Wonder Woman #2
Wonder Woman #2 (Fall 1942) is the foundational issue of William Moulton Marston's mythology-as-allegory approach: every one of its four linked stories pits Wonder Woman against Mars and his three lieutenants — the Duke of Deception, the Earl of Greed, and Lord Conquest — framing World War II as a cosmic battle between Aphrodite's champion and the god of war himself. The Duke of Deception makes his debut here, rooted in Marston's psychological worldview that deception is the primary weapon of patriarchal oppression, a concept durable enough to sustain the character across the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Ages and inspire his mythological identification with Dolos in modern DC continuity. Structurally, the issue is remarkable for its era: rather than unrelated anthology chapters, all four stories form a continuous narrative arc — an early experiment in serialized, thematically unified comics storytelling. The editorial frontispiece, a photograph of Marston, H.G. Peter, editor Sheldon Mayer, and publisher M.C. Gaines, offered readers an unusually transparent look behind the creative curtain of a Golden Age publication.
In "Part 1: Mars, the God of War," Wonder Woman confronts the ancient deity of war in a tale that marks a pivotal moment in her mythos, all drawn from the original vision of Alice Marble, who wrote, illustrated, and inked the entire issue. The story begins with a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creation of the comic, featuring a photograph of Dr. Wm. Moulton Marston, H.G. Peter, Sheldon Mayer, and M.C. Gaines—shown holding the original cover art—offering a unique historical touchstone for early comic book history.
In "Part 1: Mars, the God of War," Wonder Woman races to rescue Steve Trevor, who’s been taken by Ares to his war-torn planet, where she must navigate deadly tournaments disguised as a warrior. There, she encounters Tiva, Satan, and a host of new villains—including General Destruction, Earl of Greed, and Lord Conquest—each with their own dark designs beneath the surface of the conflict.
In "Part 2: The Earl of Greed," Wonder Woman takes the field for Holliday College, using her athletic prowess to rally support and protect the school from the Earl of Greed’s sinister scheme. With the help of Agent X-49 and the Pups, she faces off against a roster of villains—including General Destruction, Lord Conquest, and even real-life figures like Hermann Göring and Joseph Goebbels—each seeking to exploit the college for their own ends.
In "Part 4: The Count of Conquest," Wonder Woman finds herself imprisoned on Mars, her spirit unbroken as Lord Conquest, the villainous Count Crafti, and other world leaders like Mussolini and Hirohito conspire to exploit her for their own twisted games. With the mysterious Mammotha looming as a new threat, her only weapon may be the very things her captors believe they’ve stripped from her—her courage, her compassion, and the will to fight back.
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Published under the cover date of September 1942 by All-American Comics, Inc. (a division of DC), Wonder Woman #2 was written by William Moulton Marston under his pen name 'Charles Moulton' and illustrated by Harry G. Peter, who also drew the cover. Sheldon Mayer served as editor, and M.C. Gaines as general manager — both are pictured alongside Marston and Peter in a photograph printed on the inside front cover, accompanied by a note from associate editor Alice Marble explaining each man's role, an unusually candid editorial gesture for the period. Marston, a psychologist and the polygraph's co-inventor, designed the issue's villain triumvirate — Deception, Greed, and Conquest — as personifications of psychological forces he believed drove men to war, embedding his feminist theory directly into superhero narrative.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of the Duke of Deception (based on the Greek deity Dolos), created by William Moulton Marston and Harry G. Peter; he would recur throughout Wonder Woman's Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age stories.
- First appearance of the Earl of Greed and Lord Conquest (also called the Count of Conquest), the other two lieutenants of Mars, completing the war god's inner circle introduced across this issue.
- First appearance of General Destruction, Mars' aide-de-camp.
- Cover date: September 1942 (Fall 1942); published by All-American Comics, Inc. Written by William Moulton Marston (as 'Charles Moulton'), art and cover by Harry G. Peter, edited by Sheldon Mayer.
- The issue's inside front cover features a photograph of Marston, Peter, Mayer, and M.C. Gaines — an editorial transparency piece accompanied by a note from associate editor Alice Marble describing each contributor's role.
- All four stories share a single narrative arc in which Wonder Woman battles Mars and each of his three lieutenants in sequence — an unusual structural choice for a Golden Age anthology-format comic.
- The issue depicts Adolf Hitler and other Axis leaders (Hirohito, Göring, Goebbels, Mussolini) as susceptible to psychic manipulation by Mars and his generals, tying wartime geopolitics directly into the book's mythological framework.
- The contents of this issue have been reprinted in Wonder Woman Chronicles Vol. 2 and in Wonder Woman: The Golden Age Vol. 1 (2017), which collects Wonder Woman #1–3 alongside Sensation Comics and All-Star Comics #8.
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Reprints
Reprinted in The Great Comic Book Heroes #[nn] (1965), DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes #[nn] (1995), Wonder Woman Archives #2 (2000), The Wonder Woman Chronicles #2 (2012), Wonder Woman: The War Years 1941-1945 #[nn] (2015), Wonder Woman: The Golden Age Omnibus #1 (2016), Wonder Woman: The Golden Age #1 (2018)
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