This comics-related article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. Please help rewrite it to explain the fiction more clearly and provide non-fictional perspective. (October 2009)

Maxwell Lord IV is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a shrewd and powerful businessman who was very influential in the formation of the Justice League International in DC Comics.

Publication history[link]

Before the League[link]

As a youngster, Maxwell Lord had a fairly sheltered life. His father, Albert Lord, used to be a successful business man, head of the Chimtech consortium until he discovered that poor research led his company to mass produce a highly carcinogenic product. So, when Maxwell was only sixteen, his father committed suicide out of shame and guilt.^[1]

Maxwell Lord's mother however was never truly convinced of this turn of events, instilling into her son the hatred against every figure of higher authority that eventually led him to his fall from grace, convinced that even Albert's suicide was a conspiracy from the higher ups in his company and unwilling to let his regrets tamper with their power.^[1]

Maxwell Lord spent the next years training to be more ruthless and powerful than his father was, methodically enacting his revenge against the Chimtech administration board members, but was unable to prevent Lex Luthor from acquiring his former property and adding it to the already immense LexCorp. By observing how Lex made profit by arming and employing hostile metahumans, Maxwell and his mother decided to bend the rules for themselves, cajoling instead heroic metahumans to give Maxwell Lord a better edge. Thus, he sparked the plans to bring the Justice League, leaderless and broken after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, under his exclusive control.^[1]

Giffen and DeMatteis years[link]

Maxwell Lord IV initially worked behind the scenes to establish the League while under the control of a villainous computer created by Metron (a later retcon would say that this was actually the villainous computer program Kilg%re (pron. Kilgiear^[2]), which had taken over Metron's machine. The much later, post-Infinite Crisis retcon mitigated the Kilg%re and the New Gods' influence, stating that Maxwell Lord already had plans for taking over the League, and he would have pursued them on his own volition regardless).^[1] The computer wanted Max to set up a worldwide peacekeeping organization as part of its plan to dominate the world.^[3]

Lord's ruthlessness at this time was illustrated when he set up a disturbed would-be terrorist as a villain for the League to defeat, resulting in the man's death (the would-be terrorist believed he had a bomb connected to his heartbeat, but in fact Max had disconnected it). Later, however, he rebelled against the computer and (seemingly) destroyed it.

Once free of the computer's influence, Lord was portrayed as an amoral businessman, but not a real villain. During the time that Giffen and DeMatteis were writing the Justice League, the character was shown struggling with his conscience and developing heroic qualities, though he would remain a con-artist. However, more recent changes to his character by different writers seem to contradict these previous characterizations.

[edit] Invasion!

Originally a normal human, Lord was one of many on Earth gifted with super powers during the Invasion crossover when a Gene Bomb was exploded by alien invaders. This bomb activated the latent metagene present in a small percentage of Earthlings. Lord gained the ability to control the minds of others, albeit at great difficulty.^[4] Despite now being a metahuman on his own, Lord never felt like one; instead his omnipresent mother pressured him to act for the benefit of non-powered individuals, thus again shifting his never-ending hatred from the generic authoritary figures that caused his father's death to the metahuman community.^[1]

After he was shot and placed in a coma at the start of the 15-part JLAmerica/JLEurope crossover Breakdowns, Dreamslayer, a supervillain who, with the aid of the Extremists, a team of robotic servants, had once destroyed all life on their planet, took over Lord's body and supercharged this power, allowing him to control thousands of minds at once. Using Lord's body and power, he caused the JLI to lose its charter and almost forced them to disband. Finally, however, while the possessed Lord forced the JLI to battle itself, the mortally-wounded Silver Sorceress managed to contain Dreamslayer and held it within her mind as she died, taking it with her, and while Lord was freed, his power was burnt out.

Later, Lord was diagnosed with a brain tumor and seemingly died. Kilg%re, however, had been waiting patiently for the right moment to reactivate its control of Lord and downloads his consciousness into a duplicate of one of the Extremist robots, Lord Havok (in a further retcon the body is said to be a New Genesis-built automaton, which later fell into Checkmate's possession). In this form, he spends some time testing the League for unknown reasons. He also takes control of the secret organization known as the Arcana.^[5]

His cyborg body later comes to resemble his original human form. Lord then pulls together several former JLI members, including L-Ron, Captain Atom, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold and Fire as the "Super Buddies," advertised as "Heroes the common man could call." These stories are told in the six-issue miniseries Formerly Known as the Justice League in 2003, and its 2005 sequel, I Can't Believe It's Not the Justice League.^[6]

During the JLI-era, when Doomsday causes the death of Superman as well as several people, and by the end result, Mongul's invasion and destruction of Coast City, Maxwell loses his mother, still residing in their Coast City home. This event fuels his hatred and paranoia against the metahumans and leads him to believe that not only can metahumans not be trusted but that their personal battles and scuffles are enough to shatter world safety.^[1]

In Brad Meltzer's Identity Crisis (2004), Lord attends Sue Dibny's funeral and speaks to Booster Gold, further denting his already dwindling faith in superheroes.

[edit] Infinite Crisis

The 2005 80-page one-shot Countdown to Infinite Crisis reveals that Lord is no longer a cyborg and is apparently a criminal mastermind who spent years running the JLI while gathering sensitive information about the world's superheroes, whom he considered a threat to the planet. At the same time, he sabotaged JLI efforts in order to render the superhero team as ineffectual as possible. At the end of the prologue special issue, he shoots and kills one-time JLI member, Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, when the hero discovers Lord's secret and refuses his offer to join him.

