Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston.
"Amazons! Hear your queen! Even as Apollo's sun gives birth to this glorious day, I have gathered you here to witness a birth of another kind! The champion has been chosen... ...the gods have been satisfied!" - Hippolyte, Wonder Woman #1.
Personal Details
Overview
There is an island paradise somewhere in the oceans of the West that is home to the legendary female race called the Amazons. Created by the Olympian goddesses to be an example and inspiration to man's world they instead failed the gods in their duties and were consigned to immortal guardianship of the gateway to the realm of Tartarus. When events (and gods) conspired so that one of the Amazons had to be sent to man's world as an ambassador, Diana daughter of Queen Hippolyte was chosen by contest.
Carrying a lasso fashioned from one of the girdles of Gaea and a star-spangled costume she arrived in the modern world and was quickly christened Wonder Woman by the media. While she still helped during the Darkseid inspired riots and is now a founding member of the modern JLA she is at heart more of a teacher and a harbinger of peace.
Condemned by radical Christian movements and worshipped by a small Greek cult she has inspired people via world tours, charity foundations and generally keeping a high public profile. Hippolyte conspired to have Diana replaced as Wonder Woman because she had foreseen the death of a Wonder Woman and desperately tried to push destiny away from her daughter. Eventually Diana was killed by the demon lord Neron yet the Olympian gods raised her up to be Diana goddess of the truth.
Background
In the age when men were hunter-gatherers, existing as small tribes, an injury to a dominant hunter could mean that his family starved, it meant being ostracised from society and generally being made the scapegoat. One unfortunate was teased and goaded by his fellows into such a rage that he ended up killing the one person that cared for him, his poor unsuspecting wife. In savagery and pain she died, yet her spirit did not pass onto the other side, it was intercepted by the earth goddess Gaea and like thousand of female souls to come it was held and nurtured deep in the realm of Hades in the Cavern of Souls.
The Olympian goddesses foresaw a time when men would forget the old gods that they themselves would fade into the distance without followers. They decided to create a society of women to act as guides and teachers to spread the world of Olympus far and wide. Zeus was neutral on the scheme, while Ares was openly hostile to the idea. However Athena, Aphrodite, Demeter and Hesta lead by Artemis with the help of Hermes travelled to the Cavern of Souls and used their power to release the souls there contained. The female souls rained down upon a remote lake in Greece where new bodies formed from the clay in the mud at the bottom of the lake. Thus were born the race of the Amazons.
The first two too emerge from the lake were the sisters Hippolyte and Antiope, they ruled the Amazons as Queens. As a sign of trust they were given two girdles of Gaea to wear. The Amazons spread their message, but many local rulers felt threatened by this society of freedom and legends of brutality and violence was spread about the female race. Their reaction was to withdrawal, stepping back from the work that the goddesses had given them.
It was still an age of myth and the demi-god Herakles bidden by Hera on his twelve labours found himself compelled to obtain one of the girdles of the Amazons. Goaded by the agents of Ares he battled Hippolyte and was defeated. The Amazons welcomed Herakles and his men into their city in good faith but Herakles drugged Hippolyte. While he made his way to Troy his men enslaved the Amazons. Hippolyte was freed by Athena and led her people in an uprising against their enemies.
In the aftermath the Amazons split into two groups, half followed Antiope in rejecting the Olympian gods while the other half led by Hippolyte remained loyal to their gods and bid by Athena made their way to the seashore. There they were met by the goddesses and informed that despite their loyalty that their previous sin of withdrawing from their destined line was to be punished. They were to become the defenders of the world against the darkness of Tartarus on the far Paradise Island and while they succeeded in their task they would be immortal and gifted.
For thousands of years the Amazons kept the gateway to Tartarus closed and succeeded in their duties. They were also charged with rescuing females drowning at sea. Via this route they rescued Diana Trevor a USAF pilot who died by their side keeping the evils of Tartarus captive, she was honoured by a statue in the Temple of Ares. The Amazons mistakenly took the winged insignia and star-spangled flag on her clothing by her insignia and so honoured them.
