AN ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION: The Amazing Amazon debuted 85 years ago in All-Star Comics #8 — released Oct. 21, 1941…
By CHRIS AND CINDY FRANKLIN
“All the world is waiting for you, and the power you possess…”
So wrote Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel when they penned the theme song to the 1970s Wonder Woman television series. 85 years ago, the world WAS waiting for a female superhero to fight for peace and inspire a generation… or generations as it would turn out.
There had been a few forgettable female long-underwear types before Princess Diana donned her golden tiara, but creator and noted psychologist Willam Moulton Marston (under the pen name of Charles Moulton) and artist H.G. Peter broke the (clay) mold with the Amazing Amazon, who entered Man’s World and changed it forever, both in the comics and reality beyond.
Correspondence between Wonder Woman’s creators, including an early costume sketch by H.G. Peter. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions.
To celebrate her anniversary, like always, I (Chris) set out to assemble a collection of 13 pieces of merchandise that represent the character’s history and her impact on pop culture. But when it comes to Wonder Woman, I will forever bow to my lovely wife Cindy, who has collected merchandise based on her favorite superheroine for over 30 years. Cindy’s enthusiasm for the character and her collection altered the course of this article. You’ll find way more than 13 examples of Wonder Woman collectibles in what follows… but we did stick to 13 entries, anyhow!
So, let’s spin around in circles and see what wonders magically appear!
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1. The Golden Age (Hallmark, Chronicle Books, DC Direct, McFarlane Toys). Since little merchandise and no figural offerings of Wonder Woman were made in the 1940s, we thought we’d switch up my usual format and begin with a retroactive collection of Golden Age Diana items. Hallmark released both a statue and an ornament based on Wonder Woman’s early adventures in 1996, seen here in the center of the photograph. In addition to dozens of other Wonder Woman items in the last 30 years, they returned to her roots with the Wonder Woman #1 cover ornament in 2021.
In 2001, Chronicle Books packaged Les Daniels’ Wonder Woman Masterpiece Edition: The Golden Age of the Amazon Princess with the 8.5-inch figure on the left, which was designed by Alex Ross. In 2004, DC Direct released their own take in their First Appearance line of action figures. And in 2025 McFarlane Toys gave us an Amazon straight out of Paradise Island in their Page Punchers line, packaged with a reprint of Sensation Comics #1, Wonder Woman’s second actual appearance, but her first headlining one.
Cindy is particularly fond of the Golden Age aesthetic, having fallen in love with Trina Robbins’ interpretation of that iteration in Robbins’ and Kurt Busiek’s The Legend of Wonder Woman miniseries in 1986.
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2. Ideal. Ideal was in the super hero business beginning in 1966 with the massive popularity of the Batman TV series. Like many of Batman’s fellow DC companions, Wonder Woman was swept along for the ride. She received her first (in-action) figure in Ideal’s Justice League of America line, sold alongside the Flash and two unpainted villain figures, Mouseman and Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt (who Ideal misconstrued as a villain due to a JLA/JSA crossover story, but this isn’t the place to explain that).
Diana came with a “flaming hoop” or a rope that was on fire, but it is often missing, like Cindy’s example here. In 1966 they also issued this lovely Wonder Woman puppet with a great Silver Age-inspired head sculpt.
Photo of the rare Super Queen Wonder Woman doll from Michael Eury’s book, Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure.
But the Holy Grail of nearly every Wonder Woman collector is the Super Queens doll from 1967. Diana, like her companions in the series, Batgirl, Supergirl and Mera, is extremely rare, because the line flopped HARD at retail, and had limited production time. Ideal was hoping to capitalize on the female heroes as a companion to their male-centric Captain Action line featuring many DC hero costume and accessory sets. Cindy has a custom repro in a faithful box, but on the original you can see Ideal took some strange liberties with this release; giving her light brown hair, and including… GULP… Captain America’s shield, poached from the Captain Action costume and accessory set!
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3. Super Friends (DC Direct, McFarlane Toys). Although announced in a DC house ad, Wonder Woman missed out on the DC animation boom at Filmation Studios in the late 1960s. Filmation did bring her into ‘toon form for a one-off guest appearance on The Brady Kids (an animated spin-off of The Brady Bunch live-action series). Filmation was hoping that episode would act as a Wonder Woman pilot, but Diana hopped into her Invisible Jet and flew over to rival studio Hanna-Barbara. In 1973, they produced the first season of the long-running Super Friends series, and Wonder Woman was one of the core heroes who featured prominently in every iteration of the show.
