Wonder Woman FAQ

[Indigo Al]

Thanks for being our Wonder Woman Answer Man, artemisboy!

[Gremalkyn]

I believe she, with the help of Green Lantern, physically moved the moon. I forget where that happened though. I guess there are other events that could be pointed out but that's the first thing that came to mind.

If it is the same event, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Green Lantern all pulled the moon from orbit (then put it back) when Martian Manhunter convinced the White Martians to enter the Phantom Zone. Apparently, the moon grazed the Earth's atmosphere, allowing some air on the moon (they spoke during the fight) and the entry friction burned all of the Martians until the Whites surrendered before they would - literally - fry.

[Fenix]

Superman, Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman pulled the earth during Obsidian age if I´m not mistaken.

[artemisboy]

Here's a list of the "known" Bana-Mighdallian Goddesses and a brief bio of their background:

Neith: Neith is generally regarded as the quintessential war-goddess and huntress deity of the Egyptians since the ancient predynastic period. She is also considered a goddess of impartiality. In her usual representations, she is portrayed as a fierce deity, a human female wearing the Red Crown, occasionally holding or using the bow and arrow, in others a harpoon. In fact, the hieroglyphs of her name are usually followed by a determinative containing the archery elements, with the "shield" symbol of the name being explained as either double bows (facing one another), intersected by two arrows (usually lashed to the bows), or by other imagery associated with her worship. Currently her physical appearance looks more like a female version of Clint Eastwood's character in "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly", which seems to prove that the Bana-Mighdallian goddesses have followed the Olympian's example of taking a more physical representation of their current stations in modern day life than the more traditional looks they are known for. When Neith was first seen in the Wonder Woman comics she blessed Themyscira with "the nurturing spirit of motherhood and its ferocious protection".

Isis: The goddess of magic, the moon, fertility and motherhood. Unlike the other Egyptian goddesses, the goddess Isis spent time among her people, teaching women how to grow crops, make clothing, read, produce medicine and how to tame men. Traditionally Isis is seen as wearing a long, white, sleeveless gown and a head-dress of some type. She is currently depicted as wearing darker, more sophisticated /sexy business clothing complete with briefcase and an Ank (symbol of eternity) choker necklace. When Isis was first shown in the Wonder Woman comic she enchanted Themyscira with "magic and the magic possibility".

Bast: The goddess Bast is probably the most recognized of the Egyptian goddesses. She is known as the protector of women and, later, was made a war goddess. She is recognized as having a cat-like head and a humanoid body. As a protector of cats, Bast can also shape-shift into the form of a domestic black cat. Lesser known dominions Bast holds over are: home, art, music, dance, sex, protector of the underworld, the moon and dawn. Traditionally Bast was seen as wearing one hoop earring, a large necklace that covers her neck down to her chest area and a white skirt. Presently Bast has been seen wearing black leather clothing and spiked heeled boots, along with her traditional earring. Of the Bana-Mighdallian goddesses, Bast was the only one who did not make a blessing upon Themyscira. Her depiction though in the Vertigo comics showed that she was not as powerful as she once was as she did not have as many followers. This leads me to believe that her loyalty to the remaining Bana-Mighdallian Amazon followers is exceptionally passionate as she needs their faith in order to remain in power. Thus, I would see her as an executioner of sorts when needed.

Mammitu: Mammitu (or Mamitu) is an Akkadian goddess of the oath, later a goddess of fate and a judge in the underworld. In the Wonder Woman comics she was also referred to as a demon of irrevocable curses. She was shown to wear a flowing orange gown and an orange organic headpiece. Her current more 'every day' look has not been shown as of yet. When she blessed the island of Themyscira she bound all the previous goddesses' blessings to Themsycira with "an oath of commitment no god or mortal shall defy without swift retribution".

While these goddesses are the only Bana-Mighdallian goddesses shown in the comic book thus far, it can be assumed that there are far more dieties in their faith as is the case with the Themyscirian Amazon's worship of their main Olympian goddesses. For example, the goddess Bast had a daughter named Sakmet who had a face of a lion and was a fiery and destructive war goddess. As such, the Amazons would respect such a god but ultimately not worship the diety outright. Sakmet was seen briefly in battle just before Themyscira's transformation, as was the god Thoth. Another potential goddess in their pantheon could be the goddess Ishtar, a love goddess, as she was a widely known Arabic goddess.

- Peter

[We R. Venom]

She has a cousin in Teen Titans, whats up with her. And who is powergirl, is she related? Also Ive been told she's nevr lost a fight. Who has she fought, like seriously. no mind control or magic im talkin one on one.

[artemisboy]

She has a cousin in Teen Titans, whats up with her. And who is powergirl, is she related? Also Ive been told she's nevr lost a fight. Who has she fought, like seriously. no mind control or magic im talkin one on one.

The only official cousin Diana is supposed to have had was Hippolytus, the son of her aunt Antiope. He lived thousands of years ago though, so his survival (as he was not immortal) seems unlikely. I believe you are thinking of Cassandra Sandsmark (or Cassie) who is the current Wonder Girl. Cassie and Diana are not related but merely friends. It's more like a mentor kind of thing. And Power Girl is rumored to be related to the Superman family, not the Wonder family.