During this time, Alexander Luthor, Jr., the god-like son of Lex Luthor from an alternate Earth, gives Lord control over Batman's Brother Eye, a satellite system Batman created to monitor all superhuman contact after the masked detective had grown paranoid following the discovery in Identity Crisis that the JLA had altered his memories years earlier when he objected to a similar resolution regarding Doctor Light. Lord uses Brother Eye to create an army of OMACs (humans infected with a nano-virus that transformed them into cyborgs) programmed to hunt down and kill all superhumans.^{[volume & issue needed]}

Lord also uses his powers to influence Superman's mind, causing him to brutally beat Batman in the belief that he is Brainiac. Lord subsequently sends Superman to attack Wonder Woman after making him believe that she is his old enemy Doomsday trying to find Lois Lane to kill her. Lord justifies the resulting destruction as proof of his argument about the dangers of superhumans, pointing out the devastation that Wonder Woman and Superman could cause if they fought in a crowded area and with the fact that Superman can be brought under another's control as evidence that they cannot be relied upon. In the midst of her battle with Superman, Diana realizes that even if she defeats him, he would still remain under Lord's absolute mental control. She creates a diversion lasting long enough for her to race back to Lord's location and demand that he tell her how to free Superman from his control. Bound by her lasso of truth, Lord replies, "Kill me." Wonder Woman then snaps his neck (The OMAC Project, 2005). In response, Brother Eye broadcasts the footage of Wonder Woman killing Lord all over the world, destroying her reputation and her friendship with Batman and Superman who reject her despite the fact that she saved their lives.^[7]

[edit] One Year Later

Lord reappeared in 2007 in the first two story arcs of the new Booster Gold series by Geoff Johns and Dan Jurgens. At the end of the 52 Pick-Up story arc, Booster Gold and Blue Beetles from the past, present and future, go back in time to Countdown to Infinite Crisis and prevent Lord from killing Ted Kord. In the subsequent Blue and Gold story arc, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold discover that in saving Ted Kord they have created a new timeline where Lord was never killed by Wonder Woman and his OMAC's and a mind-controlled Superman have turned the entire planet into a police state. Lord reveals that he had been returned to human form after dozens of clandestine operations and that he learned the importance of control during that time. When Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, having assembled their old JLI teammates, storm Brother Eye, Lord is killed by Dr. Light when she blasts a hole through his chest. Ted Kord realizes that his death is the only way to fix the timestream and leaves the battle, seemingly to return to the past and accept his death. Next, Max makes an appearance the Trinity maxi-series (2008-9). Lord's skull is stolen by a group called the Dreambound and brought to Morgaine Le Fey for use in a spell, which requires an item connected to Wonder Woman.^[8]

[edit] Blackest Night

During the Blackest Night (2009–10) storyline, Maxwell Lord is identified as one of the deceased entombed below the Hall of Justice.^[9] Lord's corpse is revived as a Black Lantern during the event.^[10] Targeting Wonder Woman, he lures her to Arlington National Cemetery with a trail of slaughtered bodies. When Wonder Woman arrives, he springs a trap, using black rings to revive the bodies of fallen soldiers. Wonder Woman uses her lasso to reduce Lord and the soldiers to dust. However, as she leaves, the dust begins to regenerate.^[11] Some time later, Lord resumes his attack on Wonder Woman, who has recently been deputized into the Star Sapphires. Wonder Woman encases Lord's body in a violet crystal, then shatters it to pieces. However, Lord still continues to taunt her, his mouth talking out of a piece of crystal.^[12] He is later brought back to life by the power of the White Light. Though Guy Gardner attempts to restrain him, Lord uses his mind control abilities to "convince" Guy to let him leave.^[13]

[edit] Brightest Day

Lord is among the other resurrected heroes/villains featured in the Brightest Day (2010) series. He is first seen attempting to push his mind control powers further than ever, but severely injures himself in the attempt, despite his meticulous preparations which include a constant blood supply and an ice pool.^[14] Later, Deadman's white power ring shows a vision where Lord is shown shaking hands with Jaime Reyes, the third Blue Beetle, but Lord is hiding a gun behind his back, implying that he is planning to kill him just as he killed Jaime's predecessor, Ted Kord.^[14]

In the first issue of Justice League: Generation Lost, Lord is the subject of an unprecedented international manhunt. He is found hiding in the old Justice League International embassy by Booster Gold, whom Lord is able to defeat. Lord then uses a device to amplify his mind control powers to unprecedented levels. With this he erases the world's memory of his existence. Initially it appears that only his former Justice League colleagues Booster Gold, Ice, Fire, and Captain Atom remember Max.^[15] It is later revealed in Brightest Day #8 that Deadman also remembers his existence. Lord uses his powers to disgrace the team, having Fire ousted from Checkmate, Captain Atom turned in as a fugitive for betraying the U.S. Army, and Ice isolated from Guy Gardner, who Lord causes to believe she tried to kill him. He also influences the superhero community into believing Ted Kord committed suicide, which enrages Booster Gold. He then sends OMACs after the current Blue Beetle, Jaime Reyes, who calls Booster Gold and the others for help.^[16] In the meantime, Lord discovers that his resurrection has come with a side effect: some of his efforts to control others' minds transform his targets into cadavers wearing Black Lantern uniforms.^[17] Contacting his former colleagues through a fallen Rocket Red's armor, Lord reveals that he intentionally exempted them from the worldwide mindwipe and that he wants them to protect the world as they did in the old days. He then warns the group not to come looking for him, unaware that Blue Beetle had located his transmission signal.^[18]

Captain Atom then tells the others that an explosion, seen in the first issue, propelled him briefly into the 24th century where he saw a world reduced to a pre-industrial state by a metahuman war instigated by Lord. The team resolve to try to prevent Lord from bringing about this dystopia.^[19] Maxwell Lord is at one point contacted by the Entity who tells him to stop Magog from plunging the world into war.^[20] Lord then sees a vision of himself killing a distraught Magog, who begs for mercy, with Magog's own staff.^[21] The Entity gives Lord a vision of a future when Magog's team attacks Parasite. Parasite's absorption of Captain Atom causes an explosion that destroys everything within a large radius and annihilates over a million people (similar to the Kingdom Come future).^[22] Power Girl witnesses her new villain C.R.A.S.H. confronting Lord before heading towards the teleporter.^[23] When the team next encounter Lord,^[24] after mind-controlling first Fire and then Booster Gold to prevent them from stopping him, he teleports from the old JLI embassy back to Checkmate where he attempts to enlist Magog to kill Captain Atom.^[25] Lord uses technology to upgrade Magog's staff into emitting energy blasts.^[22] Meanwhile, Lord asks Professor Ivo to reprogram the Metal Men.^[22] Then he asks Doctor Sivana to create a genetically engineered humanoid clone of Power Girl.^[26]