With due course Hippolyte felt the calling of her unborn daughter whose soul still resided in the Cavern of Souls. So the goddesses let her craft a form from the clay on the shoreline of a baby. As the unborn soul was infused into the clay form it was blessed by the goddesses and sprang to life as a new born child. Named Diana after Diana Trevor she was raised by all the people of Paradise Island and excelled at almost every activity.
Meanwhile the plans of Ares continued in man's world and it became necessary that the Amazons should send a champion to stop his plans. A contest was called and Diana entered against her mothers wishes, disguising herself with a full mask like the other contestants. Diana won with ease and despite her maternal feelings Hippolyte was forced to respect the result. Diana was equipped with a costume based on the insignia of Diana Trevor. Journeying to man's world she eventually found Ares mad scheme to destroy mankind. With the help of Steve Trevor (Diana Trevor's son) and others, Diana confronted Ares and ensnared him with the Lasso of Truth (forged from the Girdle of Gaea) which forced him to realise that if he destroyed mankind then there would be nobody to worship him and his own power would dwindle.
Diana remained in mans world as an ambassador from the Amazons to fulfil the original duties set down by the gods to spread the virtues of peace and love to mankind. She befriended Julia Kapatelis and her daughter who took Diana in and taught her English. She also befriended Myndi Mayer a publicist who worked to promote Diana's message across the world, she came up with the name Wonder Woman based on the double-W on Diana's costume, she also launched promotional lines and merchandise. In also most no time at all a massive media campaign had transformed Wonder Woman into one of the most recognisable names in the country.
There were set backs along the way. Mayer died of a drug overdose and a cult sprang up to Wonder Woman in Greece prompting many right wing religious groups to brand her cause pagan. Despite this a world tour and the setting up of a Wonder Woman Foundation to promote peace did a lot of good. While never a superhero as such, Diana participated in the Darkseid Anti-hero riots and served as a reserve member of the JLE. After an mistaken first encounter she has grown close to Superman and each recognises that in another situation they might have been lovers.
The sorceress Circle devised a plan to throw the various pantheons of gods into war as a means of achieving power of her own. She was eventually defeated by a collation of both the superheroes of Earth and Wonder Woman. In the aftermath of the war the Olympian gods left this dimension for their new home of New Olympus.
Queen Hippolyte found herself stricken with a vision of the future where she foresaw the death of Wonder Woman. In desperation she declared that Diana had failed and that a new contest should be held. The Amazon Artemis from the tribe of Antiope joined the contest. Hippolyte had a spell cast that when Artemis and Diana were present together, part of Diana's skill and power went into Artemis. Via this manipulation Diana lost the mantel of Wonder Woman, but she continued acting in man's world under her own name and as the leader of the Justice League.
Eventually Artemis died in battle and Diana reclaimed the costume of Wonder Woman. She fought Darkseid in a battle that cost the lives of twelve hundred Amazons. She also battled Morgaine Le Fay who sought to steal Diana's immortality little realising that she had forsaken it when she left Paradise Island. It was only after many months while battling the Cheetah that the effect of the god's departure became evident. Diana and her Amazon sister were reverting to the clay from which they were formed without the backing of their gods' presence. With the help of Harold Champion Diana travelled to Paradise Island where it was revealed that he was actually the god Herakles who had secretly fallen in love with Diana.
Herakles alerted the Olympian gods to the plight of the Amazons and after a debate the gods returned Olympus to this dimension atop its namesake mountain This restored the Amazons and Wonder Woman to full health. Meanwhile Artemis had been restored to life and via the manipulations of Neron sought to kill Jason Blood who was at that time assisting Diana. Via a series of events Diana, Hippolyte, Blood, Artemis and their friends found themselves the captives of Neron. Artemis managed to wound Neron allowing them to escape but not before be blasted Diana into a coma as revenge.
While the Justice League and the New Gods battled Ares at the source wall to stop him absorbing the so called "Godwave", Diana lay near death in a Gateway City hospital. Even the combined talents of Superman, J'onn J'onzz and Green Lantern could not help her. The efforts of rogue Dr Zuel to switch minds with Diana so that she might possess her body went a stray and caused the death of both of them.
