Origins are one of a superhero’s most important aspects. Their path to heroism has to encapsulate the core themes that drive the hero and separate them from the countless other incredible superheroes who populate the world. Given how origins need updating or reexploring every few decades, they are bound to stick in the minds of every fan. When done right, an origin can become one of the most iconic pieces of the character’s lore. Batman losing his parents, Krypton exploding, and Uncle Ben’s preventable death are all iconic origins that even people who aren’t fans of the character could recite in a heartbeat. The best origins are set in stone, and fans tend to get very, very upset when they’re changed arbitrarily.
Case in point, Wonder Woman has two major origins. One is near-universally beloved and perfectly embodies the themes of motherhood and love, and the other is terrible. Wonder Woman’s iconic origin is that her mother formed her out of clay, and the goddesses breathed life into the miracle child. The New 52 introduced a much more hated retcon, saying that the clay origin was a lie and that Diana was the result of an affair between Hippolyta and Zeus. DC has been on the fence of which one is the truth for years, but as of Wonder Woman (2023) #33, the Zeus origin is officially no more.
This issue saw the future versions of Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor, and Trinity march their way through a menagerie of fantastic locations. Their end goal is the house of the Three Fates, whom the family intends to force to rewrite their weaving to save the world from devastation. They encountered gods and monsters on their perilous road, but just before they reached their destination, the greatest Greek god of all appeared to stand in their way. Zeus demanded that Wonder Woman turn back immediately, as her goal spat in the face of the divine order of the world. Wonder Woman did not care.
Wonder Woman used the God Killer Sword to slice Zeus’s leg off and kept walking. He demanded that she come back. First as her god, then as her king, and finally, as her father. Wonder Woman replied that he was the god who created that lie, but she was the woman who would tell the truth. This run has flirted with the Zeus origin being a lie before, with Wonder Woman herself confirming that she was made from clay, but also saying that the Zeus origin might hold some weight. This practically confirms that Wonder Woman’s saying that was just agreeing to pacify Zeus, and plays into the quiet rebellion against patriarchal mythology that Wonder Woman has led this entire run.
Tom King’s run has many issues, and fans have been very vocal about their fairly negative view of it. The pacing and decompression become harder to ignore with every issue, to say the least. Still, one thing that King has down pat is consistent, powerful themes. Wonder Woman has fought misogynistic myths since the very first issue. The Sovereign was the embodiment of the patriarchy, with one of his plans literally being to turn Wonder Woman into a stereotypical 1950s housewife with his Lasso of Lies. The “Murder on Mt. Olympus” storyline revealed that the gods were much the same, with the Olympians being just as much a corrupt bastion of misogyny as everywhere else Wonder Woman went.
Yet, Wonder Woman chose to preserve the gods because she could work alongside them. That all went out the window when the Matriarch conquered the world. With no heaven left to protect with Zeus’s lie, Wonder Woman felt no reason to continue pretending to be his daughter. Zeus pretended to be Wonder Woman’s father to benefit from her heroism and strength, and his position prevented Wonder Woman from speaking against him. A vile man’s lie hid the truth about how women created something beautiful out of pure love, so he could profit, is such a clear Wonder Woman-like theme that it’s unreal, but it’s so great to see it be used to undo one of DC’s worst-ever decisions.
Wonder Woman #33 is on sale now!
Whatever the reason or how you feel about King’s run, I think we can all be happy that Wonder Woman’s clay origin is the one true origin. What’s your favorite superhero origin? Leave a Comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