When Captain Atom and Magog battle in the heart of Chicago, Captain Atom is able to convince Magog that he's being used and Magog remembers Lord. Watching, Lord uses his powers to force Magog to kill himself and then makes everyone believe they watched Captain Atom murder him. The Entity proclaims Lord has completed his task, and his life is restored to him.^[27] After briefly receiving a White Ring, the recently-returned Bruce Wayne seems to now be aware of Max Lord's resurrection.^[28] When Captain Atom absorbs the energy from Magog's spear he is propelled forward through time 112 years in the future, where Lord, while long dead, has plunged humanity into a massive metahuman war ruled by OMACs. Captain Atom is eventually returned to the present but not before a dying Power Girl tells him that the catalyst for all this was Wonder Woman's death by Lord's hand and Batman (Damian Wayne) tells him how to stop Lord's ultimate plans.^[29] However, Lord is struck with the ironic discovery that (with the exception of the original four ex-JLIers) no one in the world remembers Wonder Woman.^[30]

Later, when the Creature Commandos attack the JLI embassy, Lord poses as a member and captures Jaime Reyes heading towards the teleporter with him, while the others are unable to stop him.^[31] Lord regains his abilities to transform his targets into cadaver OMACs and he tortures the Blue Beetle while in captivity.^[32] Lord's mindwipes feed off psychic energy so the more people who are around, the faster some will forget.^[33] In issue 19, the rest of the team locate Lord's secret facility in a submersible below the Sea of Japan. Seconds before the team reach him, and as predicted by the White Ring, Lord shoots Jaime in the head (echoing his execution of Jaime's predecessor, Ted Kord).^[34] The JLI arrives and attack Lord, but he then escapes from the JLI in one of his headquarters' escape pods and the headquarters vanishes.^[1]

While the JLI learned Jaime is alive, the team also learned that Lord not only manipulated them, but also wanted the JLI to chase him to distract Checkmate. Later, Lord uses a device to enhance his mental powers, turning people around the world into OMACs to attack Wonder Woman and the JLI.^[35] Before the device activates, Lord sends the OMAC Prime that he controls to attack the heroes. Booster Gold manages to locate Lord's flying headquarters, attacking it to confront him face-to-face.^[36] Lord gains the upper hand with his mental powers but Captain Atom grabs him, after having become overloaded with quantum energy in the fight with OMAC Prime and about to be pulled into the timestream. He threatens to take Lord with him unless he undoes the global mindwipe and a desperate Lord complies. Captain Atom is pulled away and Lord teleports to escape the heroes. Later, he posts an online video where he blames Professor Ivo for Magog's rampage and says that he only wants to protect the world from the metahuman threat and he will continue to do so in secret.^[37]

Criticism[link]

This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (April 2010)

How Lord recovered his original human body and received a different variation of his telepathic powers has not been revealed, and fans have criticized this reboot of the character, especially after interviews where prominent DC comics administrators revealed they knew about the continuity problems but decided to ignore them (see next paragraph). In-story, it is possible to explain the various continuity errors as one of the side-effects of Superboy Prime "punching" the universe and changing history (see Continuity changes during Infinite Crisis for more details). This may also explain his character's change from hero to villain, or he might have been influenced by Alexander Luthor and/or the Psycho-Pirate. While it was probably the writer's intent to suggest that Lord's previous heroic behavior was simply a part he played to ingratiate himself with the heroes before his intended plan of betrayal, this is contradicted by his various thought-bubbles over the years.

At the "Crisis Counseling" panel at Wizard World Chicago, Dan DiDio explained DC's reasoning in using Lord's character in Infinite Crisis. After going through several possible characters who could be the "new leader for the offshoot of Checkmate", Maxwell Lord was suggested. Many of the editors thought that the idea made sense, as Lord had been shown to have a mean streak and to have killed previously. The idea was dropped due to the continuity errors, such as him being a cyborg, but they went back to it later after deciding none of the other possible characters were suitable. "We thought about that aspect of the story [where Maxwell was turned into a cyborg] some more," DiDio explained. "And then asked, 'Did anyone read it?' No. 'Did anyone like the idea?' No. So we moved ahead with Max as being a human, and having been a human, and not letting that small part of the past stand in the way of this story. We wanted what was best for Countdown [to Infinite Crisis], and for us, that meant that Max had to be a human."^[38]

A further retcon placed the cyberization of Maxwell Lord in a brief period, after which he used his connections with Cadmus Labs, Checkmate and Project M to reverse the changes made to him by the Kilg%re and get back into a healthy human body. The narrative captions that explain this also imply that, despite previous suggestions to the contrary, his reformation during JLI was genuine, and only following his cyberization and restoration (and presumably Sue Dibny's death) did he acquire the hatred of metahumans that defined his role in Infinite Crisis.^[39] A further retcon plays on this sentiment, introducing Lord as distrusting of every authoritative figure and pressured by his mother at first and by the dramatic event of the Death of Superman later, to shift his mistrust and hatred on the metahuman community, guilty of being distant and uncaring about human suffering.^[1]

This has been revealed to be the case even in the current DC Universe (Booster Gold's events were set in a timeline diverging from the Countdown to Infinite Crisis events to present). However, the cyborg body owned by Maxwell Lord is no longer the one owned by the mechanical clone of Lord Havok, but a New Genesis-built automaton. Discarded after the restoration of his biological form, the body was abandoned in a basement at the Castle, Checkmate's current headquarters, and retooled to host the current iteration of the G.I. Robot.^[40]

Powers[link]

