Is Wonder Woman Bulletproof in DC Comics? Explained.

From her first appearance in 1941 until today, Wonder Woman has been made an icon that no hero can match, sometimes not even Superman! It seems as though she just keeps getting stronger with time. She has been given many powers and many weapons over the years, but, depending on the interpretation (movies or TV shows), there’s one thing that leaves people always confused and that’s whether Wonder Woman is bulletproof or not. So, without further ado, let’s see what the DC comics have to say about this topic, is Wonder Woman bulletproof?

Wonder Woman is not bulletproof her bracelets are. Wonder Woman’s story is a complex one, as it changed a lot over the years. She is quite resistant to great force and is fast enough and can react quickly enough to deflect any kind of automatic weaponry with her indestructible bracelets, but the simple answer is she is not bulletproof, although her bracelets are.

As there is a lot of complexity to her story, let’s dive a bit into her origins and then a bit more into her abilities and powers to get a better grasp on this topic. 

Wonder Woman origins

Originally, she was made out of clay by her mother – Queen Hippolyta, and raised as an Amazon with superhuman powers as gifts from Greek gods. In 2011, DC comics relaunched an entire line of publications under the name The New 52 and there, released a whole new volume of Wonder Woman where she is actually a daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. This means that she is actually a Greek demi-goddess. Apparently, her mother wanted to protect her from her true heritage and everything she was capable of and never told her the true story of her origins.

These two storylines are very important when talking about whether Wonder Woman is bulletproof or not. 

In the first storyline, where she was made out of clay, her maker –  William Moulton Marton, intended her to be vulnerable. Here, Wonder Woman was not too much more robust, faster, or more durable than an ordinary human. The reason for this is that her creator wanted to put a particular emphasis on her nurturing humanity and emotional intelligence. Furthermore, her superhuman strength, as well as speed were highlighted too, but they were combined with the infamous bracelets to make her a force to be reckoned with. Although, even with the bracelets, she was still susceptible to any kind of firearms or swords and arrows.

In the new storyline of The New 52, she has healing powers and semi-immortality as a demi-goddess, which, you’re probably guessing, would make her bulletproof. She can be seen withstanding immeasurable amounts of pain, taking down buildings, etc., and not having a scratch, especially in the movies. In the comics though, while being invulnerable and resistant to a great deal, automatic weapons can still hurt her. Nevertheless, this great hero has a number of weapons and abilities with which she can fight her enemies and avoid being wounded, so let’s take a look at some of those. 

Wonder Woman’s weapons

Bracelets

The first mention of Wonder Woman’s bracelets goes all the way to 1952 when it was said that they were made of amazonium – an indestructible metal. 

Later on, during the 1980s, the story of the bracelets was connected to Greek gods. The bracelets were made from the indestructible skin of the she-goat Amalthea who Zeus nursed as an infant. Even with this story, the bracelets themselves proved to be indestructible throughout the series.

When combined with Wonder Woman’s speed, she is able to absorb any kind of impact on incoming attacks with them. In The New 52, in which Wonder Woman’s the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta, it was revealed that the bracelets are important for keeping her vast powers in check. If ever broken or removed, she could go insane. Another new thing that was revealed is that when she clashed the bracelets together, she could manipulate and expel lightning and even create weapons out of it

What’s interesting about the bracelets is that from their beginning they are a symbol of submission. Early story talks of Greek women being bound by men. They broke free with the help of the goddess Aphrodite and they moved to an all-women island. As a reminder of these times, Amazons kept wearing the Bracelets of Submission so that they never surrender their independence to men again.

Lasso of Truth

This weapon was forged by Hephaestus from the golden waist belt of Gaea. As the name says, the main point of this weapon is, of course, the truth. The Lasso forces any being it captures into submission by compelling them to tell the absolute truth.

An interesting fact about this weapon is that it has similar origins as the bracelets – in the research of emotions, specifically those connected with submission. William Moulton Marston, the creator of Wonder Woman, was a psychologist and the Lasso had the purpose of presenting feminine charm and the effect it had on people. Interestingly enough, Marston is widely known as the inventor of the lie detector, but apparently, Lasso has nothing to do with that part of his research. 

Tiara

Wonder Woman’s tiara has also been used as a weapon. It is mostly used as sort of a boomerang. Combined with her super strength, this tiara can turn into a highly lethal weapon with which she is able to cut even the most durable substances (like Superman’s throat). The tiara also protects her from any psychic or telepathic attacks and can be used to contact people, for example, Amazons.  

Wonder Woman’s abilities (given by gods)

Wonder Woman is described as “Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules”. She is a skilled athlete, acrobat and combatant with experience in many different ancient and modern forms of combat. Above all, she is a great strategist and knows how to use her abilities even as a lethal force if the situation requires it (even though she wasn’t described like that from the beginning, as she was seen more as a nurturing, empathetic, and compassionate being with a strong conscience).

Along with her great physical abilities, she also possesses vast psychic abilities like astral projection or telepathy. 

During the 1980s or Post-Crisis Universe in DC comics, she has been described as having great power that was gifted to her by Greek gods which made her one of the mightiest beings in the whole DC universe. 

Because of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, Wonder Woman was able to draw strength directly from Earth. This allowed her to heal, but in order to do that, she had to stay in contact with the planet. There are even some situations where she was able to physically merge with the earth, which made all of her injuries instantly removed from her body.

It’s no coincidence that we mention here quite a lot of times Wonder Woman’s speed and reflexes which made deflect bullets so many times. In Post-Crisis Universe, the gift of superhuman speed was given to her by Hermes, the god of speed. 

Athena, the goddess of wisdom, graced Wonder Woman with great insight and intelligence. She is known for her ability to speak almost every language in the universe. 

There’s also Artemis, goddess of hunt and animals, which blessed this beloved superhero with the Eyes of the hunter and unity with beasts. A fun fact about this is that Wonder Woman is able to speak with all animals.

From day one, this character was made to be an inspiration to all women. She, herself grew a lot over the course of the years, leaving Amazon behind her and becoming so much more. By trying to understand her abilities, with each year, Wonder Woman has risen out to be one of the beloved characters we love to watch and read about. Maybe bullets, projectiles, or swords can hurt her, but that really doesn’t matter as she just continues to impress us with her ability to dodge every bullet that comes her way while also being a big badass. Being this capable, it’s no wonder she’s one of the mightiest beings in the DC universe.