FARRUGIA Jason - Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel - Superheroines as Mythological Echoes.pdf

Université de Lorraine UFR Arts, Lettres et Langues - Metz Master 1 Métiers de l'Enseignement de l’Éducation et de la Formation

FARRUGIA Jason WONDER WOMAN AND MISS MARVEL: SUPERHEROINES AS MYTHOLOGICAL ECHOES

Academic year 2016/17 Supervisor: Claire Bardelmann

FARRUGIA Jason WONDER WOMAN AND MISS MARVEL: SUPERHEROINES AS MYTHOLOGICAL ECHOES

Academic year 2016/17

Acknowledgements Firstly, I wish to thank my supervisor Mrs. Bardelmann for her advice and her cheerful commitment to this master thesis. I wish to thank my friend Johanna who has been a perpetual support this year and the year before. Our efficient work together is a positive example of the French-German cooperation. I wish to thank my friend Claire for her kindness and her patience as my boss at work this year. We shall make a good team in the upcoming second year of the research master's degree. I wish to thank my friend Anaïs who was a very enthusiastic and supportive partner during our internship and a very appreciated colleague. I wish to thank my Granny Michèle who has done a lot for me every single day for the last three years. I wish to thank my loving Mom who is my real-life superheroine. I wish to thank my super-sister Célia who has helped me to find good ideas for this paper. I wish to thank my caring Dad for giving me the opportunity to discover mythologies when I was a young boy and for supporting me in this work. I wish to thank my brother Noé who has always been a good buddy. I would also like to thank Gibi who allowed me to use the beautiful photograph of her cosplaying as Raven.

Table of abbreviations

WWST : Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth MMV2 : Miss Marvel Volume 2 WWV3 : Wonder Woman Volume 3 JLA : Justice League of America

Table of contents

Introduction

p.1

I – At the origins of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel

p.4

I.1 – The genesis of two pioneer superheroines

p.4

I.1.a – Wonder Woman the Amazon

p.4

I.1.b – Miss Marvel the lightning heroine

p.5

I.2 – The origins and stories of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel

p.6

I.2.a – The origins

p.6

I.2.b – The characterization of the heroines

p.8

I.3 – The Call to Adventure

II – The journey of initiation of two superheroines II.1 – The Heroine's Journey

p.9

p.13 p.13

II.1.a – The mythological structure

p.13

II.1.b – The palimpsest

p.15

II.2 – The endless fight against Evil

p.16

II.3 – The Lessons of the journey

p.19

III – The elaboration and reception of the superheroines’ myths III.1. – Fictional mirrors of society

p.22 p.22

III.1.a – The foundations of the western world

p.22

III.1.b – Echoes of women's status

p.23

III.2. – Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel as role models

p.25

III.2.a – The acknowledgement of superheroines’ power

p.25

III.2.b – The cosplay phenomenon as reverence for the characters

p.26

III.2.c – The symbolic mediation of the superheroine myth

p.28

Conclusion

p.30

Table of appendices

p.32

Appendices

p.33

Table of illustrations

p.37

Glossary

p.38

Bibliography

p.40

“Go in peace my daughter. And remember that, in a world of ordinary mortals, you are a Wonder Woman.” Queen Hyppolite to Princess Diana of Themyscira

Introduction As a person born in the 1990s, I grew up watching television cartoons starring heroines such as the Powerpuff Girls (1998) or Kim Possible (2002) and playing video games as Samus Aran in Metroid Fusion (2002). There were not many leading female characters in children's entertainment during the 2000s but these were the characters that attracted me the most. When I became a teenager, films about superheroes began to come to the big screen; the film which paved the way to others was Spider-Man (2002) by Sam Raimi. A few years later, Marvel decided to return centerstage by launching its own cinematic universe1 based on well-known comic book vigilantes like Captain America or the Hulk. This new media of expansion for the universe of comic books gave rise to a reboost of the sale of paper comic books by Marvel and DC Comics and a renewal of the interest of people for them. I became really interested in superheroes after I saw these movies and I began to immerge myself in the sagas of the X-Men, Spider-Man and Batman. Yet, the new films or the most famous comic books of this period did not focus on leading female characters and I felt that I was missing something from my childhood. I was not watching cartoons anymore and I did not subscribe to the idea that only American men could save the day. So I started to look for Wonder Woman comic books. I knew that Wonder Woman was some war-time super-strong heroine but I must admit that I did not know a lot about Princess Diana of Themyscira at that time. I went to a second-hand bookshop and bought some comic books about the Amazon's adventures in “men's world”. I was enthusiastically surprised by the numerous explicit references to classical mythology in the stories of Wonder Woman. Naturally when your name is Jason, you have to know your mythology and when I was a child, one of my hobbies was to read about mythological characters and their quests. My parents bought my first book about classical mythology when I was eight years old and since that time I have always enjoyed learning more about Greco-Roman mythology but also about Egyptian mythology – my father's favorite which he made me discover – and Scandinavian mythology. When I started to think about the theme of my master thesis last year, I wanted to choose a topic linked to major feminine figures but I did not quite know what exactly. I thought about studying the place of women in 1990s cartoons but I did not want to study videos and clips. Comic 1

Spider-Man was owned by Sony at that time. Thus, Raimi's trilogy does not belong to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Iron Man (2008) by Jon Favreau is the first movie to be part of the official MCU.

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books came to my mind and I remembered that the stories of Wonder Woman were full of mythological references; therefore I began to look at other stories of superheroines such as Miss Marvel who was the Marvel counterpart of the DC Comics warrior-princess. After that, I chose and then rejected other superheroines and I finally decided to focus on Diana of Themyscira and Carol Danvers. The feminist dimension of superheroines and their symbolic role as emancipated women have often been the subject of academic analysis: Marina Hollon shows in her thesis "Superheroine History 1959-1984, Wonder Woman and Supergirl" 2 that the evolution of women's freedom in society are reflected in the creation and the role played by superheroines in comic books. I did not intend to make a feminist study about comic book superheroines but I rather wanted to talk about the link between the two characters I had chosen and classical mythology. Then again, several academic works have been carried out about the link between classical mythology and comic books superheroes. In his thesis "Comic Books vs. Greek Mythology: the Ultimate Crossover for the Classical Scholar"3, Andrew S. Latham explains the intertwined net between classical myths and the creation of modern comic book superheroes and he shows the relevance of the influence of mythology on the stories of superheroes. The influence of classical mythology is deeply analyzed for superheroines especially by Jacki Renee Hayes in her thesis "Goddess in a cape: Feminine divine as comic book superhero"4. The author demonstrates that comic book superheroines are the goddesses of our time. This research pinpoints the link between some comic book characters and classical mythology. Yet, the stories of superheroines are also reinventions of mythological stories and especially rewritings of journey of initiation for characters who take on an adventure. Moreover, these superheroines are taking a journey to learn about the world and themselves. The characters eventually become modern myths that are shaped by society and get back to it to offer a reflection. How do the conceptions and the stories of the comic book superheroines Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel intertwine with the notion of myths and mythology? This analysis is based on superheroine’s comic books of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel 2

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Marina Hollon, "Superheroine History 1959-1984, Wonder Woman and Supergirl" (2012) http://csusm-dspace.calstate.edu/handle/10211.8/261 (27/04/2017). Andrew S. Latham, "Comic Books vs. Greek Mythology: the Ultimate Crossover for the Classical Scholar" (2012) http://scholarworks.uttyler.edu/english_grad/1/ (27/04/2017). Jacki Renee Hayes, "Goddess in a cape: Feminine divine as comic book superhero" (2012) http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/12684/ (27/04/2017).

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which were published by Marvel and DC Comics between 1985, which is the beginning of the Modern Age of Comic Books5 and 2011, the end of the first part of the Modern Age by reboots of story lines6. Firstly, I shall study the origins of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel by examining the genesis of the characters by the authors, their own stories and fictional origins and their motivations for the upcoming adventures. Then, I shall focus on the narrative process by analyzing the adventures of the superheroines regarding the standards of a journey of initiation: mythological characteristics are reflected through the physical attributes of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel; their heroine's journeys are built on the same structures as myths. They follow the same goal of defeating evil in an endless fight and they eventually analyze the lessons from their journeys. Finally, I shall focus on the elaboration and the reception of these modern myths by focusing on their role as fictional mirror of society. Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel are also received as role models for the readership; finally, they are dynamic mediators on various layers of meaning.

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The new era begins with the publications of Crisis on Infinite Earths for DC Comics and Secret Wars for Marvel. In 2011, DC Comics renewed its publication lines with The New 52. In 2012, Marvel did too with Marvel Now.

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I – At the origins of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel I.1 - The genesis of two pioneer superheroines I.1.a - Wonder Woman the Amazon Wonder Woman was created in 1941 by William Moulton Marston (1893-1947), an American psychologist, lawyer and comic book writer. Marston also happens to be the creator of the lie detector. According to him, comic books have a “great educational potential” 7. Actually, the targeted audience for comic books is teenagers and young adults who are receptive to new ideas and concepts. They are more likely to think about the moral messages conveyed by comic books. The message at stake in the creation of Wonder Woman is the role and place of women in society. It was actually a response to the over-masculinization of the superhero comic book genre. Marston wanted to use this educational potential to reinforce his patriarchal conception of society. His creation of a strong, independent female character was not led by feminist goals. On the contrary, Marston wanted to trigger a reaction among contemporary women who were progressively emancipating from men. In a 1944 interview for the newspaper The American Scholar, Moulton said: Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman. 8

Marston wanted to create a superheroine whose greatest power would be a “typical feminine quality”, love. This idea was made clear for the 1975 Wonder Woman television series. The opening theme of the show describes the super abilities of Princess Diana: “make a hawk a dove, fight a war with love.” Marston's goal was clearly to give credit back to qualities like tenderness or love which is commendable but his intention was at best ambivalent because he partly wanted to get women back into a submissive role in the household. Marston wanted to take benefit of the characteristic of old myths making them the guardians of the societal structure of the time. Yet, he did not succeed due to the emancipation of women during the 1970s through the emergence of feminist movements 7 8

Interview by William Moulton Marston in the Family Circle (October 25th, 1940). “Why 100,000,000 Americans Read Comics” by William Moulton Marston in The American Scholar (Winter 1944).

