5 Wonder Woman Stories That Completely Reinvented Diana Prince

Wonder Woman has been reinvented multiple times since her debut in 1941, with different creators and storylines reshaping Diana Prince with new origins, settings, and even different identities. While some comics retain Wonder Woman’s core traits or defining elements, others radically alter the woman behind the costume, delivering a story and heroine that challenge her established identity and driving motivations.

As one of DC Comics’ central heroes, every reimagining and evolution has provided readers with thrilling new interpretations of her character. While some stories have worked better than others, it’s no surprise that these creative variations of her character stand out as some of the boldest and most inventive portrayals of who Wonder Woman is and who she can be.

Wonder Woman #178

Wonder Woman #179 radically changes Diana’s life when Queen Hippolyta announces that the Amazons must leave Earth. Instead of going with them, Diana chooses to stay behind, but in doing so, she must surrender her Amazonian heritage and powers, becoming an ordinary mortal. She then goes on to open a boutique in Manhattan and studies martial arts under I-Ching. However, everything flips on its head when Steve Trevor returns badly wounded, pulling Diana and her mentor into a larger conspiracy involving Doctor Cyber.

The issue was released in 1968 and, along with the following issues, is often referred to as Wonder Woman’s Mod era. As a massive departure from her superpowered origins, going as far as removing signature abilities and weapons, this change was drastic and unexpected. With Diana standing as a mortal crime fighter who relied on her martial arts training and resourcefulness to navigate conflicts, the comics effectively reinvented her character, and yet it wasn’t quite the hit it was likely supposed to be.

While undeniably bold, this era of the Wonder Woman comics stands as one of the most controversial. Many readers were not fans of the dramatic change, and it received a good deal of backlash. By Wonder Woman #204, the creators took a step back, killing a character off and giving Diana amnesia about her spy years, allowing her to reclaim her identity as the superpowered heroine readers know and love.

Wonder Woman: Earth One

Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette’s Wonder Woman: Earth One consists of three different graphic novels that retell Diana’s origins, starting with her decision to rescue Steve Trevor after his plane crashes on Themyscira. She nurses him back to health and uses stolen tech to bring him back to America, ultimately leading to Diana’s arrest and trial in an Amazon court for breaking their highest laws.

Earth One reimagines both Diana and Themyscira, with some elements standing as callbacks to the Golden Age of comics. In Earth One, Diana stands as a proud woman unafraid of confrontation and is skeptical of Man’s world and yet desires to reform humanity through loving authority rather than overt, violent combat. As for Themyscira, the island nation itself is depicted as a hyper-advanced, more insular and militant society that was shaped by centuries of conflict with men.

What Morrison and Pacquette completely alter about Diana’s character is her relationship and dynamic with Steve Trevor, her parentage, and her role among the Amazonians, with later volumes revealing that their society isn’t entirely unified. With the comic’s willingness to explore Golden Age ideas with a dose of modern reimagining, the trilogy stands as a thrilling exploration of Wonder Woman’s origins and legacy.

Just Imagine: Wonder Woman

Marvel icon Stan Lee, along with artist Jim Lee, came together during DC’s Just Imagine event to completely reimagine classic DC heroes including Superman, Batman, and, of course, Wonder Woman. Rather than Diana Prince, the one-shot comic completely replaces her with a new hero, Maria Mendoza, a young Peruvian activist who protests against the destruction of an ancient Incan holy site.

When her father, a local judge, is kidnapped and murdered by the corrupt businessman and crime lord behind the destruction, Maria flees into the ruins where she discovers a mythical golden staff connected to the Incan sun god Manco Cápac. With its power, she becomes Wonder Woman, allowing her to take on the man responsible for her father’s death and operate as one of Earth’s greatest heroes.

As a reinvention, the issue stands as one of the most dramatic and distinctive of Wonder Woman and her mythos. Maria’s Peruvian heritage and connection to Incan mythology give her a distinct and strong cultural foundation that is equally thrilling and arguably far more relatable. In a single issue, the comic delivered a well-written new Wonder Woman that stands apart from the established identity of Diana Prince.

Wonder Woman: Dead Earth

Daniel Warren Johnson’s Wonder Woman: Dead Earth drops Diana into a devastated future where Earth has been reduced to a nuclear wasteland. After she awakens from a centuries-long stasis with fractured memories, she finds that humanity is nearly extinct and monstrous creatures roam the ruins. Her search for survivors eventually brings the truth to light about the Great Fire, revealing that it was Diana’s own actions during a war between humanity and the Amazons that were the cause of the apocalypse.

As one of the grittiest and darkest versions of her character, Dead Earth creates a Diana who is shaped by survival and vulnerability rather than heroic idealism. In this world, she’s alone, physically weakened, emotionally scarred, without her weapons, and forced to confront the consequences of her own actions all while trying to reclaim and reconcile with her core values of forgiveness and compassion.

In that regard, despite the comic’s brutal setting and extreme imagery, Wonder Woman: Dead Earth never loses sight of who Diana is as a person. By crafting a story built around her navigating one of the lowest possible ordeals, the story captures who Wonder Woman is in a way that proves her heroism goes far beyond what she’s capable of in a fight. Even in an apocalyptic wasteland and facing the darkest future imaginable, Diana Prince is undeniably a symbol of hope and idealism.

Absolute Wonder Woman

Absolute Wonder Woman, created by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman, gives Diana an origin unlike any previous mainstream interpretation of her character. Rather than being raised by Amazons on Themyscira, Diana is banished to Hell as a baby and raised by the witch Circe. Years later, she returns to the mortal world as a protector of Gateway City, taking on supernatural threats as a justice-driven warrior and the last Amazonian.

This version of Diana has no idyllic childhood, no community of fellow Amazonians, or a traditional upbringing to shape her identity. She learns how to survive in the Underworld with the dark magic Circe taught her and a variety of new weapons, including the Lasso of Sacrifice, a sword and shield, and even a skeletal Pegasus. Yet, even with wildly different origins and experiences, this Diana remains a compassionate hero.

Given that Absolute Wonder Woman strips Diana of her home and sisterhood, the comic further cements her as a true hero driven to fight for justice and the possibility of a better future, no matter where she comes from or what she faces. In that way, this reimagining of her character stands as more than a fresh take on a beloved character. It completely reinvents her while simultaneously reinforcing that she is and always will be a symbol of hope.

TV Show(s)

Wonder Woman (1975)

First TV Show

Wonder Woman (1975)

Created by

William Moulton Marston, Patty Jenkins, Zack Snyder, Allan Heinberg