The characters featured in Wonder Woman Volume 4 are listed below. For the main Wonder Woman character directory see Characters.Wonder Woman.
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AMAZONS & DEMIGODS
Diana/Wonder Woman
For tropes relating to this character in the previous/following continuity see here.
- Adaptational Jerkass: It varies between titles, but Di started out as the only one of DC's big three to have a strict rule against killing, and even after later iterations did away with that she was always highly opposed to killing save for as a very last resort. This version of the character revels in it and mocks people who need her aid. In The Justice League book expecially. In Wonder Woman's own New 52 comic, she's much gentler about it.
- All-Loving Hero: While this version of Diana is a much harder character, she still tells Hades that she really did love him after the forced marriage deal he put her through, because:Wonder Woman: "Hell . . . I Love. Everyone."
- All of the Other Reindeer: Most of the other Amazons thought Diana was an abomination because of her unnatural birth, and would mockingly refer to her as "Clay."
- Battle Couple: With Superman as of the New 52.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: The suit she commissioned Hephaestus to forge her in issue #41 has retractable blades at the wrists.
- Composite Character: This Wonder Woman falls in love with The World of Man after tasting ice cream. This is a Shout-Out to the 1970s television show, except it was Diana's little sister Drusilla who instantly fell in love with ice cream there.
- Culture Clash: She has no problem intimdating people when she needs to get things done, but the Justice League title shows she underestimated just how intimading she really was, even while trying to be gentle
- Damsel out of Distress: Diana is captured by Hades and forced to marry himm, but she manages to get herself rescued even before her friends can get there to rescue her.
- Darker and Edgier: This version of Wonder Woman is far more a proud warrior than the idealized hero with the strictest no-killing code of any DC heroes from the Golden Age.
- Determinator: Other more powerful members of her team may decide to step back or retreat in order to strategize a solution. Wonder Woman's plan is to plow headfirst into the situation and kick the living shit out of it.
- Cool Sword: A very sharp, neatly decorated one.
- Fantastic Slurs: Diana is called "Clay" by some Amazons in her infancy due to the story of her being created as molded clay.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: It's shown she's really serious about taking down The First Born when she puts on a top that not only has straps, but a sleeve. Only one sleeve, but still.
- Flanderization: Pre-New 52, Diana was fairly unique amongst DC's heroes in that she was willing to kill enemies, but only when absolutely necessary and when there are zero other options available. As of the New 52, this has been exaggerated into her ruthlessly killing any villain she confronts, which makes it pretty hard to believe that the other heroes would want anything to do with her. Her pre-New 52 willingness to kill is also an example of this, if a more gradual one. Originally she was the one of DC's Big Three who would not kill. She made an exception when it came to gods, because (as she herself pointed out) gods had Resurrective Immortality. When the Silver Age came around she kept her no-killing rule as Batman and Superman also adopted one. When George Pérez rebooted her after Crisis on Infinite Earths he brought back her willingness to kill gods (and expanded it to include other supernatural creatures as well), but never addressed whether they were still immortal. Later this was rationalized as her being willing to kill "when it was absolutely necessary". Then that was expanded to hypothetically include humans as well as non-humans.
Then she snapped Maxwell Lord's neck and the rest is history. - Flight: She has the ability to fly.
- Heroic Bastard: In the New 52, she's the result of Hippolyta's affair with Zeus. DC Rebirth revealed the New 52 Hippolyta is not the real deal, calling into question if Zeus really is Diana's father.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Diana greatly overestimates the maturity and self restraint of Zola and Hera. Even after witnessing their tendencies to cause trouble firsthand several times over she still trusts them to remain in her apartment for a few hours without a baby sitter. Luckily for Diana the rest of the Olympians are interested in their continued survival as well and pick up her slack.
- I Must Make Amends: She assumes Barbara Ann Minerva became The Cheetah because Diana laughed at Barbara when Barbara talked about the amazon worshiping cult she came from, for just how much they got wrong about the amazons, who aren't goddesses and don't serve Artemis above all other authorities. While Diana's giggling didn't help, it turns out Barbara was always a criminal and that Diana's insensitivity just accelerated her plan to betray Diana.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: During the H'el On Earth arc Wonder Woman claims to have lost all sympathy for Supergirl because she is helping progress H'el's destroy Earth restore Krypton scheme, but then immediately spends the majority of their resulting fight trying to non lethally restrain Kara, at one point ignoring the perfect opporitunity to kill her after Kara tries and fails to repell Diana with a "solar flare", successfully subduing her and convincing her that H'el's plan will get everyone killed.
- Interspecies Romance: She, a demi-god Amazon, dates Superman, a Kryptonian.
- Leave Him to Me!: Wonder Woman decides to hunt down The Cheetah alone, insisting that The Justice League doesn't exist to clean up messes she caused. The League assist her anyway, because dangerous super villains are what they are supposed to be taking care of and they're all insistent that Cheetah's existence is not Diana's fault, as much as she'd rather take the blame than admit her friend was a false one.
