When Gal Gadot graced the big screen as Wonder Woman, we were definitely in awe of how well she played the character. She’s a one-of-a-kind superhero that we can’t get enough of, that’s for sure. She’s definitely worthy of a rundown, and we’re here to provide it for you.
Here’s all you need to know about Diana Prince.
Origin Story
Per the usual, the comic book story and the movie differ a bit, but not to worry. We’re here to break them down for you.
Wonder Woman’s story begins in Themyscira, a mystical island that is unreachable by man. This is true in both the comics and on the big screen. Also true in both is that Diana is a princess and the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, one of the fiercest Amazons to live.
Then the story starts to differ a bit from one medium to the next.
In the comics, it is said that Diana was molded out of clay by her mother. The gods then bestowed a host of magical gifts upon her. In the movie, however, the story changes. Viewers were told the same story at first— that Diana was molded of clay with no father, but later on in the movie, it becomes apparent that Queen Hippolyta and the god Zeus had a bit of a fling, and well, Wonder Woman was the product. This film version does a better job of explaining her super strength and healing powers.
In both stories, Diana lives in Themyscira as a princess, her world largely a story of perfection and royal standards, but the strong-willed and intelligent princess always felt called to something she couldn’t quite put her finger on.
That is until a wartime aircraft crashed in the midst of Themyscira (if you’re referencing the movie, it crashed in the ocean just outside the island. In the comics, it crashed on the shore of the island). The pilot of that aircraft, Steve Trevor, was injured in the crash, and the Amazons decide to take him in and care for him, though some of them were hesitant to do so.
If you recall, the movie version was slightly different…On the big screen, Trevor’s aircraft is followed by a slew of planes and boats from both sides of the war and a fight breaks out. The Amazons are wrapped up in the fighting, and Diana’s aunt, Antiope, the leader of the Amazonian military (hint, hint, according to this article, she’ll be making a comeback in Justice League) dies in the battle.
Needless to say, in the movie, the Amazons automatically see Trevor as a threat, and they decide to interrogate him. Many of them want to put him to death, but Diana saves him.
In any case, Trevor is Diana’s ticket to Man’s World. In the movie, Queen Hippolyta can’t bear to think of her only daughter leaving Themyscira to fight in a war that doesn’t involve her, and she tries to keep Diana on the island. Diana, of course, sneaks off with Trevor.
In the comics, however, a slightly different story plays out. The Amazons, realizing that Ares, God of War, is a threat after Trevor crashes into their island, know they have to send a warrior off to hunt Ares down. They hold a traditional battle, and the winner of that battle, Diana, is sent to Man’s World to find and destroy the God of War. Can you say superhero status?
It’s World War II in both the movies and the comics. Those of us (all of us?) who have seen the movie knows how this plays out. The comics, of course, are a little different. There are quite a few variations of Diana’s story in Man’s World depending on which set of comics you read. The differences are a little too much for us to get into, but you can check out more info on Wonder Woman’s many adventures here.
In any case, our beloved Diana Prince decides to stay in Man’s World. She’s an intelligent diplomat, fierce fighter, and of course, the ultimate superhero.
Villains
As with all of our favorite superheroes, the villains are varied and many. For Wonder Woman, Ares is the most important adversary. The God of War is out for one thing- war. Ares isn’t just the foe of Diana, he’s the foe of all of the Amazons, raising the stakes a bit.
Dr. Psycho is the next villain that comes to mind. The man was a psychologist turned, well, psycho, with some pretty serious hatred toward women, which made Wonder Woman an instant threat. He appeared in many of the comics and was a sworn enemy of our beloved superhero. His story is just as complicated and changes frequently depending on which comics you’re reading. Check out more info on him here.
Cheetah is a villain that shows up again and again in Wonder Woman’s story. Though she takes the form of several different people, Cheetah is present in many of the comics and is constantly getting in Wonder Woman’s way.
Those are just a few of the superhero’s many villains. You can check out more info on some of the others here.
Powers
Endowed with powers from the Gods, Wonder Woman is one of the fiercest superheroes out there. She has super strength to start. In fact, it’s said that she’s stronger than Hercules. Let’s not forget that she’s also a trained warrior- which is just enhanced by the fact that she has the agility and speed of a god. She’s also incredibly intelligent (remember all of those languages she knew in the movie?) and she’s got a host of Amazonian-magical weapons at her disposal. The Lasso of Truth is a definite plus, and then there are the Bracelets of Victory she wears on her wrists. They deflect just about anything and give her some serious blast power when needed.
Love Interests
Two words: Steve Trevor. In the movie and in some of the comics, Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor have the best most tragic love story. In other comics, though, Diana never had a thing with him.
In the comics, there are other loves for this superhero, of course. After Steve Trevor, there’s the dark and handsome Trevor Barnes, who becomes one of Wonder Woman’s most endearing and true loves. There was also that one time with Aquaman before he was Aquaman. And of course, there’s the brief thing that happened between Wonder Woman and Batman. And though inconsequential in all of their incarnations, there were the explorations of a romance between Superman and Wonder Woman.
She’s one of the best superheroes for a reason, and we can’t deny it, we love everything about Diana Prince. We know you love Wonder Woman just as much. If your old t-shirt depicting the superhero needs to be traded in, we’ve got you covered. Make sure to check out our awesome selection of gear here.