The Appeal of Wonder Woman

To me, Wonder Woman evokes the idea of having faith in others.

Her Golden Age origin story is my favorite because of how strongly it depicts the faith she has in mankind. On Paradise Island, Diana is shown the horrors of humanity during World War II, which may well be the darkest period the species has ever faced, with human beings committing some of the most evil acts in history. But the nobility of Steve Trevor, who fights for the side of good, shows her the strength of mankind at the same time. Steve Trevor shows her an example of a good human being and that one indication is enough for her to volunteer to take Steve back home, and to adopt Man's World as her own to protect. Notice the naming of Diana's island: Paradise Island, because it's a place devoid of any strife or hardship. Wonder Woman acts as an angel, sitting in heaven, who looks at humanity even in its ugliest, most evil period, notices one spark of goodness in it, and decides that the spark is worth leaving heaven to nurture. Diana has such faith in our ability to overcome the moral failings we displayed during the war that she's willing to leave paradise to help us in the process. She has the utmost, truest, deepest faith in us that we can do better. We know that because she sacrificed a perfect life solely because of her belief in us, in one of our worst times.

I think this is why Diana also displays so much faith in her gods. She's actually one of the more spiritual superheroes in that way. She has this propensity to believe in others, including the Olympians, despite all their prior failings and questionable behavior.

One of the brightest aspects of the character which strongly highlights her faith in others to improve is that she brings her enemies to Transformation Island/Reform Island: a place for villains to be rehabilitated on Paradise Island. This is the natural progression of the superhero no-kill rule, because that rule entails an inherent belief that villains can eventually improve themselves if they receive help and deserve the opportunity to try. Transformation Island is an incredibly compassionate idea that Wonder Woman would not engage in if she was not so faithful in others. In my opinion, if you consider her faith in others and how it manifests in her origin, her spirituality, and her work with Transformation Island, Diana is probably the least likely superhero to ever kill anyone.

Wonder Woman is really humanity's greatest cheerleader, and she invigorates us with encouragement because she believes that even when we falter, we can improve. And she also reminds us to emulate her, and to have faith in the people around us even when they stumble. Even when someone has the most negative attitude, the most antiquated beliefs, speaks ugly words and bears malicious intent, it may be our job to fight back, but not to only fight back. Goodness exists in even the most unlikely places and, if we're capable, it's our job to push ourselves to find that spark in others and to nurture it. We deserve to live in a world with more good people in it, and helping people who are stumbling is the best way to accomplish that, even if it's hard and even if attacking is our instinct. Attacking pushes people away and silences them -- it never changes their mind. And in the end, we're better off having an improved person in front of us than a bad person who has learned to keep quiet.

From Wonder Woman we receive the inspiration to do this. She encourages us to improve by having faith in us, and she inspires us to have the same faith in other people as well. When your morals are struggling, when the morals of others are struggling, have faith. As Jack Kirby said, "We can do better. We want to do better."