With the wisdom of Athena, the beauty of Aphrodite, the speed of Mercury, and the strength of Hercules, Diana, Princess of the Amazons, sprang onto the comic book page in the midst of the turbulence of World War II. Women were blazing trails while men were at war, taking on unconventional jobs and learning that they were more than capable of taking care of themselves.

Wonder Woman was the creation of William Moulton Marston (under the pen name Charles Moulton). He had previously invented the systolic blood-pressure test, which would lead to the development of the polygraph. Marston's discovery led him to the belief that women were more honest and reliable than men, with the ability to work both faster and more accurately. He felt that little girls had no suitable model of all the best qualities women embodied, so he sought to create a "feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."

Wonder Woman displayed serious ass-kicking abilities in beating the bad guys, but she also tried to reform them in the classic style of the ancient Greeks. Symbolizing agape, the ancient Greek ideal of self-sacrificing love, she was a truly feminine character who combined compassion and guidance with strength and determination. She also strongly championed sisterhood, teaming with a group of sorority girls called the Holliday Girls for many of her early adventures.

Wonder Woman has changed a lot over the years and has endured all manner of incarnations and indignities. She even gave up her superpowers for a time in the late '60s, preferring to devote herself to seeking spiritual enlightenment through Eastern philosophy and running a mod fashion boutique. However, with a live-action TV series and her resurrection as a feminist icon in the 1970s (she even appeared on the very first cover of Ms. magazine), a whole new generation of little girls came to find their very own hero in the Amazon princess from Paradise Island.