- Lineage Comes from the Father: Everything important about Diana now comes from her father being Zeus, when in all previous iterations she either had no father or her father was so unimportant he didn't need a name and all her skills and powers came from her mother, the other Amazons and Aphrodite and some other goddesses.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: In the New 52 Universe, it's revealed by Eris in issue #2 and later confirmed by Hippolyta in the next issue than Diana is the daughter of Hippolyta and Zeus. However, DC Rebirth has established that New 52 versions of Olympus and Themyscira are fakes, as is the New 52 Hippolyta, casting doubt on whether Diana really is Zeus' daughter or if this was something she was tricked into believing.
- Never a Self-Made Woman: Diana's powers and allies are all derived from her father Zeus, which is quite an alteration as she was originally designed specifically to avert this trope with all her strengths and even her creation being due to women and her interactions with them. Her training here was done by Ares rather than her fellow Amazons as well.
- No-Sell: She is immune to Eros's bullets because she already loves everyone.
- Power Limiter: Diana's bracelets greatly limit her power and cut off her connection to the Shock and Awe powers that belonged to Cassie in the previous continuity.
- Proud Warrior Race Girl: A Themysciarian warrior.
- Relationship Upgrade: With Superman since Justice League #12 in the New 52.
- Semi-Divine: She is the granddaughter of Ares and is revealed to be the daughter of Zeus.
- Shock and Awe: The New 52 has her gain electric powers thanks to her relation to Zeus, just as Cassie had for the same reason in the previous continuity. Even after this was retconned, Diana kept her immunity to lighting by using her bracelets which was an inconsistant ability previously.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Her interest in Superman comes not from his strength, but because of his good nature.
- Superdickery: The covers in particular make her out to be far more brutal than she really is, to other heroes, such as hoisting an unconcious Donna Troy up By the Hair while preparing to slice her neck or the broken body of Cassie Sandsmark up over her head. Diana, Donna and Cassie are far less kind in New 52 than they were, post crisis, but Diana still treats them with a far softer hand in the stories themselves(poor Donna does get an arm cut off, but New 52 Donna can easily survive that and Diana actually imprisons Donna for Donna's own safety when Donna becomes suicidal).
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: In the New 52, she's this even with Superman!
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: As queen of the amazons, Diana has the best of intentions for them. However, she also has a chip on her shoulder for having been ostracized by the rest of her tribe since childhood and isn't showing much patience in making them change for the better. Even more so when they create a new champion out of clay after years of claiming to hate her for being a clay born Humanoid Abomination.
Hippolyta
- Adaptation Dye-Job: DC's Hippolyta is traditionally brunette while here she's blonde. Her The Silver Age/Earth-One iteration was also blonde.
- Adaptational Villainy: While former iterations of Poly were the leaders of a peace loving society of women who did everything in their power to help humanity this one leads a society of serial rapists and murderers who sell their own children into slavery or kill them as infants if they come out male. She has built a society of women who abduct and rape men before murdering them and then kill their own newborns if they don't look like what they want.
- And I Must Scream: Her destiny and the destiny of her amazons after Hera's punishment: she is turned into stone and her Amazons are turned into snakes Subverted later on, when it turns out these Amazons are fakes and the real Amazons are fine.
- Asshole Victim: She's allowed her Amazons to spend centuries raping and murdering men to have children, then allowed them to abandon or outright kill the babies which were designated male. It's hard not to see Hippolyta being turned to stone and the Amazons turned into snake as their long overdue karma for being outright monsters.
- Darker and Edgier: Hippolyta leads her Amazons as ritual rapists, murderers and slave traders instead of the idealized perfect society of women they were originally imagined as for DC.
- Does Not Like Men: In a huge departure from the Amazons original and traditional non bigoted accepting paradise of a culture, are a society of man-hating misandrists who routinely rape and murder men to get children, sell their male infants into slavery, and try to castrate and murder any physically male visitors to their island.
- Expy: While this Hippolyta is a fake in the Rebirth continuity, Rebirth does have Dimension Chi Hippolyta, who is basically this version with better hardware and less patience. She's inexplicably blonde, just to hammer the point in.
- My Secret Pregnancy: In the New 52, Hippolyta made up the "clay" story to cover the fact that she'd gotten pregnant from Zeus. However, with the reveal that the New 52 Hippolyta was a fake, as was the New 52 Olympus, it's implied the clay story is the truth.
- Retcon: DC Rebirth established that this version of Hippolyta was never real, and was instead part of an elaborate set of false memories and constructs made to prevent Diana from realizing that she'd never returned to her home after leaving the first time.
- Royal Inbreeding: Her father Ares is obviously the result of some since his parents are Zeus and Hera, who are brother and sister. In the New 52 Hippolyta decides to join in the family tradition by screwing her grandfather Zeus, a relationship that results in Diana.
Lennox
- Expy: Lennox, a chain-smoking Deadpan Snarker Limey with connections to the supernatural, is basically John Constantine.
- Good Thing You Can Heal: He discovered his powers when a German bomb blew up the house he was in and killed everyone else during the Blitz. He subsequently used his healing abilities to charge through hails of German gunfire getting shot all along the way while fighting in WWII.
- Off with His Head!: Artemis tears his head off.
