SOME KIND OF WONDER-FUL

In her 76 years, Princess Diana has been reinvented by every generation

1941

All Star Comics #8 introduces William Moulton Marston’s groundbreaking superhero: a Wonder Woman who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love.

1942

Despite Marston’s hope of creating a female leader, All Star Comics’ Justice Society of America invites Wonder Woman to be its ... secretary.

1954

Psychiatrist Dr Fredric Wertham warns parents that Wonder Woman is a lesbian in his alarmist book, Seduction of the Innocent.

1968

DC Comics updates Wonder Woman in a controversial move—stripping her powers and turning her into a mod-dressed secret agent.

1972

Gloria Steinem’s feminist magazine

Ms. nominates Wonder Woman for president on the cover of its very first issue.

1975– 79

For three seasons on TV, Lynda Carter popularises Wonder Woman’s gold bracelets, lasso of truth and ballerinastyle spin transformation.

1977

“Underwear that’s fun to wear” becomes all the rage when Underoos debut, with girls flocking to Wonder Woman’s star-spangled briefs.

1983

Co-writer Dann Thomas becomes the first female credited with a Wonder Woman issue (#300), in which the heroine accepts Steve Trevor’s proposal and fakes Diana Prince’s death.

1987

Illustrator George Pérez relaunches a Wonder Woman who is stronger, less sexualised— no more high heels—and more enriched by Greek mythology.

2010

Writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Jim Lee reboot the princess’s origin story, raising her in human society and giving her pants.

2011

NBC passes on David E. Kelley’s ( Big Little Lies) pilot, which features a smug and lonely heroine ( Friday Night Lights’ Adrianne Palicki).

2016

Wonder Woman: Year One writer Greg Rucka clarifies what many fans had long assumed: she’s bisexual. Growing up on an all-female island did not limit Diana’s intimate relationships.