suddenly surprised.

Powers

This version of Wonder Woman can fly and although her invisible jet is mentioned at least twice she does not use it. When traveling through space, she has to go by vehicle as she is presumably not fast enough to get anywhere on her own, but she is able to survive in the vacuum outside. Her physical strength is considerable but is finite: in one scene she is unable to halt the gradual fall of Justice One. She is very adept in close combat, being able to punch with great force and can also absorb much punishment even from Kryptonian opponents. Her speed is only noticeable when she is intercepting bullets, and her senses are nothing unusual.

She does not have any unique weaknesses but does have general vulnerability, i.e. her body is not bullet-proof.

Equipment

Wonder Woman makes considerable use of equipment in combat. Her traditional pair of bracelets have become extended into pieces of armor that cover the lower arm and back of the hand. They are used in defense to deflect or absorb bullets or ray blasts, and she never fails in this.

In offense, she frequently makes use of sword and shield or just sword on its own, and these are slung across her back when not in use. The sword is long with jagged edges, and both it and the shield appear to be indestructible.

Her most distinctive weapon is the 'Lasso of Truth' (also called a "lariat") which is normally coiled at her right hip. This can be used to trip or throw a foe and also to ensnare an opponent in an unbreakable grip - so long as she does not let go of it - but a person with the power of intangibility (like the Martian Manhunter) can break free. When Wonder Woman activates the lasso and it glows, anyone caught in its noose is compelled to tell the truth.

The Lasso frequently becomes a liability when a wily opponent causes her to become entangled in it.

Relationships

We occasionally see Wonder Woman present on Paradise Island perhaps to visit her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and the Amazons she grew up with. She also maintains contact with the gods of Olympus for whom she shows much reverence and who can provide her with useful information, and they can visit her too. Her non-Amazonian abilities - like flight - and the offer to her to become a goddess would suggest she is at least part god herself.

In her everyday life she adopts the secret identity of Diana Prince - with or without glasses.

In this guise she tells us that Steve Trevor (not seen in the show) ignores her and is smitten with Wonder Woman. Perhaps because of this, in one episode we see she has transferred her affections to Clark Kent, and he to her, and this continues for a while between their superhero identities. She however does make snide remarks about him at times and in most of their appearances, their relationship is shown as professional with no hint of romance. Indeed, in one episode, an amnesiac Diana rebuffs Bruce Wayne as though she wants nothing to do with men. She is also annoyed by Batman's anti-social attitude at times. Both Superman and Green Arrow can address her as "Diana".

Wonder Woman, in some stories, can also form a duo with Green Arrow to enable some chatty dialog.

Appearances

2. Power Outage

3. Night of the Bat

4. Abate and Switch

6. Nuclear Family Values

8. Galaxy Jest

9. Time Share

11. Play Date

12. Repulse!

16. Luthor in Paradise

19. Rage of the Red Lanterns

21. Inside Job

22. The Trouble with Truth

27. Time Out

28. The Fatal Fare

32. Booray for Bizarro

33. Best Day Ever

36. Superman Red vs. Superman Blue

37. The Ringer

38. Forget Me Not

40. E. Nigma, Consulting Detective

42. Phased and Confused

44. System Error

45. Race Against Crime

46. Party Animal

49. Captain Bamboozle

51. Unleashed (cameo)

52. She Wore Red Velvet

Short 1. Up and Atom

Short 4. Good Cop, Bat Cop

Short 6. Lasso of Lies

Short 7. Quality Time

Short 8. Selfie Help

Short 10. Justice 1, 2, 3, Go!

Short 20. The Goddess Must Be Crazy

Links

Wonder Woman on Wikipedia
Wonder Woman on Wonder Woman Wiki

Video Excerpts

Justice_League_Action_-_Wonder_Woman_Saves_The_Day_-_DC_Kids — Justice League Action - Wonder Woman Saves The Day - DC Kids

Notes

Although Wonder Woman's concept design for this show depicts her wearing her classical briefs, in a later revision of her outfit she got a more recent addition, which is the gladiator style skirt that we see on screen. This was done to make her outfit look more reminiscent to the one worn by the actress Gal Gadot, who debuted as her in the movie Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), which was released on theaters months before this series was first aired on TV in the same year.
During Season 1, Episode 8, "Play Date", an alternate costume for Wonder Woman is show resembling the outfit worn in the TV Movie, Wonder Woman from 1974.