Wonder Woman’s Strength and Power Through the Ages

[John Venus]

Superman's power levels fluctuates a lot.

When comparing Diana's power levels, people should look to classic mythology (Hermes, Heracles, etc) since that's who Diana's powers were originally compared with.

[Perseus]

Superman's power levels fluctuates a lot.

When comparing Diana's power levels, people should look to classic mythology (Hermes, Heracles, etc) since that's who Diana's powers were originally compared with.

So like... limitless and infinite?

[Agent Z]

You mean you're not super durable? weird.

Yeah, so I have no idea why you brought up humans as an argument.

[phonogram12]

It is not difficult. Most Comic writers just aren't that good at it since they can't even mantain consistency in general.

I've been reading comics for over 40 years. If it wasn't difficult, we'd see a whole lot more of it.

Superman's power levels fluctuates a lot.

When comparing Diana's power levels, people should look to classic mythology (Hermes, Heracles, etc) since that's who Diana's powers were originally compared with.

A lot of those seem to be inconsistently written, too, though. And also, they aren't Superman, which is the comparison many here seem to be concerned about for whatever reason.

[DABellWrites]

She's a superhero in a world with magic and technology far more advanced than our own. "Going above and beyond" is standard for such a character and Diana should be no different.

And it isn't like "keeping on her toes" has any payoff hiven she's been shot twice and hasn't thought to wear something less revealing and more protective.

Once you go above and beyond, how can you tell a good story? If Wonder Woman had one individual writer I can see it working, but that's not the case. If you want to keep Wonder Woman selling for decades going above and beyond doesn't work, because eventually you'll run into the same problem Superman is at: writers flip flop on him.

Why does she got to cover up when she's fast enough to deflect bullets and dodge them? Yeah, sometimes artist makes the top too low.

[DABellWrites]

Superman's power levels fluctuates a lot.

When comparing Diana's power levels, people should look to classic mythology (Hermes, Heracles, etc) since that's who Diana's powers were originally compared with.

Most superheroes were written that way, it made sense because there were nobody back then to compare them too. Jay Garrick was dubbed Mercury reincarnated or something like that. But, we don't compare Jay Garrick to Mercury nowadays.

[DABellWrites]

I've been reading comics for over 40 years. If it wasn't difficult, we'd see a whole lot more of it.



A lot of those seem to be inconsistently written, too, though. And also, they aren't Superman, which is the comparison many here seem to be concerned about for whatever reason.

Because he's Superman, he's a standard and archetype. It's up there when comparing someone to Hercules. It means something. A fair comparison in my opinion. Plus, in terms of DC Comics, who is a better and more recognized character to compare Diana's strength to? Billy Batson has the strength of Hercules and Power of Zeus, but everyone compares his strength to Superman as well. Like I stated, he's the standard. Clark is the muscles of the DC Universe.

[John Venus]

So like... limitless and infinite?

If that's where the myths leads up to...

A lot of those seem to be inconsistently written, too, though. And also, they aren't Superman, which is the comparison many here seem to be concerned about for whatever reason.

Comparing her power levels to Heracles, Hermes, Artemis and Athena tells you which ballpark her powers are meant to fit in.

Perpetually, comparing her to Superman just feeds into the perception of her being a female Superman rather than a character in her own right and a mythical character in her own right.

Most superheroes were written that way, it made sense because there were nobody back then to compare them too. Jay Garrick was dubbed Mercury reincarnated or something like that. But, we don't compare Jay Garrick to Mercury nowadays.

Mostly because the Flash grew into their own mythos.

Diana's in this symbiotic relationship with Superman, Batman and the Greek Mythos.

[Agent Z]

Once you go above and beyond, how can you tell a good story? If Wonder Woman had one individual writer I can see it working, but that's not the case. If you want to keep Wonder Woman selling for decades going above and beyond doesn't work, because eventually you'll run into the same problem Superman is at: writers flip flop on him.

Why does she got to cover up when she's fast enough to deflect bullets and dodge them? Yeah, sometimes artist makes the top too low.

We've had a Wonder Woman who's vulnerable to bullets for decades and we're still getting stories of inconsistent quality. This isn't an issue of Diana being too powerful, it's a problem you run into with any character whose story is never allowed to end.