- Riddle for the Ages: Was he actually a child of Zeus, as in the real Zeus, or was he yet another construct of the real Olympians alongside the New 52 Amazons and Greek Gods. And if he's not real, then why does Cassandra Sandsmark think he's her father?
Cassandra
- The Atoner: Wonder Woman suspects the worst of Cassandra pursing a minor and ties her up, only for the lasso of truth to reveal Cassandra really does want to make up for her role in making Cassie Sandsmark an orphan. Subverted as it turns out the lasso isn't quite as powerful here and can be fooled by someone who truly believes a lie.
- Compelling Voice: When Cassandra gave orders with the voice she was born with those who heard her were compelled to obey. After she used this power to order forty people to murder each other Lennox destroyed her voice box.
- Crazy-Prepared: Cassandra hypnotised herself to believe her own lies in case she ever lost her powers or got defeated by Wonder Woman, which both come to pass more than once.
- Evil Aunt: She played a part in the murder of Cassie Sandsmark's father, who was Cassandra's own brother, and Cassandra plans on murdering Cassie as well, once she has gotten everything out of Cassie she can, along with all of Cassie's friends just because.
- Ironic Name: In Classical Mythology Cassandra was cursed to have word she said be disergarded by all who would hear her. It was more ironic than intended, as that Cassandra mostly wanted what was best for people who shunned her at their own ruin while this Cassandra is actively out to ruin people who can't help but hurt themselves at her command.
- Self-Made Orphan: Cassandra learned of her power when she ordered her mother to kill herself and her mother complied.
- Strong Family Resemblance: She strongly resembles Cassie Sandsmark, and it turns out there are very good reasons for it, as they are closely related.
Siracca
- Blow You Away: Siracca has control over the winds.
- Fate Worse than Death: When Hera learned of Siracca she used the winds that the poor child was so tied to in order to disolve Siracca's own body into the winds, and then using the winds Siracca was now part of kick up a sandstorm that killed her family by striping them of their flesh to the bone.
- Monochromatic Eyes: Siracca's eerie eyes are solid white.
Milan
- Blind Seer: Milan's eyes are missing, but he can use the power of the mirror of Olympus to see everything.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Milan's appearance is modeled after deceased muscian Wesley Willis.
- The Infested: Milan is one of Zeus' few surviving bastard children. His eye sockets are empty and serve to accomodate a swarm of maggots, though he can still see through the eyes of any fly on the world, a power which causes him so much discomfort he has to wear a blindfold at all times to nullify it.
- Pest Controller: Milan controls large swarms of flies, most of which live inside his body and are expelled through his mouth and empty eye sockets.
Aleka
- Asshole Victim: She's so utterly unpleasant and cruel, it's hard to care when she gets turned into a snake.
- Does Not Like Men: In a huge departure from the Amazons original and traditional non bigoted accepting paradise of a culture, are a society of man-hating misandrists who routinely rape and murder men to get children, sell their male infants into slavery, and try to castrate and murder any physically male visitors to their island.
- Proud Warrior Race Girl: A Themysciarian warrior.
- Retcon: DC Rebirth established that this Amazon was never real, and was instead part of an elaborate set of false memories and constructs made to prevent Diana from realizing that she'd never returned to her home after leaving the first time.
- The Rival: Aleka has acted as Diana's very cruel spirited rival since they were both children.
- Straw Feminist: The Amazons as a whole, as their version of feminism has been altered into them being baby killing rapists who violently hate all men. The closest thing to their former all-female paradise and refuge is Hephaestus' forge with its community of all male artists who were rescued from the Amazons.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Artemis does not exist in this continuity and was replaced by the very similar, but far less pleasant, Aleka. Especially amusing as Artemis started out as a Suspiciously Similar Substitute of a similar Amazon from the previous continuity named Orana. Her status as Diana's rival who grew up alongside her mirrors Mala, but her appearance and attidute make her far more similar to Artemis even if she is far more cruel than the other redheaded Amazon.
GODS/OLYMPIANS
Eros/Love
- Adaptational Modesty: Mythological Eros did not wear clothes. He sometimes had a sash slung over his shoulders, wore a necklace, or wore a leather harness for pulling Aphrodite's chariot with another of the attractive men in her retinue but he wasn't modest in the least.
- Cupid's Arrow: Well, he is the trope maker. Diana tries to keep him from using this trick around her through as she feels it cheapens romance and takes away choice and autonomy. In the New 52 he's upgraded his bow to a pair of guns with ammunition that has the same effect.
- Jerkass: He's the God of Love and a massive prick, often making one fall obsessively in love with another for kicks much to the target's misery and this even extends to fellow Gods. Best emphasized under the ethos that The Power of Love doesn't mean good or nice and can often be brutal, selfish, and cruel.Narration: God of physical love and sexual desire, Eros can be as capricious, random, and cruel as love itself
- Dual Wielding: In the New 52 he dual wields gold plated handguns rather than the traditional bow and arrow set up.
- Love God: He's the god of falling in love.
- Retcon: DC Rebirth established that this version of Eros was never real, and was instead part of an elaborate set of false memories and constructs made to prevent Diana from realizing that she'd never returned to her home after leaving the first time.
