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The Lasso of Truth is Wonder Woman's primary tool and weapon; a magical golden lariat that forces anyone captured within it to obey the wielder's commands and tell the truth.
History
Earth-Two
The lasso was created from Aphrodite's Magic Girdle by the Amazons craftswoman Metala at the behest of Queen Hippolyte, and its magical properties were granted by the Goddess herself and by Athena: the lasso forced whoever was bound within it to obey the commands of the user.[1] This effect could also be used on groups of people, although this reduced its efficiency. In addition to being physically unbreakable, the lasso was also infinitely elastic.[2] Eventually, Diana expanded the lasso's powers by coating it in special Amazon chemicals. This allowed the weapon to transform her civilian clothes into Wonder Woman garb.
However, another slightly different Earth-Two origin story tells that the lasso was designed by the goddess Aphrodite herself from the Magic Girdle along with Wonder Woman's uniform.[3]
Diana has demonstrated a remarkable level of skill with the lasso, performing such feats as twirling it to create air currents (upon which she could float),[citation needed] and spinning it to emit certain frequencies that disrupted Felix Faust's spells.[citation needed]
Post-Crisis
The lasso was forged by Hephaestus, the god of metalworking, from the Golden Girdle of Gaea (this girdle was once worn by Antiope, sister of the future Queen Hippolyta). The lasso is completely unbreakable, immutable, and indestructible. It also capable of altering in length, based on the wielder's needs. Among its powers are the ability to restore lost memories, cast hypnosis, dispel illusions, and protect those held within its circumference from magical attacks. Empowered by the Fires of Hestia, the lasso forces anyone held by it to tell and understand the absolute truth. This power in particular can be very dangerous, as not everyone is capable of facing the truth of their actions stripped bare of excuses. The Amazon Artemis, inexperienced with the use of the lasso, inadvertently drove a man to suicide after tying him in it, and the lasso reduced both Captain Nazi and Ares, God of War, to tearful surrender by revealing to them the truth of their violent actions. Recently, the lasso has been shown to actually transport Diana's mind into the mind of whoever is tied within it.
When the villain Genocide gained control of the lasso and had it implanted into her body, she used its powers to directly attack her victim's souls, and was able to bring even powerful and strong-willed opponents like Green Lantern John Stewart low with ease, demonstrating the lasso's frightening potential as a weapon in the wrong hands.
With Wonder Woman's strength and speed, the lasso can be used as both an offensive and defensive weapon.
New 52/DC Rebirth
The Lasso, also called the Golden Perfect, is a long-cherished divine relic of the Amazons, handed down by the Patron Gods to their chosen people's champion as a symbol of trust.[4] When Steve Trevor first came to Themyscira, Diana had earned the Perfect after winning the championship game to decide who would return him and his fallen brethren to Man's World. The Lasso also requires the purest heart in order to wield it, meaning between two users the Golden Perfect chooses the wielder it has judged most worthy.[5]
Over the following years Diana and various others would discover some of its unique powers and properties, such as tethering hearts and minds together so various individuals could better understand one another, creating a telepathic rapport between anyone and everyone holding onto it, and enabling language translation and memory/emotion sharing.[6]
The Lasso also boasts a powerful binding and sealing ability, seeming to pulsate with an ornate energy force which can entrap and tame the souls of gods and demigods alike.[7] It can also be used as a lifeline in order to seek out those who are lost to the user, but this requires an emotional connection to someone for this to work.[8]
It also forces those entrapped by the Perfect to face their own falsehood.[9] Individuals who have been altered in a metaphysical manner are forced to undergo a biophysical reset when ensnared by the lariat, making the enhanced revert back to their base self. This can relieve an individual from the effects of toxins or poisons, as well as cease the effects of mind control.[10]
Notes
- Wonder Woman's proteges, Donna Troy and Cassie Sandsmark, also used lassos, the former using Donna Troy's Lasso and later the Lasso of Persuasion, and the latter using the Lasso of Lightning.
- Diana's evil counterpart, Superwoman, used the Lasso of Submission.
Trivia
- In The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman, Diana refers to the lasso as female, using the pronoun "she".[13]
- Because demons are "made of lies," when lesser ones are bound by the Lasso of Truth their bodies reject the truth and explode.[14] In the DCAU, this aspect is toned down to the lasso causing the bound demon great pain.[15]
- Psychologist William Moulton Marston, who created the character of Wonder Woman, was also involved in the creation of the polygraph, which may have inspired the Lasso of Truth.
See Also
External Links
Footnotes
- ↑ Sensation Comics #6
- ↑ The Flash (Volume 2) #219
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wonder Woman #45
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #4
- ↑ Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #5
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #10
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #7-Wonder Woman Vol 5 #23
- ↑ Forever Evil #6
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #27
- ↑ Wonder Woman (Volume 5) #30
- ↑ Comic Cavalcade #26
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 DC's Very Merry Multiverse #1
- ↑ The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman #2
- ↑ JLA: Black Baptism #1
- ↑ Justice League Unlimited (TV Series) Episode: The Balance