[Gaius]

Mostly because the Flash grew into their own mythos.

Diana's in this symbiotic relationship with Superman, Batman and the Greek Mythos.

Yeah, it's an annoying trend among writers and fans to try to write Diana's personality as dependent on making her either similiar to or different Superman or Batman for no other reason rather than trying to explain if it makes sense for her character on her own terms.

"Superman flies, so she should or shouldn't"

"Supes and Bats don't kill so she should kill. Or she shouldn't also"

Though granted Marston himself used Superman as a comparative for what he wanted to do with Diana so...

[WonderLight789]

I've been reading comics for over 40 years. If it wasn't difficult, we'd see a whole lot more of it.



A lot of those seem to be inconsistently written, too, though. And also, they aren't Superman, which is the comparison many here seem to be concerned about for whatever reason.

It isn't difficult. It just takes time and effort. And a lot of writers and editors don't care enough to invest. Most comics are half baked attempts at so many things and it shows.

[WonderLight789]

Because he's Superman, he's a standard and archetype. It's up there when comparing someone to Hercules. It means something. A fair comparison in my opinion. Plus, in terms of DC Comics, who is a better and more recognized character to compare Diana's strength to? Billy Batson has the strength of Hercules and Power of Zeus, but everyone compares his strength to Superman as well. Like I stated, he's the standard. Clark is the muscles of the DC Universe.

And according to DC. WW is also an archetype and a standard. A feminist girl power icon and what not. WW being bulletproof or not is not the problem. We have had versions of both sides. And still inconsistencies in the quality of the stories happened either way. Bulletproof or not. She is more often than not. Thrown under the bus to show what a big deal Superman is. After the same label keeps saying how she is comparable to him, a powerhouse that can challenge SM and all that. DC either needs to put their money where their mouth is. Or stop hyping her up to only come out short. Also power levels in comics are inconsistent because most writers don't care to put more effort into that. Most of them will openly admit that the characters will only be as strong as their plot needs them to be. They want WW, SM etc to be Gods and super uper powerful with epic world ending action stories. And at the same time, they want them to be in stories where batman, deathstroke etc can react to them or survive a hit from them or even get hurt by them somehow. And you can't have it both ways at the same time. Not without inconsistencies unless you try to come up with an explanation as to why a far weaker character was able to face a far stronger one in a certain story. But most of the time they give no explanations. Because again, in comics all is valid for the sake of the plot and no explanations are required. WW is supposed to be a big powerhouse. So i would like to see her treated like one and yes on par with Superman like many times they have said that she is. If they can't live up to their own lipservice, then stop the lipservice for once and for all. And openly describe WW as they currently portray her on panel. A glorified super human Xena and nothing more.

[John Venus]

Yeah, it's an annoying trend among writers and fans to try to write Diana's personality as dependent on making her either similiar to or different Superman or Batman for no other reason rather than trying to explain if it makes sense for her character on her own terms.

"Superman flies, so she should or shouldn't"

"Supes and Bats don't kill so she should kill. Or she shouldn't also"

Though granted Marston himself used Superman as a comparative for what he wanted to do with Diana so...

I don't recall Marston mentioning Superman just that famous quote about how women need a powerful figure to look up to because 'not even girls would want to be girls if all the traits we typically consider feminine lacks force and strength.

Granted every superhero owes their existence to Superman (yes there were some proto Superman characters but he is still the spark that started all of this) but a lot of heroes stand on their own.

But with Diana I think all of these comparisons to Superman and Batman drowns out her own voice. She shouldn't be doing stuff just because the other two does it.

Why should Diana fly? She flies because that captures the essence of her character, she is free spirited and didn't want to be contained to Themyscira. Plus it looks cool.

Why should Diana have super strength? Because she is meant to be represent a power fantasy. A woman who is indomitable and strong enough to overcome any challenges, not be conquered and be able to able to change the world. And challenge the notion of a woman being weaker than a man even a fantasy woman.

Why should Diana have super speed? Because her speed is described as on par with Hermes so she should be very fast.

Same goes for her being as wise as Athena, it was meant to indicate that she was never a brute or was too naive.

[Zahina]

Same goes for her being as wise as Athena, it was meant to indicate that she was never a brute or was too naive.

