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I just watched the 1974 Wonder Woman TV movie which acted as pilot for the 1975 TV series. Unlike Justice League cartoons, she didn't use any superpowers. All she used was her brain and her skills as a warrior. Upon being asked how she travelled so quickly, she also told about her invisible plane which flies faster (I don't know she was lying or not).

In the TV series, can she fly? Is her skin bulletproof etc? Has she got super strength? Is she speedy?

Or, is she just like Batman in the 1974 TV series?

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  • Are you sure you watched the pilot of the TV series? There was a TV movie in 1974 starring Cathy Lee Crosby. That version of Wonder Woman had no powers. The Lynda Carter TV pilot which aired the following year showed her having powers.
    – phantom42
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 15:00
  • @phantom42 What is it: youtube.com/watch?v=amIxivB3QT0
    – Doctor Doom
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 15:01
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    That's the 1974 TV movie. It was intended as a pilot, but wasn't picked up. The Lynda Carter version was produced separately and turned into the full series.
    – phantom42
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 15:03

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After reviewing the 1974 pilot episode (preview available here) I've identified several instances where Wonder Woman demonstrates superheroic powers;

1) Catches a javelin in mid-air. Javelins generally travel around 70-100mph so this is certainly unlikely.

2) Her cigarette lighter works perfectly after having been submerged a few minutes earlier.

3) In this goon fight, she manages to disable several henchmen despite the fact that her blows clearly aren't connecting, nor would be sufficient to knock them unconscious.

4) She breaks down a door. It looks kinda sturdy.

But seriously, according to this wiki page ABC openly admitted that the decision to retool her character was a mistake. The show achieved "respectable" ratings (industry code for 'dreadful') and the decision was made to remake the show more closely aligned with the comicbook original in 1975.

The 1975 Lynda Carter version shows Wonder woman possessing a wide range of powers including the ability to dodge (or deflect) bullets, super-strength, the ability to jump (and fall) great heights, superhuman stamina, etc. These powers supposedly came from her belt.

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From the Wiki site for the show, it identifies Lynda Carter's version of Wonder Woman having and using superpowers. This is in explicit contrast to the 1974 Cathy Lee Crosby version (which you saw) which calls out that her version did NOT have superpowers. Relevant excerpts noted below. Bold italic emphasis mine.

Movie - Cathy Lee Crosby version It had its origins in a November 1975 American television movie entitled The New, Original Wonder Woman starring Carter. It followed a 1974 TV movie entitled Wonder Woman starring blond actress Cathy Lee Crosby, who neither resembled the super-hero character nor exhibited any apparent super-human powers.

TV Series - Lynda Carter Version

...Diana Prince went to work for a government agency, with Steve Trevor as her supervisor; Diana remained in her civilian identity for the majority of the tale, only transforming into Wonder Woman during the climactic moments of the episode (or on those occasions that truly called for the use of super-powers); and Wonder Woman's dual identity became pretty much an open secret, as she made fewer and fewer attempts to disguise herself when in her Diana Prince persona.

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In the 1970's TV series with Lynda Carter, she DID have super powers, though they were from her golden belt that she wore, which was the secret to her abilities.

She did have super strength, speed, toughness, the ability to jump dozens of feet in the air, as well as having super timing and reaction speed as she could even block machine gun fire from close range with her special bulletproof bracelets.

She could not fly in the TV series as it was likely too hard to accomplish given the basic nature of special effects compared to todays technology.

I THINK they did hint at her having the jet on a few occasions though I think they only showed it once or twice.. unless I"m confusing it with the cartoons as it's been decades since I've seen the entire series.

While she did not have superman level of strength, she still had supernatural strength as she is shown easily lifting up the backs of cars with one hand, bending steel with no problems, etc.

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  • You're thinking of the 1975 TV show with Linda Carter. OP is asking about the 1974 pilot show that was never picked up by ABC
    – Valorum
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 17:02
  • Well the 1974 show was just that, ONE show. The question mentioned the TV SERIES, which it was not under Cathy Lee... but it WAS a serious with Lynda Carter. He asked twice about the TV series, so the only Wonder Woman TV SERIES in the 1970's was with Lynda Carter, so that it was I based my response on.
    – JediWitness
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 17:05
  • You're not wrong, but the reason why the OP has asked the question is clearly because he's interested in the difference between the 1974 and 1975 shows.
    – Valorum
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 17:08
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    He clearly asks on line two; "In the TV series, can she fly? Is her skin tough to bullets etc? Has she got super strength? Is she speedy?"..Thus he is asking About the series which can ONLY be referring to the Lynda Carter series as there IS no other one.
    – JediWitness
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 22:49
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It looks to me that she did have superpowers. Where the donkey disappeared and she got trapped, she picked molten rock & let it solidify in her bare hand.

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