Professor Moulton And The Wonder Women

Now that ‘Wonder Woman’ by Warner Brothers is a smash hit, it might be time to delve into the… interesting life of her creator, Professor William Moulton Marston.

As many know, Marston was one of the creators of the polygraph lie detector test, which in part inspired Diana’s golden lasso of Hestia, a device utilized in the big screen film but also a common weapon in the comics and animated adaptations.

Marston originally pitched DC/National Comics on ‘Wonder Woman’ based on the fact that no other publisher was producing a comic book with a strong female lead.  The subsequent ‘Wonder Woman’ comic book empowered young female readers, but at the same time titillated males, especially troops deployed overseas during World War II, because Marston– working under the pseudonym of Charles Moulton– filled her comic exploits with images of bondage and sadomasochism.   These racy images flew over the heads of most kids, but they were there.

What not many knew is that Marston actually believed and lived by his beliefs of female superiority.  He was married to Elizabeth Holloway Marston and had children with her, but was also romantically involved with Olive Byrne, with whom he also sired children.  And… by the way, Elizabeth and Olive were also romantically involved.

Professor Marston and his Wonder Women and their Wonder Children

Keep in mind this was the 1940s.  Times were much different.  For one thing any same sex coupling was seen as deplorable.  But polygamy? That was a new level of outrage.

A new film, ‘Professor Marston and the Wonder Women’ exposes this hidden lifestyle.  Both Holloway and Byrne were inspirations for what Marston put into Wonder Woman.

Now that the big budget ‘Wonder Woman’ film is a rousing success, it appears to be time to peek into the life of the man that created her.  Thus comes ‘Professor Marston and the Wonder Women’, which goes behind the scenes to examine the complicated life of the man that created her as well as the women who inspired him.

A short teaser trailer played before some screenings of the ‘Wonder Woman’ movie.  But now a full trailer has been released.  You can watch it below

In a superhero origin tale unlike any other, the film is the incredible true story of what inspired Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston to create the iconic Wonder Woman character in the 1940’s. While Marston’s feminist superhero was criticized by censors for her ‘sexual perversity’, he was keeping a secret that could have destroyed him. Marston’s muses for the Wonder Woman character were his wife Elizabeth Marston and their lover Olive Byrne, two empowered women who defied convention: working with Marston on human behavior research — while building a hidden life with him that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.

This is an independent film, so it won’t be playing at most multiplexes.  Most likely, it will hit up the film festival circuit and then go straight to streaming.

Angela Robinson wrote and directed the film, which stars Luke Evans as William Moulton Marston, Rebecca Hall as Elizabeth Marston and Bella Heathcoate as Olive Byrne.

Are you intrigued to peek behind the curtain to see what went on behind the creation of Wonder Woman?