Etta Candy

Etta Candy
Etta Candy in Wonder Woman (vol. 5) #10 (2016). Art by Nicola Scott.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceSensation Comics #2 (February 1942)
Created byWilliam Moulton Marston
H. G. Peter
In-story information
Full nameEtta Candy
Team affiliationsA.R.G.U.S.
United States Air Force
United States Army
United States Navy
Supporting character ofWonder Woman

Etta Candy is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly in association with Wonder Woman.[1] Spirited and vivacious, with a devil-may-care attitude, Etta debuted as a young white woman with red hair in 1942's Sensation Comics #2, written by Wonder Woman's creator William Moulton Marston.[2]

Enrolled in the fictional Holliday College for Women (and often accompanied by her fellow students, "the Holliday Girls"), Etta would become a constant feature of Wonder Woman's Golden Age adventures, effectively functioning as both the hero's plucky sidekick and her best friend. Unapologetically proud of her plus-sized figure (and vocal about her love of sweets), "Etta's appearance was a stark contrast to the svelte, wasp-waisted women depicted in most comic books, and Etta was a brave and heroic leader who was always in the thick of the fight beside her friend Wonder Woman."[3] Though appearing less frequently in the Silver and Bronze Age, Etta was a recurring presence in Wonder Woman's supporting cast throughout both periods. She would be re-imagined in March 1987[4] by comics writer/artist George Pérez as part of his post-Crisis relaunch of the Wonder Woman mythos. This milder-mannered version, a former U.S. Air Force captain and intelligence officer, is not presented as Wonder Woman's best friend, but rather as a genial ally among a larger cast of supporting characters.[5]

In 2011, Etta was again updated as part of DC Comics' company-wide New 52 continuity reboot. Still an American intelligence specialist, the rebooted Etta Candy is a Black woman, whose revised history with Wonder Woman restores several Golden Age elements, notably her wise-cracking joie de vivre and her status as the hero's ever-present best friend. Additionally, the New 52 Etta is queer, shown to have a romantic relationship with Barbara Ann Minerva, the British archeologist who would become Wonder Woman's arch-foe the Cheetah. Etta's brassy queerness brings to the surface a consistent lesbian subtext[6] present in William Moulton Marston's original Golden Age characterization of a woman joyously defiant of sex-gender norms.

Beatrice Colen portrayed Etta in the 1970s Wonder Woman series. The character made her cinematic debut in the DC Extended Universe in the 2017 film Wonder Woman, played by Lucy Davis. She has been portrayed in animated film by voice actors Julianne Grossman and Adrienne C. Moore.

  1. ^ Jimenez, Phil (2010). The Essential Wonder Woman Encyclopedia. Del Rey Books. pp. 74–75.
  2. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 36. ISBN 978-1-4654-8578-6.
  3. ^ Hanley, Tim (2014). Wonder Woman Unbound: The Curious History of the World's Most Famous Heroine. Chicago Review Press. p. 21.
  4. ^ Wonder Woman (vol. 2) #2
  5. ^ Jimenez, (2010) pp. 406-407.
  6. ^ Berlatsky, Noah (2015). Wonder Woman: Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peter Comics, 1941-1948. Rutgers University Press. pp. 128–186.