Wonder Woman Had Her Own ‘Aquaman’ Romance in DC Comics

Steve Trevor has certainly set himself up to be Wonder Woman’s Lois Lane across the decades of Wonder Woman comics. However, in this issue from 1960, Steve Trevor learns that he isn’t the only man vying for Wonder Woman’s love. When an accident leaves the pair of suitors dangling from a cliff edge, Wonder Woman must make an impossible decision – will she save Steve Trevor or her merman?

The comic opens Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor in the United States. A gang of hoodlums starts causing trouble and, after Diana transforms into Wonder Woman, the Princess of the Amazons is able to defeat the gang and save Steve from his fate. When the two get some time alone together, Steve asks Diana if she will marry him, to which Wonder Woman replies ‘I can’t be your full-time wife’ due to the injustice in the world (ignoring the fact that Steve should be the stay at home partner). After this rejection, Steve begins to wonder whether or not Wonder Woman has another man.

He grows jealous and decides to follow Wonder Woman to Themyscira (or Paradise Island) as it’s called here. In his plane, he sees that Wonder Woman and a merman are very close and instantly believes that his jealously has been proven correct. However, just as he is beginning to wonder how to react to this information, his plane is hit by the tail of a giant whale (yes, really) and Wonder Woman must catch the plane to prevent it landing in Themyscira. After saving him, she leaves him on a small island before heading back to Paradise Island to find parts to fix his plane. Here, Steve somehow falls into the sea and must be saved from a giant octopus by the merman. Here, the merman reveals that he and Diana have known each other since childhood and he has always had a crush on Wonder Woman – this leaves Steve dejected, believing that Diana will choose the merman over himself.

The trio head for a picnic before Steve heads back to the United States and, as luck would have it, a giant bird attacks and blows both Steve and the merman off of the cliff edge. Diana must decide quickly who she will save. She dives to save Steve but then uses her super-breath to blow the merman in the air long enough to jump up and catch him. While Steve Trevor is happy she saved him, he is also still jealous as he wonders who she would’ve saved if she really had to choose between the pair.

This comic is typical of its age. While it is certainly a whacky and funny story, it is also an interesting look back into how women were treated in the late 50s/ early 60s. For instance, despite the fact that she is literally Wonder Woman, an Amazonian demi-god, the writer still believes that she would be a ‘full-time’ wife to Steve Trevor.

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Sam Hutchinson
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Writer living in Adelaide, Australia. Long-suffering post-graduate student and lover of pop culture from Game of Thrones to DC.
Twitter: @samchinson

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