Secret Origins – Volume 1 – 3

Synopsis

The issue’s first story begins at the moment that Wonder Woman arrives in the U.S. with an injured Steve Trevor. After dropping Steve off at the hospital, Wonder Woman leaves, but a parchment falls from her outfit and someone at the Smithsonian translates it to learn the history of the Amazons.

It tells how Ares and Aphrodite are arguing over who shall rule the world – men with violence or women with love. Ares (quickly rechristened Mars) sends his men to enslave women throughout the world. Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, prays to Aphrodite for protection. Aphrodite gives her a magic girdle that bestows great strength and power. Hippolyta then leads her Amazons to victory over the men, who are led by Hercules. After surrendering, Hercules promises peace with the Amazons and seduces Hippolyta. When she is vulnerable he steals her girdle and he and his men enslave the Amazons.

Hippolyta prays to Aphrodite, begging for help. Aphrodite agrees to give her the power to break her chains, but decrees that the Amazons must always wear metal bracelets as reminders that they must never submit to men. Should a man every weld chains to the bracelets again the Amazons will lose their strength. Now free, Hippolyta leads the Amazons to victory once again. This time, though, they leave “man’s world,” and travel to a far away island that they call Paradise Island. Here, without the influence of men, they are able to build a Utopian civilisation.

Hippolyta wants a daughter, so she carves one out of clay and names her Diana, after the Goddess of the Moon. Aphrodite then grants life to the clay, and Diana, the Princess of Paradise Island is born. She quickly demonstrates her superior strength and speed, and grows to possess great beauty and wisdom as well.

Years later, when Diana is a young woman, she and her friend Mala discover an American plane crashed in the water near the island. They swim to it and find Steve Trevor unconscious. They rescue him and Diana, who immediately falls in love with him, develops a light with a purple healing frequency that saves his life.

Meanwhile, Aphrodite speaks to Hippolyta, telling her that war has claimed Man’s World, and that Mars will rule unless one of the Amazons leaves the island and defeats the Axis Powers who are causing war. Hipployta calls for a tournament to determine which Amazon will have the honor, but she forbids Diana from participating. Diana, though, desperate to return to Man’s World with Steve Trevor, wears a mask and competes without her mother knowing. She wins the tournament, triumphing over Mala in the final event: bullets and bracelets. Hippolyta has no choice but to send Diana to the U.S. with Steve. She gives her daughter her new outfit and the Lasso of Truth.

Before she leaves, Diana consults with Steve, who explains that he was shot down while trying to chase a Japanese spy plane. On their way back to the U.S., Wonder Woman tracks down the spy, who has landed on a small deserted island. She captures the spy and brings Steve back to the U.S. as a war hero. Diana appears as his nurse, but under the secret identity Diana Prince.