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in the USA and across western countries. Wonder Woman became a symbol for all independent women. The first step of the journey was clearly made: the sexy and powerful Amazon who was conceived as a cathartic model for women turned into an independent, strong princess who came to men's world to protect them from the dangers of the society they had created. I.1.b - Miss Marvel the lightning heroine The pseudonym Miss Marvel has been used by several persons throughout Marvel storyline history. The current bearer of the name is the teenager Kamala Khan, the first Marvel superheroine who happens to be a Muslim young woman. Yet, the superheroine under study here is the first woman who has taken the code name Miss Marvel, i.e. Carol Danvers. A detail worth noticing about the creation of Carol Danvers is that she first starred as an ordinary non-powered military officer in a Captain Marvel comic book in 19689. Actually, she was conceived by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gene Colan as a supporting character for the extraterrestrial superhero Mar-Vell. Nevertheless, Thomas and Colan already had the idea of a future title with Danvers starring as the main character of her own adventures. During the 1970s, the progressive liberation of women through feminist movements made Marvel directors want to create a new series starring a female superhero. The new character should be an independent and modern woman with super abilities. U.S. Army officer Carol Danvers whose DNA had been altered by an explosion during her adventures with Captain Marvel had brand new superpowers she had just begun to discover. Therefore, Danvers was chosen to be the first female superhero of Marvel to have her own regular series. The first issue10 of Miss Marvel in 1977 was written by Gerry Conway and drawn by John Buscema but the real designer of the new superheroine was writer Chris Claremont who took over the development of the character. He wrote some of the most important events in the storyline of Miss Marvel. Dave Cockrum was the artist who designed her distinctive costume with the yellow lightning which became the signature on all Miss Marvel costumes: the special suit first appeared in the twentieth issue of Miss Marvel in October 197811 (left picture), which was named The All-New Ms. Marvel.

9 10 11

Stan Lee (w), Gene Colan (p). Marvel Super-Heroes #13, (1968). Gerry Conway (w), John Buscema (p). Miss Marvel #1, (1977). Chris Claremont (w), Dave Cockrum (p). Miss Marvel #20, (1978).

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Contrarily to Wonder Woman, the creation of Miss Marvel comes from the acceptance and the recognition of the progressive emancipation of women during the 1970s. Miss Marvel is thirty years younger than Princess Diana of Themyscira and so mentality had changed over the two postwar decades. Carol Danvers and her heroic alter ego Miss Marvel embodied the perfect woman of the time: she was beautiful, strong, independent and had a sense of humor. Therefore, Miss Marvel was almost an archetype of the idealized successful woman for this period but both characters finds also their roots in mythologies.

I.2 – The origins and stories of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel I.2.a – The origins Mythology is a collection of myths. According to Mircea Eliade, “myths tell how, through the deeds of Supernatural Beings, a reality came into existence, be it the whole of reality, the Cosmos, or only a fragment of reality.”12 The specific mythologies at stake will be the mythologies defined as classical ones, Greco-Roman mythologies. In classical mythologies, women often have passive roles when they are not goddesses or they can be heroines until they get married as explained by Paul Brunel: There are many female creators in the history of literature but no one has been tempted by the epic universe. Nevertheless, there are some “heroines”. But imagination depicts them as evasive, thin, sharp virgins – the complete contrary to the abundance that bewitches the heroes. […] For girls, heroism is lost with virginity.13

Moreover, the lack of ancient semi-goddesses is quite striking. Actually, there are a lot of semi-gods to be found in ancient Greek tales but only two known semi-goddesses are identified. Helen of Troy is the daughter of Zeus and Leda and the wife of King Menelaus. Her kidnapping by Paris triggered the Trojan War. Even if discussions are still hold whether Helen was passively kidnapped or if she rather decided to follow the Trojan prince, she was never made able to decide her own fate.14 A man took her away from her realm and other men went to war in order to bring her back to her husband. The other semi-goddess of classical mythology is Hyppolite, queen of the Amazons and daughter of Ares. She was a fierce warrior and leader of a nation before the Amazons got killed or subdued by Hercules. 12 13 14

Mircea Eliade. Aspects du mythe. Paris: Gallimard, (1963). p.6. Paul Brunel. Dictionnaire des mythes littéraires. Monaco: Éditions du Rocher, (1994). p.740. Paul Brunel. Dictionnaire des mythes littéraires. Monaco: Éditions du Rocher, (1994). p.694.

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Interestingly enough, Queen Hyppolite is Princess Diana's mother but the Princess has got no father. She actually originates in a parthenogenic birth 15. Another famous parthenogenic birth in mythology is the birth of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and War, from Zeus. In the case of the birt h of the Goddess, this very specific kind of birth was a way to acknowledge patriarchal laws in Ancient Greece. Had Athena been the legitimate daughter of Hera and Zeus, the qualities attributed to her would have been taken from Zeus and from Hera. By establishing Zeus as the only parent of Athena, the qualities she had could only be inherited from him. Moreover the ability of Zeus to give birth was a denial of women's exclusive ability to give birth. It was a complete denial of women's power whereas the relation between Queen Hyppolyte and Princess Diana is strictly the opposite. Aphrodite, Goddess and protector of the Amazons allows Queen Hyppolite to create life from clay – as Prometheus did – and to create it alone. No man is allowed on Paradise Island and no man is needed either. Woman has elevated herself to the status of a Goddess who can create life without caring about sexuated reproduction. Diana is Princess of Themyscira, the capital City of Paradise Island. She originates from a place where all people are Amazons and they call each other “sister”. By leaving this place, Princess Diana leaves a home and a family. This departure from home and the loved ones is a recurring theme in epic journeys of mythological heroes. 16 Besides, Diana is similar to the other women on Paradise Island because she is an Amazon but she is also completely different from them as she is born on the island thanks to Goddess Aphrodite. The island that Diana has to leave in order to go to America is as much a prelapsarian place as a homeland. Paradise Island is free from all modern technologies and moral vices coming from “men's world”. This place is pretty much described as an earthly heaven as seen in Spirit of Truth when Diana pays a visit to her Queen mother17. Nature lives in harmony with womankind. It is a symbol of the purity of the inhabitants of the island. Indeed, when Wonder Woman comes back to the island in WWV3, she often does so in order to defend it against invasion as during the narrative arc Rise of the Olympian.18 Carol Danvers comes from a middle class family of Boston. She has two brothers and a conservative, patriarchal father who did not want to pay for her daughter to obtain a degree in university. To be able to complete her study, Carol Danvers enrolls in the US Army which will pay 15

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A parthenogenesis or parthenogenic birth is a specific form of reproduction by only one parent, either male or female. Among famous epic journeys in Greek mythology are the expedition of Jason and the Argonauts for which Jason left his realm of Thessaly on the ship Argo to look for the Golden Fleece in Colchis. Ulysses left his wife Penelope and his young son Telemachus for the Trojan War and he is only able to see them again after his 10-year-long Odyssey on the journey back to Ithaca. - Pierre Commelin. Mythologie grecques et romaine. Paris: Éditions Garnier, (1960). Paul Dini (w), Alex Ross (p). Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth. (2001), p.18-19. Gail Simone (w), Bernard Chang (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #-33. (2008), p.13.

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the tuition fees for her. After university, she has to work for the army and while doing so she finds out that she really loves to fly and she is very good at it. She becomes one of the elite pilots in the US Air Force. Her job as US Army officer leads her to become head of security at NASA headquarters in Cape Canaveral where she meet the Kree alien Mar-Vell. After a few adventures alongside the Kree superhero, Danvers gets irradiated by an explosion during a fight with an alien foe and her DNA gets mingled with Kree DNA lending her new superpowers. Consequently, Danvers' superpowers do not come from evolution as it is the case for the superpowers of the X-Men which they got thanks to genetic mutation. The powers of the X-Men are abilities gained through evolution of the species whereas Danvers' powers cannot be obtained by anyone else through natural ways. She was the one given the powers of the Kree. Actually, her powers can be considered to be a gift from above – where above means extraterrestrial hand and not god's hand – and that is a typical feature of the hero. This character has super ability that other ordinary people do not possess. By having her DNA transformed and by becoming Miss Marvel, Carol Danvers becomes a supernatural being, not just a human but not an alien either: she becomes an upgraded human with superpowers. One of these powers is her ability to fly like Athena or Hermes19 and another main power is her ability to charge energy and to create fire, a typical godlike ability.

I.2.b – The characterization of the heroines To begin with, I shall focus on the physical aspects of both superheroines. Like male superheroes, Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel are very athletic and attractive. Their appearances are based on standard perfect body measurements for women in society because these characteristics are likely to trigger lust among male readers and the biggest part of the audience for comic books is male.20 This idea of perfect proportions and idealized beauty for women's bodies is to be seen in ancient sculptures such as the statue of Athena Nike on the Acropolis in Athens. Ancient sculpture researcher Victor Szepessy accounts for this idealization in his essay:

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Characters able to fly in Greek mythology are mainly Gods such as Athena, Hermes with his flying sandals and Eros, the winged love God. Other characters are also able to fly like the Harpies, the Sirens or Pegasus, son of Poseidon and Medusa. - Pierre Commelin. Mythologie grecque et romaine. Paris: Éditions Garnier, (1960). In 2012, 93% of DC Comics readers were male readers according to a consumer research study made by Nielsen Company. http://comicsalliance.com/dc-comics-readers-survey-reports-new-52-readership-93-male/ (27/04/2017).