- Sadly Mythtaken: New 52 Eros is said to be Hephaestus' son, in the original myths Eros is either the son of Ares and Aphrodite or a primordial god, older than the Titans.
Hermes/Messenger
- Adaptation Dye-Job: His default blond/light brown hair was turned dark green for the New 52.
- Adaptational Jerkass:
- Adaptational Modesty: DC's Hermes usually wears what is essentially a short skirt, while this version keeps pretty covered up.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: His skin is a bluish grey.
- Extremity Extremist: He attacks primarily with his taloned feet.
- Monochromatic Eyes: His eyes are entirely pitch black.
- Not as You Know Them: This Hermes has nothing but his gender, speed, status and caduceus in common with his previous version. He's a dour backstabbing pessimist as opposed to cheerful and upbeat if a bit arrogant like he was before.
Hephaestus/Smith
- A Father to His Men: He rescues the male children born to Amazons when they would otherwise be put to death and puts them to work in his forge. Wonder Woman initially believes he has them as slaves but when she tries to "free" them, they ask her to release Hephaestus because of all he's done for them.
- Goggles Do Nothing: Averted; he actually uses them to cover his eyes when he is blacksmithing.
- Gonk: Hephaestus is consistantly described as ugly in greek mythology, but his New 52 incarnation flat-out looks like an Orc/Troll-like creature.
- Pet the Dog: Two particularly notable ones.
- As mentioned above, he agreed to take the male children born to Amazons as workers in his forge, thus saving them from death, and treats them well enough for them to genuinely care about him. This is canceled out some by the revelation that this version of him and Themyscira are both fakes and no Amazons were running about habitually raping and murdering dudes and then killing any male offspring from the unions.
- When explaining how Eros' guns work, he snarks that "Nobody loves Eros more than himself". When Eros tries to protest, he promptly had the following line with a smile:"And I love you even more than that, son."
- Sadly Mythtaken:
- Eros is not his son in any version of any myth. Mythological Eros is either the son of Ares and Aphrodite or a primordial god, older than the Titans. While Eros is always tied to Aphrodite as part of her retinue he has little interest in Hephaestus.
- Mythological Hephaestus is usually written to have gotten divorced from Aphrodite because he couldn't deal with her infidelity. He then married Aglaea, one of the Charites, with whom he had four children. He wouldn't still be married to Aphrodite in modern times.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: The ugly husband of the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite.
Apollo/Sun
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Prior to Flashpont his more humanoid guises were always blonde and blue eyed, while in the New 52 his hair and skin is a shiny bluish black paired with glowing orange eyes when he's not glowing in his entirety. This version of him is later revealed to have been a fake.
- Bullying a Dragon: He insults Superman in front of Diana and as much as he may look down on Diana taking a mortal lover like Steve Trevor, he looks down on Superman even more and considers him a "thing" from the stars. Not only can Superman cut loose on Apollo because he's a god and not a human being but he can also be empowered to a massive degree by Apollo's sun-based powers, which Apollo found out soon to his own detriment.
- Depending on the Artist: (New 52 Apollo) He appears in Superman/Wonder Woman wearing loafers.
- God of Light: He is the god of the sun.
- Hypocrite: Apollo claims he wants Olympus to enter a new age of enlightenment free of the bloodshed and family feuding of the past. Yet he wastes no time trying to kill family members he deems a threat and even tortures and cannibalizes the First Born.
- Playing with Fire: God of the sun naturally.
- Power of the Sun: Fittingly for the sun god, whether he is burning hot or cool depends on whether the sun is out and his preferred attack is to incinerate his targets with solar blasts. Doesn't work out too well against Superman becomes stronger by absorbing the blast.
- Pun: Holds the insulting title 'Bastard Sun' in the New 52 series.
- Jerkass: (New 52 Apollo) He was less than impressed when he first met 'Diana's new conquest' in Kal-El, stating he wasn't even human; just some thing who came from the stars, even going so far as to insult her par of choice by not caring for whom she sluts around with. When Superman called him out on being a dick to his girlfriend he even smacked him into Hephaestus' forge.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Que supes rising out of the molten lava pit as Strife gloatingly demeaned him in front of Diana and knocking his ass to the ground. A royally pissed Bastard Sun snaps at Clark blasting him with concentrated solar rays, resulting in the presently overcharged kryptonian proceeding to grab him by his shirt scruff belting him right out of the smith gods mountain and into upper orbit.
- Sadly Mythtaken: Cannibalism was a huge grievous offense to the Greek deities and one of the few abhorrent acts that they universally despised. In the New 52 Apollo casually eats parts of the First Born while trying to torture him into submission.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: (New 52 Apollo) Always wears a suit (sans shoes).
- Too Dumb to Live: (New 52 Apollo) Refuses to execute or permanently imprison the First Born despite the prophecy stating the latter will kill the king of Olympus. Instead, he tries to torture him into obedience. The First Born escapes and quickly exacts his revenge.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: (New 52 Apollo) The only real reason he opposes Wonder Woman is because he heard a prophecy that one of Zeus' children (which he believes to be Zola's baby) would one day kill one of their family.
