When she first appeared during World War II, Wonder Woman’s story had her escort Captain Steve Trevor back to Man’s World after his plane crashed within Themiscyra. She stays to battle evil, including the Nazis. Throughout the following decades, her accepted origin story explained that, as Queen Hippolyta longed for a child, she formed one from the clay of the shores of her homeland and the Greek deities brought her to life – gifting her with abilities from the gods. In these stories, the Amazons were said to have been created by the gods using the souls of all the women murdered by men, with Diana representing the last remaining soul.
The September 2011 re-launch – the ‘New 52’ era – relegated that unique and compelling origin story to a mere rumour, or legend. In this new series of books, Wonder Woman is the result of physical relations between Queen Hippolyta and Zeus the Greek god, making Diana a demi-goddess. This is the story choice that Roven has confirmed in a brief video clip, in which he states:
“She’s a demi-god. Her father was Zeus.”
So, why do we care? Well, first of all, the choice of origin story – assuming the filmmakers will be faithful to it – effects the powers that Wonder Woman will have in the film. While Golden, Silver and Bronze Age Wonder Woman was capable of ESP, astral projection, telepathy and a physical strength comparable to that of Superman, while having profound scientific knowledge and understanding of every language, New 52 Wonder Woman possesses many of her father’s powers, which are suppressed by the wearing of bracelets. She has enhanced senses, increased empathy, super healing, great military prowess, resistance to fire and – perhaps most controversially – the ability to fly (after a god throws a feather at her).
Her previous story, in which she was formed of clay, had her imbued with gifts from gods – beauty, wisdom, speed, strength, and the like – but did not make her a god in herself. If the story of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice does indeed centre around a general public displeasure with Superman, and a conflict between him and Batman caused by the latter’s distrust of the former’s god-like abilities on Earth, then Wonder Woman’s demi-goddess status makes for an interesting addition to this mix.
Of course, we know now that Warner Bros. are planning to finally deliver a Wonder Woman film, after years of making feeble excuses. Among those excuses – frequently repeated – was the assertion that her origin story was just so complex that no filmmaker had yet been able to do it “justice.” By using the re-launched Wonder Woman from ‘New 52’, the team behind Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice have simplified her story (by removing everything that made it unique, and rinsing out almost all the essence of the Amazon nation), making it easier to streamline the character into her own franchise. It’s just a shame they felt the only way to get her onscreen was with a Trojan-horse strategy of their own – sneaking her into multiplexes inside a male-led movie. Still, you can’t please everybody – especially where comic book superheroes are concerned.