Wonder Woman

See also: Wonderwoman

English[edit]

WOTD – 27 October 2016

From wonder +‎ woman. The character, created by William Moulton Marston (1893–1947) and Harry George Peter (1880–1958), first appeared in DC Comics’ All Star Comics #8 dated December 1941.

A DC Comics superheroine. [from 1941.]
- 2004, Lillian S[ara] Robinson, “The Book of Lilith”, in Wonder Women: Feminisms and Superheroes, New York, N.Y., London: Routledge, →ISBN, page 12:
  It was just Wonder Woman whose secret identity threatened to overwhelm and swallow up the heroic reality. I think I was afraid that one day I'd innocently open that month's comic and find Diana Prince waking up to announce that Wonder Woman was only a dream after all.
- 2014, Tim Hanley, “Introduction”, in Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine, Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press, →ISBN, pages x–xi:
  Wonder Woman is a recognizable figure: gold tiara, invisible jet, fights bad guys, looks like Lynda Carter. She's a role model for many, and the most famous female superhero in a genre dominated by males. She's also been a feminist icon since Gloria Steinem put her on the first cover of Ms. magazine in 1972. […] Wonder Woman was created during the Golden Age of comics, before the temporary workplace gains of World War II, at a time when women were told that their only place was in the home. An Amazon princess and the most powerful warrior of her race, Wonder Woman ignored these expectations. Her comics didn't just suggest equality of the sexes; they flat-out demonstrated that every woman had innate power and that Wonder Woman was superior to her male counterparts.

DC Comics character

Wonder Woman (plural Wonder Women)

(by extension of the proper noun) A woman of extraordinary powers; a superwoman.
- 2007, Jess MacCallum, I Married Wonder Woman… Now What?: A Superhero's Guide for Leading and Loving the Proverbs 31 Wife, Cincinnati, Oh.: Standard Publishing, →ISBN, page 84:
  In 1 Samuel 25, there is a great example of a guy who had a Wonder Woman 31 but failed to value her wisdom. This rich, stupid husband was Nabal, and his wife's name was Abigail.
- 2014, Jill Lepore, “Love for All”, in The Secret History of Wonder Woman, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →ISBN:
  "I am working for our local 'Maternal Health Center' clinic," she [Olive Byrne] wrote to Margaret Sanger, "and am most amused when they speak of you. Somehow they think you are a contemporary of Florence Nightingale." It was as if Sanger had lived in another century, a Wonder Woman of History.

woman of extraordinary powers — see superwoman