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What we can see from ancient literary sources and from the sculptures themselves; is the preoccupation with the human body and the increasing interest in the representation of the female body as an expression of idealized beauty.21

The aesthetic of ancient art about mythological subjects is used in several pages of comic books to characterize and individualize both superheroines. This similarity between the two pictures is sometimes striking. In appendices n°1 and 2, the similarities are obvious. On appendix n°1, Goddess Athena is descending on Earth with her traditional helmet, her spear and Aegis, her shield with the head of Medusa engraved on it to frighten her opponents. On appendix n°2, Wonder Woman walks out of a battle scene indicated by smoke in the background. She holds a sword and her shield with the face of her mother, Queen Hyppolite. The bullet-deflecting bracelets she wears are directly linked to mythology as they were made from Aegis itself. 22 While Ms. Marvel does not need any weapon because she is able to create and master fire with her own hands, she also has the posture of a Goddess descending on Earth on appendix n°3. Both superheroines are able to fly like Athena and both have an elevated point of view on the situation and the scene taking place behind them. Moreover, Wonder Woman's description is made in comparison with mythological characters: William Moulton Marston wanted her to be “as beautiful as Aphrodite, strong as Hercules, wise as Athena, and swift as Mercury.”23 All her abilities are based on those of Greek gods or semi-gods. Her divine ascendance is clearly acknowledged in the story of her birth on the beach of Themyscira thanks to Goddess Aphrodite's goodness. Actually, the godlike abilities of Princess Diana are gifts made to her by the Gods on the nights of her birth.

I.3 - The Call to Adventure

In classical mythologies, semi-gods took on journeys of initiation to learn about the world because they had always been in the same place and they also took on this journey to show their worth to the Olympians and to the world. Perseus begins his journey to kill Medusa after Polydectes tricks him into going into such an adventure. On his way, he is granted help by Goddess Athena and God Hermes. Whereas Princess Diana's goal is quite similar to those of ancient heroes, Miss Marvel intends to take on this journey to become the best superhero on earth. 21

22 23

Victor, Szepessy. “Representation of the Female Body in Hellenistic Sculpture” (2011), https://www.academia.edu/7394370/Representation_of_the_Female_Body_in_Hellenistic_Sculpture (27/04/2017). Simone Gail (w), Bernard Chang, Aaron Leprosti (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #39. (2009). p.20. William Moulton Marston (w), Harry G Peter (p). Sensation Comics #1, (1942).

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At the beginning of her journey as superheroine, Carol Danvers is already a skilled fighter due to her former jobs in the US Air Force and the CIA. Moreover, she has gone through many adventures with her protector and mentor Mar-Vell. After the explosion that granted her Kree superpowers, she takes on her own odyssey but she does not go by the name of Carol Danvers, but she becomes the vigilante Miss Marvel, as a mark of respect for Mar-Vell. At the beginning of MMV2 Best of the Best, Danvers is thinking about how she wants to go on as a superheroine. The previous major event in Marvel comics’ storyline was the events in House of M24, an alternate reality in which mutants dominated Earth. The most famous human superheroes such as Captain America or the Iron Man did not exist. In this alternate reality, Miss Marvel was considered the best of all heroes and the most powerful and beloved non-mutant superhero in the world. 25 Yet, as soon as the X-Men and the Avengers vanquished the Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff and her brother Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff, this warped reality got destroyed and erased from the memories of those who did not fight during the last battle. As Miss Marvel was a member of the Avengers, she remembers everything when the alternate reality is destroyed and everything goes back to normal. But Carol Danvers liked the life she had in the House of M reality and she realizes that she is not giving her best in her missions: I feel no – I know that I could be – should be one of, if not the, best ever. That isn't going to make any sense to you. But I've seen it. Seen what I should be I mean. And instead of being that thing, I feel like I'm an “alsoran”.26

Therefore, this vision of her duty as greatest superheroine on Earth triggers her motivation for a new beginning of her mission. The first narrative arc of MMV2 is named “Best of the Best” as the motto of her new adventures. That is her call to adventures: Miss Marvel wants to become the first-class superheroine she had renounced to be for a long time. She wants to be “the best of the best” superheroes. Princess Diana's call to adventure is quite different from Danvers' one because she has been the superheroine Wonder Woman for a long time at the beginning of WWV3. In the first issue of Wonder Woman's comic book in January 1942, she left the island of Themyscira to help Steve Trevor and the United States in the war against Nazi Germany. 27 Actually, Princess Diana and the 24 25 26 27

Brian Michael Bendis (w), Olivier Coipel (p). House of M #3, (2005). p.3. Ibid., p.28-29. Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel #1, (2006). p.13. William Moulton Marston (w), Harry G, Peter (p). Sensation Comics #1, (1942). p.1.

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Amazons agreed to help western democracies to fight tyrannical regimes. This decision fits the conception of a mythological hero by Joseph Campbell who declared the hero to have a “moral objective [...] that of saving a people or saving a person, or saving an idea.” 28 Therefore, her first call to adventure dates back to the 1940s with the defense of the civilized world against the Nazi threat and this very threat led her to leave Paradise Island which was a radical change in the Amazons tradition no to interfere in men's world. Since the end of the Second World War, Wonder Woman has stayed in America to fight the enemies of the nation and she was a founding member of the Justice League of America29, one of the most powerful associations of vigilantes in North America, including Superman and Batman. At the beginning of WWV3, Princess Diana has resigned from her role as Wonder Woman and it is her sister Donna Troy – another explicit reference to mythology and the ancient city of Troy in Homer's Iliad – who is assuming the role of Wonder Woman. 30 During the events of Infinite Crisis31, Wonder Woman had to kill Maxwell Lord to prevent him from doing further harm to American citizens and the Justice League by mind-controlling Superman. Yet, her decision to resort to murder makes her doubt about her legitimacy as a superheroine if the last way for her to prevent harm is to harm another person or to kill someone. Her friends Superman and Batman reject her even though she has saved their lives by killing Lord. Superman and Batman eventually understand that Diana did it for the greater good but she resigns from her role as Wonder Woman at the end of Infinite Crisis because she does not feel worthy to wear the suit anymore. The beginning of WWV3 takes place in the period during which Donna Troy is Wonder Woman. 32 In the first narrative arc Who is Wonder Woman? Princess Diana is offered a job as a secret agent for the Department of Metahuman Affairs (DMA). This job turns out to be the opportunity for her to work as Diana Prince among ordinary citizens without the burden of Wonder Woman's image. As the title of this arc suggests it, Diana is looking for herself at the beginning of her journey. She does not think she can be Wonder Woman anymore but as she tries to find and rescue her sister Donna who has been kidnapped by villains to lure her in a trap, she understands that she is Wonder Woman. At the end of this first arc, Donna Troy confesses to her sister that she was never comfortable with being Wonder Woman and that this role fits Diana.33 As Diana finally takes back the suit to become Wonder 28

Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers. Puissance du Mythe. Traduit par Jazenne Tanzac. Paris: Editions Oxus, (2009).

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Gardner Fox (w), Mike Sekowsky (p). Justice League of America #9, (1962). Allan Heinberg (w), Terry Dodson (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 Wonder Woman #1, (2006). p.8-9. Geoff Johns (w), Phil Jimenez (p). Infinite Crisis #1–7, (2006). Allan Heinberg (w), Terry Dodson (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 Wonder Woman #1, (2006). p.8-9. Allan Heinberg (w), Gary Frank (p). Wonder Woman Annual #1, (2006). p. 10.

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Woman again, her nemesis Circe cursed her to be an ordinary human when she turns into Agent Diana Prince of the DMA. The spell that Circe casts on her turns out to be a blessing for Diana who becomes able to take on her journey as an ordinary human who is not invulnerable. This first narrative arc of the story is concluded by the following words by Princess Diana: “Who is Wonder Woman? She was once the servant of the Gods, sent to teach mankind to worship them but she learned to be human instead. She's the defender of truth and life in the struggle between heaven and humanity – between the mortal and the mythological and she's me. I am Wonder Woman and this is only the beginning.”34

The arc focused on the idea of legitimacy as Diana understands that her murdering Maxwell Lord was not a shameful mistake but that superheroes sometimes have to make compromises with their moral ideals in order to protect people. Thus, she eventually accepts what she did. Besides, the beginning arc also focuses on the topic of identity. Diana understands that she is the only person able to embody Wonder Woman because she is Wonder Woman: she does not deny her original call by the Gods but she also claims her human part of identity. This successful quest for identity is the preliminary step of her journey. Knowing who she is and where she comes from, Wonder Woman can face the issues of the unknown land. Her adventure begins as she has learnt about her true self: she has now to learn about the world. Yet, the learning process during the journey of initiation is fraught with pitfalls which are inherent to such narrative structures.

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Allan Heinberg (w), Gary Frank (p). Wonder Woman Annual #1, (2006). p. 23.

