"Suffering Sappho and Merciful Minerva!"

[jack_babalon]

It should come as no surprise that the man who invented and cowrote the first Wonder Woman storys, Dr. William Moulton Marston (along with his wife Elizabeth), was also the inventor of the Polygraph Lie Detector Test. I wonder if there was some form of subconscious correlation between the two. Was the good doctor aware that on some level that he was providing America with it's own unique archetype? The All American Amazon Dominatrix, an S&M version of the Statue of Liberty whose adventures seemed less of the traditional superhero fare but rather a dream like exploration into the crossroads where Greek mythology was intersecting with the United States of the 1940's: A member of the United States Armed Services whose 'arch enemy' is none other than Ares - god of war.

It is through this contradiction that we witness the evolution of the Goddess myth, her story emerging out of the dark waters of the collective unconscious, adapting to the psychic enviornment of the 20th century by retranslating itself via the predominant fairy tale engine of the time: The Comic Book.

If Superman represents a kind of Midwestern sun god, then WW would act as the Goddess of Liberty. Where as Superman possesses a vast array of 'super' senses, up to and including microscopic, telescopic, x-ray vision as well as whatever ability the writer deemed necessary for the last son of Krypton might have need of. Wonder Woman however only has one super sense. The ability to command the truth. This is an important difference in the characters. It is the difference between Knowledge and Wisdom. The other difference is in the play of secret identity. Whereas the 'Man of Steel' seemed to get a misogynistic kick from exploiting Lois Lane's attraction to him rather than his secret identity, which was nothing more than Superman's running joke on us non superpowered earthlings. Wonder Woman's love interest, on the other hand, was with Steve Trevor and their adventures were more akin to those of lovers, equals if you will, though as equal as a mortal man can be with a Amazon Princess.

The myth remains potent to this day. 60 years after the good doctor first created the 'Warrior Princess' she remains an active symbol in the American conciousness. It's no wonder why so many guys my age, who grew up on the Linda Carter version of Diana Prince, either wanted Wonder Woman or to wanted to be her.

Comments

this is a little known aspect to the Wonder Woman story I love..

[petzilla.livejournal.com]

In an October 25, 1940, interview conducted by his partner and former student Olive Byrne (who used the pseudonym 'Olive Richard') and published in Family Circle, titled "Don't Laugh at the Comics", Marston described what he saw as the great educational potential of comic books. This article caught the attention of comics publisher Max Gaines, who hired Marston as an educational consultant for National Periodicals and All-American Publications, two of the companies that would merge to form the future DC Comics. Marston saw a comics line filled with images of supermen such as Green Lantern, Batman, and the company's flagship character, Superman, and wondered why there was no female hero.

Thus inspired, Marston developed the character of Wonder Woman with his wife Elizabeth, who served as the partial model. The other inspiration was found in Olive, an equally unconventional individual, who lived with the couple in a polyamorous relationship. Marston introduced the idea to Max Gaines, head of All-American, who gave Marston the go-ahead for a Wonder Woman comics feautre. Marston used a pen name that combined his middle name with that of Gaines to create

Marston intended his character, which he called "Suprema", to be "tender, submissive, peaceloving as good women are," combining "all the strength of a Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman." His character was a native of an all-female utopia who became a crime-fighting U.S. government agent, using her superhuman strength and agility, and her ability to force villains to tell the truth by binding them with her magic lasso. Her appearance, including her heavy silver bracelets (which she used to deflect bullets), was based somewhat on Olive Byrne.

Editor Sheldon Mayer replaced the name "Suprema" with "Wonder Woman", and the character mader her debut in All Star Comics #8 (Dec. 1941). The character next appeared in Sensation Comics #1 (Jan. 1942), and six months later, Wonder Woman #1 debuted; the series has been in print ever since. The stories were initially written by Marston and illustrated by newspaper artist Harry Peter. During his life Marston had written many articles and books on psychological topics, but his last six years of writing were devoted to his comics creation.

William Moulton Marston died of cancer on May 2, 1947 in Rye, New York. After his death, Elizabeth and Olive continued to live together until Olive's death in the late 1980s; Elizabeth died in 1993, aged 100.

Re: this is a little known aspect to the Wonder Woman story I love..

[jackbabalon23.livejournal.com]

Cool.

Thanks for sharing that little piece of American pop culture history. I love the whole polyamorous love affair and that his wife, the basis for WW, lived to be a hundred. I didn't know that.

Much obliged good sir.

Re: this is a little known aspect to the Wonder Woman story I love..

[petzilla.livejournal.com]

Very welcome, I love your entries and with your permission would like to add you!

Re: this is a little known aspect to the Wonder Woman story I love..

[jackbabalon23.livejournal.com]

Why thank you sir.

Add away and I shall reciprocate. :)

[daucus-carota.livejournal.com]

http://es.geocities.com/monicamonel2002/drfate1.jpg

[daucus-carota.livejournal.com]

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Page=1&Order=Date&Piece=83139&GSub=10695&GCat=0&UCat=0

[jackbabalon23.livejournal.com]

[gaeasdaughter.livejournal.com]

That was some great Wonder Woman history! When all my friends were collecting the Lois Lane romances, I always preferred WW. I love that the title has such an interesting origin.

[destructodeluxo.livejournal.com]

HOTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Expect a post from my missus on this,as Wonder woman is one of her iconagraphic influ ence says!
best to ya
NIK

[lytbryt.livejournal.com]

I have that issue at home. Actually, almost 37 years of her! I'm a huge Wonder Woman fan.