Maxwell Lord later in life was confirmed as a metahuman with the ability to telepathically influence peoples' minds. The extent of his abilities range from simple suggestion to outright commandeering of another's mind as seen with his complete possession of Superman where he was able to make the Man of Steel perform acts far outside of the range of his normal sensibilities. Lord's power is not of the "zombie" mind control variety, but rather the kind where the people affected go about their daily lives and are unaware of his influence. He also has the ability to influence more than one mind at a time and, at one point, had many people under his control. While the subject's will does factor in on how difficult it is to initially possess and maintain his control, so far no one has been able to avoid his influence for long. Lord's power not only affects the actions and predispositions of the victim, but also their perceptions of the world around them, such as in "Generation Lost" where even though Lord's rap sheet is displayed in front of someone, they would see something else, like a list of random people named Maxwell Lord in the world. It is not at this time known how his power works after the fact, such as whether it works like a post-hypnotic suggestion or if he maintains some continuous, secondary hold on all his "possessions", but in "Generation Lost" #10 (2010) just as Batman, his butler, Alfred, and Power Girl were starting to become aware that something was wrong with their memories and perceptions (and of Lord's existence) and were about to start an investigation, the possession took hold again and they forgot everything they were talking about. Seeing as how, generally, the rule of thumb is that once someone becomes aware of being controlled, that control is usually broken, this should show just how powerful Lord actually is. The main drawback to using his power is that the bigger the "push", as he calls his possessions, the more strain and toll it takes on his body. The most common reaction to a big "push" is a nosebleed with other secondary effects including a rapid elevation of body temperature, weakness and possible unconsciousness (apparently, once the "push" has taken hold, he still holds possession even while unconscious). Also, with a big enough "push", there is the possibility of a fatal hemorrhage. In Brightest Day #1 (after being resurrected), he is seen in hiding, preparing for his "Biggest push yet" - a long-lasting alteration of the memories of everyone on Earth so that they think he never existed - and has equipped the room with bio-monitors, a large tub of ice to cool his body down and a transfusion machine stocked with his own blood to replace what he would lose from such a venture. This worldwide "push" was successful and, as a consequence, caused him to hemorrhage with blood flying out of his nose and ears and then pass out in the tub of ice showing just how powerful he is and the kind of toll it takes on his body. Lastly, it is not known if such strains on his body will have any lasting, long-term effects, but as of now he has learned to safeguard his body against such damage at least in the short term with such medical preparation. Like several others resurrected and featured in "Brightest Day", his powers are shown to be somehow tainted by the Black Lantern (in Justice League: Generation Lost #4, Lord attempts to use his power on a scientist but not only does it kill the man but his corpse becomes a Black Lantern). Lord suffers a black nosebleed as he moans about this happening again. This aspect has yet to resurface and since having his life fully restored by the White Lantern, it is possible it never will.

In other media[link]

Television[link]

• Maxwell Lord appears in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Ultimatum" voiced by Tim Matheson. He is shown as a normal human with no special powers. He acts as the manager of the Ultimen, a superhero team that works independently of the Justice League. It turns out, however, that the Ultimen are a series of artificial life forms cloned and given false memories while interacting with actors portraying their parents. The team was developed with the assistance of Project Cadmus as part of an ongoing project to protect the Earth from the Justice League. As the clones (which are imperfect) die, they are replaced until one generation of the clones learns the truth and escapes. Maxwell is told by Amanda Waller to get them back or she will call in the "squad" to take them down. The Ultimen ended up attacking Maxwell Lord, demanding answers. He told them that they were created to be a better superhero team than the Justice League. When he offers to help them when their lifespan ends, they deny his plea and head back to the building to look for Amanda Waller and their as-yet-unactivated clones. After four of the Ultimen are subdued by the Justice League, Maxwell Lord and Amanda Waller arrived with some Cadmus soldiers and take them into custody to be there for when their lifespan end.

• Maxwell Lord appeared in Smallville's Season 9 episode "Charade", portrayed by Gil Bellows.^[41] In this incarnation, he's the Black King of the organization known as Checkmate and had the ability to extract memories from others which he used to try to reveal the identity of "The Blur" (a.k.a. Clark Kent). He was thwarted by Clark but managed to escape, only to be apprehended by the mysterious Red Queen. She then has him interrogate Tess in a mental illusion to try and find the Book of Rao. However, she purposely gives him incorrect information that causes Tess to see through the illusion and escape, knowing that the first thing she will then do is go and move the book to a new hiding place.

References[link]

It has been suggested that Diana Prince be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2011.

Wonder Woman is a fictional character, a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941). The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986.^[1]

Wonder Woman is a warrior Princess of the Amazons (based on the Amazons of Greek mythology) and was created by Marston, an American, as a "distinctly feminist role model whose mission was to bring the Amazon ideals of love, peace, and sexual equality to a world torn by the hatred of men." ^[2] Known in her homeland as Diana of Themyscira, her powers include superhuman strength, flight (even though the original Wonder Woman did not have this ability), super-speed, super-stamina, and super-agility. She is highly proficient in hand-to-hand combat and in the art of tactical warfare. She also possesses animal-like cunning skills and a natural rapport with animals, which has been presented as an actual ability to communicate with the animal kingdom. She uses her Lasso of Truth, which forces those bound by it to tell the truth, a pair of indestructible bracelets, a tiara which serves as a projectile, and, in some stories, an invisible airplane.

Created during World War II, the character was initially depicted fighting the Axis military forces, as well as an assortment of supervillains. In later decades, some writers maintained the World War II setting, with many of its themes and story arcs, while others updated the series to reflect the present day. Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society (from 1941) and Justice League (from 1960). Arguably the most popular and iconic female superhero in comics, Wonder Woman is also considered a feminist icon.^[2] She was named the 20th greatest comic book character by Empire magazine.^[3] She was ranked sixth in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.^[4]

In addition to the comics, the character has appeared in other media; most notably, the 1975–1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter, as well as animated series such as the Super Friends and Justice League. Although a number of attempts have been made to adapt the character to live-action film, none has yet emerged from development hell. An animated film was released in 2009, with Keri Russell voicing the title role. In 2011, Adrianne Palicki starred in a failed pilot for a would-be series about the character.

