DC Comics' Wonder Woman is one of history's most iconic and longest-running superhero franchises. As with any IP extending back to the Golden Age of comic books, multiple iterations, updates, and additions to her inventory of powers have come and gone over the years. Some of these changes are necessary as the character faces greater foes or is brought more in line with readers' evolving taste.
Other times, however, the additions are just straight-up weird, giving the impression there is no rhyme or reason to DC's ever-expanding universe. Just how weird do some of her abilities get? Here are 10 of the weirdest powers you never knew Wonder Woman had.
10 Siphons Power From Earth
Move over Son Goku because you’re not the only hero drawing strength from nature itself. That’s right, Diana of Themyscira aka Wonder Woman has the ability to absorb power from the earth, transferring the planet's life-force into the destruction of evildoers everywhere.
Wonder Woman obtains this ability when she meets Demeter, god of the harvest and sister to Hades. After being blessed by Demeter, Diana finds herself able to siphon off of the earth for various purposes such as healing, super strength, speed, manipulation of flora, and rapport with wildlife. With the planet acting as a battery of sorts, the limits to Wonder Woman's extensive arsenal of abilities are seemingly endless.
9 Wardrobemancy
Now this one might be exclusive to the 1970s television series starring Linda Carter, but it’s still a strange, weird, and wacky power worth noting. As avid fans of the show remember, Wonder Woman’s famous transformation from girl-next-door Diana Prince into the booted, butt-kicking superheroine Wonder Woman requires a very specific ritual. The ritual? Twirling.
Yes, after twirling in a clockwise motion, Prince's clothing explodes in a flash of kaleidoscopic light and thunder, morphing into full, amazonian battle rattle. In addition to this, she can also materialize a cape, don a blue leotard (for motorcycle chases ONLY), and also change into any form of civilian clothing she sees fit -- all guaranteed to be one-hundred percent stylish all the time.
8 Talks To Animals
Making the list at number eight is this little uncanny ability. Yes, Diana of Themyscira does indeed channel her inner Disney princess more than once throughout the franchise, enjoying the power to converse with furry creatures of all kinds.
This ability makes its debut in Wonder Woman Vol .1 #90, and is then seen again in volumes 2. #184 and 3 #34 where she converses with a whole cast of creatures ranging from apes to polar bears to lizards and even dinosaurs! That's right, dinosaurs. But wait, there's more! Diana can not only communicate with every beast of the field and bird of the air, she can also command them to do her bidding. Pairing this with her ability to control any human soldiers as the god of war, Wonder Woman can literally summon an army from all walks of life.
7 Breathes Under Water
One thing about Golden and Silver Age comic books is the lack of rules governing superhero powers. Creators often tacked on new skills and abilities as needed, erring on the side of fun and astonishment rather than following a hardline continuity.
An example of this can be found in 1942’s Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #15 where we see Diana facing off with a vicious merman. The merman tries to drown Diana, but fails due to a pair of gills conveniently stowed behind the superhero's ears. The narration goes on to explain the gills were implanted there by Themysciran scientists, foreseeing the potential need for Amazons to fight underwater.
6 Worthiness
Even though this was a one-time occurrence, the power of worthiness cannot be understated. In the 90s crossover event, DC vs Marvel, the warrior princess actually wields Thor’s star-forged hammer, Mjolnir. The feat takes place after the gods of the DC and Marvel universes place a friendly wager concerning whose realm contains the strongest warriors.
As a result, Superman battles the Hulk, Spider-man takes on Superboy, Aquaman squares off against Namor, and Wonder Woman faces Storm in a blood sport of guts, grit, and giftedness. When her time to shine arises, the warrior princess takes up Thor’s hammer and wields it against the future leader of the X-Men; however, after a hard-fought battle, Diana is ultimately defeated. Still, picking up the hammer places her in an elite category home only to a few.
5 Magical Power
Despite the fact that Diana of Themyscira is a literal god, the word magic is not one usually associated with the world's most iconic female superhero. However, despite what some may think, Wonder Woman does indeed wield magic.
The emergence of Wonder Woman’s magical abilities appears in Justice League Dark when she's forced to team up with the likes of John Constantine, Zatanna, and more to defeat a new supernatural foe: the Upside-Down Man. The battle is fierce and the Upside-Down Man proves himself more than the team can handle. That is until Diana enters the fray for the final showdown. As she confronts this mystical enemy, latent magical abilities awaken within her, exploding outward and upward in a geyser of raw power. Even Diana's appearance changes, transforming her into a strange and terrifying vision of supreme sorcery.
4 Astral Projection
In addition to wielding magic, Wonder Woman can also project herself into the astral plane. She first demonstrates this strange ability in Sensation Comics #11 – a superhero anthology series published by DC throughout the 1950s.
In this issue, Diana and trusty friend Etta Candy project into Steve Trevor’s room while he is asleep unawares. As they creep on Trevor and converse with each other in the moment, Trevor suddenly wakes up, claiming to have had a dream about the amazon.
Diana projects again in Wonder Woman Vol 2. #75-77, this time entering Hell while on a quest to save Artemis.
3 Controls Military Personnel Whenever She Wants
Another perk to becoming War personified is the ability to control any soldier from any army anywhere in the world. Going back to the New 52 story arc, that’s exactly what happens. In this version of Diana’s back story, she is born the daughter of Zeus and sister of the first god of war, Ares. However, after Zeus’ eldest son, named First Born, escapes imprisonment, Diana and Ares must team up to defeat their all-powerful sibling.
During the battle, a situation arises where, in order for Diana to kill First Born, she must also slay Ares as well. Using a spear, Wonder Woman skewers both of her brothers and inherits the status as the new god of war, including all the cosmic abilities that go with it.
2 BDSM Reformation
It’s no secret Wonder Woman was originally designed to be an allegory of feminism and power structures in the world. Creator William Moulton Marston, a psychologist, believed comic books an excellent medium for changing the hearts and minds of culture. Marsten blamed most of the world's problems on men and therefore, according to him, the only solution was to put women in charge. Marsten also believed women to be the superior gender, a message he hoped to relay through the power of storytelling.
So where does this strange ability show up on the page? As early as Wonder Woman Vol. 1 #4. Here, Wonder Woman reforms a corrupt CEO through the use of bondage, dominance, and submission -- something reoccurring throughout the early series as Diana conquers the minds of evil men using methodologies like confinement, corporal punishment, humiliation, and more (although strangely these things also serve as her weakness as well).
1 Necromancy (Theory)
Although it's been stated as pure speculation before, CBR maintains the stance that Wonder Woman could theoretically control the dead. After killing half-brother Aries in the New 52 arc, Diana inherits the god of war mantle, enabling her to raise and deploy an army of undead warriors if needed.
While Wonder Woman has never actually utilized this power on the page, it's certainly within her authority to do so under the title of god of war. Combined with Demeter's blessing and the power to manipulate already-living soldiers, Diana's army extends all throughout this life and the next.