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II – The journey of initiation of two superheroines II.1 – The Heroine's journey II.1.a – The mythological structure The web of classical mythologies influences the physical representations of the characters but it is also extended to the structure of their adventures. The stories of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel follow the cycles and steps of ancient myths. Some titles of Wonder Woman comic books are explicitly reminiscent of Greek mythology, Odyssey35 and The Hiketeia36 which was a pledge in ancient Greece. As explained in I.3, the journey of both characters begins when they find out their legitimate identities either by seeing their true potential in an alternate reality for Miss Marvel or by rediscovering their true self after a period of doubt for Wonder Woman. This particular period triggers their call to adventure which is the starting point of their journey. According to Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces, every hero's story follows the same elementary frame called the Monomyth. The Monomyth is composed of seven main stages as the American professor explains: The first great stage, that of the separation or departure [...]: (1) "The Call to Adventure," or the signs of the vocation of the hero; (2) "Refusal of the Call," or the folly of the flight from the god; (3) "Supernatural Aid," the unsuspected assistance that comes to one who has undertaken his proper adventure; (4) "The Crossing of the first Threshold"; and (5) "The Belly of the Whale," or the passage into the realm of night. The stage of the trials and victories of initiation [...]: (1) "The Road of Trials," or the dangerous aspect of the gods; (2) "The Meeting with the Goddess" (Magna Mater), or the bliss of infancy regained; (3) "Woman as the Temptress," the realization and agony of Oedipus; (4) "Atonement with the Father"; (5) "Apotheosis"; and (6) "The Ultimate Boon."37

Besides, this story frame is typical for journeys of initiation in myths and in modern religions such as Christianity. In the Pilgrim's Progress 38 by John Bunyan, the main character that embodies a Christian – and is named so – goes on a journey to find God and heaven and he is faced with obstacles along his way. All the places he goes through are allegories, such as the Hill of Difficulty. In modern literature, several sagas offer the typical journey of initiation for the main

35 36 37 38

Phil Hester, J. Michael Straczynski (w). Daniel Horn and co. (p). Odyssey, (2011). Greg Rucka (w), J.G. Jones (p). The Hiketeia, (2002). Joseph Campbell. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press, (1949). p.33-34. John Bunyan. The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come, (1678).

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character.39 Princess Diana of Themyscira goes on a journey to understand and protect “men’s world” by the name of Wonder Woman. In Spirit of Truth40, she wants to help people in need around the world with her own way of seeing things but she is violently rejected. Her direct actions turn out to frighten people even more. She is seen as a monster by the girl she saved from a tank and she is perceived as outrageous by the villages in the Middle-East because she does not take into account their specific traditions and situation. Wonder Woman actually forgets what she calls “mortals” nature which is human's nature contrary to her divine essence and reflected image. The villagers attack her with rocks because they see her as a bigger threat for them than the government which is enslaving them. The main issue pointed out by scenarist Paul Dini in Spirit of Truth is Wonder Woman's early misunderstanding of people's nature. After the event in the village, Diana enters a time of doubt and she has to meet her friend Superman to get some advice. In the Campbell's Hero's Journey, Superman plays the role of the Mentor during the phase of Challenges and Temptations. He is the person providing wisdom and advice to the heroine who faces severe challenges despite her good will and intentions. Wonder Woman eventually succeeds in her mission to free the enslaved villages of the Middle-East by applying her mentor's advice. She finds a way to act after she learns about these people. It is the basis of a journey of initiation as Joseph Campbell said: What all the myths have to deal with is transformation of consciousness. That you’re thinking in this way, and you have now to think in that way.41

Diana mends her way of seeing things and her way of helping people in need. She knows more about the world thanks to the transformation of her consciousness: she has a better understanding of the people she wants to protect. Mythological characters are not bound to scientific rules and they may be defeated and killed during their journey before they are reborn and they rise again to face their enemy. According to Campbell, this mandatory step is called Revelation by death and rebirth. The hero reaches the bottom of the Abyss, which is the worst situation in the whole journey. Death may be symbolical through the rejection of the hero by his pairs. At the end of the narrative arc Rise of the Olympians42, Wonder Woman is banned from Themyscira as she refuses to pray the gods anymore because they abandoned the people; therefore her decision leads her not to be an Amazon anymore as Amazons 39 40 41 42

Among others are the Harry Potter saga by J.K. Rowling and His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Paul Dini (writer), Alex Ross (penciller). Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth, (2001). Joseph Campbell. Bill Moyers. Puissance du Mythe. Traduit par Jazenne Tanzac. Paris: Editions Oxus, (2009). Gail Simone (w), Bernard Chang (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #-33, (2008). p.21.

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are compelled to obey the gods. She experiments symbolical death as an Amazon only to be born again as Wonder Woman, the superheroine. Besides, death may also be literal. At the end of the story arc The Death of Miss Marvel, Miss Marvel is not able to control her fire power anymore: she cannot master all the energy she creates. Her specific fire powers were a major issue in her superheroine's life. After she fell into a coma because of mutant Rogue, she joined the X-Men and chose the name Binary to work with Professor X, Charles Xavier and learn how to have this power dormant.43 Yet, her anger towards Ghazi Rashid and the violence of the fight unleash the power. To protect the people of Hong Kong, Miss Marvel flies up in the sky and she sacrifices herself by exploding.44 As Campbell explained: To get out of that posture of dependency, psychological dependency, into one of psychological selfresponsibility, requires a death and resurrection, and that is the basic motif of the hero journey, Leaving one condition, finding the source of life to bring you forth in a richer or more mature or other condition. 45

During the next few issues, Miss Marvel #38-40, the real Miss Marvel-Carol Danvers is not present. She only reappears at the end of issue #41 by a rebirth thanks to an omniscient and gifted character the Puppetmaster.

II.1.b – The palimpsest The deep connection between ancient mythology and comic books is also rooted in the connections between the stories, although at first we can see a major difference between the two genres. Indeed, the notion of fatality is a core notion in Greek tragedies and mythology. Actually, a tragedy is “a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character”46. Tragic fate implies that the hero is not master of his destiny because the gods have already decided his fate. On the contrary, in DC Comics' and Marvel's universes, the hero is driven by the idea that he can change the world and make it a better place. Fatality is not a constituent of superheroines' stories because these stories are not tragedies. Wonder Woman decides to go to men's world in order to fight for democracy and freedom; Miss Marvel chooses to set a new beginning because she thinks she can be useful as a leading superheroine. 43 44 45 46

Chris Claremont (w), David Cockrum (p). Uncanny X-Men #164, (1963). Brian Reed (w), Patrick Olliffe (p). Miss Marvel #37, (2009). p.17-18. Joseph Campbell. Bill Moyers. Puissance du Mythe. Traduit par Jazenne Tanzac. Paris: Editions Oxus, (2009). Oxford Dictionary online.

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The similarity to the extent of stories has to be seen through the notion of palimpsest that is “something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form”. 47 Indeed, superheroine’s stories are often alterations and reinterpretations of old myths. For instance, mythological character Hercules fought the Amazons during one of his Twelve Labors: he vanquished them and achieved this Labor. Hercules also appears in the narrative arc Who is Wonder Woman? Yet, the story embraces a different point of view over the Greek myth: the focalization is on the side of the Amazons.48 Hercules is not displayed as heroic anymore but he becomes the evil foe who tyrannically submitted Queen Hyppolite and the Amazons and who abused them. The transformations in the original story aim to modernize it and to put the focus on another character than the ancient hero. The central characters in Wonder Woman's comic books are Princess Diana and the Amazons, therefore Greek heroes are not the main protagonists anymore but their appearances grant a cultural background to superheroines’ stories. As Richard Reynolds explained in Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology: There has arguably been a tendency for comic creators to legitimize their offspring by stressing their resemblance to legendary heroes or gods: a strategy to give their disregarded medium a degree of moral and intellectual uplift.49

Reynolds points out the obvious similarity between Greek heroes and superheroes. Indeed, Wonder Woman's superpowers are described in comparison to Gods' abilities. The strategy Reynolds writes about is most undeniable in Wonder Woman's stories due to these numerous features of mythology. Comic books become the continuation or reinterpretation of ancient stories in which heroes may become villains. This is another feature of the mythological journey, heroines face never-ending evil.

II.2 – The endless fight against Evil To take on Reynolds' perspective, the resemblance of superheroines to legendary heroes and gods50 is to be seen in their common fight against the forces of evil. The first epitome of this fight is 47 48 49 50

Oxford Dictionary online. Allan Heinberg (w), Terry Dodson (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #3, (2007). p.11. Richard Reynolds. Super Heroes: A Modern Mythology. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, (1992). The most obvious similarity between two characters of comic books and mythology is the one between Perseus and Superman. The early life of both characters is linked to the exile from home in a little ship – on sea or in space. They are exiled men gifted with extraordinary abilities. Perseus is Zeus' son and Superman is a Kryptonian on Earth. The two characters also share an iconic love story with a damsel in distress: Andromeda for Perseus and Lois Lane for Superman.