In May 2011, Wonder Woman placed fifth on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.^[5]

Publication history[link]

Creation[link]

In an October 25, 1940 interview published in Family Circle titled "Don't Laugh at the Comics", William Moulton Marston described what he saw as the great educational potential of comic books.^[6] 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 DC Comics. At that time, Marston decided to develop a new superhero. Family Circle published a follow-up article two years later from issue of the Boston University alumni magazine, it was Marston's wife Elizabeth's idea to create a female superheroine:

William Moulton Marston, a psychologist already famous for inventing the polygraph (forerunner to the magic lasso), struck upon an idea for a new kind of superhero, one who would triumph not with fists or firepower, but with love. "Fine," said Elizabeth. "But make her a woman."^[7]

Marston introduced the idea to Gaines, co-founder of All-American Publications. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with Elizabeth, whom Marston believed to be a model of that era's unconventional, liberated woman.^[7] Marston was also inspired by Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship.^[8] Both women served as exemplars for the character and greatly influenced the character's creation.^[7] Wonder Woman debuted in All Star Comics #8 (December 1941), scripted by Marston and with art by Harry G. Peter.

Marston was the creator of a systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus, which was crucial to the development of the polygraph (lie detector). Marston's experience with polygraphs convinced him that women were more honest and reliable than men and could work more efficiently.^[9]

"Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should, I believe, rule the world," Marston wrote.^[1] Although Gloria Steinem placed Wonder Woman on the first standalone cover of Ms. in 1972, Marston, writing in an earlier time, designed Wonder Woman to represent a particular form of female empowerment. Feminism argues that women are equal to men and should be treated as such; Marston's representative of femininity is a 6-foot-tall Amazon wielding a golden lasso that forces obedience on those it encircles.^{[neutrality is disputed]} In Marston's mind, women not only held the potential to be as good as men but to be superior to men.^{[original research?]}

In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote:

Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. 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.

During this period, Wonder Woman joined the Justice Society of America as the female member,^[10] albeit as the group's secretary, since the custom was that characters who had their own comic books would hold only honorary membership.

Evolution of the character[link]

Initially, Wonder Woman was an Amazon champion who wins the right to return Steve Trevor — a United States intelligence officer whose plane had crashed on the Amazons' isolated island homeland — to "Man's World" and to fight crime and the evil of the Nazis.

During the Silver Age, Wonder Woman's origin was revamped,^[11] along with other characters'. The new origin story increased the character's Hellenic and mythological roots: receiving the blessing of each deity in her crib, Diana is destined to become "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, stronger than Hercules, and swifter than Mercury."^[12]

At the end of the 1960s, under the guidance of Mike Sekowsky, Wonder Woman surrendered her powers in order to remain in Man's World rather than accompany her fellow Amazons to another dimension. Becoming a mod boutique owner, the powerless Diana Prince acquired a Chinese mentor named I Ching. Under I Ching's guidance, Diana learned martial arts and weapons skills and engaged in adventures that encompassed a variety of genres, from espionage to mythology.

Due in part to popular demand -- including Gloria Steinem choosing to feature the original super-powered version of Wonder Woman on the cover of the first issue of her Ms. Magazine -- in the early 1970s the character returned to her superhero roots in Justice League of America and to the World War II era in her own title.

Following the 1985 Crisis on Infinite Earths series, George Pérez, Len Wein, and Greg Potter relaunched the character, writing Wonder Woman as an emissary and ambassador from Themyscira to Patriarch's World, charged with the mission of bringing peace to the outside world.

In August 2010 (issue #600), DC Comics replaced the character's iconic stars-and-stripes singlet with a blue jacket (later discarded), red and gold top and dark pants, retaining only her tiara and lasso.^[13]

In 2011, DC Comics relaunched its entire line of publications to attract a new generation of readers. In this new continuity, Wonder Woman wears a costume similar to her original costume. Also, her origin is significantly changed and she is no longer a clay figure brought to life by the magic of the gods. Instead, she is a demigod, the natural-born daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus.

Powers and abilities[link]

Pre-Crisis[link]

Originally, Wonder Woman owed her abilities to the goddess Aphrodite creating Amazons superior to men, with Diana being the best of their kind.

The Golden Age Wonder Woman was later updated by Marston to be able to will a tremendous amount of brain energy into her muscles and limbs because of her Amazon training, endowing her with extraordinary strength and speed. According to her first appearance, she is stronger and more agile than a hundred of the best human athletes. In Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942), she is able to tear a steel door off its hinges. In one of her earliest appearances, she is shown running easily at 60 mph.^[14] In the same comic, she jumps from a building and lands on the balls of her feet. She can even type at a rate of over 160 words a minute during a test given to her. It was implied, and ultimately confirmed, that any woman who underwent Amazon training would gain superhuman strength.^[15] The TV series took up this notion,^[16] and in the first episode of Super Friends, Diana states to Aquaman, "...the only thing that can surpass super strength is the power of the brain." In early Wonder Woman stories,^[17] Amazon training involves strengthening this ability using pure mental energy.

Her powers would be removed in accordance with "Aphrodite's Law" if she allowed herself to be bound or chained by a male. However the effects of this varied.^[18]

In the television series, her magic belt allowed her to retain her powers when she was not on Paradise Island; removing it weakened her.^[16] Also, she had no powers when she was her alter ego Diana Prince; there was no given explanation for this.

