Wonder Woman
The character of Wonder Woman was invented by William Moulton Marston. Marston was an accomplished psychologist and inventor, having come up with an early version of the polygraph. Back in the 1940s, Marston, who enjoyed comic books, felt that there was need to create a new type of superhero – one that defeats enemies not with fists and violence, but with love.
“Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power,” Marston wrote. “Women’s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.” Thus, Wonder Woman was born.
Second Wave Feminism
Over the years, as the character of Wonder Woman was transferred from Marston’s care to other writers, she took on more “feminine” roles within the DC Comics universe. She joined the Justice League – but as their secretary, and later, the comics followed her exploits as a clothing boutique’s owner.
That all changed in the 1970s, however, when Second-wave Feminism began to gain traction in public discourse.
Studio executives and showrunners were beginning to think that it was time to have a superhero show headed by a woman, and Diana Prince was revamped, and following the original 1940s comics was turned, once again, into a proper superhero – this time, in a live action version.