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the struggle against inner evil. At the end of the story arc War of the Marvels51 , Miss Marvel comes back after her resurrection and she seeks revenge on Karla Sofen who has usurped the name of Miss Marvel during her absence and besmirched Danvers' name but she also seeks revenge on Norman Osborn who ordered her assassination and planned the awakening of her Binary powers. She eventually manages to take Sofen down and she shows mercy by offering Sofen to redeem herself if she leaves Osborn while she could have killed her by destroying the Moon Stone, Sofen's power and life source. Miss Marvel's enemy is vanquished but not killed as an instance of Miss Marvel's moral qualities Her decision to spare Sofen's life is not a reference to ancient mythology but to Christian moral principle stated in the Bible and the Eleven Commands “Thou shalt not kill.” Carol Danvers is an American citizen who obeys the Christian rules and she cannot be the superheroine she wants to be if she breaks the sacred rule even if she strongly desires to avenge herself for what Osborn and Sofen have done to her: it is the inner fight against evil that superheroines win. Moreover, the “fight against the monster” is a typical feature of the heroic model according to Paul Brunel.52 Carol Danvers becomes superheroine Miss Marvel after she obtained her powers from the Mar-Vell's Kree DNA assembled to her own human DNA. From then on, she is considered half-Kree, half-human. She can be found by the Skrulls, the Kree's harsh foes. The Skrulls are a specie interested in conquest and battles. They only bring death and suffering, as announced by their name which is very similar to the word “skull”. The skull is a well-known symbol of death but it is also associated with several deadly threats in history such as the pirates and the Nazis. At various moments in her storyline, Miss Marvel faces the Skrulls who represent a threat.53 Besides, the shape-shifting mutant Mystique is another central enemy of Miss Marvel and she is also the most recurring and the fiercest one. Mystique made use of her adoptive daughter Rogue to have Miss Marvel killed in MMV1 but Rogue did not manage to do so. Nevertheless, Miss Marvel eventually fell into a coma and forgot all her emotions about her family. When she woke up from her coma, she joined the X-Men and worked with Professor Charles Xavier to master her powers again. Mystique reappears at the end of MMV2 because she is a perpetual threat for the superheroine.54 She used a clone of Mar-Vell in order to hurt Miss Marvel. As the shape-shifter says in the arc, her only motivation in using the scheme is to hurt Miss Marvel: What could I do with a Captain Marvel of my very own? Who could I hurt best? […] But then stupid little Carol Danvers went and got herself killed before I could cause her the pain I was hoping for. 55 51 52 53 54 55

Brian Reed (w), Mark Robinson (p). Miss Marvel #46, (2009). p.20-21. Paul Brunel. Dictionnaire des mythes littéraires. Monaco: Éditions du Rocher, (1988). p.735. Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel Volume 2 #25, (2010). p.5. Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel Volume 2 #48, (2010). p.18-20. Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel Volume 2 #50, (2010). p.5-6.

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With Mystique, Miss Marvel faces an enemy who only wants to cause her harm. To this extent, the shape-shifter embodies pure darkness which only wants to corrupt and destroy, in a word, pure evil. This kind of enemy is reminiscent of evil creatures in mythology such as the Sirens or the Furies which Mystique closely resembles. The deeply evil enemy is very typical of comic books. In the narrative arc End of the Earth56, Wonder Woman meets legendary warrior Beowulf and joins forces with him to fight an evil threat. The presence of such a character is relevant to the analysis of Reynolds. Beowulf is the eponym figure of an epic medieval poem 57 and this literary character is part of the high culture standards. His partnership with Princess Diana of Themyscira uplifts her status and grants the cultural credit of a legendary warrior. In the story arc, the monster described by Brunel is embodied by a demon character named D'Grth. Stalker – the character who gathered the mythical warriors to fight the demon - defines him as follows: “On my world, he is known as D'Grth. I believe you call him the devil.” 58 The enemy is the devil himself, the embodiment of all evils. Wonder Woman has to journey to the underworld accompanied by Beowulf and Claw – an Amerindian warrior – to fight the devil. She experiences the mytheme59 of katabasis.60 Yet, contrarily to mythological stories, she does not want to go there to talk with a dead person or to get this person back to the realm of the living, she descents to the underworld in order to fight evil in its lair. This characteristic is part of the palimpsest: there is a reference to mythology but the story is quite different. On the one hand, Greek heroes went on a journey to the underworld but their intention to go there was triggered by a personal matter. On the other hand, superheroines' desires to change the world and to make it a better place lead them to fight monsters for the greater good. In mythologies, the prowesses that were accomplished by Hercules gave him the chance to show his worth to the gods.61 Hercules wanted to gain recognition by getting over the obstacles whereas superheroines are only driven by the will to protect people and the world. 56 57

58 59

60

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Gail Simone (w), Bernard Chang, Aaron Leprosti (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #21, (2008). p.8. Beowulf is a Xth century poem written in Old English. The action takes place in Scandinavia where hero Beowulf is commissioned by King Hrothgar to vanquish two threats to his realm, the monster Grendel, Grendel's mother. Beowulf is victorious and becomes the new king. Fifteen years later, the hero defeats a threatening dragon but he is deadly wounded while doing so. Beowulf's author is unknown. Gail Simone (w), Bernard Chang, Aaron Leprosti (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #20, (2008). p.22. The mytheme is a concept created by Claude Levi-Strauss and refers to a fundamental unity that is shared by several myths. Katabasis or divine punishment are instantiations of the notion of mytheme. In Greek mythology, Orpheus enters the underworld to bring back his wife Eurydice. Ulysses experiences the katabasis to consult Tiresia in the Odyssey and Aeneas goes to Elysium in order to talk with his father in the Aeneid. - Pierre Commelin. Mythologie grecque et romaine. Paris: Éditions Garnier, (1960). When Hercules became an adult, he chose to live a virtuous life and presented himself to King Eurystheus who commanded him to perform ten labors, which later became the twelve and resulted in the famous Twelve Labors of Hercules. - Pierre Commelin. Mythologie grecque et romaine. Paris: Éditions Garnier, (1960).

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Besides, the fight against evil can also be specific to the comic book genre with the character of the recurring enemy. Indeed, some characters have to be recurring in comic books because books are issued each month and they have to keep the reader in suspense. Circe is a famous character in Greek mythology62 and she is also Wonder Woman's recurring foe. She appears as Wonder Woman's enemy in several media such as the Justice League anime series. 63 In WWV3, she set up the plot to get rid of Diana in the story arc Who is Wonder Woman. She took advantage of Diana's uncertainty about her ability to fulfill the role of superheroine to attack her. 64 The sorceress actually embodies the evil feminine in mythology and comic books. In mythology, she turned Ulysses' companions into swine after she seduced them. During the arc Who is Wonder Woman, she takes on Wonder Woman's role when Diana has renounced to be a superheroine anymore. Nevertheless, whereas Diana saves women from abusive husbands in Wonder Woman #5, Circe decides to violently punish men who work in women traffic and she eventually kills every man she encounters during her missions.65 When she is Wonder Woman, Diana incarnates truth and justice while Circe takes the extremist approach on the issues Diana cares for. Therefore, Circe finally becomes the complete opposite to Wonder Woman who epitomizes the feminine divine through kindness and fairness.

II.3 – The Lessons of the Journey

At the end of the journey of initiation comes the moment of accomplishment after the hero has experienced death and rebirth, be it symbolical or literal. After his Twelve Labors, Hercules goes back to Mycenae where he frightens King Erystheus by bringing Cerberus to the palace. The king gives him no more labor to perform. Hercules is then found worthy by the gods and he marries Megara and they have two sons together. As for Perseus, after he beheaded the Gorgon Medusa, the hero travels back to Argos and killed Acrisius who was courting his mother by petrifying him with Medusa's head. For Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel, no physical return takes place because neither of them goes back to their homeland. Yet, they have reached the stage of maturation. Mircea Eliade explains that maturation is a constituent at the end of the journey of initiation: 62

Circe appears in numerous mythological stories. She poisoned her husband, the king of the Sarmates, which forced her to flee her realm. She changed her rival, the young and beautiful Scylla into a horrible monster. She transformed Ulysses's companions into swine in the Odyssey. - Pierre Commelin. Mythologie grecques et romaine. Paris: Éditions Garnier, (1960). 63 Paul Dini (w), Dan Riba (director). Justice League Unlimited S1 E05 This Little Piggy, (2004). 64 Allan Heinberg (w), Terry Dodson (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 Wonder Woman #3, (2006). p.16-17. 65 Allan Heinberg (w), Terry Dodson (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 Wonder Woman #4, (2006). p.2-3.

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Initiation equals spiritual maturation, and in the whole religious story of humanity you always come to this theme: the initiated one is the one who knows.66

Knowledge comes as a reward for the hero who has fulfilled his initiation through the journey. Thanks to the new experience he has gathered, he knows things he could not have learnt if he had not crossed the initial threshold. This knowledge about the world makes the character more mature and more able to act; this is the spiritual maturation Eliade writes about .67 The concept of spiritual maturation is relevant to the analysis of Miss Marvel's series. Indeed, the last story arc of Miss Marvel Volume 2 is named Best You Can Be. It echoes the initial arc named Best of the Best. The contrast between the two narrative arcs is visible through the psychological journey made by Carol Danvers throughout the whole series. According to Campbell's stages, she has entered the stage of Revelation and she expresses her new state of mind in her dialogue with Spiderman at the very end of the book: In the time I've been doing this super hero thing, I like to think I've had an effect on the world. […] A while back, I said I wanted to be the best of the best, top of the superhero game. […] Being the best of the best is not really a goal. But being the best you can be. That's doable. That's possible for everybody if they put their mind to it.68

The outcome of her introspection and inner conflict is emphasized by what one can define as her new motto. She does not seek to be the best superheroines in the world anymore but she wants to focus on becoming the best person she is able to be. She has accepted herself. Moreover, there is an obvious apostrophe to the reader during Miss Marvel's speech: a sermon nudging people into mending themselves. This address to the reader originates in Moulton's conception of the educational potential of comic books (I.1.a) although Miss Marvel belongs to Marvel and not DC Comics like Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman has reached maturation too. Her journey is about feeling oneself worthy of one's role. At the end of the story arc Warkiller 69, Diana claims her position as Princess of Themyscira. She has fought for her homeland Themyscira and is welcome back. 70 In this very arc, she learns the truth about her birth. Her mother Queen Hyppolite had to collect clay from a dark entity under Paradise Island.71 This creature refers to Diana as his daughter because he is a sort of 66 67 68 69 70 71

Mircea Eliade. Le sacré et le profane. Paris: Gallimard, (1959). p.160. Mircea Eliade. Le sacré et le profane. Paris: Gallimard, (1959). p.160. Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel Volume 2 #50, (2010). p.21-22. Simone Gail (w), Bernard Chang, Aaron Leprosti (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #36-39, (2009). Simone Gail (w), Bernard Chang, Aaron Leprosti (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #39, (2009). p.21. Ibid., p.7.

