William Moulton Marston--who wrote under the pen name Charles Marston--was a Harvard-educated psychologist and inventor, who developed, with the help of his wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, the systolic blood pressure test, which is a major component of the modern polygraph, or lie detector. His most well-known creation, however, is probably Wonder Woman, the first and most famous female superhero, whose popularity has endured for more than 75 years.
Through his work as a psychologist and development of the blood pressure test, Marston came to believe that women were superior to men, finding them to be more honest and loving in particular. He ultimately concluded that a female-dominated society was both preferable and inevitable, and set about propogating this philosophy through his work in both comics and psychology.
Wonder Woman first appeared in 1940, inspired by both Marston's wife and a former student of his, Olive Byrne, who lived with the couple and maintained a relationship with each of them that continued throughout their lives. Marston developed the concept with the blessing of Bill Gaines, co-publisher of All-American Publications, home of Green Lantern and the Flash, among others. Marston sought to subvert the trope of a superhero who defeats his enemies through fighting and violence, instead creating a character that conquered through love. Following a small introduction in All-Star Comics #8, Wonder Woman made her cover debut in Sensation Comics #1. Marston would continue writing and developing the character over the next six years, in both Sensation and her self-titled series, until his death in 1947.
