Wonder Woman

Background

Powers and Abilities

Wonder Woman wields tapac-yauri, the legendary staff of light used by Manco Cápac , the son of the Incan gods, in founding the mythical city of Cuzco . She has the spirit, compassion and courage the gods were looking for, and the staff has made her the new sun goddess .

As a goddess she enjoys enhanced strength, durability, reflexes, agility, etc. and the ability to glide rather than fall.

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Goddess of light

The staff of light manifests as more than a stick. It seems to be at once the staff, her lightly armoured costume and the buckler  on her left wrist. All of these components can become invisible or assume powerful new shapes. When not in use, they morph  into a heavy golden bracelet (in DC Heroes terms, Insta-change).

The buckler (and the gloves) are the parts of the regalia that most often get morphed (Omni-arm). Examples have included turning the buckler into spinning shards, a huge shield providing full cover, or a cross between a bola and a lasso.

The staff is usually kept invisible, unless Wonder Woman starts using her Sorcery or flies at a high speed. Sorcery is used infrequently, but has the usual behaviour – the ability to perform highly varied feats and a tendency to knock her out from spiritual strain when used to perform major effects.

She usually, but not always, uses Sorcery not for direct attack but for miscellaneous effects. Examples have included :

• Lifting the dying Steve Trevor to fly along with her.
• Conjuring lightning to finish off an impaled demon.
• Neutralizing a darkness-empowered superhuman by shattering his purple skin.
• Turning her staff into a crystal ball for scrying.

Wonder Woman prefers to fight in the air, using her added mobility there to the best advantage.

History

Señor Mendoza was but a dirt-poor farmer living in the Peruvian Andes . After his beloved wife gave birth to little Maria, they drove back from the hospital in the valley to their mountain home – but were stopped by bandidos. They had no money to give to the men, and in the ensuing scuffle Mrs. Mendoza was shot dead.

When the police arrived, they asked for money too, and ended up stealing the truck. Mr. Mendoza later saw them splitting the profits from his truck with the bandidos.

He resolved never to be a victim again. Like the police, he would have money through whatever means were necessary. He eventually became a juez  — a magistrate in a small village — with a shady past and many dark secrets.

This belongs to a museum !

Maria Mendoza grew up to become a nationalist and idealist, lamenting the days of the great empires. She often ranted about the pillage of the Peruvian wealth, both natural and archaeological.

She was particularly angered by the illegal digs being conducted at the nearby ruins of the quasi-mythical city of Cuzco by the men of the rich, influential crimelord Armando Guitez.

Guitez’s excavations had an even more sinister goal than selling off Peruvian history on the black market. There were mystical secrets hidden in the ruins. According to tradition, Manco Cápac had buried great evils under the city to imprison them. Guitez hoped to find great power therein.

Tomb raiders

Guitez’s quest for mystical power was making him aggressive and irritable, even by crime lord standards. After having a man murdered in court in front of the juez for speaking ill of him, he had the police force take the juez to his hacienda to discipline him.

Incensed, the juez’s daughter followed. A Guitez Industries employee named Steve Trevor, smitten with the stunning Maria, agreed to help her despite the obvious danger.

Things quickly got out of hands at the Guitez estate. Guitez shot the juez dead, then sent his pet cops after his daughter Maria to make her his concubine.

Trevor helped her hide in the cuzqueño ruins, then started playing a risky game to please Maria. He pretended to be a model Guitez employee while actually shipping cursed artefacts off to L.A. so the crime lord wouldn’t get them. But Guitez realised what was going on, and shot Trevor dead. The bullet shattered the mystical rune Trevor was holding at that point.

A supernatural being emerged from the broken sigil. Guitez wrestled it physically and spiritually, won and took over the form and power of the monster. When a dragon also emerged from the ruins, he defeated it and added its power to his own. The empowered Guitez then left for L.A. to acquire the powers of the other runes Trevor had already shipped there.

Tapac-yauri

Meanwhile, Maria was drawn to a light in the mystical ruins. She thus found the staff of Manco Cápac, which destroyed the remaining cursed ruins and turned her into Wonder Woman. With his dying words, Trevor warned her about Guitez – and Wonder Woman flew to L.A. to stop him.

Wonder Woman eventually impaled the demonic Guitez on a spike on the top of a Church of Eternal Empowerment temple before summoning lightning to incinerate him.

Adapting to her new surrounding with her trademark courage and resourcefulness, Maria quickly became the new secretary and junior reporter at L.A.’s tabloid the National Exposer. Her exceptional beauty made it trivial to be hired by editor and noted womaniser William Willard.

Like other heroes, Wonder Woman was soon recruited by the Green Lantern to became a part of the Justice League of America. They fought various menaces serving the Church of Eternal Empowerment, and taking part in the fight against the all-powerful Crisis.

Description

Both in her civvies and as Wonder Woman, Maria is ridiculously beautiful.

Personality

The daughter of a magistrate, Maria received excellent education. For instance she speaks fluent English and has studied history. She’s smart and resourceful, quickly adapting to strange situations with aplomb.

A child of the Andes, Maria is very level-headed and pragmatic, with a can-do attitude. Before her father’s death, she was something a firebrand. Her courage is now more mature and less brazen, but still impressive.

Although she genuinely loves her country, Maria is honest about her desire to live comfortably and have a job in America rather than staying in the mountains. There is, in this, a trace of hubris. On some level she feels she’s too good for Peru since she’s now a goddess.

As Wonder Woman she tends to speak in a solemn way – but does have a certain wisdom to back that.

Quotes

“I don’t want to be protectress of the Earth. I’m not a goddess. I’m a girl — a girl who lost her father — who hasn’t even had time to mourn.”

“Do not fear. I will subdue the monster.”

“If I have to be a stranger somewhere, L.A. isn’t too bad a choice. Great weather, glamorous people. Not a bad place for goddessing.”

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Just Imagine Stan Lee’s DCU.

Helper(s): Darci.