In the comic books, with the inclusion of Wonder Girl and "Wonder Tot" in Diana's back-story, writers provided new explanations of her powers; the character became capable of feats which her sister Amazons could not equal. Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #105 reveals that Diana was formed from clay by the Queen of the Amazons and was imbued with the attributes of the Greek and Roman gods by Athena — "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules."^[12] Wonder Woman's Amazon training also gave her limited telepathy, profound scientific knowledge,^[12] and the ability to speak every language known to man and beyond. She was even fluent in caveman^[12][19] and Martian.^[19]

Although Wonder Woman's mythos was returned to its original interpretation between 1966 and 1967, new abilities were added: super breath, the ability to blow jet streams or transform water into snow, which apparently came from Hercules; ventriloquism; imperviousness to extremes of heat and cold; the ability to ride the air currents as if flying, even sensing air updrafts with her fingers; telepathy, including the ability to project images; microscopic vision; the ability to vibrate into another dimension; the ability to bestow wisdom to other beings; the ability to throw her tiara with such skill it could stop bullets; and others, according to the Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes.^[20]

Depending on the writer, Diana's invulnerability and power varied greatly according to the needs of the story. Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, Robert Kanigher, for example, portrayed Wonder Woman as being so strong that she, after standing atop her hovering plane and lassoing it with her magic lasso, was able to effortlessly lift Themyscira out of the way of an approaching tsunami using just one hand. As prominently featured in all existing Wonder Woman Showcase (Volumes 1 to 4) her strength and even speed seem to be limitless. She could lift and throw buildings and houses. Lasso and swirl huge items like Ferris' wheels and Icebergs. She was able to make a coin into a bridge with her strength, or drill through a mountain within seconds, as well as hurl spaceships with enough accuracy she could bowl over a whole fleet. Her fingernails could cut through a steel door.^[21] She was even able to flip straight over while nearly paralyzed, and split a tree falling on her with her Amazonian boots.^[22] Kanigher showed Wonder Woman as a preteen able to lift whales, push a ship away from a whirlpool, and also as a toddler able to blow so hard on her birthday cake that she sent it into orbit.^[23]

In the Silver and Bronze ages of comics, Wonder Woman was able to further increase her strength. She was unable to remove her bracelets without going insane. In times of great need, however, she would do just that, in order to temporarily augment her power tenfold. Since she would become a threat to friend and foe alike, she would use Amazonian berserker rage only as a weapon of last resort.^[24]

Before Crisis on Infinite Earths there were two Wonder Women: the first one lived on Earth-Two; the second, on Earth-One. The first canonical appearance of the Earth-One Wonder Woman is Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #80 (February 1956). Their first published meeting is Justice League of America (vol. 1) #100 (August 1972); however, their earliest meeting within the DC continuity is Wonder Woman (vol. 1) #228 (February 1977), which takes place in 1943, prior to the events of the Justice League of America story.

Post-Crisis[link]

Wonder Woman's body is a mystical creation made from the clay surrounding Themyscira. Through divine means, her disembodied soul was nurtured in and retrieved from the Cavern of Souls.^[25] Once the soul was placed into the body, it immediately came to life and was blessed with metahuman abilities by six Olympian deities.

Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, blessed Diana with strength drawn from the Earth spirit Gaea, making her one of the physically strongest heroes in the DC Universe and the strongest female herione of all (John Byrne/ Paul Soriano from Wonder Woman)in the DC Universe.^[26] She has been observed assisting in preventing large chunks of the Moon from crashing onto the Earth,^[27] supporting the weight of bridges,^[28] or hefting entire railroad trains.^[28] and hold her own against beings such as Superman and Captain Marvel. Furthermore, unlike most of her contemporaries in Man's World, Diana is willing to use deadly force, which gives her more options to deal with opponents as circumstances dictate.

While not invulnerable, she is capable of withstanding great concussive force,^[26] shrugging off high-powered rifle fire with some pain but little injury,^{[citation needed]} being knocked through a building, and even surviving a warp-core explosion.^{[citation needed]} She is durable enough to survive the rigors of space until she runs out of breath. While her superhuman strength affords her great resistance to blunt-force trauma, her skin can be cut by weapons if they are sharp enough. Her muscles do not produce lactic acids, giving her great stamina. This allowed her to once battle a clone of Doomsday.

Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, blessed Diana with great beauty and a loving heart.

Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, granted Diana great wisdom, intelligence, and military prowess. Athena's gift has enabled Diana to master over a dozen languages (including those of alien origin), multiple complex crafts, sciences and philosophies, as well as leadership, military strategy, and armed and unarmed combat. She can mimic voices, although it is more difficult for her to mimic a man's voice. More recently, Athena bound her own eyesight to Diana's, granting her increased empathy.^[29]

Artemis, goddess of the hunt, animals, and the Moon, graced Diana with the Eyes of the Hunter and Unity with Beasts. The Eyes of the Hunter ability gives Diana a full range of enhanced senses, including telescopic vision and super hearing. Unity with Beasts grants her the ability of empathy particularly that to communicate with all forms of animal life and to calm even the most ferocious of beasts.^[28]

Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, granted Diana "sisterhood with fire, that it might open men's hearts to her." This power has been shown to control the "Fires of Truth," which Diana wields through her lasso, making anyone bound by it unable to lie. This ability also grants her resistance to both normal and supernatural fire.^{[citation needed]}

Hermes, the messenger god of speed, granted Diana superhuman speed and the ability to fly. She is one of the fastest beings (obviously inferior to the Flash Family and an equal to Superman). By concentrating, Diana can mystically defy the laws of gravity and propel herself through the air to achieve flight. She is capable of flying at speeds approaching half the speed of light.^[26] She is swift enough to deflect bullets, lasers, and other projectiles with her virtually impenetrable bracelets. Her brain can process information at an incredibly fast rate. She had many speed blitz showcases mostly with Superman and The Flash. In recent Justice League stories, she even kept up with the Flash and the two also used their superspeed to save a city in The Brave and The Bold.

Diana possesses the ability to relieve her body of physical injury and toxins by becoming one with the Earth's soil and then reforming her body whole again.^[30] During John Byrne's run, it was stated that this is a ritual so sacred that it is used only in the most dire of circumstances.^[31]

She is able to astrally project herself into various lands of myth.^[32] Her physical body reacts to whatever happens to her on the mythical astral plane, leaving her body cut, bruised, or sometimes strengthened once her mind and body are reunited. She can apparently leave the planet through meditation, and did this once to rescue Artemis while she was in hell.

