25 things you didn’t know about Wonder Woman

2. But then she was the daughter of Zeus

DC’s New 52 reboot did just that – completely rebooted their entire comics universe, giving even the most vaunted of their superheroes new backstories and identities. While some elements remained the same (you can’t take away Batman’s whole grimdark deal without incurring some major fan wrath, after all), other vital details were changed.

Diana, for instance, was no longer some sort of weird claymation creature come to life. In this new universe, she was instead the daughter of Zeus. Yeah, that Zeus, King of the Gods, wielder of thunderbolts, and kind of a jerk all-around.

According to this new series of events, Hippolyta was one in a frankly long line of women to hook up with Zeus. A few months after their encounter, out pops Diana. Now that’s she’s a semi-divine superhero, it’s unclear where exactly her powers have come from. Moreover, does her Olympian heritage hold some surprises in store when it comes to her abilities?

This change was spearheaded by writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chiang in 2011. Their work was generally praised by critics, but met with some staunch opposition from die-hard fans. Who knew that someone could be connected to such a weird origin for one of the biggest characters in all of DC Comics?