Steve Trevor, Equal? Wonder Woman in an Era of Second Wave Feminist Critique: Essays on the Amazon Princess in Changing Times.

In the late 1960s, DC comics made a bold move to change Wonder Woman's costume, take away her superpowers, and kill of her boyfriend, Steve Trevor. Fan reactions to her new story as a "swinging" martial artist were mixed; although initially the comic sold well, it came under increasing criticism from feminist readers., including Gloria Steinem, founder of Ms. magazine. In 1972, DC changed the character back and began incorporating Second Wave feminist themes into the book for most of the 1970s. Using feminist texts of the day, and letters from fans, this chapter analyzes the rise and decline of feminist rhetoric in the comic, finding that fan hostility towards feminism increased in the early 1980s, mirroring the Reagan-era backlash against feminism in political and popular culture. Fan opinions of Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman's boyfriend, provide a useful measure of pro- and anti-feminist attitudes.