Claim: Wonder Woman is an American superhero comic book character.

Wonder Woman is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . The character is a founding member of the Justice League , demigoddess , warrior princess , and Ambassador-at-Large of the Amazonian people . In her homeland , she is Princess Diana of Themyscira , and outside of her homeland , she is known by her civilian identity Diana Prince .   Wonder Woman was created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston , and artist Harry G. Peter . Marston and his wife Elizabeth 's cohabitant , Olive Byrne , is credited as being his inspiration for the character 's appearance . Marston drew a great deal of inspiration from early feminists , and especially from birth control pioneer Margaret Sanger . The character first appeared in All Star Comics # 8 in October 1941 and first cover-dated on Sensation Comics # 1 , January 1942 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986 .   Wonder Woman 's origin story relates that she was sculpted from clay by her mother Queen Hippolyta and given life by Aphrodite , along with superhuman powers as gifts by the Greek Gods . However , in recent years artists updated her profile : she has been depicted as the daughter of Zeus , and jointly raised by her mother Hippolyta and her aunts Antiope and Menalippe ; artists George Perez gave her a muscular look and emphasized her Amazonian heritage ; artist Jim Lee redesigned Diana 's costume to include pants ; she inherits Ares 's divine abilities , becoming the personified `` God of War '' ; and writer Greg Rucka clarified her sexual orientation as bisexual , giving her a backstory that includes positive relationships with women .   Her Amazonian training helped to develop a wide range of extraordinary skills in strategy , hunting , and combat . She possesses an arsenal of advanced technology , including the Lasso of Truth , a pair of indestructible bracelets , a tiara which serves as a projectile , and , in older stories , a range of devices based on Amazon technology . Wonder Woman was created during World War II ; the character was initially depicted fighting Axis military forces as well as an assortment of colorful supervillains , although over time her stories came to place greater emphasis on characters , deities , and monsters from Greek mythology . Many stories depicted Wonder Woman rescuing herself from bondage , which defeated the `` damsels in distress '' trope that was common in comics during the 1940s . In the decades since her debut , Wonder Woman has gained a formidable cast of enemies bent on eliminating the Amazon , including classic villains such as Ares , Cheetah , Doctor Poison , Circe , Doctor Psycho , and Giganta , along with more recent adversaries such as Veronica Cale . Wonder Woman has also regularly appeared in comic books featuring the superhero teams Justice Society -LRB- from 1941 -RRB- and Justice League -LRB- from 1960 -RRB- .   Notable depictions of the character in other media include Gloria Steinem placing the character on the cover of Ms. magazine in 1971 ; the 1975 -- 1979 Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter ; as well as animated series such as the Super Friends and Justice League . Since Carter 's television series , studios struggled to introduce a new live-action Wonder Woman to audiences , although the character continued to feature in a variety of toys and merchandise , as well as animated adaptations of DC properties , including a direct-to-DVD animated feature . Attempts to return Wonder Woman to television have included a television pilot for NBC in 2011 , closely followed by another stalled production for The CW . Gal Gadot portrays Wonder Woman in the DC Extended Universe , starting with the 2016 film Batman v Superman : Dawn of Justice , marking the character 's feature film debut after over 70 years of history . Gadot will also star in the character 's first solo live-action film Wonder Woman , set to be released on June 2 , 2017 .   On October 21 , 2016 , the United Nations sparked controversy by naming Wonder Woman a UN Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls in a ceremony attended by Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Cristina Gallach and by actors Lynda Carter and Gal Gadot . Critics regard the character as not being a worthy role model for women , deeming the scantily clad `` large breasted , white woman of impossible proportions '' as being overtly sexualized and not culturally sensitive . Two months later she was dropped from her role as a UN Ambassador following a petition .