Giganta

Giganta
Giganta in Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #175; art by Phil Jimenez
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceWonder Woman #9 (Summer 1944)
Created byWilliam Moulton Marston
H. G. Peter
Sheldon Mayer
In-story information
Alter egoDoris Zeul
SpeciesMetahuman (Post-Crisis)
Evolved Gorilla (Pre-Crisis)
Team affiliationsGorilla City
Injustice League
Secret Society of Super Villains
Villainy Inc.
Secret Six
Legion of Doom
Female Furies
Suicide Squad
Notable aliasesDr. Doris Zeul
Olga
Abilities

Giganta is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as a recurring adversary of the superhero Wonder Woman, and an occasional foil of the superhero the Atom. She debuted as a brutish strongwoman[1] in 1944's Wonder Woman #9, written by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston and illustrated by Harry G. Peter, and went on to become one of Wonder Woman's most recognizable and persistent foes, appearing during every major era of the hero's comic book adventures, and adapted frequently for television and animation.

The modern incarnation of Giganta possesses the superhuman ability to increase her physical size and mass, effectively transforming into a giantess.[2] This power-set was not a feature of her Golden or Silver Age comic book appearances, but was rather introduced first on television as part of the character's adaptation for Hanna-Barbera's 1978 Saturday morning cartoon series Challenge of the Superfriends. Giganta's size-changing abilities would not be incorporated into her portrayal in DC Comics publications until 2002.

Giganta has been adapted into several Wonder Woman-related television and animated film projects. She was played by trans actress Aleshia Brevard in the 1979 NBC live-action Legends of the Superheroes TV specials, in which the character was paired with the Atom (actor Alfie Wise) for a comedic tell-all interview about their supposed "odd couple" romance. Several years prior, actor Mickey Morton donned a gorilla-suit to play a version of the character (called "Gargantua") in a 1976 episode of the ABC TV series Wonder Woman. In animation, Giganta has been played by voice actors Kimberly Brooks, Grey DeLisle, Ruth Forman, Jennifer Hale and Vanessa Marshall.

  1. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 43. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  2. ^ Greenberger, Robert (2008). "Giganta". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). The DC Comics Encyclopedia. New York: Dorling Kindersley. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-7566-4119-1. OCLC 213309017.