As we talked about Wonder Woman’s feminist roots, I began to think of the roots of superheroes in general. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are D.C. Comic’s major superheroes who emerged in late 1930s and early 1940s. At that same time, the U.S. is coming out of the Great Depression under the leadership of Democrat President Franklin Roosevelt. President Roosevelt enacted a number of different reforms to help relieve the economic depression in the New Deal. Living through this kind of drastic change to American lifestyles clearly influenced the creators of early superheroes. Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman appear to be representations of the desire many Americans had for a type of “safety net” for the people, just as the New Deal programming was doing prior to the creation of superheroes

Early Superheroes represent an individual who is protecting the people, generally within one city, but they usually put the well-being of the people before their own. These heroes could even go as far as being described as a safety net for humankind, just as those who lived through the Great Depression wanted a safety net after falling on hard times. Superheroes were beginning to be made in as vehicles of liberal American desires, or even borderline socialist desires. Their actions towards for betterment of Americans clearly have some liberal undertones, especially when you look into some of the villain counterparts to major heroes.

Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman each have at least one villain counterpart who represents some conservative beliefs of the late 30s and early 40s. Superman has Lex Luthor, a business tycoon who uses his wealth and knowledge to combat Superman. Lex Luthor was first introduced to the comics in the 1940 and has stuck around as Superman’s archenemy. Batman has The Penguin, a business owner and criminal under-lord, and was introduced to the Batman universe in 1941. Wonder Woman’s villains in the early 1940s usually stem from her feminist background, but Cheetah represents both ideas. Cheetah is an aristocratic woman and philanthropist who becomes obsessed with Wonder Woman and feels eclipsed by the attention Wonder Woman receives. Cheetah may not be as popular a villain today, like Lex Luthor and The Penguin are, she still represents the same rhetoric as the other comics. This borderline socialist rhetoric may have lost its influence in comics today; it still can be seen today in the history of these first Superheroes.

Marston told many that Wonder Woman is a feminist icon, a point that can’t be argued, but is inherently representing a liberal agenda as well. Wonder Woman may not have villains who represent liberal enemies in her early comics, but her feminist background gives her a liberal, potentially socialist, feel. Wonder Woman has been utilized by liberal feminist publications, like Ms. Magazine, affirming the liberal position for her and other even other superheroes. This liberal influence superheroes have may not be so obvious to many people, especially those who aren’t interesting in comic books, and gives it an interesting flavor when looking back through their history.