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biological “father” to her. This character clearly epitomizes “the ogre aspect of the father” explained by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. During his journey, the hero goes through the atonement with the father; Campbell explains: It is in this ordeal that the hero may derive hope and assurance from the helpful female figure, by whose magic he is protected through all the frightening experiences of the father's ego-shattering initiation. For if it is impossible to trust the terrifying father-face, then one's faith must be centered elsewhere [...] and with that reliance for support, one endures the crisis72

Indeed, Queen Hyppolite helps Diana in her fight against the dark creature which wants to get back the clay Diana has been made of. Besides, Diana is shaken by the revelations of the creature. She doubts herself but she eventually decides to fight back as she regains confidence when her friends and foes help her in her struggle against the dark entity. Maureen Murdock, a former student of Campbell wrote The Heroine's Journey, a book created as an adaptation of Campbell's Hero's Journey and Murdock wanted to make the mythological journey suitable for heroines. According to Mrs. Murdock, the two last steps of the heroine's journey are the healing of the wounded masculine and then the integration of masculine and feminine by the character. During her fight against the father creature, Diana accepts that he is part of her and therefore she is able to vanquish him. At the end of WWV3, Princess Diana of Themyscira draws the conclusion of her adventures for the volume and declares: By all rights, I should be alone everywhere I go. And yet, I find I am not. Instead, I find love in every direction I look. I am Diana Princess of the Amazons. And this is the life I am blessed to have led.73

Diana has accepted her life and her role. Besides, the heroine who has vanquished the monster becomes a recognized savior as Paul Brunel explained: “Victorious in the perilous, the hero appears as the one who frees, the “savior” of a whole people”. 74 After Wonder Woman got rid of the threat over men's world, she becomes an almost messianic figure for the fictional society of her universe. Therefore, Wonder Woman's perception is dichotomist: she is perceived inside and outside the story. Her reception by the readership is linked to the cultural background of the audience. Her creation is also influenced by the cultural context.

72 73 74

Joseph Campbell. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton University Press, (1949). p.120. Gail Simone (w), Nicola Scott (p).Wonder Woman Volume 3 #44, (2010). p.22 Paul Brunel. Dictionnaire des mythes littéraires, Monaco: Éditions du Rocher, (1994). p.735.

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III – The elaboration and reception of the modern superheroine myth III.1 - Fictional mirrors of society III.1a – The foundations of the western world The stories of superheroines are part of what is often referred to as the modern mythology of comics. As the reader is faced with the stories and characters of some comics, he is offered a depiction of the society in which such comic books have been created. Therefore, two significant phenomena are prominent. These modern myths are built from the ideas and representations of the society in which they are created, consequently they mirror some features of this society. This is the central idea at work in Mythologies by Roland Barthes: in this book, the French writer explains how some cultural features create a modern mythology75. French researcher Gilbert Durand explained that the mirroring of society is a key role of mythologies: In what I formerly named the “anthropological route” - continuing coming and going between individual consciousness which enunciates or writes its text and all the contextual intimations of environment, i.e. “prevailing” society as E. Mounier says – there is a continuing swapping without first chicken or first egg. 76

Indeed, the myths which are created and conveyed by a specific society are closely linked to the social situations in this society. The depiction of the fictional world of mythology is shaped by the real world. According to G. Durand, the influence on this representation may be unconscious but its aftermath is obvious. Wonder Woman's stories show us the moments that western society considers as its genesis. Firstly, her origins and homeland on Paradise Island face the reader with the modern vision that our society has of Antiquity. Indeed, Antiquity is often referred to as the Golden Age for democracy. Ancient Greece is remembered as a moment of elaboration and construction of the modern concept of democracy. The rooting of Wonder Woman in Ancient Greece's culture actually grants her a very stable background. Moreover, the portrayal of Themyscira reveals us the contemporary vision we 75 76

Roland Barthes. Mythologies. Manchecourt: Éditions du Seuil, (1970). Gilbert Durand. Introduction à la mythodologie. Paris: Éditions Albin Michel, (1996). p.164.

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have on Antiquity and especially Ancient Greece as an Arcadian time. 77 Besides, the western world relies on a double foundation. The Second World War is remembered as the second founding moment as it was the time of the defense of democracy. Princess Diana of Themyscira is bound to both periods. She grew up with an ancient Greek upbringing and she then fought alongside the Allies during the Second World War to defend core western values and beliefs i.e. freedom and democracy. Wonder Woman is a heroine rooted in the time of genesis for our current society. This is a clear epitome of her function of modern myths as Mircea Eliade explained: “Myths narrate a sacred history. They relate events that took place in a primordial time, the fabled time of the beginnings.”78 As the Second World War is the period of political genesis for our society, the Wonder Woman comic books are part of modern myths because some narrative arcs take place during this period.

III.1.b – Echoes of women's place In Miss Marvel's comic books, the influence of society and social issues are epitomized by the emancipation of Carol Danvers. Indeed, Miss Marvel appeared in her own series during 1970s' second-wave feminism in the United States. Women were claiming more recognition and more rights to reach gender equality. To this extent, Carol Danvers' decision to take a superheroine name and to act by herself without the tutelage of a father figure – as Captain Mar-Vell used to be – is a reflection of women's gain of independence inside society. Moreover, in the narrative arc Operation Lightning Storm of MMV2, Carol Danvers decides to get hold of her and to not join the newly formed team of superheroes the Mighty Avengers. She chooses to act alone and she eventually decides to work with a team of agents that she has recruited by herself. 79 This progression of her story is traced back to the evolution of today's economy and the growing trend of woman entrepreneurs. Wonder Woman stories also reflect the evolution of society regarding the emancipation of women and the betterment of their social status. In the first issues of the series during the 1950s and 1960s, Wonder Woman was wearing a long skirt or a bloomer. Her appearance evolved during the 1970s and 1980s with the television show and the portrayal of the Greek Princess by Lynda Carter. Her shorts were reduced and her top hid less of her body. In the 1990s and the 2000s, her look did 77

78 79

It is a common theme in literature to picture Ancient Greece as an Arcadian Golden Age for instance in Far from the Madding Crowd (1874) by Thomas Hardy. Mircea Eliade. Aspects du mythe. Paris: Gallimard, (1963). Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel Volume 2 #13, (2007). p.17-20.

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not evolve much but for the evolution of fashion on the design of the clothes. The recent change in her suits – especially the first time that Wonder Woman wore pants 80 – is linked to the shifting readership of comic books and the reappropriation of the icons by people rejecting the need of attractiveness in the portrayal of superheroines. To this extent, the influence of Wonder Woman has been largely discussed by feminist movements. The crux of the questioning was whether the character was an asset or an obstacle in the struggle for women's rights. Some analyses of Wonder Woman by feminist movements aimed at captioning the ideal of the emancipated woman. She was designed by William Moulton Marston to be a strong female character to which women could identify. Therefore, she has been a character under scrutiny by the public since her creation. There were discrepancies in the reactions amongst feminist groups: it epitomizes the relevance of the superheroine's echo among the readership and society of her time. American journalist and feminist activist Gloria Steinem wrote about Wonder Woman: Wonder Woman symbolizes many of the values of the women's culture that feminists are now trying to introduce into the mainstream: strength and self-reliance for women; sisterhood and mutual support among women; peacefulness and esteem for human life; a diminishment both of "masculine" aggression and of the belief that violence is the only way of solving conflicts.81

In this introduction to Marston's book, G. Steinem established the adequation between Wonder Woman's actions and state of mind in the comic books and the desires of feminists in the real world to promote women's qualities and advocate a progression of their status. As superheroines are reflections of society, they offer a mirror of the trends which gain momentum in society. Moreover, they can also be considered as role models by the readership that is faced with strong female figures and role models.

80 81

Phil Hester, J. Michael Straczynski, (w), Daniel Horn (p). Odyssey, (2011). William Moulton Marston. Wonder Woman. Introd. by Gloria Steinem. Interpretive essay by Phyllis Chesler. Designed by Bea Feitler. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, (1972).

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III.2 – Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel as role models III.2.a – The acknowledgement of superheroine power Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel epitomize female strength and to this extent, they are sometimes considered as role models. The notion of “anthropological route” created by G. Durand is therefore very relevant to the analysis of the superheroines. Wonder Woman's perception in real life is visible inside the fictional narrative arcs of WWV3. Indeed, the creation of the Athenian Women's Help Shelter82 is a consequence of the impact of the character's actions. In the story, the women who left their husbands explain that they found the strength to do so when they saw the courageous and successful actions Wonder Woman achieved. Wonder Woman is also portrayed as a role model for young girls. It is clearly instantiated by the cover of Wonder Woman #25 (left picture)83 on which Wonder Woman is represented as a strong person bending her muscles, with the American flag behind her in the background. The small girl at the bottom right corner imitates Wonder Woman's move because she identifies with the superheroines. Therefore, superheroines are characters with symbolic strength like the classical goddesses they are derived from. Wonder Woman relies on the portrayal of Moon Goddess Artemis – named Diana, by the Romans and this is also the superheroine's true name – who was a virgin huntress and women's protector. The reception of Wonder Woman in real life is exemplified inside the fiction by the recognition of a role model. There is a very clear swapping – to get back to G. Durand's concept – between the reception of the character in real life and the implementation of story elements that instantiate this perception inside comic book's fiction. Besides, Wonder Woman is often perceived as a role model in the real world too. Indeed, Wonder Woman has been recently appointed Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls by the United Nations Organization.84 This decision emphasizes the impact of the character in real life. The reception of the character since its creation in the 1940s has made it a well-known cultural figure for large amount of people around the world – even for non-comics readers. 82 83 84

Jodi Picoult (w), Paco Diaz (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #5, (2007). p.2-3. Gail Simone (w), Bernard Chang, Aaron Leprosti (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #25, (2008). http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55367#.WGorLVzaw_A (27/04/2017).

