Can Wonder Woman Fly In DC Comics?

Casual fans may have been surprised to see Wonder Woman take to the skies in Wonder Woman 1984. Sure, the cinematic version of the character has already displayed impressive speed and leaping abilities in previous films, but for her to take off and soar through the skies à la Superman hadn’t been seen on film before. But what about in the comics? The answer, as normally is the case with comic book questions like these, is a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no.

When the character was first introduced in the pages of 1941’s All Star Comics #8, the Princess of Themyscira famously flew around in an invisible jet which was brought to mainstream audiences by Lynda Carter’s 1970s Wonder Woman show (and shoehorned into WW84). The story of Wonder Woman’s invisible jet is ridiculous on its own and has a long history of retcons and reimagings, running the gamut from the craft being a shape-shifting magical horse to sentient alien technology. But whatever the case, that was her primary mode of transport in her early adventures, since an ability to take flight would render the jet moot.

All that changed with 1958’s Wonder Woman #98, which saw somewhat of a retelling of WW’s origin and her first meeting with Steve Trevor. In the issue, Diana sees a plane explode as the pilot (Trevor) ejects. Diana literally leaps into action, but she’s unable to make it to the plummeting pilot. Luckily, however, Diana realizes she can ride the air’s currents, essentially acting as a superhuman kite, and is able to make the save. More likely than not, this is where WW84 drew its flying technique from, as Steve tells Diana in the movie, “(flying is) so easy, really. It’s just wind and air and knowing how to ride it. How to catch it.“

But, of course, her abilities continued to shift and evolve over the years in comics. In 1987, artist-writer George Pérez rebooted the Amazon princess, this time granting her with the natural ability to fly thanks to the Greek God Hermes. This ability, more or less, has persisted in the character’s comic book skill set ever since. Patty Jenkins, the director of both Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman 1984, has cited Pérez’s work as a major influence on her approaching the character.

There have been other instances in which Wonder Woman took to the skies by different means, including Hermes’ winged sandals and the Golden Armor that was introduced in the “Kingdom Come” story arc and featured heavily in WW84. So the short answer is yes, Wonder Woman can fly in DC comics, it’s just the means by which she takes flight have varied over the decades depending on the era or writer. But as of right now, it seems Diana is safe to find an invisible hangar to store her jet.

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