Wonder Woman

I've never been much of a comic reader, when I was younger I read mostly archie comics, or sabrina the teenage witch. However I wish I would have known how awesome wonder woman comics were, now later in life I have become a fan of wonder woman. Crazy I know, but one of my friends (bethany) pointed out to me some of the powers and core values of the character wonder woman and it has become a character I am a huge fan of.

I mean just read this quote by the creator, William Moultan Marston, of wonder woman "Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women' s strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."

If you know nothing about wonder woman here is the story: 

"Born the daughter of Queen Hippolyta on Paradise Island to a race of Amazon Warriors, Diana is a princess, an ambassador, a warrior and a superhero. Using divine powers, granted to her by the Gods of Olympus, Diana went to the United States of America to fight for peace, justice and truth as Wonder Woman. 

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Amazons were in fact reborn from the souls of abused and murdered women from ancient days. In 1200 B.C. a debate occurred in Mount Olympus on how mankind should be made to believe in the Gods. Ares, the God of war wanted to descent upon the world with his army and force mankind into following the Gods. This was opposed by the others Gods present including Artemis, who wished in peace and wanted to make a new race that would lead men on the right path. Zeus turns his back on them and they decide to proceed without his blessing. 

With the aid of Charon the ferryman, the gods reach the Womb of Gaea, were the souls of women who were abused and murdered at the hands of men were preserved by Gaea herself. Artemis sends the souls to Greece were they form into adult women. Aphrodite observes that one soul still remains in the Womb to which Athena replies the time has not yet come for that one.The new race in Greece are approached by the Gods who bestow them with the skill of hunting and the purpose of leading humanity in the right path. They appoint Hippolyte and Antiope as the rulers while Menalippe is the Oracle. The civilization is named the Amazons. 

Stories of this civilization, named as Themyscira by the poets spread throughout Greece and reaches the ears of Heracles who is driven into attacking the city behind the scenes by Ares, who seeks to sabotage the gods' plan. Heracles approaches the Amazons but is defeated by Hippolyte upon which he fakes friendship and declares the Amazons as allies. When their guard is down he poisons Hippolyte and his army attacks the women in full force taking Hippolyte, Antiope and the other survivors captive. 

In his cells, Hippolyte is freed by Athena who reminds her of her purpose and asks her to avoid revenge and pursue peaceful means. Hippolyte escapes and frees the rest of the Amazons. She relies Athena's message to the women but blinded by their thirst for revenge, the Amazons slaughter the men ruthlessly. The Gods appear and tell them they have failed in their purpose and banish them to an Island known as Paradise to guard the terrible evil within as punishment. They are also granted Immortaility as long as they do not stray from their new purpose, which would eventually purify their souls. 

The Amazons build a nation and live there for Millennia. It is during this time that Hippolyte, leader of the Amazons feel an unexplainable yearning. She conveys this to the Oracle who tells her she was the only one pregnant during her death and thus the yearning she feels is the call of her unborn child. As per her advise, Hippolyte goes to the shore at sunrise and makes a clay form of a baby. She then cries out to Artemis. Seeing this the Gods decide it was time for the remaining soul in the womb of Gaea to depart. 

The soul is sent to the clay form, which then becomes a real child , blessed with Gaea's gift, life. Demeter grants the baby great strength, Aphrodite grants her great beauty and a loving heart, Athena grants her great wisdom, Artemis grants her the eye of the hunter and unity with beasts, Hestia grants her sisterhood with fire and Hermes gives her great speed and the power of flight. Hippolyte names her after a holy warrior Diana and she grows up knowing the love of a thousand mothers. Thus Diana of Themyscira was born.

Wonder Woman embodies Marston's vision of woman as intelligent, honest, and kind. 

Why Wonder Woman was Created:

Wonder Woman’s appearance in the early golden age of comics made her the first prominent female superheroine. The psychologist William Moulton Marston created Wonder Woman somewhat as a counter reaction to the presence of prominent male superheroes (at this time Superman, Batman and Captain America) with the hopes that the character could serve as an inspiration for young children (though in certain ways it was geared more towards female readers.) Marston had been partially motivated to create this character because of the accomplishments of his own wife, who was also an accomplished academic at a time when it was difficult for women to fulfill this role. As a result, the first Wonder Woman series contained many complimentary articles and features which sought to provide guidance to a presumed female readership. There were articles for instance on the different career paths that women could pursue (according to the standards of the 1940s) as well as a series of stories on famous and accomplished women, called the Wonder Women of History. Marston introduced the character in All-Star Comics #8 in 1941. She became the lead character in Sensation Comics in 1941, and got her first solo book in 1942.

And of course the best thing about Wonder Woman is her accessories, I mean only a female superhero would have accessories with magical powers:

Lasso of Truth

The Lasso of Truth forces people to tell the truth. It was forged by Hephaestus from the Golden Girdle of Gaea that Antiope had once worn. It is able to restore people's lost memories get rid of illusions or cause illusions to those it holds and heal the holder's body cure insanity and protect people who are in close proximity to it from magical attacks.

Bracelets of Victory

These are a pair of steel

A tale of a mermaids love affair with the sea!

Is anyone else there obsessed with mermaids?!?!?! Don't you wish they were real, they bring such a sense of wonder to the sea! Most surfer girl friends I have love the idea of being a mermaid, and maybe that's why we love surfing so much, it's the closest we will be to being mermaids!!!

I have a cousin who is 8 and is obsessed with surfing she is so adorable, her mom told me she believes in mermaids so much she googled how to become a mermaid found this recipe for a potion that turns you into a mermaid. She went through the trouble of making the potion and pouring it on her legs and sat and waited for them to turn into a mermaid tail! How adorable is that! (She was very upset when it didn't work).

Does anyone else have mermaid memories or obsession with mermaids?

Here are some images of this mermaid wannabes obsession with the sea!

We all come from the sea, but we are not all of the sea. Those of us who are, we children of the tides, must return to it again and again! 

Here's my little cousin she was so stoked to get a picture with Bethany Hamilton this weekend! If you look closely it says mermaid at heart on her shirt!