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American actress Lynda Carter who portrayed Wonder Woman in the 1970s television series explained: “Wonder Woman is to me – as she is to so many women of all ages – a symbol of all the glorious gifts that reside in the spirit of Woman.” 85 The superheroine was designed by J. Moulton Marston as a strong female character and she was received as an epitome of it. Joseph Campbell's explanations in his lectures about the Feminine Divine lead us to assert that Wonder Woman as well as Miss Marvel's stories are clear instantiations of women's force. Joseph Campbell wrote: The important thing about the Goddess is not whether women sat on thrones and ruled in a matriarchal social structure; it is whether the quality of Woman, the being of Woman, the sense of Woman was understood, known, and respected.86

If we take a look at Wonder Woman's universe, the matriarchal social structure that Campbell evokes in his lecture is epitomized by Paradise Island and the rule of Queen Hyppolite. According to his idea of the Goddess, the isolated island does not instantiate the progressive liberation of women in modern society. Actually, its true instantiation occurs with the departure of Princess Diana for America and the western world; the help she grants to ordinary people in order to save them from evil results in the recognition of Wonder Woman as a strong feminine figure. Contrarily to Superman or Green Lantern, Wonder Woman displays more comprehensiveness towards people and more compassion – which is not tantamount to saying that she is weaker – but she is also a fierce warrior raised by the Amazons and she is known to be so.

III.2.b – The cosplay phenomenon as reverence for the characters Nowadays, graphic novels are part of contemporary global culture – whether it takes the form of comic books in the western world or manga in Japan and South Korea. Graphic novels can be purchased in newspaper stores and bookshops like any other literary form. Insofar as comic books are a modern literary genre, the stories that they offer display the same features as other literary genres such as novels. Mircea Eliade explained in The Sacred and the Profane87: Even reading includes a mythological function: […] All the more because reading offers an “escape from Time” similar to that of myths to the modern man. Whether you “kill” time by reading a detective novel or you enter a stranger time universe which is represented by whatever novel, reading projects the modern man out of his timeline and integrates him to other rhythms, makes him live in another “history”.

85 86 87

Les Daniels. Wonder Woman: The complete History. San Francisco: Chronicle Book, (2000). Joseph Campbell. Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine. Novato, CA: New World Library, (2013). Mircea Eliade. Le sacré et le profane. Paris: Gallimard, (1959). p.205.

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Indeed, one of the primary functions of literature is to set the reader in a different and unusual situation. By reading superheroines stories, the reader is also able to project into a different Earth where superpowers exist - with the existence of metahumans for DC Comics. The reader meets superheroines and gaudy characters that she or he will like or dislike. As some characters are perceived as role models, some fans like to resemble them or even dress up like them. The cosplay phenomenon88 comes from the admiration of the fans for many varied characters in pop culture (left picture89). The cosplay phenomenon is very reminiscent of the veneration of divinities in Ancient Greece. Nevertheless, the phenomenon does not include a religious part but it rather deals with a recognition and respect for the characters of our culture. In her research paper about cosplay, Dutch researcher Nicolle Lamerichs explains that “costuming is a form of fan appropriation that transforms, performs, and actualizes an existing story in close connection to the fan's own identity.” 90 To this extent, the phenomenon comes from an emotional involvement of the person with the character and thus the fan intends to show that they value the actions and the personality of the character. In the conclusion to her paper, Lamerichs writes that: Cosplay does not just fictionalize everyday life and give it an aesthetic dimension; it also shows how the fictional shapes the actual. Ultimately, cosplay is a vital example of how identity is constructed. Fans construct their own identity by associating themselves with fictional characters and embodying them.

Her explanations show that the “anthropological route” of G. Durand is clearly at work in the cosplay phenomenon. At first, authors created characters that reflected some trends of our society. Secondly, the fictional figures which have been created are taken over by the fans who are influenced by the identity of the heroes. The swapping between the fictional and the actual worlds is discernible.

88

Cosplay is the activity of dressing up as fictional characters appearing in comic books, video games, films or television series. Cosplayers often dress up on the occasion of dedicated conventions gathering hundreds of people. 89 A cosplayer named Gibi dresses up as the superheroine Raven, member of the Teen Titans in DC Comics universe. https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ9DP_vgxBc/?hl=fr (29/04/2017). 90 Nicolle Lamerichs. "Stranger than Fiction: Fan Identity in Cosplay." in Transformative Works and Cultures, (2011). http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/246/230 (27/04/2017).

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III.2.c – The symbolic mediation of the superheroines' myths The two superheroines Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel have become role models because they display very strong symbolism which is perceived through an inner dichotomy. Actually, the reader is able to feel compassion or joy towards the superheroines because the characters clearly display their human side. Yet, the reader is also amazed in front of the wonders that the characters are able to accomplish: this composes the divine side of the superheroines. Therefore, both characters operate symbolic mediation between two aspects of life: humanity and divinity. To begin with, the character Wonder Woman has a discernible symbolic quality because Princess Diana of Themyscira is not the only one who has assumed Wonder Woman's role. Her sister Donna Troy has taken up the suit of the superheroine at the beginning of WWV3.91 Wonder Woman is a figure who cares about people's protection. To this extent, the superheroine is a type of metafictional character as Wonder Woman is no one but she is embodied by someone. In MMV2, Miss Marvel's role is also taken up by someone else than Carol Danvers. In the narrative arc War of the Marvel,92 Norman Osborn's ally Karla Sofen embodies Miss Marvel after Carol Danvers' death in Hong Kong. These examples show the symbolic quality of superheroines. Thanks to this distinction between the public figure or what is called the persona and the private person who embodies the superheroine, superheroines' stories manage to display more individual and psychological features for their characters. Moreover, these characters also have a civil life among ordinary people. Carol Danvers hires a public relations manager to work on the image of Miss Marvel in the media and the public.93. An accurate separation takes place between the superheroine who is a flat character – that is a character who represents a specific idea according to E.M. Forster94; here, superheroines are idealized figures – and on the other side, the civil identities of Diana Prince and Carol Danvers who are complex individuals. This duality is comparable to the one of the President of the United States or the President of France. The office of President is a public role and when the President speaks in public, he or she speaks as President of the country and as the head of state. Yet, there is also a private person who takes up the role during the mandate but as long as this person fulfils the office of President, this person will not talk as a private individual when he or she speaks in the public sphere. 91 92 93 94

Allan Heinberg (w), Terry Dodson (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 Wonder Woman #1, (2006). p.4-5. Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel Volume 2 #42-46, (2009). Brian Reed (w), Roberto Delatorre (p). Miss Marvel #1, (2006). p.9-10. E.M. Forster. Aspects of the Novel. London: Edward Arnold, (1927).

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This also goes for superheroines because they have the duty to protect people when they are a wearing their suit and each action they make is scrutinized by the media and the public. Therefore, Princess Diana of Themyscira takes the form of her alter ego Agent Diana Prince when she is not wearing Wonder Woman's suit. In Wonder Woman Annual #195, Circe casts a spell on Princess Diana making her vulnerable and mortal as soon as she takes Diana Prince's appearance. Contrarily to what could have been expected, Diana does not blame Circe for doing so. Actually, she considers this mortal vulnerability as an opportunity to understand ordinary people's daily life in a world where metahumans and supervillains exist. Diana wants to improve the actions she takes to help ordinary people. Therefore, her true strength relies in her determination to act even if she has no superpower in her mortal body. As well as it makes her a role model, it also grants her a moral superiority and respectability in front of the readers. Like a Christic figure, Princess Diana has made the choice to live with ordinary mortals like an ordinary mortal and it contrasts with Queen Hyppolite's last advice when Diana left Paradise Island. She said: “Go in peace my daughter and remember that in a world of ordinary mortals, you are a wonder woman.” Along her journey of initiation, Princess Diana of Themyscira has learnt how she could understand people and she wants to be a mediator between her divine ascendancy and origins and the human condition she wants to protect. Therefore, the “anthropological route” named by G. Durand is the underlying phenomenon at work in this mediation. The superheroines generate a reflection amongst the readership by their actions and their noble quality. They act with nobility in their decision and it is a model for the readership. Superheroines are dynamic mediators between ordinary people and the notion of divine. Therefore, the superheroines’ myths have an incentive role towards reflection. They are an invitation to reflect upon the society to which the myths belong. Indeed, a society always chooses its own goddesses and mythologies according to the evolutions that took place but also the changes people want to see.

95

Allan Heinberg (w), Terry Dodson (p). Wonder Woman Annual #1, (2007). p20-21.

