When Wonder Woman first appeared in All Star Comics issue 8 in 1941, most people wouldn’t
have imagined that she would be one of DC’s longest running superheroes, going on to having
a solo series that would run from 1942 onwards, with only a brief hiatus in the late 80s (which
was a weird time for her character, if we’re being honest).
That’s over 75 years, people.
Impressive.
Wonder Woman is part of DC’s holy trinity, not only because of her origins with the comic
book giant, but because of the immense amount of power she wields; powers that give Superman
and Batman a major run for their money.
So today, we’re taking a closer look at the Amazonian with our list of the top 10
superpowers you didn’t know Wonder Woman had.
10 Invulnerability to fire Similar to DC’s man of steel, Wonder Woman
has a whole lot of tricks up her sleeves (or rather, armour) that may not be much of a
shock to you if you’re familiar with her history.
This power is a product of Diana being bestowed powers from Hestia, who also, according to
this origin, hooked her up with her lasso of truth.
Because of this invulnerability, she can withstand the heat from her lasso, which makes it ineffective
on her.
While this is a power that Diana doesn’t exercise often like some of her more obvious
abilities (super strength, flight, etc), it HAS come in handy in cases where she’s been
engulfed in flames, including an instance when Ares (one of her biggest foes) attempted
to use flames to weaken her.
It’s also something that came in handy during the 2017 Wonder Woman film, when Diana faces
off against Aries, surrounded by flames, and doesn’t even break a sweat.
If she ever gave up fighting crime and evil doers, she could have a very promising career
in the fire fighting business.
9 Super Breath Superman isn’t the only DC superhero who
can pull off a nifty trick with his lungs (we’re talking about his ice breath, incase
you were wondering).
Wonder Woman may not be able to turn her breath into ice, but it’s still pretty powerful
nonetheless.
During the Silver age, under the creative guidance of Robert Kanigher, Wonder Woman
was given the ability to have super powered breath, the equivalent of a high powered jet
of air blowing out of her lungs and body.
It was a move that even appeared in the Linda Carter Wonder Woman television series, and
later resurfaced in the New 52 in volume 4 of Wonder Woman, issue 3 when she lights a
series of pires aflame, using her breath to turn a regular flaming torch into a makeshift
flamethrower.
8 Astral Projection Astral Projection has its benefits.
It’s often a power we see used by mystical or magical characters in the world of comics
(Marvel’s Doctor Strange definitely comes to mind), but it’s something that once upon
a time, Wonder Woman could pull off too back in the day.
She once used it alongside Etta Candy to communicate with Steve Trevor, and again when on a rescue
mission to retrieve Artemis from Hell.
Whether or not this power has been completely removed from the character’s roster of abilities
is debatable; we have yet to see her use it in her most recent incarnation, making many
believe that it’s no longer something she possesses.
Speaking of more obscure powers, let’s move on to our next number which very much falls
into that category-
7 Military Command When it comes to superheroes, it’s no shock
that powers can come and go based on the creative team helming a title.
Wonder Woman has had her fair share of fluctuating powers and traits over the years, including
this neat ability; Diana can control military personnel.
This is an ability she gained in the New 52 after defeated Ares and the mantle of God
of War was passed on to her.
In other words, soldiers of any sort will obey her commands.
It’s a rarely used ability, mainly because having this extreme kind of influence over
other beings isn’t really something that Wonder Woman likes to take advantage of (since
she would literally be taking advantage of human beings when using it).
6 Omnilingualism Who wouldn’t want to be able to speak any
language?
It’s one of the reasons why we’re envious of Wonder Woman; she has a heightened proficiency
for languages of all sorts, which means she can communicate with pretty much anyone.
She even knew how to speak Caveman.
Actually.
And in volume 1 of Wonder Woman, issue 115, her vocabulary was even extended to outside
of planet Earth, with her learning to speak Martian.
After Crisis on Infinite Earths, this ability was further refined; rather than immediately
being able to understand and speak to anyone with whatever language, it was revealed that
she had learned every dialect rather than having some deus ex machina power.
Diana knows how to speak approximately 6,500 languages, which definitely became useful
when she started doing more peacekeeping and working with the likes of the UN.
5 Dimensional Teleportation Dimensional Teleportation as a means of travel
doesn’t seem to be one of Diana’s favourites.
But it is a power she possesses, and has used not only in the Golden Age (she often materialized
and disappeared in the comics thanks to this power), but also in more contemporary times,
including in the New 52.
But that latter use of teleportation is thanks to a mystical artifact of Hermes’ called
the Caduceus.
In Wonder woman volume 2 issue 28, she actually uses it alongside Hermes to flee from danger,
teleporting out of the Chaos Void.
Tying this ability to an artifact seems to be one of the ways that DC has tried to make
the character less OP-ed over the years.
4 Magic Wonder Woman is magically inclined.
In the Justice League Dark comic, Wonder Woman’s dormant magical abilities were triggered by
a villain called Upside-Down Man.
He recognizes that her magic powers are latent and, out of pure curiosity, he triggers them,
activating them and awakening ‘the white goddess’.
Diana trips out a bit when it happens, noting that, I quote, “it’s as if my veins are
filling up with burning light.
I can feel so much power.
I’ve never felt like this before.”
She was the leader of the team in it’s second volume during DC Rebirth.
3 Telepathy If she weren’t powerful enough, Diana also
has telepathic powers.
This is yet another fluctuating ability, which actually began as far back as the Golden Age
in Sensation Comics issue 3, before she was given a self titled solo series.
Back then, it was called her ‘mental radio’, an actual device, which is how she kept in
contact with her family and friends back in Themyscira.
But then when volume 1 of Wonder Woman rolled around, in issue 105, things were retconned
a bit, with DC giving all Amazonians limited telepathic powers, which must be honed by
intensive training.
2 Power Conversion Wouldn’t it be cool to convert your brain
energy into muscle power?
Well, that’s something that Wonder Woman can do, and she does it really, really well.
She can unleash an extra amount of power in battle that increases her endurance, strength
and speed by charging herself with her mental energy.
Now this is a different power boost than the one she gets from her bracelets, and puts
her at risk of mentally not being all there; in Wonder woman volume 1 issue 166, she loses
her cool and goes a tad berserk thanks to converting her energy this way.
It also happened again in issue 229 from volume 1, and in volume 4 issue 12.
And here’s the cool part; apparently, this is an ability that anyone can do if you stick
to the intensive training regime of the Amazonians.
1 Communication with Animals Once upon a time, Wonder Woman was in a ludicrous
silver age story arc that had her completing various absurd tasks at the whims of a couple
of millionaires in order to raise money for a good cause.
I bring it up because this power was very prominent in that story, and is often remembered
as one of her wackiest moments in her history.
You know the one; she communicated with a whale who then proceeds to try to lick her,
and she babysits a T-Rex that she rolls around in a baby stroller, which went down in Wonder
woman volume 1 issue 90.
This was one of the earliest uses of her ability to communicate with animals; a power that
has persisted to this very day.
Sometimes referred to as a unity with beasts, she’s used this power in communicate with
dinosaurs in Wonder Woman issue 184 volume 2, and even made friends with a group of polar
bears in volume 3 of Wonder Woman, issue 34.
There we have
it friends!