The paradox of Wonder Woman: Looking back on 80 years of the complicated feminist icon

The superhero is both a symbol of female empowerment and an S&M fantasy figure who has inspired lowbrow TV series and very highbrow academic books. As Wonder Woman 1984 arrives in cinemas, Geoffrey Macnab looks at why she is such a divisive figure

The character has drawn both ire and praise since being created in 1941 (Warner Bros)

Who is this woman? Where does she come from?” a TV news anchor asks in awed bewilderment early on in Wonder Woman 1984 (out this week). The Amazon princess (Gal Gadot) has just rescued children and parents caught up in the mayhem when a jewellery heist in a shopping mall goes wrong. Dressed in her trademark outfit – red boots, blue miniskirt, red top and gold tiara – she leaps from floor to floor of the mall, using her lasso to tie up the hapless thieves.  

Wonder Woman may dress flamboyantly and perform mind-boggling, gravity-defying feats of courage but she doesn’t hog the limelight. She uses her bangles to disable surveillance cameras and keep her image out of the media. And the moment her kick-ass stunts are over, she retreats to her day job as a quiet, soberly clothed anthropologist at the Smithsonian Museum.  

Like the anchorman, audiences may also be scratching their heads at just who Wonder Woman (aka Princess Diana or Diana Prince) actually is and what she represents today. Depending on your vantage point, she is either a family-friendly heroine, a subversive figure of sexual fascination or a symbol of high kitsch. Next year marks her 80th anniversary. She now has a second feature film under her spangled belt to add to the 1970s series starring Lynda Carter, as well as the shorts, TV movies and the many comics in which she has featured.