8 Things You Didn’t Know About the Creation of Wonder Woman

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Wonder Woman is almost 85 years old now! The character made her debut in All-Star Comics #8 in 1941. Diana Prince became a feminist and a female empowerment icon for generations of women. She is also one of the most popular comic book characters in a medium ruled by male characters. However, Wonder Woman has a sordid history that many do not know about. Did you know that her creator was a male feminist who wanted a global Matriarchy? Her creator, William Moulton Marston, was also a writer, oddball inventor, and, in a polyamorous living arrangement with his wife and mistress. There are a lot of unbelievable facts about the creation of Wonder Woman.

Here are eight things you should know about the origin of this character.

1. William Moulton Marston 

William Moulton Marston is the writer behind the creation of Wonder Woman. Marston was an inventor, writer, psychologist, and educator. He was also obsessed with the psychology concerning human nature, truth, and sexuality. Marston would combine all of these ideas, and more, into the creation of Wonder Woman.

2. Marston Was Obsessed With Finding Truth

As a psychologist, educator, inventor, and writer, Marston had an obsession with finding pure truth. Marston believed that the stability of human emotions, power dynamics in personal and professional relationships, and society in general would improve if people would embrace honesty more. Furthermore, Marston believed that women are inherently more reliable, trustworthy, and honest than men.

3. Marston Was the Inventor of the Prototype Lie Detector

Shakespeare once wrote that it is human nature to deny and reject one’s deepest wants and desires. Marston believed that the hidden truths people bury deep inside themselves would show discernible physical signs under the right conditions. Marston was the inventor of early prototypes for the systolic blood pressure test machine and the polygraph lie detector. 

These inventions would also serve as creative inspiration for the creation of Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth.

4. Marston Was a Male Feminist Who Believed Women Were the Superior Gender

Marston believed that men were less honest than women, driven by violent tendencies, and incapable of ruling the world efficiently. He thought that the world would be better off under complete matriarchal rule. 

Marston was an ardent supporter of women’s suffrage, women’s rights, birth control, and sex education. These were controversial topics at the time. In fact, Marston had the belief that within the next 1,000 years, there would be a global gender war and women would win.

It was these beliefs that would aid Marston in the creation of Wonder Woman, Themyscira, and the Amazonians.

5. Marston Had a Kinky Personal Life

Marston had a polyamorous relationship with his wife, Sadie Elizabeth Holloway, and his mistress, Olive Byrne. They all lived together, and Marston had children with both women. Halloway would work. Byrne was one of Marston’s students and the niece of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood. Byrne would stay at home and take care of the children.

Marjorie Wilkes Huntley was another mistress who would sometimes live with Marston. Marston did not believe people should suppress their true and healthy sexual urges. He wrote often about it, but his beliefs were ignored by his peers. Marston’s alleged preference for role play and bondage in the bedroom would inspire the provocative art of early Wonder Woman comics.

Legend has it that Marston’s bedroom activities also partially inspired the Lasso of Truth.

6. Early Wonder Woman Comics Were Part Perversion and Propaganda

The creation of Wonder Woman comics had inspiration from Marston’s personal sex life, male feminist beliefs, and Suffragist propaganda art of the 1930s. In the early Wonder Woman comics, Diana could be easily subdued if she was tied up. Critics of the era thought that drawings of Wonder Woman helplessly bound in suggestive poses were sexually provocative and too perverse for comics.

However, drawings of Wonder Woman bound in ropes or chains had much deeper symbolic meanings. Drawings of women bound in chains were used as propaganda symbols on illegal pamphlets for birth control at the time. Women in chains were also symbols of the American Suffragist movement. While critics saw the perversion of Wonder Woman in chains, they completely missed the deeper propagandistic feminist themes.

7. The Creation of Wonder Woman Was a Family Affair

Marston got the gig to work on All-Star Comics #8 in 1941 with co-creator and artist H.G. Peter. His mistress, Byrne, wore bracelets that would aesthetically inspire Wonder Woman’s bulletproof bracelets. His wife, Halloway, and mistress Huntley would also help him in creating the character.

8. Wonder Woman Once Gave Up Her Powers to Open a Clothing Boutique

Cancer would claim Marston’s life in 1947. In 1968, Wonder Woman would shed her feminist persona in issue #179. The Amazons were losing their powers and had to go to another dimension. Diana chose to stay to help her human boyfriend, Stever Trevor. Diana lost her powers, opened a clothing boutique, began wearing “Mod” style clothing of the era, and became a spy.

This Mod version of Wonder Woman would last about two years until issue #204. This phase of the character probably found inspiration from the Emma Peel Avengers character from the 1960s spy show. However, Wonder Woman would return to her WWII and feminist character roots again by the early 1970s and the second wave of American feminism.

Wonder Woman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1

This 776-page hardcover features the debut appearance of Wonder Woman, All-Star Comics #8. It also collects over 31 comics of the era featuring the first appearances of Wonder Woman in the 1940s. Get it now on Amazon for $66.

Buy this hardcover to experience the original vision of William Moulton Marston and read original Wonder Woman comics from the era of WWII and women’s suffrage.

Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello & Cliff Chiang Omnibus

To get a taste of Modern Age Wonder Woman, check out this 928-page omnibus. This hardcover collects over 38 issues from the 2019 Wonder Woman run by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang. In traditional DC Comics continuity, Diana Prince was sculpted from clay by her mother, Queen Hippolyta. Diana was then given life by the Greek goddesses.

This runs reimages Diana Prince’s lineage and makes her the daughter of the Greek god Zeus. Wonder Woman is then thrust into conspiracies and chaos involving human allies, Greek gods, and demigods.

Buy it now on Amazon for $96.

Wonder Woman Through the Ages

Wonder Woman’s feminist beginnings are not much different today. The character is much more popular and even become a billion-dollar live-action film IP. Wonder Woman was once a powerless super spy more interested in fashion and martial arts than being a superhero. However, the character has never stopped being an empowerment inspiration to millions.

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Allen Francis is a full-time writer, prolific comic book investor and author of The Casual’s Guide: Why You Should Get Into Comic Book Investing.  Allen holds a BA degree from Marymount Manhattan College and has decades of experience in comic investing and personal finance.  Before becoming a writer Allen was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years.  Allen now focuses on comic book reviews, collectible investments, and helping others collect and enjoy comics.