Wonder Woman #189
Wonder Woman #189 is a chapter in one of the most provocative creative experiments DC attempted with any of its marquee characters: the 'Diana Prince' or 'mod era,' in which the Amazon warrior operated entirely without her powers, her costume, or her Amazonian heritage. The issue sits near the climax of a multi-part story involving the recurring villainess Dr. Cyber — a rare female criminal mastermind whose cat-and-mouse relationship with the depowered Diana gave this run much of its narrative engine. As part of a run later recognized as a significant, if contentious, reflection of late-1960s and early-1970s social upheaval, #189 embodies an editorial gamble that ultimately forced DC to confront head-on what Wonder Woman meant as a feminist symbol — a debate that would soon bring Gloria Steinem publicly into the conversation and reverse the entire experiment.
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By the time #189 was published, writer-artist-editor Mike Sekowsky had sole creative control over the title, having taken over scripting duties from Denny O'Neil around issue #182 and serving simultaneously as penciler and editor throughout the run. The 'mod era' had been launched in 1968 as a deliberate attempt to rescue a flagging title by reimagining Diana Prince as a globetrotting, kung-fu-trained civilian adventurer mentored by the blind martial artist I-Ching — a concept that Sekowsky, not O'Neil, is generally credited as the primary architect of. Issue #189 was produced under the banner of National Periodical Publications Inc. with inks by Dick Giordano, whose crisp finishes were a visual constant across this era.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date: August 1970 (on-sale April 30, 1970); published by National Periodical Publications Inc. (DC Comics); cover price 15 cents; 36 pages.
- Story title: 'Red for Death!' — written, penciled, and edited by Mike Sekowsky, inked by Dick Giordano, lettered by John Costanza.
- The issue is a direct continuation of the preceding issue's storyline, placing Diana Prince, I-Ching, and supporting character Patrick McGuire in Communist China as they work to protect a village community from forced relocation — reflecting the era's broader interest in Cold War geopolitics and ground-level human drama.
- The issue features the recurring villainess Dr. Cyber, who had first appeared in Wonder Woman #179 (1968) and was created by Dennis O'Neil, Mike Sekowsky, and Dick Giordano — one of comics' earliest prominent female criminal masterminds.
- The story is part of the 'Diana Prince' era (Wonder Woman #178–204, 1968–1973), during which Diana surrendered her Amazon powers and operated as a mortal martial-arts adventurer trained by the blind mentor I-Ching, a concept Sekowsky drove editorially.
- The issue was reprinted in Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Vol. 2 (DC, 2008) and again in Wonder Woman: Diana Prince: Celebrating the '60s Omnibus (DC, 2018/February 2019).
- Wonder Woman's powers and classic costume were not restored until issue #204 (January/February 1973), meaning #189 sits squarely in the middle of the depowered run's 25-issue span.
- The broader Diana Prince run was ultimately ended in part due to public criticism from feminist activist Gloria Steinem, who objected to stripping Wonder Woman of her powers — making the entire era, including this issue, a flashpoint in the character's cultural history.
Full credits
Reprints
Reprinted in Aventures Fiction #49 (1975), Diana Prince: Wonder Woman #2 (2008), Wonder Woman: Diana Prince: Celebrating the '60s Omnibus #[nn] (2019)
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