Aphrodite
New 52 Version of Aphrodite
- Godiva Hair: New 52 Aphrodite opts for long hair to cover her breasts on her otherwise naked top half.
- Demoted to Extra: Aphrodite and Mars were the only two Olympians to feature heavily in the original Wonder Woman mythos where she was the Big Good, subsequent adaptation kept her as integral to Diana's fatherless birth and one of the most important Olympians up until this reboot, where she's only spotted in group shots of the Olympians and Diana owes her nothing and instead owes everything to Zeus.
- The Faceless: Not only is her body concealed, so is her face.
- Sadly Mythtaken: In the New 52 she had Eros with Hephaestus instead of Ares, though her romantic entanglements with the war god remain.
- Scenery Censor: Done humorously with frames covering up her bits at one point.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: Aphrodite casually slinks about everywhere without wearing a single thing.
- Take Our Word for It: The comic never shows her from the front, especially not enough to see her face, making her legendary beauty (which would differ in perception by individual) up to the imagination.
Ares/War
- Adaptational Heroism: Although neutral, he's much more of an ally than an enemy in New 52. Year One reveals this wasn't the real Ares.
- Cynical Mentor: In the New 52, he was one to Diana when she was younger, but not for that long, kicking her out when she refused to kill someone. Year One reveals the real Ares was never a mentor or ally to Diana, as it's implied she never even met him until after she left Themyscira.
- Evil Old Folks: In the New 52 Universe.
- Grandpa God: In the New 52 he's an old man with a long white beard.
- Sadly Mythtaken:
- In the New 52 he makes comments that suggest he's either not Zeus' son or doesn't consider himself as such. It's kind of unclear which it is, but Apollo at least refers to Zeus as "our" father when speaking to Ares, so it might just be Ares disowning Zeus.
- His relationship with the Amazons is quite different from the original myths where he was their patron god, consort to their queen Otere, the father of Hippolyta and her sisters and furious when any of his children were killed.
Artemis/Moon
- Adaptational Curves: (New 52) Her previous DC incarnation had a lean somewhat androgynous body with a small bust, narrow hips and a whole bunch of chiselled lean muscle, in the New 52 she's given an hourglass figure with wide hips, a bigger bust and greatly reduced muscle tone.
- Adaptational Dumbass: She's an archer, whose ranged attacks are incredibly powerful, but when she's sent to kill or delay people she always tries punching them instead. Heck this version is never seen using her bow except for practice and she seems to just leave it on Olympus.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Flashpoint gave this traditionally brunette character white hair.
- Adaptational Jerkass: This version of the character is not nice at all, she likes to dominate and embarrass others and gets a kick out of being sent to murder an infant.
- Adaptational Skimpiness: (New 52) Artemis of myth only undressed to bathe, handy since she visited horrific retribution on those who dared to see her naked even if it was an accident on their part. Here she often walks around completely nude.
- Horned Humanoid: In her glowing form she often adds a pair of thin deer-like antlers to her head.
- Sadly Mythcharacterized: She was the virgin goddess of virgins, and took pleasure in finding creatively cruel deaths for those who saw her naked form, DC's crush on her brother and exhibitionist ways are comic original.
- Sex Is Violence: She is very noticeably and unabashedly turned on by a good fight.
- Solar and Lunar: Paired with her sun god twin they have this contrasting dynamic.
Athena/Justice
New 52 Version
- Have You Seen My God?: In the New 52 continuity Athena has gone missing.
- The Owl-Knowing One: The mythological Athena's association with owls is taken to the next level: she is an anthropomorphic owl.
- Sadly Mythtaken:
- Much is made of the prophecy that one of Zeus' children will usurp the throne, but unlike the original myths and pre-Flashpoint continuity this prophecy does no refer to Athena since she's busy being dead.
- The Athena of myth is one of the three virgin goddesses, is a strong willed strategist, and is fated to overthrow her father, so the fact that this version had sex with her father in order to give birth to his reincarnation and assure that he remains on the throne and has weak plots she's easily talked out of flies in the face of everything her mythological counterpart stands for.
Demeter/Harvest
There's birth and there's death, and in between it's all improvisation.
—Demeter, Wonder Woman Vol 4 #11
Hermes' ally and a motherly figure, whose motivations seem benign at first but are revealed to be just as twisted as any other Olympians' by Ares.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: Her default New 52 form has green skin.
- Green Thumb: Control over plants on a massive scale.
- Plant Person: She now is made of plant material rather than just controlling it.
- Technically Naked Shapeshifter: What appears to be her dress is revealed to be part of her body when Ares tears a hole through her very inhuman body.
Eris/Strife
- Affably Evil: She is Affably Amoral, and regularly gets in Wonder Woman's way.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: She's lavender skinned.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: She is traditionally the daimona of the conflict/strife of war.
- Immortal Immaturity: After Diana opposes Eris's attempts to corrupt Donna Troy and expresses sympathy for Nikos Aegeus Strife blows a raspberry behind Diana's back.
- Mythology Gag: (New 52) Eris' reaction to Ares' death gets a comment from Aphrodite about Eris acting as though they were lovers even though they weren't. As Enyo and Eris are one and the same in this reality it's a sly nod at the fact that in Roman mythology Bellona was Mars' consort.
