Chris Gavaler, a professor from Washington and Lee, teaches an entire course about superheroes. Professor Gavaler did a wonderful job explaining how the original superman came to be from important (if not terrifying) current events, but my interest was really piqued when after the afternoon lecture he answered a question about comics and gender. I decided to do a little digging of my own to find out more information about the origins of female superheroes.

As we learned from Professor Gavaler, Superman was generically named and meant to stand for the future of eugenics when he first debut in 1938. The original Superman held details (like the S on his chest) that drew connections to white supremacy groups. It’s not a secret than superheroes and comic books were dominated by men (in authorship, consumer-base, and content), so I expected that a female superhero wouldn’t emerge as a feminist icon for at least a decade after Superman. Surprisingly, Wonder Woman was created in 1941, only three short years after Superman. I was correct in assuming that Wonder Woman was to feminism as Superman was to eugenics.

Superman’s original backstory was that his father put him in a time capsule and sent him back in time to save him from the crumbling future-Earth around him. Superman had superpowers caused by the years and years of humans practicing eugenics. Diana (later known as Wonder Woman) was a princess on a women-only island. The matriarchal society thrives on sisterhood, high-culture, and peace, mostly because they chose to cut off contact with the “Man’s World” (Earth). When a member of the Man’s World lands on her island, Diana brings him back to his World and brings a message of peace, becoming Wonder Woman.

While this is her origin story, it is not as easily recognizable as that of Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man. Her story has not been told and retold hundreds of times like these heroes. More than anything, Wonder Woman was accepted by the public because they was a hole that socially needed to be filled by a strong female leader. Wonder Woman’s origin story did not stem from tragedy like so many other heroes, but her coming of age story broke many other stereotypes by breaking the archaic mold for women in comics.

When the original Wonder Woman author passed away in 1947, Wonder Woman lost her way as propaganda for strong, feminist women. Overtime, the strong princess was written out of her powers, fell into feminist stereotypes, and eventually gave up her heroics to marry. Once a symbol of hope and peace, the media made her a warrior and a God of War. Many claim that Wonder Woman is not a viable superhero because her story is too convoluted. Because she is an idol for feminist, many artists try to push too many feminist ideals into a single body. Now she shares the burden with Black Widow, Storm, and Electra to name a few. Female superheroes were created with feminism in mind, and now I hope to see them gain a clearer direction.

Source: http://www.vulture.com/2017/06/wonder-woman-origin-story-the-strange-feminist-history.html