Wonder Woman is one of the world’s best-known superheroes, and with Wonder Woman 1984 coming to screens in just over a week, love for Diana of Themyscira will only increase. But whether you’re a longtime fan or someone new to Wonder Woman’s world, there may be a lot more to her than you know, especially when it comes to her powers and her abilities. Everyone is aware of her super-strength, her bullet-deflecting bracelets and her Lasso of Truth. But did you know that in the comics, she’s been able to teleport and talk to animals? And those are just the beginning! Take a look below to find out just how blessed by the gods Diana of Themyscira truly is.
Communication with Animals
Of all these “forgotten” abilities, this is the one that’s been used the most (and most recently), but that said, you’d be surprised how many comic fans don’t know this is one of Diana’s core abilities. Did you? Be honest!
Like everything on this list, the exact details about this power and where it comes from change a bit depending on the era, but this gift is usually given to Diana by Artemis (goddess of the hunt) and has been depicted as both verbal and telepathic communication. She’s used this ability to talk to dinosaurs multiple times, which is extremely rad.
Regeneration via the Earth
Yes, Wonder Woman has enhanced healing robust enough to make most nasty wounds go away almost instantly, but one of her abilities gives her an advantage that others with a similar ability don’t have. Thanks to Demeter’s Post-Crisis blessing, if Diana ever suffers significant injury, she can merge with the earth to gain an instant heal. It is, however, such a special and sacred act that it is only to be used in cases of extreme emergency.
Resistance to Extreme Temperatures
She reflects bullets and parries swords, but if you come at Wonder Woman with anything else, she’s probably just going to shrug it off. She’s unbothered by the cold and is basically straight up immune to fire thanks to Hestia. Meaning she can stand in lava, float in the depths of space, or take a blast of Superman’s heat vision like it was nothing. She’s also resistant to lightning/electrical damage, something we can thank creepy Dr. Psycho for.
Astral Projection
In her early adventures, creator William Moulton Marston gifted Diana with a variety of metaphysical abilities including ESP and telepathy. Not all of them stuck around Post-Crisis, but astral projection survived and got some fine-tuning.
This ability allows Diana to project herself into different dimensional planes (generally specified as “mythological,” but most mythological locations and creatures actually exist in the Multiverse). It’s particularly useful when visiting places that are locked down from conventional travel, like Hell or Olympus or the mindscape of an unborn baby. The downside is that her physical body reflects any damage she receives on the psychic plane.
Teleportation
This particular ability may seem to be a bit similar to the previous one, but don’t get them confused! They’re two distinctly different things. Although both involve instantaneous travel, only teleportation physically moves Wonder Woman (and anyone she’d like to take with her) to other places. The modern uses of this power require an artifact known as the Caduceus, which is generally in Hermes’ possession, making it much more difficult to use for frivolous things like coffee runs or picking up packages at the post office.
So, how many of those did you know about? Do you think we’ll see any of them in Wonder Woman 1984? (Just a guess, but we’re going to say probably not. But who knows? We might be surprised!) It just goes to show that when it comes to Wonder Woman, you never really know what tricks she might have up her sleeves. And if you don’t know, chances are people like Maxwell Lord and the Cheetah aren’t going to be expecting them either.
Wonder Woman 1984 opens in theaters and on HBO Max on Friday, December 25th. For all the latest news, trailers and features on Diana’s return to the screen, visit our official Wonder Woman 1984 movie page.
A version of this article originally ran on DC Universe. Be sure to subscribe to DC Universe Infinite for unlimited access to more than 24,000 comics from every era of publishing, plus original titles, special fan events and more!
Tamara Brooks has written about Wonder Woman, Supergirl and other DC heroes for DCUniverse.com and DCComics.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MisfitsTamara.