- War God: The strife she relates to is usually specifically that of war, and she traditionally haunts battlegrounds. This is part of the reason she cares for Ares and has a—sometimes uneasy—friendship with him.
Hera
- Adaptation Dye-Job: Flashpoint turned this traditional DC brunette into a blonde.
- Big Damn Heroes: When the First Born takes over Olympus, she is given her powers back by Apollo, allowing her to come to the rescue of Wonder Woman.
- Break the Haughty: What happens to her after Apollo de-powered her.
- Broken Bird: Zeus' many infidelities crushed her belief in love.
- Brought Down to Normal: Apollo eventually banishes her from Olympus, turning her into a mortal in the process. His last action when he is about to die at the hands of the First Born is to restore her powers and position.
- Disproportionate Retribution: She turns Hippolyta into stone statues and the other Amazons into snakes after learning Zeus cheated on her with the former (Which to be fair is in line with her classic mythology counterpart). She reverts them back to normal after her Heel–Face Turn and recovery of her powers.
- Evil Matriarch: In the New 52 Universe, unlike her previous incarnations whom were more helpful if relatively temperamental at times. She eventually warms up to the rest of Diana's Party and was against the exile of her First Born.
- Immortal Immaturity: Being reduced to a mortal reveals that Hera has no idea how to act when she has no divine powers or authority to get what she wants. She also has a hard time grasping just how much more vulnerable she is and just how easily acting on a whim can get her injured. It's still there after regaining her goddess status, just not as noticeable due the consequenes of her actions no longer being as serious. Serious to her own well being anyway.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: The finale reveals that she has been using Diana's trust the whole time, pretending to love Zola's baby Zeke all the while intending to sacrifice him to return Zeus to existence and put the latter's charade to an end, even at the cost of the infant.
- Ret-Gone: This version was revealed to have been a fake in DC Rebirth.
- Stripperiffic: (New 52) Wears a peacock feather cloak and nothing else. Most of her appearances show her as being naked, though she does own a marvelous dark blue dress with a plunging neckline and peacock feathers across the shoulders.
- Yandere: (New 52) To the point that she keeps trying to kill the children her husband fathered with other women out of spiteful jealousy, even after said husband is presumed dead.
Dionysus/Dio
We're gods Hermes. We live forever, but twas mortals made this—and if you give them a chance? They'll never stop astounding you—learn to savor the moments.
—Dio, Wonder Woman Vol 4 #31
- Animal Motifs: Foxes, which comes out of nowhere as his sacred animals in mythology were panthers, bulls and serpents.
- Badass Boast: "I am the god of vines, of madness, reality like a sot on his knee—bends to me. [...]Should I turn his blood into wine, or honey?"
- Black Eyes of Crazy: When his sclerae are black he's not tamping down enough on his power for mortals to be safely near him and those who are have their sanity and inhibitions start slipping.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: He drives the people he's with to start prepping for an orgy, then when he realizes the person he's actually supposed to be protecting isn't comfortable with it turns the disrobing people into pigs to make them look for a truffle for her and has to go running after his protectorate when she flees in terror.
- Iconic Item: His New 52 version is never seen without a pair of short black fingerless gloves.
- Power Incontinence: His New 52 version has a bit of an issue in that just being around him makes people's inhibitions go right out the window. He can control it if he's trying to but he normally isn't, if his sclerae are black it's not safe for mortals to be near him.
Lord Poseidon
"You are an Amazon? Hhummph There's more to you...Zeus. Well his blood no longer holds water. So you would do well to get out of my way. I have no quarrel with you."
—Lord Poseidon, Wonder Woman Vol 4 #5
- Adaptational Ugliness: Most depictions of Poseidon, including pre-Flaspoint, are that of muscular men. This Poseidon is a monstrous mix and match of aquatic animals.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: He is first introduced as a giant monster attacking Diana.
- Combat Tentacles: Poseidon uses his masses of tentacles to fight first Wonder Woman and then the First Born
- Graceful Loser: His reaction to being manipulated by Wonder Woman in a plan to outsmart Hera is to laugh and congratulate her, even stating she will fit right in the family.
- Just Eat Him: At one point, he swallows the First Born whole.
- Mix-and-Match Critter: To emphasize that he is the god of the sea, he is a giant amalgamation of different forms of sea life.
- Sea Monster: He looks like a giant combination of octopus, whale, shellfish and pinniped.
- Sizeshifter: The first time he appears in the New 52, he is gigantic. When he shows up again later to take part in the Olympians' reunion, he assumes a more human size.
- Weather Manipulation: He can cause rainstorms to form as he approaches.
Lord Zeus
- Abusive Parents: His treatment of the First Born in the New 52 makes him the embodiment of this trope.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: His offspring are now evidently all the result of consensual relationships and he seems to have lost the serial rapist aspect entirely.
- Animal Motifs: While he doesn't appear often, the New 52 version of him has an Eagle motif.