- Peter

[Wonder Bebs]

Okay, this questions been bugging me for a hot while: What exactly happened between the Themscyrian Amazons and the Amazons of Bana-Mighdal? They really didn't seem to get along very well until Our World's at war happened and Hippoltya died. Could you clear this up for me?

[artemisboy]

I believe that the combination of losing so many Amazons during the second Amazon civil war and the Our Worlds At War battles made the Amazons realize that there are not as many "sisters" left to carry on the race. Thus they most probably put their issues aside and tried to build up from the ruins of their ravaged people and tried to make it great again as a true united nation. Each tribe gained much respect for the other during the end of each war though, thus helping ease the annimosity. Hippolyta's denouncement of the royal throne in addition to her death defending both tribes during the OWAW incident helped the Bana-Mighdallian Amazons see the Themyscirian Amazons as worthy of respect. The Themyscirian Amazons also gained respect for the Banas as they equally put their lives at risk and have an honest leader in Artemis to help guide their people. Also, whereas the island of Themyscira was once governed by one set of gods, the Olympians, the goddesses worshiped by the Bana-Mighdallians stepped into the picture after the wars and have blessed the islands and it's people, thus giving both tribes equal footing in the grand scheme of things.

- Peter

[artemisboy]

Or do you mean their relationship before the wars? If that is the case, the annimosity arose from several areas. The first being that Diana went to their Egyptian city and not only tried to take their most prized possession from them (the second girdle of Gaea) but also helped destroy the city to rubble. Thus, the remaining survivors of the explosion were left without a home and many of their once great nation dead. In retaliation they allied themselves with the witch Circe during the the War Of The Gods crossover. During that time they held some Themyscirian Amazons prisoner and helped cause the death of others. They also managed to brainwash Hippolyta into becoming their "Shimtar" (or warrior representative) to attack Diana. This is something Hippolyta never forgave. When that arrangement failed, the Bana Amazons demanded payment from Circe in the gift of immortality and to be teleported to Themysciria to attack the Themyscirians in order to take the island for themselves as a new home to replace the one that Diana helped destroy. This caused the first Amazon civil war in which many Amazons on both sides died. This war was interupted by a seige of demons Circe sent to kill both tribes. It was due to this attack that both Amazon tribes set their issues aside to fight the demons. After the demons were destroyed it was agreed that the 'new' Amazons could live on the island but far away from the 'old' ones. And that is how it remained until the second Amazon civil war. Living together but with underlying tension. Kind of like having a roomate you didn't see eye to eye with.

- Peter

[Wonder Bebs]

Actually I needed a bit of clarity on both ends, which you gave. Thanks a million.^^ That's the one bit of Wonder Woman's history that I just didn't get.

[Fenix]

Ok some questions here... I´m not a frecuent reader of Wondy, but I´d like to know:

1) Who are the supporting cast lately? Because I know Hippolyta is dead, Trevor is dead, Troia is dead, in fact, there is someone still alive:D??

2) Which is the rol of Cassie? Where did she come from?

3) IMO "The Contest" and "Hiketeia" are examples of good writing and good art regarding WW comic books, Can someone recomend me any other mini or story arc that could be as good as those?

Thanks.

[artemisboy]

Ok some questions here... I´m not a frecuent reader of Wondy, but I´d like to know:

1) Who are the supporting cast lately? Because I know Hippolyta is dead, Trevor is dead, Troia is dead, in fact, there is someone still alive:D??

Thus far, Diana's supporting cast consists of: Julia and Vanessa K., her Embassy staff, Veronica Cale, the doctor who used to work with Veronica but now is Diana's friend, the Olympian and Bana-Mighdallian gods, and the Amazons of Themyscira. Circe and the Gorgons have been around for a while also.

2) Which is the role of Cassie? Where did she come from?

Cassie is pretty much a young girl who loves to be a superhero. She is friends with Diana and sees her kind of like an older sister. She is the daughter of Diana's former boss Hellena Sandsmark. Diana worked for her at her museum for a while during Byrne's run. Cassie went befor Zeus and asked him to bless her with Wonder Woman-esque powers and he did. Hellena made Diana promise that she wouldn't encourage Cassie's interest in becoming a superhero so Diana had Artemis train her in her powers as she didn't want Cassie to go into battle unknowing.

3) IMO "The Contest" and "Hiketeia" are examples of good writing and good art regarding WW comic books, Can someone recomend me any other mini or story arc that could be as good as those?

Try picking up George Perez's recently collected works from the first issues of his run. They're pretty engrossing. I believe there are two released in TPB now. Also, if you liked "The Contest" try reading it's follow-up TPB "The Challenge of Artemis".

- Peter

[Fenix]

Another question:

I know Diana died during Byrne´s run, could you tell me how did he kill her and how did she come back to life?

Thanks again.

[artemisboy]

Byrne actually killed Diana twice during his run. The first time Diana was killed was when the Amazons all began to turn to stone due to the fact that the Olympian gods removed themselves from the earthly plain, and thus the ties to their magic was severed from the Amazons. Diana eventually crumbled to dust. The Olympians brought her, and the rest of the Amazons, back to life. The second time he had Diana killed, it was by the hands of Neron. She was resurrected by the Olympian gods yet again and this time was transformed into the Goddess of Truth. (She later gave up that position and resumed being Wonder Woman again.)

- Peter

[Fenix]

I´ve read "Challenge of Artemis" and it was great, thanks Artemisboy :-)