Gynocratic Theory

The Chronicles of Wonder Woman provide an new and interesting category of superhero comics in the studied history of the genre. We have examined texts that utilized the archetypal masculine characteristics as a means of reaching out to an audience that is eager to emulate someone. Superman was the first of his kind to gain the attention of the entire American population, with others like those studied in the "Supermen!" comics close behind. These manly figures were embellished with muscular features and witty personalities, who saved the world from distress with their own sense of moral superiority as a compass.

But maybe these cycles of formulaic protagonists were becoming old to the public eye. It was soon time to stimulate the nerves of the comics world with something that challenged the way superheroes existed. This was achieved in Marston's "Wonder Woman". As a man who spent part of his career as a scholar of psychology and as a polygynous husband, he brought a new sense of awareness to the stage of comics writing that was not before seen. His educated opinion on the role of gender in the entertainment industry shattered the previous notion of a superhero. Without saying that superheroes were all equally lesser in character value than Wonder Woman, none displayed the amount of controversy sparked by her.

The feminist message is clear in the text of Marston. Without even reading the narration or dialogue in the panels, the images of volume one are sufficient in determining the booming presence of feminism in each publication. The notable aspect, however, is in the extent of feminism extended in the text through the dialogue. Gloria Steinem brings this up in her essay regarding Wonder Woman in the eyes of a young girl of the 1940s. She reflects on her own impression of the comic, stating that Marston's take on feminism was so bold that he considered women to be superior to men, not just equal. It was a way of blaming men for the corruption and evil responsible for death and bloodshed across the globe. In Superman, this blame was placed upon the nature of Capitalism. Batman's multiple writers placed the beaurocratic incompetance of social structure in that frame. Wonder Woman's creator places the entire gender of man at the frontline of liability.

I am truly intrigued by this position, but cannot quite wrap my mind around the reasoning behind this mentality. Hopefully, this is not due to my own fault as a man, but as a questioning student of literature. I hope to discover clues to this reasoning in closer examination of the text and secondary texts in the next coming week.