Wonder Woman Powers
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See DC Comics * List of DC Comics characters * Wonder Woman
Powers and abilities
Originally, Wonder Woman was able to will a tremendous amount of brain energy into her muscles and limbs by Amazon training which endowed her with extraordinary strength and agility. (The Wonder Woman (TV series) show took up this notion; "... we are able to develop our minds and physical skills ..." ["Fausta:The Nazi Wonder Woman" 1976]; and in the first episode of Super Friends [1973] Diana states to Aquaman "... the only thing that can surpass super strength is the power of the brain.") In early Wonder Woman storiesWonder Woman Vol. 1, #1, #98 to 329 (1942 - 1986) Amazon training involves strengthening this ability using pure mental energy.
With the inclusion of Wonder Girl and Wonder Tot in Diana's backstory, writers provided new explanations of her powers; the character became capable of feats which her sister Amazons could not equal. Wonder Woman Volume One #105,Wonder Woman Vol. 1, #105 (1942 - 1986) reveals that Diana was formed by clay by the Queen of the Amazons and was imbued with the attributes of the Greek gods by Athena - "beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules."Hendrix, Grady. "Out for Justice". The New York Sun December 11, 2007
Although Wonder Woman’s mythos was returned to its original interpretation between 1966 and 1967, new abilities were added: super breath (to blow jet streams or transform water into snow); ventriloquism; imperviousness to extremes of heat and cold; ride the air currents as if flying; mental telepathy (even to project images); microscopic vision; the ability to vibrate into another dimension, and others which are listed in the Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume Two (1976). Michael L. Fleisher, The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes, Volume 2, Wonder Woman, (DC Comics, 2007; orig. pub. 1976)
Depending on the writer, Diana's powers and abilities were either godlike, or just above the strength of an average man. The events of Crisis on Infinite Earths erased Wonder Woman’s history, and the character was rebooted in 1987.
Diana possesses a host of superhuman powers granted to her by the gods and goddesses of Olympus, gifts which have been stated to be equal to their own abilities.52 Week 12 — "The Origin of Wonder Woman" Primary among these are superhuman strength and stamina, which she draws from a mystical link to the Earth itself granted by Demeter.
Diana is one of the strongest and most powerful superheroes in the DC Universe. Her stamina affords her an incredible degree of resistance to blunt force trauma. However, Diana's skin is not invulnerable and can be pierced by sharp projectiles with sufficient force distributed over a small surface area such as bullets or arrows.
Born of the clay of Themyscira, and given life and divine powers by the gods themselves, Diana has heightened resistance to magical attacks. She is experienced in battling foes who use sorcery as a weapon. As a divine creation herself, she is less susceptible to manipulation by magic than many of her fellow heroes. Like the Earth, Diana is constantly renewing herself, allowing her to quickly heal. In cases where she is gravely injured or poisoned, Diana has shown the ability to physically merge with the earth, causing whatever injuries or poisons she has incurred to be expelled from her body as it regains shape. This ability is shared by all the Themyscirian Amazons and is considered a sacred act, and is seldom used.
Diana is the finest warrior ever born to the Amazons of Themyscira. She is a master of armed and unarmed combat, proficient with nearly every weapon ever made, especially the bow and the javelin, and the exotic martial arts styles practiced by the Amazons. Because those martial skills are not practiced outside of Themyscira, Diana is extremely difficult to defeat in open battle. She has at times engaged in battle with beings such as Superman, Darkseid, or the Olympian Gods and held her own against them.
The Goddess Artemis has granted Diana the "The Eye Of The Hunter" which gives Diana enhanced senses, as well as "Unity With Beasts" allowing Diana to communicate with all forms of animals (including dinosaurs) and her presence alone can bring a raging beast to a calm standstill.
The God Hermes gifted Diana with flight and with incredible speed. She is able to keep up with Flash support character Jesse Quick over a good distance.
Shortly before Infinite Crisis, Wonder Woman blinded herself in order to save millions of lives during her fight with the Gorgon Medousa; her sight was later restored by Athena as a gift - binding her own eyesight to her champion, Diana. Since then, she has possessed the sight of Athena, or the gift of increased insight. Consequently, Diana can detect others' emotions, is now fully immune to Doctor Psycho's illusions and also mind control as shown during the conclusion of the Sacrifice storyline when Maxwell Lord tried to telepathically control her but was unable to do so.
Diana possesses great wisdom and intelligence, primary gifts from the Goddess of Wisdom herself, Athena. Diana has exhibited heightened proficiency with languages, being able to speak her native Themysciran, Ancient and Modern Greek, English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese (she expressed "difficulty" with the tones of Cantonese during an interview with Lois Lane), Russian, and Hindi.