Voiced with gentle authority by Shannon Farnon for most of the nine-season run, the Amazing Amazon was shown to be an equal to her male counterparts in every way. Aside from guest spots by Hawkgirl and Rima, the Jungle Girl, she was the only adult female hero in the regular cast, but she more than made up for the lack of feminine representation. In 2003, DC Direct released a spot-on figure of Wonder Woman, based on her designs by comic and animation master Alex Toth, and paired her with her archenemy, the Cheetah. McFarlane Toys began their own line of Super Friends figures a few years ago, and in 2026 gave us Diana’s sinister doppelganger from the classic World’s Greatest Super Friends episode, “Universe of Evil.”
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4. Mego. After the massive success of the first wave of their 8-inch Official World’s Greatest Super-Heroes action figures, Mego decided to add a little variety to the line, offering up the Super Foes, and the Super Gals in 1974. Wonder Woman, of course, was one of the four Super Gals (along with Batgirl, Supergirl, and Catwoman). The female figures were rushed out in not quite finished form, with printed body suits rather than stitched costumed elements. The others got an upgrade along the way, but Wonder Woman kept her flesh-colored pajamas and printed on bracelets. At least she eventually got a pair of red boots!
Her sister Wonder Girl fared better when Mego released their Teen Titans sub-series in 1976. Wonder Woman also featured in Mego’s smaller 3.75-inch Comic Action Heroes and Pocket Super Heroes lines. But she got the spotlight in her own dedicated 12-inch doll line in 1977, inspired by the TV series (more on that in a moment) but pulling primarily from the comics. In addition to the 12-inch Wonder Woman seen here, Mego produced dolls of Steve Trevor, Queen Hippolyta and Nubia. Wonder Woman initially came with her secret identity uniform of Diana Prince, but later versions replaced that with generic civilian clothing, and her painted on bodice with a removable tank top. Mego also produced fashion sets specifically for the Wonder Woman line, trying to mow the grass of Mattel’s Barbie. More on her later too!
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5. Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman (DC Direct, Hallmark, Cryptozoic, Mattel). Wonder Woman’s road to live-action television was even more fraught than her animation journey. After a failed (and truly awful) unaired comedy mini-pilot from Batman producer William Dozier, Wonder Woman came to TV first in the unrecognizable form of blonde Cathy Lee Crosby, decked out in a red, white and blue jacket/skirt combo, supposedly trying to evoke Diana’s late ’60s/early ’70s “powerless” period. The 1974 TV movie never went to series, but the ratings were good enough that ABC took another chance on the character. Developed by Batman TV series writer Stanley Ralph Ross, The New Original Wonder Woman television movie pilot sprung directly from Marston’s initial comics, even setting the adventure in World War II. The costume was also directly adapted from page to screen.
But the real triumph was the casting. For a generation of fans, Lynda Carter is still the living, breathing embodiment of Wonder Woman. With her compassionate but strong delivery, and a smile that can be seen from space, Carter brought the character to life like few actors have been able to do with fictional heroes. The series, which eventually switched networks and time periods only lasted until 1979, but Carter’s legacy as Princess Diana of Paradise Island is assured. Just look at all the merchandise we’ve seen in the last several decades. Busts from DC Direct, ornaments from Hallmark, a “tooned-up” vinyl figurine from Cryptozoic, and a really nice action figure from Mattel’s DC Multiverse line. Cindy fondly recalls watching Carter’s Wonder Woman with her dad, and these pieces help her relive that.
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6. Ben Cooper. Wonder Woman was in high demand as a Halloween costume in the ’70s due to her double exposure on TV, on both her own live-action show AND Super Friends. The champion of store-bought trick-or-treat disguises, Ben Cooper held the DC license and issued various Wonder Woman costumes over the years — but none more famous than this 1976 offering, sold in a box festooned with iconic DC artwork by their top artists. Wonder Woman hails from the “corner box” illustration drawn by Murphy Anderson, but someone at Ben Cooper went for a windswept look with her hair.