- Everybody Loves Zeus: This version is pretty well loved by everyone despite retaining his rampant adultery, he's also not a rapist. Athena goes out of her way to help revive him, even having sex with him in order to give birth to his new reincarnation despite her being a virgin goddess who is, in mythology, fated to usurp him. All the other gods besides Ares are upset at his apparent death.
- Have You Seen My God?: In the New 52 continuity Zeus has gone missing, which would have had the Amazons and other Olympians ecstatic if paranoid in every previous iteration of Wonder Woman but is presented as a tragedy here.
- Really Gets Around: The New 52 has Diana teaming up with a bunch of his illegitimate children and Diana herself being one.
- Reincarnation: Evidently Zeke is his reincarnation. In an exceptionally messed up version of this concept Zeke is still his own cute tiny little person, just Zeus needs a new body so he's taking over that of his infant son and burning Zeke's soul out to take his body for himself.
Lord Hades/Hell
"I find this fascinating. Playing with the gods. It never ends well for you, because it actually is only a game to us. Yet you insist"
—Lord Hades, Wonder Woman Vol 4 #5
- Adaptation Name Change: He and his realm are called Hell rather than the traditional Hades.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: His default form is pale green.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Tries to pull the "marry me or I kill your friend" version on Wonder Woman, of all people.
- Cool Chair: It's his father Cronus disemboweled, and since he's a Titan, he's still alive.
- Creepy Child: In the New 52 Universe Hades appears as a very dangerous undead looking child wearing a crown of burning candles whose wax has melted to cover his eyes.
- Everybody Hates Hades: Wonderfully deconstructed in the New 52 Universe. Hades hates himself more than anyone hates him, and more or less sabotages his relationships and alliances as a result.
- Genius Loci: This version of Hades doesn't just rule the Underworld, he IS the Underworld itself, being able to manifest his body and mind through the realm and control it in any way he pleases. The child form is simply an avatar he uses to speak through.
- Hijacked by Jesus: He and his realm are constantly referred to as "Hell" despite this word having nothing to do with Greek Mythology and being associated with Christianism.
- The Napoleon: This version of Hades is very short, to the point Eris calls him an imp. He also wants to take over "heaven".
- Necromancer: The souls of hell are his to command twist and form things out of as he sees fit.
- Retcon: DC Rebirth established that this version of Hades was never real, and was instead part of an elaborate set of false memories and constructs made to prevent Diana from realizing that she'd never returned to her home after leaving the first time.
- Sadly Mythcharacterized: Regardless of how he gained his wife, an "abduction" which was approved by her father would have been seen as all the consent needed to the ancient Greeks and Romans, he and Persephone had by far the most loving and respectful relationship of the Greek pantheon in the surviving tales with him regularly deferring to her. Here he was such an overbearing and undesirable husband Persephone killed herself to escape their marriage.
- Unwanted Spouse: Persephone wanted nothing to do with him and killed herself in a failed attempt to escape him.
Persephone/Girl
"He wouldn't let me leave. In trying to escape I damed myself and he will never let me forget [it]"
—Persephone, Wonder Woman Vol 4, #9
Demeter's daughter, who so hated her forced marriage to Hell that she slit her forearms and killed herself trying to escape him. While this did bring an end to their marriage it also dammed her as a soul under his control in his realm and he forces her to hold an always bleeding form in reminder.
- Adaptation Name Change: Traditionally the DC version of this character is addressed as "Kore" by those who are not her husband or subjects, here that's switched out for "girl".
- Adaptational Wimp: DC's Persephone is traditionally the dread queen of Hades, an experienced warrior capable of controlling both plants and shades and the undead and whom none save her husband and the shades of her kingdom dare call by name. Here she's just a tortured dead soul who serves Hell.
- Didn't Think This Through: Committed suicide to escape her marriage with Hades, somehow forgetting that he ruled over the dead and they were living in the Underworld.
- Retcon: DC Rebirth established that this version of Persephone was never real, and was instead part of an elaborate set of false memories and constructs made to prevent Diana from realizing that she'd never returned to her home after leaving the first time.
- Sadly Mythcharacterized: While the consent involved in the beginning of her and Hades' relationship is unclear in the original myths—due to alternate tellings and a different concept of what constitutes consent for the culture that wrote them—by the time heroes were coming to Hades to try and make bargains they had one of the most solid marriages of the gods and Hades deferred to Persephone on how to run Hades and to make bargains with their living visitors. This version was so devastated and unhappy with her unequal marriage with Hades she killed herself to escape it.
- Undeathly Pallor: Persephone is green like her mother Demeter, but a far more grayish tint given her undead status.
- Wound That Will Not Heal: Her wrists are still bleeding open wounds centuries after her suicide.
Hecate
New 52 version of Hecate
The goddess of Ghosts, Witchcraft and Necromancy.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She may be associated with the underworld, but she will keep her word and is capable of love.
- I Just Want to Be Loved: Part of her motivation.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She may be unscrupulous, but she is at least somewhat honorable and just wants to be loved.
- Necromancer: One of her domains.
- Sssssnaketalk: Always speaks with a hiss, as befitting of someone with dominion over the undead.
Ferryman
- Adaptation Name Change/Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Charon is called just "the Ferryman" with no indication he retains his name.
