What is the origin of Wonder Woman?
William Moulton Marston was an educational consultant in 1940 for Detective Comics, Inc. (now DC Comics). Marston saw that the DC line was filled with such bermensch images as those of Green Lantern, Batman, and its flagship character, Superman. In response, Marston created a super female hero to serve as a role model for girls, and introduced the idea to Max Gaines, co-founder with Jack Liebowitz of All-American Publications. Given the go-ahead, Marston developed Wonder Woman with his wife, Elizabeth (Sadie) Holloway Marston, who served as the partial model for that era’s unconventional liberated woman. Another inspiration was found in Olive Byrne, an equally unconventional individual, who lived with the couple in a polygamous/polyamorous relationship. Marston used a pseudonym that combined his own middle name with Gaines’ middle name to devise Charles Moulton. Marston was also the creator of the systolic blood-pressure test, which led to the creation of the polygraph (lie detector).
