The Atom frees the Kandorians, who then destroy Brainiac, and the other heroes, including a returned Green Lantern, stop Lex's satellite attack before Hawkman and Hawkgirl's son kills him. With their daughter's existence exposed, Clark and Diana break away from Luthor and work with Batman's resistance to overthrow him. Eventually, Diana and Clark's daughter, Lara, who had been kept secret from the villains controlling the government, arrives to help her parents. Diana is by Captain Marvel's side as he dies.

When Brainiac invades Metropolis, the three of them fight back but Brainiac eventually forces Superman to stand down because he has the bottled city of Kandor hostage. Along with Superman (with whom she shares a long-standing romance) and Captain Marvel, she is forced to work for Lex Luthor, who has covertly taken control of the United States. The Earth-31 version of the character first appeared in the first sequel to The Dark Knight Returns, The Dark Knight Strikes Again, by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. The Diana of Earth-31 (as The Dark Knight Returns' world was known in earlier DC continuity) is different from her counterpart in the main DC universe in many ways but is still recognizable as a powerful Amazon warrior, even though her relationship with Superman completely changed her destiny.ĭiana does not actually appear in The Dark Knight Returns, but she is referenced, with Superman's internal monologue recounting how she returned to her Amazon home after superheroes were outlawed. In the alternate future created in the classic Batman story The Dark Knight Returns, the world has become a very dark place and many of DC's most famous heroes have either met their ends or been twisted into unrecognizable versions of themselves.

Wonder woman ba al midico