The costume that Wonder Woman wears is nothing short of iconic, and is usually a symbol of her personal history and strength. However, the Eisner-award winning one-shot, Wonder Woman: The True Amazon, altered her uniform's meaning in a most unexpected way. Instead of being heroic, it was a tragic punishment that revealed a negative side of the heroine.
Wonder Woman has been featured in numerous comics and has starred in several Elseworlds stories. Her origin has been retold countless times, with minor and major variations. Even with some alterations to her costume, it has typically been an easily recognizable look that sets her apart. Wonder Woman is known for championing truth and is often an ambassador. One story shows that the heroine learned to be a hero after she showcased numerous negative traits in her youth which ultimately led to tragedy.
Diana Wasn't Always So Honest in Amazon Competition
As with each origin story before, Diana enters the Amazons' contest seeking a champion. However, during the race, she seeks to get ahead by creating a distraction for her competitors. This involves releasing monsters she has spent her young life defeating and imprisoning. The distraction proves to be far more effective than she believes, bringing lethal threats to her sisters. Several Amazon lives are lost - including that of the last Amazon Diana loved and sought to impress with her victory, Alethea. Considering Alethea derives from the Greek word for "truth", Diana's dishonesty in the contest kills the truth, where normally she champions it. While the monsters are destroyed once more, the young heroine's pride and selfishness caused the death of her fellow Amazons - leading several to desire her demise. Instead, Hippolyta banishes her daughter to the world of man to redeem herself for her actions, being forced to don Alethea's former attire as a symbol of her punishment and a reminder of her goal to return home.
This iteration of Wonder Woman is often depicted as a virtuous young woman, raised and trained to be a leader.
Wonder Woman: The True Amazon provides a very harsh variant of the heroine, making even her costume have a tragic backstory when normally it is a symbol of hope and truth.