Batgirl and Supergirl flank the Amazon Princess, as they had costumes issued at this time as well. If you need proof this costume left an indelible mark on kids of the ’70s, look no further than NECA’s recent action figure release of a kid dressed in that very costume, with packaging inspired by that very box.
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7. Super Jrs. (Amsco/Plastimarx, Protecto, etc.). In 1976, the Super Babies (or Super Bebes) dolls produced by Amsco/Plastimarx were sold through comic ads from the New Jersey-based Heroes World Inc. DC took notice of the ad and decided to develop a dedicated media campaign featuring toddler versions of their heroes dubbed the Super Jrs. This was nearly a decade before the proliferation of similar juvenile IPs like Muppet Babies, Flintstone Kids, and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo.
Protecto made the most widely distributed figures in the US as adorable baby squeak toys like Wonder Tot, seen here. An unknown manufacturer made the wooden Wonder Tot pull-string puppet, meant to hang on a child’s wall. And Lil’ Diana was the perfect subject for toddler clothes and shoes. As mentioned in the Supergirl toy gallery article I wrote earlier this year, Cindy and I bought 1970s wallpaper and other Super Jrs. items to decorate our son’s nursery shortly before he was born in 2001. Thanks, eBay!
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8. Super Powers Collection (Kenner, Parker Brothers, Nasta, Burger King). After the demise of Mego, Wonder Woman returned to toy shelves in Kenner’s all-time great Super Powers Collection toy line in 1984. Kenner’s “Power Action Feature” gimmick served Diana well, replicating her “Power Action Deflector Bracelets” as she raised her arms in front of her face. She was afforded one of the rare accessories in the line with her golden (or magic) lasso. Of course, she also came packaged with a mini-comic produced by DC, and featuring Superman and Brainiac.
Kenner’s Wonder Woman sculpt looks feminine but strong, and it’s a shame she’s the ONLY female figure in the classic Kenner Super Powers line. Notice Cindy’s carded example is missing a portion of the card, as some thrifty kid decided to cut out the proof of purchase to order one of the many mail-away promotional offers connected to the toy line. Burger King replicated the figure faithfully for their Kids Meal promotion in 1988, part of a series of figurines that came with a blank white cup to hold.
Parker Brothers (then a subsidiary of Kenner) produced a Super Powers Justice League of America Skyscraper Caper 3-Dimensional Game (phew!) that featured mini-figure game pieces like the little Diana seen here. And NASTA went above and beyond with their Wonder Woman sunglasses, copying Kenner’s packaging design to a T, with beautiful DC Style Guide art by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez (Praised Be His Name). Cindy and I found these glasses still on the shelf of a Toys R Us in 1997… a good 13 years after their release!
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9. Dress Up Kit (Giftique Division of Corisch Inc.). After Kenner’s Super Powers line ended in 1986, production of DC merchandise slowed to a crawl, before the boom surrounding the Batman film in 1989. There were a few outliers like the Burger King Kids Meal items mentioned above, and this Wonder Woman Dress Up Kit from Corisch Inc.’s Giftique Division in 1988. Interestingly there is no Super Powers or DC Super Heroes branding anywhere in sight. This is simply a Wonder Woman product.
The beautiful packaging design certainly evokes Super Powers with the use of the JLGL Style Guide artwork. Despite the name, this is mostly a makeup kit with label-slapped images of Diana on standard lip gloss and face powder. But it lives up to its name with the addition of Wonder Woman’s tiara, which was no doubt the highlight for any kid who owned this.
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10. Wonder Woman and the Star Riders (and Mujer Maravilla/Super Amigos stickers). In 1993, Mattel, the company that created Barbie, and DC partnered on a planned toy line called Wonder Woman and the Star Riders. The dolls and premise were similar in design and storyline to Mattel’s previous She-Ra, Princess of Power line from the mid-’80s, a spin-off of their popular Masters of the Universe franchise. The series included not only Wonder Woman, but DC heroines Ice and Dolphin, with Supergirl waiting in the wings for a second wave. Garcia-Lopez provided design and Style Guide artwork for the project.