Skills[link]

All versions of Diana depict her as a masterful athlete, acrobat, fighter and strategist, trained and experienced in many ancient and modern forms of armed and unarmed combat, including exclusively Amazonian martial arts. Batman even noted that she is the greatest Melee fighter of all. In some versions, her mother trained her, as Wonder Girl, for a future career as Wonder Woman. From the beginning, she is portrayed as highly skilled in using her Amazon bracelets to stop bullets and in wielding her golden lasso.^[33] She is a superior warrior who has beaten Batman, Big Barda, and Black Canary in sparring matches. The modern version of the character is known to use lethal force when she deems it necessary.^[34]

Weapons[link]

Diana has an arsenal of powerful god-forged weapons at her disposal, but her signature weapons are her indestructible bracelets and the Lasso of Truth.

Her bulletproof bracelets were formed from the remnants of Athena's legendary shield, the Aegis, to be awarded to her champion. The shield was made from the indestructible hide of the great she-goat, Amalthea, who suckled Zeus as an infant. These forearm guards have thus far proven indestructible and able to absorb the impact of incoming attacks, allowing Wonder Woman to deflect automatic weapon fire and energy blasts.^[35] Diana can also slam the bracelets together to create a wave of concussive force capable of making Superman's ears bleed.^[34] Recently, she gained the ability to channel Zeus's lightning through her bracelets as well. Zeus explained to her that this power had been contained within the bracelets since their creation, because they were once part of the Aegis, and that he had only recently unlocked it for her use.^[36]

The Lasso of Truth, or Lariat of Hestia, was forged by Hephaestus from the golden girdle of Gaea.^[28] It is virtually indestructible;^[28] the only times it has been broken were when truth itself was challenged, such as when she confronted Rama Khan of Jarhanpur,^[37] and by Bizarro in Matt Wagner's non-canonical Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity.^[38] In Sensation Comics #6 (June 1942), Hippolyta claims that not even Hercules can break it. The Lasso burns with a magical aura called the Fires of Hestia, forcing anyone within the Lasso's confines to be truthful. It also at one time had the power to force anyone caught to obey any command given them, even overriding other kinds of mind control; this was effective enough to defeat strong-willed beings like Captain Marvel.^[39] Diana wields the lasso with great precision and accuracy and can use it as a whip or noose.

As early as the 1950s,^[23] Wonder Woman's Golden Tiara has also doubled as a dagger and a throwing weapon, returning to her like a boomerang.^[28] Its sharpness and mystical nature proved enough to cut even Superman.^[34]

Diana once possessed the Sandals of Hermes, or talaria, which granted the wearer great speed and flight, and the ability to travel beyond the mystical veil that protected the island of Themiscyra from Man's World. They were passed on first to Artemis and later to Wonder Girl. Diana also once possessed the Gauntlets of Atlas, which magnify the physical strength and stamina of the wearer; they too were passed on.

The Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age portrayals of Wonder Woman showed her using an Invisible Airplane that could be controlled by mental command. It was variously described as being either a creation of Amazon technology or the legendary winged horse Pegasus transformed into an aircraft. Its appearance varied as well; originally it had a propeller, while later it was drawn as a jet aircraft resembling a fighter plane. The post-Crisis or Modern Age Wonder Woman has continued to use the Invisible Plane, in the form of a small lightweight disc of alien (Lansinar) technology that, when triggered by her thoughts, transforms into a transparent version of whatever object or vehicle is appropriate for her needs. This disc was revealed to be a sentient life-form. Following the "One Year Later" continuity jump, Diana was given a new invisible plane, created by Wayne Industries, because her original invisible plane was stuck on Themyscira.

Diana occasionally uses additional weaponry in formal battle, such as ceremonial golden armor with golden wings, war-skirt, chest-plate, and a golden helmet in the shape of an eagle's head. She also possesses a sword forged by Hephaestus that is sharp enough to cut the electrons off an atom.^[28]

As a recent temporary inductee into the Star Sapphires, Wonder Woman gained access to the violet power ring of love. This ring allowed her to alter her costume at will, create solid-light energy constructs, and reveal a person's true love to them. She was able to combine the energy with her lasso to enhance its ability.

In other media[link]

Collected editions[link]

Merchandise[link]

On January 28, 2011, Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced that DC Comics's iconic heroine Wonder Woman will team up with MAC Cosmetics to create a Wonder Woman makeup collection that will be available in MAC stores in the spring of 2011. The collection includes blush, eye shadow, eyeliner, lip gloss, lipstick, mascara, mineral powder and nail polish.^[40]

Toys[link]

Wonder Woman has been released in numerous forms by Mattel including Barbie Dolls, Polly Pockets, and DC Universe Classics action figures in Traditional Costume and Blackest Night Star Sapphire Costume.

See also[link]

	United States portal
	Comics portal
	Feminism portal
	Gender studies portal
	Speculative fiction portal
	Superhero fiction portal

• Alternative versions of Wonder Woman for Elseworlds and other characters to bear the title
• Amazons (DC Comics)
• Darna
• Diana Prince
• List of Wonder Woman enemies
• List of Wonder Woman supporting characters
• Orana (DC comics)
• Portrayal of women in comics
• List of female action heroes
• Woman warrior
• Wonder Woman in literature

References[link]

External links[link]

• Wonder Woman Official website at DC Comics.com
• Origin story of Wonder Woman at DC Comics.com
• Carol A. Strickland's Wonder Woman site
• AmazonArchives.com
• Wonder of Wonders
• Wonder Woman Wiki
• Glen, Joshua (April 4, 2004). "Wonder-working Power". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2004/04/04/wonder_working_power/. 
• Malcom, Andrew H. (February 18, 1992). "She's Behind the Match For That Man of Steel". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE1DF1539F93BA25751C0A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print. 

June Tabor
Tabor at Sidmouth Folk Week, 2010
Background information
Born	(1947-12-31) 31 December 1947 (age 64)
Origin	Warwick, England
Genres	English Folk
Occupations	Singer
Years active	1972–present
Labels	Topic Records Rykodisc Records[1]
Website	JuneTabor.co.uk

June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer.

Early years[link]

Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965.