- Adaptational Skimpiness: The Ferryman just wears a fundoshi, unlike the full cloak of his previous iterations.
- The Ferryman: The New 52's version of the trope maker. He ferries the dead, and most else willing to pay, across the River Styx.
- Pointy Ears: The Ferryman's pointed ears and troll-like features help distinguish him as a non-human entity.
- Psychopomp: He transports the dead.
- Retcon: DC Rebirth established that this version of Charon was never real, and was instead part of an elaborate set of false memories and constructs made to prevent Diana from realizing that she'd never returned to her home after leaving the first time.
The First Born
- Ax-Crazy: His life has made him insane to the point he wants to kill everything and nothing will stop him.
- Bad with the Bone: Has two instances of Blade Below the Shoulder attached to his arms, each a very large, sharp bone.
- The Beast Master: Having had a way with the feral beasts of ancient Africa since his birth to adulthood.
- Bestiality Is Depraved: He went so far as to mate with the animals who took him in and raised him, spawning for himself a cadre of demi-god hyena-men to serve as his soldiers in the various armies he would raise throughout history.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of four consecutive arcs: Iron, War, Flesh, and Bones.
- Evil Overlord: Used to be one in his backstory at least. It’s revealed that he conquered several civilizations in ancient times and ruled as a brutal and cruel tyrant over them. The Olympians crushed all his armies when he tried to wage war on his parents and practically erased his empire from existence.
- Expy: Has more than a few similarities to Kratos.
- Foil: Oddly enough, to Wonder Woman of all people. She even lampshades this fact when she states while both possess a broiling fire within; Diana clarifies her torch flame aspires to inspire undying love for any and all things, while the First Born's Firepit seeks only to consume and destroy whatever comes in contact with it.
- Hero's Evil Predecessor: As the first child of Zeus that is, he serves as this to Diana.
- Humanoid Abomination: After his grueling battle with Apollo over the throne of Olympus The First Born had most of his flesh incinerated by the sun god's wrath. He got better; sort of, having embraced his own philosophy of nothingness had left him an exposed hunk of cardiovascular flesh heaping with bits and pieces of still evident charred skin bits, eventually growing out a flowing cape composed of veins and arteries from his own body. While finally entering the last stages of his evolution he became covered in the ashes of his own seared off skin while growing a bloody crown of horns and antlers out of his head to give himself a much more horrific appearance.
- Implacable Man: Determined to become the king of Olympus even if he must spend 7,000 years digging his way out from the Earth and climbing over the corpses of anyone who would try and stop him.
- The Juggernaut: Everything Wonder Woman, Orion, and Apollo throws at him barely slows him down including having most of his flesh burned off.
- Lovecraftian Superpower: As the newly christened God of Oblivion, First Born gains a slew of new abominable divine abilities at his command, controlling his own flesh to channel his foul magics and the new flesh-like appearance of Olympus under his reign is just the start.
- Made of Diamond: Takes the best shots from Wonder Woman and Orion barely flinching.
- Omnicidal Maniac: So full of hate he desires to destroy everyone and everything leaving nothing but ash.
- The Power of Hate: The only emotion he feels any more and what gives him the strength to overcome nearly anything.
- Sadly Mythtaken: There is indeed a prophecy that Zeus will be overthrown by one of his children in the original myths but that child is Athena, his favorite daughter. It's the reason he tried to kill her before her birth.
- Super-Strength: A good deal stronger than Wonder Woman or New God Orion.
- Straw Nihilist: Due to the utter dickishness of his own father and being left to die in the middle of a harsh Sahara environment surrounded by predators. The First Born grew into an apathetic, abysmal and utterly amoral mindset that life was cruelty and decadence which only served to eat itself out of existence in the long run. Putting it simply, not only were abstracts such as love, compassion, kindness and all around common decency foreign to him; but he was so utterly warped and twisted that he rebuffed such notions as a platitudinous redundancy.
- Un-person: Following his failed rebellion against Olympus, all remnants of his existence - including his vast empire he conquered in ancient times - were erased and nobody knew of his existence, except for four people: his parents Zeus and Hera, and his uncles Poseidon (who drowned his empire) and Hades (who took the souls of his army).
- Villainous Crush: He even went so far as to try and take Wonder Woman as his new mate due to the odd contradictory similarities they share, as seen above.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Yeah, he wants to destroy everything and has no understanding of compassion or mercy, but given how Zeus and life in general has treated him its easy to understand where he comes from and hard not to pity the guy.
HUMANS
Zola
- Damsel in Distress: Zola is in constant need of rescue by Diana. Justified as she's a normal pregnant woman dealing with gods squabbling over her.
- Imperiled in Pregnancy: Pregnant with the child of Zeus, she is forced into the Divine Conflict over her.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's not exactly clear what her deal is now. She never made an appearance after the New 52 ended, and Diana only vaguely mentions her in the Rebirth series. After it was revealed the New 52 Olympians were constructs created by the real ones to distract Diana, it raises the question of who or what Zola was. Was she an actual woman who got dragged into the ruse Diana put through or was she a construct too? And if she was a real woman, did she actually have sex with Zeus or did she sleep with the fake version?