An animated series was in development, and Kellogg’s hopped on board for a tie-in, inserting the above mini-comic, with art by JLGL, in boxes of their Cinnamon Mini-Buns cereal. So why have you probably never heard of this toy line and media blitz? Because other than this comic and maybe a few other sundry items, the whole project was scrapped due to lack of retailer interest in the toys. Store buyers in the early ’90s weren’t sure an action-centric girls doll line would fly after She-Ra eventually fizzled out in the late ’80s. More’s the pity.
Unrelated but accompanying the comic for variety are the Wonder Woman, or Mujer Marvavilla, stickers above from Latin America. Branded “Super Amigos,” the name was also used on Latin American versions of the Super Powers figures in the late ’80s.
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11. Wonder Woman/Barbie (Mattel). Wonder Woman may have missed her chance at a dedicated Mattel doll line, but at least she finally got to join the ranks of the original fashion doll by the end of the decade. 1999’s Barbie as Wonder Woman doll features the Amazon Princess in her classic outfit, plus a cape inspired by the one Lynda Carter often wore on her TV series. Comics fans got an extra treat with the background and insert in the box reproducing H.G. Peter’s art from Wonder Woman #7 (Winter 1943) featuring “Wonder Woman for President” (all the world really is waiting for her!).
Mattel issued several other Wonder Woman dolls over the years from collector series to play lines, and the DC Super Hero Girls range. The most recent is shown above on the right, with detailed plastic costume elements, and a striking package festooned with stars and the classic logo.
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12. Animated (Mattel, Kraft, Jack in the Box, Burger King). After the launch of Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, it didn’t take long for DC to capitalize on Bruce Timm’s innovative designs and cast their other heroes in similar style. Years before Wonder Woman even set foot on a Timm-produced cartoon, there was merchandise available with her in that streamlined look. Oddly enough, perhaps the earliest example of a 3-dimensional animated Wonder Woman came from Kraft, as a mail-order item through boxes of their DC Super Heroes Macaroni and Cheese Dinner. This Wonder Woman figure is a “balancing figure” which for some reason was a huge fad in the late ’90s. Although unlike the accompanying Superman, who seems to be suspended above the Daily Planet globe, this one just kind of stands there.
Fast-food chain Jack in the Box was up next in early 2001 with this dynamic figure of Diana twirling her magic lasso, with a wheel in her back to make it turn. Wonder Woman officially joined the DC Animated Universe with the late 2001 premiere of Justice League. Burger King released a Kids Meal premium featuring Wonder Woman lassoing one of the aliens from the three-part series premiere “Secret Origins.” Mattel held the master toy license for DC at the time and unleashed a bevy of Dianas in their long-running line as the show eventually evolved into Justice League Unlimited.
In addition to standard figures in the 4.5-inch scale, they also produced deluxe additions with capes and shields, the Justice Lords version of Wonder Woman from an alternate reality and even Wonder Pig (Diana transformed into a swine by Circe in the episode “This Little Piggy”). But perhaps their best effort came from their 10-inch Justice League range, with the towering figure of Wonder Woman looking like a plastic casting from one of the maquettes animators used to stay on model.
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13. Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman (Hot Toys). Upon release of the divisive Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, most fans agreed the best thing about the film was the addition of Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot, who stole the show right out from under the film’s stars. The fan love continued as Gadot continued into her solo Wonder Woman film the following year, showing the character’s origins, this time set during World War I.
Her subsequent appearances in Justice League, the strange Wonder Woman 1984, and cameos in other DC Extended Universe films seemed to sully her reputation somewhat. Many fans seem to have turned on her as the character, but Cindy and I personally believe she did a fine job in the role, given the uneven material she had to work with. As always, Hot Toys perfectly captured Gadot’s likeness and initial look as Diana from BvS in this stunning high-end figure, complete with shield, sword and magic lasso.
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MORE
— THE FLASH’s 70-Year History Through 13 CLASSIC COLLECTIBLES. Click here.
— SUPERGIRL’s History Through 13 CLASSIC COLLECTIBLES. Click here.
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13th Dimension contributor CHRIS FRANKLIN produces several shows on the Fire and Water Podcast Network co-hosted by his wife CINDY FRANKLIN, including Super Mates, JLUCast, and the Mr. and Mrs. Superman segments on Justice Society Presents.