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Conclusion The central focus of this paper was the analysis of the link between the superheroines Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel and the notions of myths and mythology. This link is firstly exemplified in the geneses of the two characters. Wonder Woman was conceived as a cathartic model for women and she became an independent, strong princess who came to men's world to protect men. Her origins are completely rooted in Ancient Greece and classical mythology. Miss Marvel was designed as the ideal of the successful American woman and her powers were a gift from extraterrestrial powers similar to ancient gods' powers. Their physical features and attributed powers are similar to those of ancient heroes. Both superheroines are faced with the epiphany of their call to adventure which is the first step of their journey of initiation. Moreover, the stories of Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel follow the narrative frame of the mythological journey of initiation. After they have experienced their call to adventure, they overcome obstacles in order to learn about the world and to be recognized by people or deities. Comic books can become palimpsests of ancient myths. Like the protagonists of Greco-Roman myths, superheroines show their worth and values in order to fight evil. At the end of the journey of initiation comes the moment of accomplishment after the superheroines have gone through death and rebirth, be it symbolical or literal. They have reached the stage of maturation which epitomizes the educational potential of comic books explained by William Moulton Marston. Lastly, the bound of superheroines to the notion of myths is also epitomized by their reception in the society which created them. Like ancient myths, superheroines’ stories offer a depiction of the society in which they are produced and conveyed. The characters Wonder Woman and Miss Marvel are thus perceived as role models inside their own narrative arcs because they instantiate women's force. Yet, they are also received as strong female characters in the real world and the phenomenon fuels the perpetual swapping between fiction and reality which is named the “anthropological route”. Superheroines' stories are able to offer mediation between humanity, through the complex aspects of individualities, and divinity, through the actions and symbolic quality of the superheroines.

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The elaboration process of superheroines is varied. The influence of society plays a substantial role in the creation of such figures but there are other principles at work in their creations. Some culturally-enshrined images underlie the edification of these icons. Mainstream religious beliefs are connected to the genesis of mythical figures. Thus, the analysis of these images and the aspects of profane reverence to the superheroines are worth-exploring. The study of additional superheroines would also be an interesting lead to follow in order to broaden the views of this paper. DC Comics character Raven is a figure who originates from varied roots; she offers many epitomes of the swapping between the production and reception of the superheroine myth.

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Table of appendices Appendix 1: Unknown author. Athena descending on Earth from Olympos. colleciton Poniatowski, T994, London. Appendix 2: Eduardo Pansica, Don Kramer. Wonder Woman #602 in Odyssey, (2010). [DC Comics]. Appendix 3: Olivier Coipel. House of M, (2005). [Marvel]. Appendix 4: Unknown author. Diagram based on the Hero's Journey in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) by Joseph Campbell.

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Appendix 1

Athena descending on Earth from Olympos colleciton Poniatowski, T994, London.

33

Appendix 2

Wonder Woman #602 in Odyssey (2010) Eduardo Pansica, Don Kramer 34

Appendix 3

House of M (2005)  Olivier Coipel 35

Appendix 4

Diagram based on the Hero's Journey in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949) by Joseph Campbell

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Table of illustrations Page 5: Chris Claremont (w), Dave Cockrum (p). Ms. Marvel #20, (1978). [Marvel]. Page 25: Gail Simone (w), Bernard Chang, Aaron Leprosti (p). Wonder Woman Volume 3 #25, (2008). [DC Comics]. Page 27: A cosplayer named Gibi dresses up as the superheroine Raven, member of the Teen Titans in DC Comics universe. https://www.instagram.com/p/BQ9DP_vgxBc/?hl=fr (29/04/2017).

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Glossary I – DC Comics Agent Diana Prince: this is the undercover identity of Wonder Woman inside the Department of Metahuman Affairs (DMA). Under this name, she can keep in touch with supervillains attack as well as living among ordinary mortals. Amazons: they are female warriors who live on Paradise Island under the lead of Queen Hyppolite, Diana's mother. The Amazons have mythological origins as they are protected by Goddess Aphrodite who granted them the island to live secluded from men's world. Circe: She is a mythological sorceress appearing in the Odyssey but she is also one of Wonder Woman's central enemies. Donna Troy: She is considered by Diana as her sister but to be more precise, she was a duplicate of Diana created by an evil sorceress, which makes her rather her clone than her sister. She possesses the same abilities as Wonder Woman. Hyppolite: She is the Queen of the Amazons, Ares' daughter and Diana's mother. She and her sister Antiope, the army general created the city of Themyscira on Paradise Island. Maxwell Lord: He was a very wealthy businessman and entrepreneur. During Infinite Crisis, he mind-controlled Superman and other superheroes to have them attack each other. When he got arrested by Wonder Woman, he told her that the only way to stop him from mind-controlling superheroes was to kill him. Wonder Woman did so but Lord's accomplices broadcast the video on every TV channels in the world so that the American government, Superman and Batman rejected Wonder Woman for resorting to killing. Steve Trevor: He is the first ordinary mortal that Diana ever saw. He was a U.S. Air Force pilot during World War Two whose plane was shot down by the Nazis and crashed on Paradise Island. Queen Hyppolite and the Amazons accepted to break their tradition of seclusion so that Princess Diana brought Trevor back to America and helped the Allies during the war by becoming Wonder Woman. Themyscira and Paradise Island: It is the homeland of the Amazons and a place unknown to ordinary mortals. Themyscira is the main city of Paradise Island, a place given to the Amazons by Goddess Aphrodite after the former city of Themyscira located in modern Turkey was destroyed by Hercules. The island hides the Doom's Doorway guarded by the Amazons. Men are forbidden to step foot on the island. 38

II – Marvel Binary: It was the superheroine name taken by Carol Danvers when she joined the X-Men after Rogue put her in a coma. Her fire powers were much more intense and Professor Charles Xavier helped her to control them. These fire powers are commonly referred to as “Binary powers.” Kree: They are a technologically advanced alien race but also a militaristic civilization which is eager to conquer other worlds. They are in conflict with the Skrulls. Mar-Vell: He was an alien from the Kree Empire who came to Earth to fight the Kree's harsh foes, the Skrulls. During a fight against a Skrull, his DNA got mingled with Officer Carol Danvers' one and it granted her his superpowers. Danvers took the name Miss Marvel as a tribute. He died from a cancer. Mystique: Her real name is Raven Darkholme and she is a mutant working with Magneto among the Brotherhood of Mutants. She is a shapeshifter, therefore she is able to transform into any other person. Norman Osborn: He is a wealthy businessman who is famous for being Spider-Man's main enemy. He is also the director of Hammer and he gathered the Dark Avengers during the Dark Reign story arc. Rogue: Her real name is Anna Marie and she is Mystique's adoptive daughter. She has the ability to drain superpowers and life energy. Obeying Mystique's order, she tried to kill Miss Marvel and put her in a coma. Scarlet Witch: Her real name is Wanda Maximoff and she is Magneto's daughter. She has the ability to alter reality and she did so during the narrative arc House of M. She also possesses strong telekinetic and psychic powers. She is one of the most powerful mutants on Earth. Skrulls: They are a belligerent alien race and the main enemy of the Kree. Karla Sofen: She was a doctor and a supervillainess known as Moonstone. When Norman Osborn gathered the Dark Avengers, Sofen took the identity of Miss Marvel and she was eventually taken down by Carol Danvers when the latter was resurrected by the Puppet Master. X-Men: They are a team of mutant superheroes trained by Professor X, Charles Xavier in his school for gifted students in the state of New York. Among famous X-Men are the Wolverine, Cyclop, Jean Grey and Storm. 39

Bibliography I – Primary Sources Dini, Paul (writer), Ross, Alex (penciller). Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth. (2001), [DC Comics]. Hester, Phil, Straczynski, J. Michael (writers), Horn, Daniel, Goldman, Allan, Kramer, Don, Pansica,

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Heinberg, Allan (w), Dodson, Terry (p). Who is Wonder Woman? (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #1-4; Wonder Woman Volume 3 Annual #1) (2007), [DC Comics]. Picoult, Jodi (w), Diaz, Paco, Dodson, Rachem, Johnson, Drew (p). Wonder Woman: Love and Murder. (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #5-10) (2007), [DC Comics]. Pfeiffer, Will (w), Woods, Pete (p). Amazons Attack! (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #11-13) (2008), [DC Comics]. Simone, Gail (w), Dodson, Terry (p). Wonder Woman: The Circle. (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #14-17) (2007), [DC Comics]. Simone, Gail (w), Chang, Bernard, Leprosti, Aaron (p). Wonder Woman: End of the Earth. (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #20-25) (2008), [DC Comics]. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Wonder Woman: Rise of the Olympian. (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #26-33) (2008), [DC Comics]. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Wonder Woman: Warkiller. (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #36-39) (2009), [DC Comics]. Simone, Gail (w), Leprosti, Aaron (p). Wonder Woman: A Murder of Crows. (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #40-41) (2009), [DC Comics]. Simone, Gail (w), Scott, Nicola (p). Wonder Woman: Wrath of the Silver Serpent. (collects Wonder Woman Volume 3 #42-44) (2010), [DC Comics]. Reed, Brian (w), Delatorre, Roberto (p). Miss Marvel Vol. 1: Best of the Best. (collects Ms. Marvel Volume 2 #1- 5) (2006), [Marvel]. ------------------------------------------------ Miss Marvel Vol. 3: Operation Lightning Storm. (collects Ms. Marvel Volume 2 #11-17) (2007), [Marvel]. ------------------------------------------------ Miss Marvel Vol. 4: Monster Smash. (collects Ms. Marvel Volume 2 #18-24) (2008), [Marvel]. ------------------------------------------------ Miss Marvel Vol. 6: Ascension. (collects Ms. Marvel 40

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II.3 – Electronic Resources Hayes, Jacki, Renee. "Goddess in a cape: Feminine divine as comic book superhero", (2012). http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/12684/ (27/04/2017). Hollon, Marina. "Superheroine History 1959-1984, Wonder Woman and Supergirl", (2012). http://csusm-dspace.calstate.edu/handle/10211.8/261 (27/04/2017). Lamerichs,

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