5 Powers Even DC Forgot Wonder Woman Had (& Telepathy Isn’t Even The Weirdest)

Wonder Woman is one of DC’s biggest heroes and strongest powerhouses. Everyone knows that she can give and take hits just about as well as Superman can, and she regularly flies around doing exactly that. However, while everyone knows that Wonder Woman is incredibly fast, strong, and can fly, not many know how deep her bag of powers actually goes. She can do a whole lot more than just punch really hard, and while fans can’t be expected to read up on every obscure power Diana has ever had, it’s another thing entirely when DC refuses to acknowledge everything that Wonder Woman is capable of.

After all, when was the last time we saw mainline Wonder Woman talk to animals, or show off her ability to speak and understand every language? Wonder Woman can do so much, and while she doesn’t have nearly as many powers as a Kryptonian—because who could—she definitely has her fair share of underrepresented powers. Today, we’re taking a look at those very same powers that deserve more attention by diving into five superpowers that it seems even DC has forgotten Wonder Woman has.

5) Advanced Healing

Nearly every superhero has some kind of quickened healing. It’s more of a narrative device to handwave injuries before the next issue than anything, but for Wonder Woman, it goes much deeper. In fact, she doesn’t just heal quickly; she can bring herself back from virtually nothing. When she wants to, Wonder Woman has a healing factor that could even give Wolverine a run for his money, though it only functions in very specific circumstances. See, Wonder Woman’s healing originates from her divine blessing from the goddess of the harvest, Demeter, and her connection to Gaea.

Wonder Woman can use her unique blessing and the Lasso of Truth’s connection to the goddess Gaea to tap into the infinitely rejuvenating power of the Earth itself. She’s used this power to bring herself back to prime condition from the brink of death, even while fighting the villainous Decay, who drained the lifeforce of everything. Diana can heal all of her wounds at virtually any time, but she has to be in contact with the Earth and draw its power into her, which is definitely easier said than done, and risks drawing divine attention if she overuses it.

4) Telepathy

Back in her very earliest adventures, Wonder Woman’s powers were a lot less defined. Amazonian science and magic let her do virtually anything she wanted, and that remained true for quite a while, but what really changed since then is Wonder Woman’s individual powers. When the creative teams behind her were still hammering in the details, Wonder Woman would gain or lose the occasional power, and that’s exactly what happened with her telepathy. Wonder Woman could send, receive, and even intercept psychic messages not meant for her.

What’s special about this telepathy is that it wasn’t like normal mind reading. It wasn’t that Diana could detect thoughts better than the average Amazon, but rather that she knew how to tune her mind to a certain frequency to create a mental radio. This let her communicate with her allies over long distances, and she even taught Etta and Steve how to do the same, letting them stay in contact even when separated by insane circumstances. This power was quickly cut, deemed too useful for dangerous circumstances, I’m sure, but still, it’s funny to look back at just how many heroes were telepathic in the Gold and Silver Ages.

3) Nanites

This is definitely Wonder Woman’s newest forgotten power, first appearing in the Wonder Woman: Evolution miniseries. In this comic, Wonder Woman’s longtime ally-turned-enemy Silver Swan was dying, her nanites turning against her and seemingly readying to self-destruct. To save her friend, Wonder Woman absorbed these microscopic machines into herself, letting them become a part of her own unique biology. As of right now, these nanites lie dormant inside her blood, but they grant their host a vast array of powers and abilities.

These nanites can completely rewrite the host’s body on a fundamental level, letting them change their appearance to anything they desire. On top of that, they can generate an incredibly tough metal armor, fitted with claws, wings, and any type of weaponry that the host can imagine. These enhancements are definitely powerful, as they let an ordinary human go toe-to-toe with Wonder Woman. There’s no telling how powerful these constructs could become by residing within Wonder Woman. Even if they only give her access to infinite weapons, that’s more than enough to up her deadliness by some serious margines. 

2) Invisibility Sight

Have you ever wondered how Wonder Woman can fly her Invisible Jet when all of the controls are literally unviewable? Well, the answer is that, originally, that wasn’t a problem for Wonder Woman because she could perceive invisible beings. This was best shown off in Wonder Woman (1942) #20, where an invisible creature was able to stomp through an army base with ease until Diana saw it. Wonder Woman’s enhanced eyesight allowed her to see it even though it was completely invisible to the naked eye.

Now, there is some debate over whether this means that Wonder Woman can see anything that’s invisible, or whether she only has enhanced vision that can perceive wavelengths of light that normal humans can’t. It’s likely the latter, but either way, Wonder Woman can definitely see things that you and I wouldn’t be able to. Flying an invisible jet must be a whole lot easier when you can see the controls, and it makes the whole thing look way more impressive, for sure.

1) Astral Projection

Another power that often goes undervalued in modern comics is Wonder Woman’s astral projection. She can enter a meditative state and detach her spirit from her body, sending it into realms far beyond to deal with whatever threat or vision quest came her way. Back in the Golden Age, she could even interact with the physical world while a spirit, although the things she could do were limited to what a weak spectre would be capable of. Still, with the effective ability to become a ghost whenever she wanted, Wonder Woman’s options are far more open than anyone realizes, even when trapped.

This power has appeared in modern times, too. She regularly uses this ability to connect with her lost Amazonian sisters, even when they are dimensions away. Once, she even used this to locate Artemis’s spirit in the underworld and brought her physical form to stand alongside her. Wonder Woman can literally force herself into other dimensions by sending her spirit, although so far, she’s only shown that she can do this in magical realms that are connected to Greek mythology, so there could be major limitations that we just don’t know about.

Wonder Woman has a whole array of powers that, in my opinion, go vastly underutilized. Which of Wonder Woman’s forgotten powers would you love to see make a comeback? Leave a Comment below and join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!

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