Have you ever wondered where Wonder Woman got her magic lasso? Did you even realize that she DIDN’T have it in her first appearance? Your Major Spoilers Retro Review of Sensation Comics #6 awaits!

SENSATION COMICS #6

Writer: William Marston (as Charles Moulton)
Penciler: H.G. Peter
Inker: H.G. Peter
Colorist: Uncredited
Letterer: Uncredited
Editor: M.C. Gaines
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: 10 Cents
Current Near-Mint Pricing: $2600.00
Release Date: April 8, 1942

Previously in Sensation Comics: The creation of Wonder Woman came after extensive research and preparation, as her creator and his wife/collaborator were both psychologists. The idea of having Wonder Woman fight her enemies “with love” as much as with violence was his, while the idea to have her be a woman was reputedly hers. Both William and Elizabeth Marston were also the creators of a test that became part of a prototype of the modern lie detector system, which makes for a bit of dramatic irony when you think about Wonder Woman’s most iconic accessory.

No, not the invisible jet.

This particular story opens with Steve Trevor getting a promotion to the rank of Major, with a temporary appointment to commander of the entire intelligence agency. There’s also the small matter of death threats, which Diana Prince discovers when she’s preparing to go on a two-week vacation, as he will be working with the regular secretary of the Colonel for whom he’s covering. As for Diana, she gets home just in time to join in some Amazon ~~reindeer~~ kanga games.

Wearing a mask to protect her identity, Diana wins a lasso competition, then surprises everyone with her identity. She helpfully reminds us that none of the other Amazons has ever seen her in costume at this point, which is important, given that later versions of the story have her donning the costume before leaving home. The roping competition is a bit of important synchronicity, as Athena and Aphrodite have a surprise for the Amazons’ favorite daughter, a special lasso that cannot be broken, infused with their godly might.
Comic art in the Golden Age of Comics was a mostly matter of speed more than quality, but there’s something about Peter’s art on Wonder Woman that feels almost like classical Greek art, befitting the subject matter of these stories. (He also draws some of the most striking “crazy eyes” of anyone this side of Gary Frank.) With her new lasso in hand, Wonder Woman prepares to return to the United States of America, but has to first test her lasso on fellow Amazon, Mala. Rather than force her to tell the truth, though, the lasso makes those wrapped in it obey any command Wonder Woman gives, including the order not to follow her princess back to Washington. Returning to work, Diana finds that Steve’s threat has turned into a promise, as his office has been bombed in her absence; the work of Baroness Paula von Gunther!
Paula is a real piece of work, by the way, following Steve’s boss, The Colonel, on his trip across the Atlantic, blowing up the radio room and summoning her Nazi allies to extricate her and sink the Allied vessel.

But even German torpedoes aren’t faster than the speed of Mercury!
The addition of the lasso to her arsenal completes Wonder Woman’s traditional aesthetic, as well as gives her a method to bind her enemies and force them to obey, an important piece of Marston/Moulton’s thematic toolbox. That underlying theme of bondage, submission, and control is well beyond the scope of Retro Review, but I can tell you that Sensation Comics #6 features this charming story, as well as The Black Pirate, Mr. Terrific, Wildcat, Little Boy Blue, and the Gay Ghost, providing a specific origin for Wonder Woman’s most powerful weapon and earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. In a modern story, I’d probably be irritated that such an important development came six months AFTER the hero’s debut story, but for some reason, it works here.

If only the poor Gay Ghost could say the same.

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