This same gift of Wisdom makes Wonder Woman an accomplished strategist and tactician, practiced in the arts of leadership, persuasion and diplomacy. For a short time during the George Pérez and William Messner-Loebs run on the comic, Diana was shown to possess the ability to astrally project herself into various lands of myth in order to interact with or seek advice from creatures there.<ref>Wonder Woman Vol. 2, #56, #75, #77, and #97; Wonder Woman Special #1; and Artemis Requiem mini-series #1.</ref> In some cases, she has shown the ability to place individuals into a state of sleep while under the power of her golden lasso.<ref>Wonder Woman Vol. 2 #20 suggests that this power is in direct correlation to Morpheus, the God of Dreams.</ref> However, this ability might be a common technique prevalent in Amazonian society, since Queen Hippolyta used this technique on Diana herself during the Our Worlds at War event.
Weapons
Diana has numerous powerful weapons at her disposal, but her signature weapons are her indestructible bracelets and the Lasso of Truth. The Bracelets of the Aegis (in Pre Crisis: Silver Bracelets of Victory) were formed from the remnants of Zeus's legendary Aegis shield, and were created for her by Hephaestus. Diana's superhuman reflexes and senses allow her to deflect projectiles and bullets, including automatic weapons fire, as well as energy blasts and lasers from beings such as Ares and Darkseid. She is fast enough to protect herself from multi-vector attacks. At close-range the indestructible bracelets block blades, weaponry, and punches. Diana has used the bracelets as a dual defensive/offensive weapon, redirecting energy blasts back to their point of origin or at other targets. When crossed, the bracelets generate a larger remnant of the Aegis itself, forming an impenetrable barrier which allows Diana to protect herself and those behind her from area attacks.
The Lasso of Truth (also known as the Lariat of Hestia), forged from her aunt Antiope's Golden Girdle of Gaea, is perhaps Diana's greatest and most versatile weapon. The divine Lasso is absolutely unbreakable and has restrained beings as powerful as Superman, Captain Marvel, and the gods Ares and Hades. The Lasso burns with a magical aura called the Fires of Hestia, forcing anyone within the Lasso's confines to be truthful. This extends past mere speaking as illustrated by when Wonder Woman forced Martian Manhunter to shapeshift by demanding to see his true form. The Fires can restore lost memories, dispel illusions, renew the wielder's body, protect those encircled by it from magical and nonmagical attacks, and even cure insanity. Additionally, Wonder Woman has used the fire to create impenetrable barriers. Although some writers established that no one but Diana can wield the Lasso due to its divine nature, Donna Troy used it during her tenure as Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman. (Donna was created from a portion of Diana's own soul). In recent years, artists and inkers have depicted the Lasso as a fiery weapon, coursing with power. (This is due, in part, to advances in the coloring processes now used in comics.) During Grant Morrison's run on JLA, artist Howard Porter frequently drew Diana wielding the flaming Lasso, with absolute control, in elaborate and serpentine configurations.
Wonder Woman's golden tiara has also doubled as a throwing weapon, used for long-distance attack or defense. Hurled with Diana's superhuman strength, the razor-edged crown can cut through most substances before returning to her. She decapitated the god Deimos with it during their first meeting, and during the "Sacrifice" storyline she used the tiara to injure Superman's throat and impede his attack on her.
Diana used the Sandals of Hermes to cross the dimensional impasse between Themyscira and the outside world, but they were passed on first to Artemis, and later to Wonder Girl. Diana also once wielded the Gauntlet of Atlas, which magnifies the physical strength and stamina of the wearer by a factor of ten. Diana used the Gauntlet several times, most notably to destroy a clone of the Superman-killer Doomsday, but it raised her already superhuman strength to a level that she found difficult to control.
Wonder Woman has at her disposal a small lightweight disc of alien (Lansinar) technology that, when triggered by her thoughts, transforms into a transparent version of whatever object or vehicle is appropriate for her needs. The device has been used for several purposes, including a communication device, but is most frequently used by Diana in the form of an invisible jet plane, thus reintroducing this vehicle for the first time in post-Crisis continuity. She has also used the amorphous disc in partnership with Green Lantern's power ring to hold Earth's moon together while shifting its orbit. However, following the One Year Later continuity jump, Diana was given a new invisible plane, created by Wayne Industries.
A classic warrior, Diana occasionally uses additional weaponry in formal battle. She uses ceremonial golden armor complete with golden wings, war-skirt and chest-plate, and a golden helmet in the shape of an Eagle's head. In warfare, she may wield a bow & arrow, a spear, or a labrys (a doubled-bladed axe). Owing to the honored self-sacrifice of Diana Trevor, Wonder Woman uses many American themes such as an American Flag sort of cape/sword holster. Moreover, she uses a golden shield with American symbols and themes. Her deadliest piece of battle-gear is a magically forged sword (again a gift from Hephaestus), so sharp that it can carve the electrons off an atom. In the Elseworlds story Kingdom Come, Superman was cut by this sword while running his fingers down the blade.
