wonder woman 75th anniversary sheet of 20 forever first class postage stamps scott 5150 by usps usps seventy-five years ago, while most comic book damsels in distress helplessly awaited rescue by their male protectors, wonder woman confidently brushed aside this established gender barrier. in groundbreaking tales, wonder woman continues to defuse the havoc of a male-dominated world—always with justice, equality, and peace. the u.s. postal service celebrates her diamond anniversary by chronicling her evolution in comics, from her world war ii origins to today. in the wake of superman’s phenomenal launch in 1938, hordes of copycat super heroes appeared in the pages of comic books. most were short-lived, some endured, and virtually all were male characters. then, in 1941, came wonder woman. with her peaceful ways and fearlessness, wonder woman stood out from the pack. creator william moulton marston was a psychologist who contributed toward the development of the polygraph—“lie detector”—and whose theories about women’s potential were atypical of his era. the middle-aged ivy leaguer was unlike most creators of super heroes in the genre’s early days: typically scrappy young sons of immigrants, seeking opportunity during the depression. in comic books marston recognized a powerful medium for his message. for this mission he assumed a secret identity: charles moulton. marston’s wonder woman was unique in its throwback visual style and its fast-forward intentions for society. he expressed a view that women’s power lies in their superior capacity to love and believed that women should rule the world—and would do a better job of it than men.