The Olympian gods decided that they could not allow their most trusted follower to simple die so they resurrected her by the most convenient method. They raised her up to be equal to their own, as Diana Goddess of Truth. In her place as Wonder Woman the Amazons placed Hippolyta.
Powers and Abilities
While Wonder Woman she was granted strength and power by Demeter, beauty and a loving heart by Aphrodite, wisdom by Athena, hunting ability and unity with the beasts by Artemis, sisterhood with fire by Hestia and speed and the power of flight by Hermes. This combined with her natural skill allowed her to stand as an equal to such figures as Superman and Captain Marvel.
She was normally armed with the Golden Lasso of Truth, which forced anybody snared by it to tell the truth it could also life mind control effects from people. She could use the Sandals of Hermes to pierce the veil of distortion that separated Paradise Island from the normal world. Like all Amazons she wore bracelets as a symbol of their imprisonment by Herakles.
Now she had been elevated to the status of a goddess with the powers and abilities that it entails.
Recommened Reading
Overpower Cards
Wonder Woman - Rare - George Perez
Amazon Might - Very Rare - George Perez
Allies
Artimes/Wonder Woman II - An Amazon from a rival tribe who replaced Diana for a time as Wonder Woman.
Champion/Herakles - The demi-god who bested Hippolyte and stole her girdle. He later fell in love with Diana while under the guise of Harold Champion, she spurned him for his duplicity.
Donna Troy/Troia/Wonder Girl I - During her time she has been granted powers by the Titans of myth and worked as a Darkstar. While currently powerless the effects of the Godwave seem to have had an as yet unknown effect on her.
Helena Sandsmark - A friend of Julia Kapatelis who gave Diana a position at her museum, she is currently in love with Jason Blood.
Hera - Queen of the Gods. She is one of the principal goddesses of the Amazons but not actually one of their patrons.
Hermes - Messenger of the gods and the one who has interacted with Diana the most.
Hippolyte/Wonder Woman III - The mother of Diana, she is a just and fair Queen of the Amazons but is very protective of her daughter.
Jason Blood - The mortal side of the Demon. The two were separated by Neron and he now lies in a coma slowly dying without the link to the Demon.
Julia Kapatelis - A mortal whom first befriended Diana in this world and taught her English.
Nesse Kapatelis - The daughter of Julia Kapatelis
Steve Trevor - A former airforce pilot who helped Diana defeat Ares plans to destroy man kind. Currently married to Eta Candy he remains in contact with Diana.
Wonder Girl II/Cassandra Sandsmark - Daughter of Helena Sandsmark. She was granted powers by Zeus himself to help Wonder Woman. Her mother and Diana are currently opposed to the idea but Cassandra remains committed.
Major Enemies
Ares - The god of war, he was destroyed when he tried to absorb the Godwave.
Cheetah - Seeking the secret of the Cheetah god she was transformed into a form of were-creature. She soul her soul to Neron.
Circle - An ancient sorceress who turned Wonder Woman back into clay during the War of the Gods.
Morgaine Le Fay - Another sorceress who sought immortality by capturing Wonder Woman little realising that she was now mortal because she had left Paradise Island.
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Alter Ego: Diana
Occupation: Goddess of Truth formally Ambassador and Princess of the Amazons.
Known Relatives: Hippolyte (mother), Antiope (aunt)
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America (current), former reserve member of the JLE.
Base of Operations: Olympus, formally Paradise Island and Gateway City.
First Appearance: (historical) ALL STAR COMICS #8 (Winter, 1941), (current), WONDER WOMAN #1 (February, 1987)
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 135 lb.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Energy: 1 Fighting: 8 Strength: 6 Intellect: 5
Blessed by the Gods - Very Rare - George Perez
Bullets & Bracelets - Common - George Perez
Gift of Flight - Uncommon - George Perez
Lasso of Truth - Very Rare - George Perez
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