1940s: The popularity of superhero comics explodes, but Harvard psychologists complain they portray a “bloodcurdling masculinity”.
In response, psychologist and comic book writer William Marston creates the feminist superheroine Wonder Woman, who consistently escapes the patriarchal chains. Drawn by artist Harry G Peter, his creation is soon picked up by All Star Comics, one of three companies which would later form DC Comics, with Wonder Woman's debut occurring in 1941.
A founding member of the Justice League and warrior princess of the Amazonian people, Wonder Woman leaves the women-only Paradise Island for America with Steve Trevor, adopting her civilian identity Diana Prince.
Although Marston describes his creation as "psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who should ... rule the world”, he ensures she is bound or shackled in every episode because “women enjoy submission”. Within a year, Wonder Woman gets her own comic book with Sensation Comics and has 10 million readers within a decade.
1950s: Amid fears about the impact of comic book violence on the youth of the day, the stories become more focused on romance than action. In the hands of writer-editor Robert Konigher, Wonder Woman's alter-ego, Diana Prince, is depicted variously as a fashion model, a Hollywood actor and a boutique store owner. She becomes increasingly passive and domesticated, focused more on marriage than crime-fighting.
1960s: A fall in sales of the increasingly tame comic book series provokes a modern revamp, in which Wonder Woman is depicted as a normal human, after losing her superpowers. She also drops the red, white and blue costume, perhaps due to the the negative image America has garnered during the Vietnam War.
1970s: She regains her costume and superpowers, with the image of Wonder Woman again becoming synonymous with women's rights, appearing on the cover of Gloria Steinem's feminist magazine Ms.
Her popularity increases with her first television appearances, including the animated series Super Friends, and her live-action debut in 1974 starring Cathy Lee Crosby. The success of this is followed with an Emmy-nominated network series starring Lynda Carter, the iconic imagery of which would survive for decades.
1980s: An entire episode of The Muppets is dedicated to Wonder Woman, with an appearance by Lynda Carter. In 1982, Fisher Price release a Wonder Woman storybook and tape Cheetah On The Prowl. In 1988, Wonder Woman appears as a guest on CBS's animated Superman series.
1990s: English artist and comic writer John Byrne creates a memorable series of Wonder Woman books, in which the super-heroine is elevated to the status of a muscular goddess, who then ascends to Mount Olympus as the Goddess of Truth. This modernised revamping is to prove influential for future film and TV productions.
2000s: Wonder Woman's first full length animated film is released with actress Keri Russell voicing the Amazon-tribe superhero. The straight to DVD movie directed by Lauren Montgomery is released in 2009 by DC comics and Warner Bros as part of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series.
2016: DC writer Greg Rucka announces that Wonder Woman is gay, confirming the speculation of many fans: “By our standards where I am standing … Themyscira [Paradise Island] is a queer culture.”
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