Wonder Woman's origin story has been subject to many retcons and backtracking of said retcons throughout her comic book history, although some key elements remain consistent throughout. This page is a summary of the most major and impactful changes.
History
Golden Age
Wonder Woman's origin story would be the subject of her debut appearance in All-Star Comics #8 . She is Diana, the daughter of Queen Hippolyta who rules over the Amazons who live on Paradise Island in isolation from the rest of the world. When the American pilot Steve Trevor crashes on Paradise island, Diana heals and falls in love with him. His arrival triggers the goddesses Athena and Aphrodite to order Hippolyta to send Steve back to America with an Amazon champion to help the Allies win World War II as the Goddesses believe this will help bring about world peace and defend the rights of women. Diana wins a series of trials and contest to become the Amazon champion, named 'Wonder Woman', and travels to 'Man's World' with Steve to battle the Axis powers.
Across the early issues of Sensation Comics Diana would quickly buy the identity of an army nurse called Diana Prince to allow her to remain closer to Steve Trevor without being Wonder Woman, and befriend the student Etta Candy and her college friends to help in her adventures. In Wonder Woman #1 the origin of Diana and the Amazons at large was expanded upon with the Amazons being created from clay by the goddess Aphrodite to challenge the warmongering mortal men who followed by the war god Mars. Hippolyta would make herself a child out of clay with the aid of Athena and Aphrodite, who would grow up to become Diana. Part of Diana's mission in Man's World would be to defeat the Nazis as they were controlled by Mars.
In the early stories Diana had many powers and skills, some natural like her remarkable strength and speed and others as a result of her Amazon upbringing including perfect memory retention and advanced medical knowhow. The Amazons were also a high-tech civilization that created an invisible jet plane that could be controlled via brain waves alone which was gifted to Wonder Woman so that she could fly Steve Trevor back to Man's World.
Silver Age
The history of the Amazons, and subsequently Wonder Woman, would change greatly towards the end of the 1950s in Wonder Woman #99. Unlike in their previous history, the Amazons have no divine heritage save for Hippolyta who is the daughter of Mars, now called Ares. They left Man's World for Paradise Island because their husbands had all been killed at war as opposed to the Golden Age Amazons who had left for Paradise Island to escape the abuses of men who enslaved them, long before Diana had been created. The retcon to Amazon history meant that Diana had an unnamed mortal father instead of being made from clay. She had also spent her early years in Man's World where she would be known as Wonder Girl and only came to Paradise Island alongside the other Amazons when she was in her late teens. The source of Diana's powers was altered somewhat as they were now bestowed upon her as presents by each of the Olympian Gods on the day of her birth, instead of the powers beingly solely the result of Aphrodite's interjection as the were in Wonder Woman's original story.
Being retold in the then contemporary 1958, Wonder Woman was not sent by Athena to end World War II but to instead enforce justice and help the helpless. She still travelled to Man's World after Steve Trevor landed on Paradise Island but she no longer worked alongside the military.
Post-Crisis
Wonder Woman's history would be retold yet again in Wonder Woman #1 released in 1987, which would mostly return to the Golden Age Story but also include new embellishments and compile some elements of the Silver Age origin. The Amazons were once more made from clay and existed independently from men until their enslavement and escape to Paradise Island, although they were now created by several Olympian Goddesses instead of just Aphrodite. Furthermore the Amazons were not entirely new beings but rather reincarnated from the souls of mortal women that had been murdered by men. Diana was the exception in that Hippolyta had died whilst pregnant with her, so she would only be 'born' later after being sculpted by Hippolyta on Paradise Island.
Much like in the Golden Age origin story, Wonder Woman was chosen to go to Man's World for the first time after Steve Trevor crash landed on Paradise Island, now named Themyscira, to act as an ambassador for Themyscira and to stop Ares who was now directly responsible for Steve's crash. Unlike previous versions of the story Diana had no romantic attraction to Steve Trevor who is instead committed to Etta Candy, who was changed from a college student into one of Steve's colleagues in the Airforce. Diana would also have no 'Diana Prince' secret identity and would instead be known publicly as Wonder Woman or 'Princess Diana of Themyscira' when speaking in person. She would also befriend the archaeologist Julia Kapatelis who would teach her English and accomidate her into Man's World.
Modern Age
For a while Wonder Woman's origin would remain relatively unchanged from the Post-Crisis version, although the Amazons would be seen once again having advanced technology that had been previously removed, and Steve Trevor was implied to have once been Diana's lover. This would briefly change with the New 52 where it was revealed in Wonder Woman #3 that much of what Diana had learnt of her heritage was a lie. The Amazons had a history as violent pirates that raped and killed men to reproduce rather than being made by the gods and Diana herself was not born of clay but from Hippolyta having a sexual encounter with Zeus, which is where her powers are derived from. These events where later retconned into being part of an illusion during the Rebirth Wonder Woman comics as Diana had never actually returned to Themyscira since she first left. While Diana is still the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus, the Amazons are no longer mortal born marauders but are reincarnated women put on Themyscira by Aphrodite to oppose Ares.
In the Rebirth Year One story Diana's journey to Man's World is once more the result of Steve Trevor crash landing, although the decision to send her as an ambassador to Man's World is that of the Amazons rather than any particular divine influence. Her romantic connection to Steve is restored, Etta remains as Diana's friend in the military and Barbara Minerva takes one the role of Diana's mentor in a similar way that Julia Kapatelis had done.
Issues
- All-Star Comics #8
- DC Special Series #19
- Wonder Woman #45
- Wonder Woman #98
- Wonder Woman #105
- Wonder Woman #204
- Legend of Wonder Woman
- Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals
- Wonder Woman: Odyssey
- Wonder Woman: Blood
- Wonder Woman: Year One
- Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed
Related
- Wonder Woman (TV Series): Season One
- Wonder Woman (2009 Movie)
- Wonder Woman: Earth One #1
- Wonder Woman: The Movie
- Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (Movie)