Wonder Woman has been a staple in the Justice League for several decades. While Superman and Batman get most of the attention, the Amazon warrior is the heart and soul of the superhero team.
Armed with the lasso of truth, Wonder Woman seeks peace to avoid war. In her solo series Wonder Woman #46-50 (2019), Diana Prince displays how love and truth are the best weapons against evil. Wonder Woman is a great role model and reminds me of another wonder woman— Mary the Mother of God.
Wonderment is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Comic books evoke a sense of awe and amazement. People find superheroes compelling. Extraordinary not ordinary. That’s what superheroes are. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the most extraordinary human (aside from Jesus) in history. She is the Queen of Peace, Mirror of Justice, Mother of Perpetual Help, and Comforter of the Afflicted to name a few titles.
At first glance, those titles remind me of the main characteristics of Wonder Woman. She desires peace, works for justice, and constantly seeks to help those in most need.
Darkness Leads to Madness
The 2017-2018 DC comic event Dark Nights: Metal focused on the discovery of a Dark Multiverse. Darkness from this plane of existence sought to wreak havoc on the everything else. Wonder Woman Volume 8 Dark Gods (2019) continues this story from Diana Prince’s view.
As the Dark gods from the Dark Multiverse begin to travel across the barrier to Earth, people start to feel the affects and succumb to madness. Cheetah and Supergirl battle Wonder Woman in fits of rage and madness.
The Dark Multiverse originated from the feelings of despair, anguish, and every bad decision made or dreamt. It’s the inverse of reality. From a Catholic perspective, this universe is like a place without love or light— the perfect recipe for madness.
Saint Padre Pio wrote, “It would be easier for the world to exist without the sun than without the Holy Mass.” At first it seems too hyperbolic, but it’s true. Living in darkness for extended periods of time leads to a decay of the mind and feelings of hopelessness.
Truth Sets You Free
Wonder Woman battled Supergirl and eventually freed her from madness with the Lasso of Truth. It took a while, but Kara Zor-El’s madness was eventually overcome. Being the most iconic weapon in Wonder Woman’s arsenal, the Lasso of Truth was a gift to her by the Greek gods. It compels individuals to tell the truth and divulge information they otherwise would hide.
The Truth will set you free. We hear that phrase all the time. But what exactly is the Truth?
Truth is the fullness of reality. It goes beyond the bounds of limited individual perspectives. It is the entire picture about what life is. Catholics believe Jesus is the fullness of reality. He is Truth itself. And the Blessed Virgin Mary is always a guide toward Truth.
Like the Mother of God, Wonder Woman guides others to truth. Her lasso is powerful. Sometimes the battle for truth is a struggle especially when the individual is hidden in darkness. In her battle against, Grail, the daughter of Darkseid, Wonder Woman elicits a lengthy conversation about details of his plan to create a new army to take over the world.
Truth leads to freedom. It’s not always instant freedom. Sometimes you must undergo several experiences with truth before you fully free yourself from lies and darkness.
Love Conquers All
It seems corny and cliché to say but love does defeat evil. Love transforms your outlook. You can go from a negative, “woe is me”, attitude to a hopeful understanding. Trials and suffering don’t go away but love transforms them into crosses— things to carry.
In Woman Wonder Annual #2, the Star Sapphires transport Wonder Woman from Earth to their home planet Zamaron. Analogous to the green power ring the Green Lantern corps uses, the star sapphire gem bestows its wearer special abilities. The dark god Karnell killed countless Star Sapphires including their queen. For this reason, they brought Wonder Woman to battle this evil deity.
Love is often viewed as weakness by power hungry rulers. The dialogue between Karnell and Wonder Woman shows this truth:
Wonder Woman: You call yourself a God of Love. What kind of love wants to be feared? Love is unconditional.
Karnell: Spoken like the addled, naive romantic I expected. Love always comes with conditions…Do you feel that Amazon? Do you love it? All your feelings of love that also had hateful or jealous or fearful emotions stirred into the stew. “Unconditional”? There’s nothing unconditional about love.
Karnell details how he lost his mother at an early age and was estranged from his father. Both emotions of love and hate burned within him. This intensity caught the attention of the Dark Multiverse’s king god who granted powers to Karnell.
Because he received his abilities by embracing the darkness, Karnell developed a false notion of love. Love is about sacrifice and putting others before yourself not power.
Love Even Your Enemies
Wonder Woman didn’t seek power nor hated her enemies. The Amazon warrior told the Star Sapphires, “All I know is you attacking Karnell directly will end in him destroying you. You have to fire (your love) at me. My love, yours, together…will be our victory. The panel art depicts beams of crystal light from the Star Sapphires’ rings focusing and uniting onto Wonder Woman’s sword. She held no hate towards the dark god. “I hold no hate in my heart for you…only pity and love…do you hear me Karnell? I love you!”, the Amazon says as she plunges the love-powered sword into Karnell. The dark deity slowly fades away back into the Dark Multiverse.
Love has power over death. Truth holds authority over lies and darkness. Wonder Woman’s power isn’t in her physical strength but in her will to love and seek out truth. Reading Woman Wonder (2019) reminded me of how charity and truth must be at the center of my life. During this Lent, I will seek holiness by following the true Wonder Woman— the Mother of God, who leads us all toward Truth and Love.
Matt Chicoine
Matthew Chicoine is a free-lance writer, a life-long Catholic, and an avid truth seeker. He earned an M.A. in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 and enjoys binge reading Tolkien, Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, Fulton Sheen and comic books. Visit his blog at https://thesimplecatholic.