Overview

Employing a wide range of scholarly approaches, such as reception studies, feminist studies, racial studies and posthumanism studies, this volume examines the classical influence on the character of Wonder Woman. In particular, the contributors look at the cultural phenomenon of this female superhero across comic books and film. The result is an in-depth study that examines the influence ancient Greek mythology has on popular culture and, reversely, how modern media shapes contemporary views of the ancient Mediterranean world. Introduced to the world via Sensation Comics in 1941, Wonder Woman remains one of the most identifiable superheroes today, and her narratives, which frequently involve love, inclusion and empathy, continue to speak to readers and viewers around the world. Engaging with her long and complex past, the chapters examine the history of this influential character and her associates, alongside her relevance within the field of classical reception and her gender identity. As such, this book presents Wonder Woman as the complex heroine that she is, and one who has both influenced and been influenced by our understanding of the ancient world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Amanda Potter (University of Liverpool, UK) ,  Natalie Swain (Acadia University, Canada) ,  Connie Skibinski (University of Newcastle, Australia)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
ISBN:  

9781350439368

ISBN 10:   1350439363
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   14 May 2026
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations List of Contributors Introduction, Amanda Potter (Open University, UK), Connie Skibinski (University of Newcastle, Australia), and Natalie J. Swain (University of Winnipeg, Canada) Section I: Wonder Woman Comics through the Ages 1. The Two Wonder Womans: Gender Subversion & Audience in the Early Marston/Peter Comic Book and Newspaper Strips, 1941-1945, Natalie Beglin (Indiana University, USA) 2. George Perez and the Reinvention of Wonder Woman, Tony Keen (University of Notre Dame, UK) 3. Challenging the White, Male Gaze: Nubia's Herstory and the Importance of Representation, Whitney Hunt (Colgate University, USA) 4. Wonder Girl (Cassandra Sandsmark) and the Teen Titans, C.W. Marshall (University of British Columbia, Canada) 5. Elseworlds and Milk Wars: Wonder Woman in Less Well-Known Multiverses, Iris Haist (E.o.plauen Foundation, Germany) Section II: Gods, Faeries and Amazons 6. ""This is OUR Story"": Wonder Woman Historia, History, and the Evolving Nature of the Amazons, Jeremy Brett (Texas A&M University, USA) 7. Amazons on Screen: Where Did All the Gods Go? Anneka Rene (University of Auckland, New Zealand) 8. A Real Amazon: Amazonian Identity and Representation in ""Trial of the Amazons"", Natalie J. Swain (University of Winnipeg, Canada) 9. Themyscira as an Otherworld: Reception of the Faery Realm in the Wonder Woman Universe, Madelaine Sacco (University of Newcastle, Australia) 10. What is the Godkiller? Artificiality, Intention, and Purpose in the Origins and Development of Diana Prince, Tannika Koosmen (University of Newcastle, Australia) Section III: Wonder Woman and the Politics of Feminism 11. The United Nations Decade for (Wonder) Women: Wonder Woman, the U.N., and Women's Liberation, Christina M. Knopf (SUNY Cortland, USA) 12. Truth, Extracted Truth, and the Lasso of Truth: Tracing Wonder Woman’s Tool of Submission, Theresa Ashford (University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia), and Amanda Potter (Open University, UK) 13. Wonder Woman, Patriarchy, & the Sanitization of Rape, Princess O'Nika Nicole Auguste (Independent Scholar, St. Lucia) 14. The New Wonder Woman and the Saviour of Western Civilization, Anise Strong (Western Michigan University, USA) Afterword, Phil Jimenez (Independent Scholar, USA) Notes Bibliography Index

Reviews

From Paradise Island to Themyscira, from the Teen Titans to the United Nations, the essays in this volume tackle the long and dynamic legacy of Wonder Woman in all her media representations from a range of critical perspectives. A comprehensive look at pop culture’s most important superheroine. * George Kovacs, Associate Professor of Ancient Greek and Roman Studies, Trent University, Canada *

Author Information

Amanda Potter is Visiting Fellow in Classics at the University of Liverpool, UK. She co-edited Ancient Epic in Film and Television (2021) and has published widely on classics in film and television. Natalie J. Swain is Assistant Professor of Classics at Acadia University, Canada. She has published on Latin literature and the reception of the ancient Mediterranean world in comics and video games. Connie Skibinski is a doctorate candidate in Classics at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Her primary research interest is Greco-Roman mythology and the adaptation of ancient mythology from the Medieval period to the contemporary era.

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