"I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I started singing. If I hadn't heard her I'd have probably done something entirely different."^[2]

Remarking on how she developed her now-characteristic style in an interview in 2008, she added,

"I have no musical education whatsoever...I just learned the songs and copied the phrasing by playing those records ad nauseam, trying out both [Anne Briggs and Belle Stewart] singers' styles. Then I tried putting the two together, and missing a few bits out - and that's approximately what I've been doing ever since. It's also why I don't do singing workshops, because that's about as much as I can tell anyone."^[3]

Her earliest public performances were at the Heart of England Folk Club, in the Fox and Vivian pub in Leamington Spa in the mid 1960s.

She attended St Hugh's College, Oxford University and appeared on University Challenge^[4] in 1968, as captain of the college team. She joined the Heritage Society at Oxford University and sang with a group called Mistral. An appearance at Sidmouth Folk Festival led to folk club bookings and she contributed to various records. One of her earliest recordings was in 1972 on an anthology called Stagfolk Live.^[5] She also featured on Rosie Hardman's Firebird (1972) and The First Folk Review Record (1974). At the time she was singing purely traditional unaccompanied material but in 1976 she collaborated with Maddy Prior on the Silly Sisters album and tour, with a full band that included Nic Jones. It provided the launching pad that same year (1976) for her first album in her own right, Airs and Graces. She later joined again with Prior, this time using the name Silly Sisters for their duo. Starting in 1977 Martin Simpson joined her in the recording studio for three albums before he moved to America in 1987. (Simpson has returned from America to be a guest guitarist on albums in the 2000s (decade).) After his departure, she started working closely with pianist Huw Warren.

Tabor stopped performing professionally for a time after working for decades as a singer, although she made some guest appearances with Fairport Convention during this period.^[6] During this time, she worked as a librarian^{[7][8][9] [10]} and, with her then-husband David Taylor, ran a restaurant called "Passepartout" in Penrith, Cumbria, England before returning to music professionally in the 1990s.

Solo work[link]

In 1990, Tabor recorded an album with the folk-rock band The Oyster Band titled Freedom and Rain. She went on tour with the Oyster Band, and the Rykodisc label published a limited-run promotional live album the following year. Many of her current fans first discovered her through this tour and album with the Oyster Band^{[citation needed]}. In 1992 Elvis Costello ^[11] wrote "All This Useless Beauty" specifically for Tabor, and she recorded it on Angel Tiger. Costello didn't record it himself until 1996, on his album of the same title.

In 1983 the BBC TV series "Spyship" ^[12] was broadcast, with Tabor singing the title song. In 1997 she appeared on Ken Russell's "In Search of English Folk Song" ^[13] broadcast of Channel 4. Tim Winton, author of the 2001 novel "Dirt Music" which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, made a selection of music to echo the themes of the novel. The CD "Dirt Music" (2001) includes "He Fades Away" by Tabor, a painful tale of the slow death of a miner. (The song originally appeared on her 1994 CD "Against the Streams.") In 2002 the "Passchendale Peace Concert" ^[14] in Flanders had Tabor sharing the stage with Coope Boyes and Simpson. On 30th June 2006 BBC Radio 3 broadcast "Night Waves" to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. It was broadcast live, with World War I songs sung by Tabor, and a discussion with Michael Morpurgo and Kate Adie.

Over the years she has worked in various genres including jazz and art song, but generally with a sparse and sombre tone to it. Her 2003 album An Echo of Hooves marked a return to the traditional ballad form after concentrating on other styles for several years, and was highly acclaimed. Allmusic said of this album "A stunning jewel in a remarkable career, and one of the best things Tabor’s ever released." Always (2005) is a boxed set of four CDs, spanning her whole career and containing rare recordings.

Collaborations and recent developments[link]

On 24 October 2003 Tabor appeared on Later With Jools Holland (BBC TV),^[15] singing "Hughie Graeme". This was later issued as part of a compilation DVD from the series. Folk Britannia was the name of a concert at the Barbican centre, and a TV mini-series (February 2006, repeated in October). She sang "Fair Margaret and Sweet William" at the Barbican, under the heading "Daughters of Albion". Tabor contributed one song to Ashley Hutchings' project Street Cries (2001) and one to a collection of folk musicians singing songs by the Beatles - Rubber Folk (2006). She chose to sing Lennon's "In My Life" a cappella. Tabor is frequently experimental but avoids modernism. For example, she frequently sings traditional songs with a piano accompaniment. On the album Singing The Storm (2000) she sings to the accompaniment of Savourna Stevenson's harp, and Danny Thompson's bass. In May 2004 she performed as part of "The Big Session" and sang an adaptation of Love Will Tear Us Apart as a duet with John Jones of Oysterband. In 1992, The Wire voted "Queen Among the Heather" one of the "Top 50 Rhythms of all Time".

The lighter side of her character can be seen in her work with Les Barker's The Mrs Ackroyd Band which performs his comic work. So far Tabor has performed on three of their albums, the 1990 Oranges and Lemmings (singing "The Trains of Waterloo", a parody of the folk song "The Plains of Waterloo" in a duet with Martin Carthy), the 1994 Gnus and Roses (singing "The January June", a send up of her perceived sombre character) and the 2003 Yelp! (singing "There's a Hole in my Bodhran", to the tune of "There's a Hole in my Bucket"). She sang two songs on Beat The Retreat, a tribute to Richard Thompson.

Discography[link]

Duo with Maddy Prior

• Silly Sisters (1976)
• No More to the Dance (1988) (as The Silly Sisters)

Solo albums

• Airs and Graces (1976) (including And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda)
• Ashes and Diamonds (1977)
• A Cut Above (1980)
• Abyssinians (1983)
• The Peel Sessions (1986) - recorded January 1977
• Aqaba (1988)
• Some Other Time (1989)
• Angel Tiger (1992)
• Against the Streams (1994)
• Singing the Storm (1996) - with Savourna Stevenson and Danny Thompson
• Aleyn (1997)
• On Air (1998)
• Reflections (1999) 3-CD box set. Contains June's first three solo albums: Airs & Graces, Ashes & Diamonds, A Cut Above
• A Quiet Eye (1999)
• Rosa Mundi (2001)
• An Echo of Hooves (2003)
• At the Wood's Heart (2005)
• Apples (2007)
• Ashore (2011)