Wonder Woman #191
Wonder Woman #191 is a structurally unusual mid-run issue from the celebrated 'mod era' — the controversial 1968–1973 stretch in which Diana Prince operated as a powerless martial artist rather than an Amazon demigoddess. The issue functions as both a plot bridge and an editorial artifact: by reprinting the pivotal scenes from Wonder Woman #179 (the issue that stripped Diana of her powers) within a new framing sequence, it deliberately recontextualized the origin of that reinvention for readers who had come in mid-run. What makes it historically notable beyond its story role is an editorial revision embedded in the reprint: the gender pronouns for the villain Doctor Cyber were quietly changed from male to female throughout the reprinted pages, retroactively correcting the character's identity to match a revelation that had since been made — a rare, hands-on continuity correction made inside a live Bronze Age issue rather than through a later retcon story.
In "Detour 2," Wonder Woman finds herself at a turning point as Diana, Ranagor, and his army prepare for a final assault on a besieged castle, marking the night with a solemn feast. As tensions rise, Diana slips away from the celebration, only to be pursued by Ranagor, who seeks to understand the deeper purpose behind her presence. With Mike Sekowsky and Denny O'Neil at the helm and art by Sekowsky, inked by Dick Giordano, this 1970 issue captures a moment of quiet intensity amid looming conflict. The cover by Sekowsky and Giordano sets the stage with a striking image of Diana in motion, her resolve clear.
In "Detour 2," Wonder Woman makes a bold choice to abandon her Amazonian powers and heritage to stand by Steve Trevor, who’s been falsely accused of treason. With I-Ching as her mentor and the fate of her friend hanging in the balance, Diana must navigate a dangerous new life on the outside—where she’s no longer a warrior, but a woman learning to fight in ways she’s never known. When Steve arrives gravely wounded, Diana and I-Ching must act fast to stop Doctor Cyber’s latest scheme, even as the villain remains just out of reach.
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The issue sits squarely within Mike Sekowsky's tenure as writer-artist on Wonder Woman, the era he masterminded beginning with #179 in 1968. Sekowsky conceived the 'mod' reinvention — pitching Diana as a grounded, fashionable adventurer relatable to contemporary readers — and both wrote and drew this issue, with Dick Giordano on inks and letters split between John Costanza and Milt Snapinn. The bulk of the issue's page count reprints Denny O'Neil's script from #179, making it a hybrid production: six pages of entirely new Sekowsky material surrounding sixteen pages of O'Neil-scripted reprint, a practical economy common in early Bronze Age DC titles.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover date December 1970; published on newsstands September 1, 1970 (DC Database / GCD).
- Titled 'Detour 2' — a direct continuation of the storyline from the preceding issue, with the story explicitly carrying over into the following issue.
- Only six pages are original material: pages 2–4 and 21–22 form a new framing sequence in which Diana recounts the events of Wonder Woman #179 to her companion Ranagor; page 1 is a recap.
- Pages 5–20 reprint pages 7–22 of Wonder Woman #179 (1968), the landmark issue in which Diana surrendered her Amazon powers and costume to remain in 'Man's World.'
- An editorial revision in the reprint changed Doctor Cyber's gender pronouns from male to female throughout the reprinted section — correcting the character's since-revealed identity — except for one panel on page 11 where the original 'his' was missed.
- Characters appearing include Diana Prince (as the powerless 'New Wonder Woman'), her martial arts mentor I-Ching, Ranagor the Barbarian (a recurring ally from the parallel-dimension Chalandor arc), Steve Trevor, Queen Hippolyta, and Doctor Cyber as an antagonist.
- Cover and interior pencils by Mike Sekowsky, inks by Dick Giordano — the defining art team of the 'mod era.'
- The new framing-sequence pages (2–4 and 21–22) were later reprinted in Diana Prince: Wonder Woman Vol. 3 (DC, 2008) and the Wonder Woman: Diana Prince Celebrating the '60s Omnibus (DC, 2018); the issue also appeared in black-and-white reprint in the French anthology Aventures Fiction #51 (Arédit-Artima, 1976).
Full credits
Reprints
↩ Reprints Wonder Woman #57 (1953), Wonder Woman #122 (1961), Wonder Woman #179 (1968)
Reprinted in Marvila, la Mujer Maravilla #187 (1971), Aventures Fiction #51 (1976), Diana Prince: Wonder Woman #2 (2008), Diana Prince: Wonder Woman #3 (2009), Wonder Woman: Diana Prince: Celebrating the '60s Omnibus #[nn] (2019), Comic Book Creator #35 (2024)
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