Wonder Woman should be the wisest superheroine in the DC universe and shouldn't be naive at all.

[DABellWrites]

I don't recall Marston mentioning Superman just that famous quote about how women need a powerful figure to look up to because 'not even girls would want to be girls if all the traits we typically consider feminine lacks force and strength.

Granted every superhero owes their existence to Superman (yes there were some proto Superman characters but he is still the spark that started all of this) but a lot of heroes stand on their own.

But with Diana I think all of these comparisons to Superman and Batman drowns out her own voice. She shouldn't be doing stuff just because the other two does it.

Why should Diana fly? She flies because that captures the essence of her character, she is free spirited and didn't want to be contained to Themyscira. Plus it looks cool.

Why should Diana have super strength? Because she is meant to be represent a power fantasy. A woman who is indomitable and strong enough to overcome any challenges, not be conquered and be able to able to change the world. And challenge the notion of a woman being weaker than a man even a fantasy woman.

Why should Diana have super speed? Because her speed is described as on par with Hermes so she should be very fast.

Same goes for her being as wise as Athena, it was meant to indicate that she was never a brute or was too naive.

Agreed!

And according to DC. WW is also an archetype and a standard. A feminist girl power icon and what not. WW being bulletproof or not is not the problem. We have had versions of both sides. And still inconsistencies in the quality of the stories happened either way. Bulletproof or not. She is more often than not. Thrown under the bus to show what a big deal Superman is. After the same label keeps saying how she is comparable to him, a powerhouse that can challenge SM and all that. DC either needs to put their money where their mouth is. Or stop hyping her up to only come out short. Also power levels in comics are inconsistent because most writers don't care to put more effort into that. Most of them will openly admit that the characters will only be as strong as their plot needs them to be. They want WW, SM etc to be Gods and super uper powerful with epic world ending action stories. And at the same time, they want them to be in stories where batman, deathstroke etc can react to them or survive a hit from them or even get hurt by them somehow. And you can't have it both ways at the same time. Not without inconsistencies unless you try to come up with an explanation as to why a far weaker character was able to face a far stronger one in a certain story. But most of the time they give no explanations. Because again, in comics all is valid for the sake of the plot and no explanations are required. WW is supposed to be a big powerhouse. So i would like to see her treated like one and yes on par with Superman like many times they have said that she is. If they can't live up to their own lipservice, then stop the lipservice for once and for all. And openly describe WW as they currently portray her on panel. A glorified super human Xena and nothing more.

I very much agree. DC is willing to let writers make Bruce into the smartest men alive at the expense of having characters like Superman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash, look stupid. You really paint a bad picture for these so-called "Gods".

Yeah, it's an annoying trend among writers and fans to try to write Diana's personality as dependent on making her either similiar to or different Superman or Batman for no other reason rather than trying to explain if it makes sense for her character on her own terms.

"Superman flies, so she should or shouldn't"

"Supes and Bats don't kill so she should kill. Or she shouldn't also"

Though granted Marston himself used Superman as a comparative for what he wanted to do with Diana so...

Marston hated Superman though, Diana was more or less a reaction to that. Now, if you mean the Superman-Wonder Woman bit, know Marston meant entirely in terms of them being educational for children. I know I compare Diana's strength (and speed and intelligence :P) to Superman, but that's to illustrate how the character should be written. I lean towards Martston's Stronger Than Hercules, Swifter Than Mercury, Wise As Athena, and Beautiful As Aphrodite.

We've had a Wonder Woman who's vulnerable to bullets for decades and we're still getting stories of inconsistent quality. This isn't an issue of Diana being too powerful, it's a problem you run into with any character whose story is never allowed to end.

I agree, but I'll say it's also a problem being apart of a big franchise. With all of DC's books they keep pumping out, there's just no time to maintain a good sense of continuity. If DC had a much smaller lineup, I could see it. Another thing, shared universe. Very much a problem. You have all these characters who have their little worlds apart of this bigger "universe" that is a melting pot of ever changing interconnecting ideas trying to make sense of why they co-exist. Well, Diana was created to be the most impressive thing in her own stories. Now she's sharing it with Superman, Captain Marvel, the Flash, Martian Manhunter. Sadly, Diana has a smaller readership than them (excluding MM).