Artemis

Origin

Artemis in her signature green and white costume

Wonder Woman first encountered Artemis when she journeyed to Bana-Mighdall looking for the Cheetah, who had stolen her Lasso of Truth. Wonder Woman fought and was defeated by the Bana Amazon's chief warrior, the Shim'Tar. The god Hermes was in love with Wonder Woman and destroyed Bana-Mighdall in retaliation, rendering the Bana Amazons homeless, including Artemis. They entered into an alliance with the sorceress  Circe, who told them that she would create a new home for them if they served her during the War of the Gods. They decided to attack Themyscira, since they held Wonder Woman responsible for the loss of their original home. A fiery, red-haired young Artemis, then only fourteen years of age, stood in front of the Bana's ruling council and protested the action, as she believed that Amazons shouldn't fight other Amazons. But her protests went unheeded and the Bana Amazons went ahead with their assault.

During the attack on Themyscira, Circe betrayed the Bana Amazons and attempted to destroy both tribes by transporting Themyscira into a demon dimension. The Bana and Themysciran Amazons had to put aside their differences and fight alongside each other in order to survive the constant onslaught of demon armies. Wonder Woman eventually forced Circe to return Theymscira back to the real world, but while only a few months had passed on Earth during this time, an entire decade had passed in the demon dimension. Artemis was now a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties and had become one of her tribe's greatest warriors, being battle-hardened by ten years of fighting against the demonic hordes.  

Artemis Becomes Wonder Woman

Artemis battles Diana in the Contest

Artemis as Wonder Woman, with her weapon of choice

Desperate to improve her image, Artemis agreed to work with a public relations representative in an effort to make herself a more likable Wonder Woman. Unfortunately, the representative secretly worked for the villainous  White Magician, who was determined to bring about Wonder Woman's demise. Though Artemis was starting to turn things around at this point, doing positive things such as helping downtrodden immigrants and abused women, her arrogance again got the better of her and she was lured into a dimension of Hell by the White Magician, who had gained extreme power there. Artemis fought the Magician, but his powers were too great in this dimension and she was killed in the battle, proving Hippolyta's visions of Wonder Woman dying to be true.

Requiem

Back from the dead

Return to the Amazons

Artemis eventually decided to retire from the World of Men and returned to her own people, the Bana Amazons, who now shared the island of Themyscira with the Themysciran Amazons. But there was great unrest on Themyscira during this time as Magala, a rogue Amazon sorceress, had incited another war between the two Amazon tribes. Artemis quickly proved herself the greatest warrior of the Bana Amazons and was was crowned Shim'Tar of her tribe. As the new Bana Amazon leader she hoped to end the conflict and open negotiations, but instead wound up in personal combat with Queen Hippolyta, who had assumed the role of Wonder Woman after her daughter Diana's recent death (though like Artemis, Diana had later returned from the dead). During their battle, Artemis reminded Hippolyta that the reason she was the new Wonder Woman was because her actions had led to the death of Diana, and also of Artemis herself. Shocked into her senses, Hippolyta renounced her crown, as did Diana, and Artemis and Themyscirian General Phillipus were elected co-leaders of the united Amazon tribes.

Amazons Attack

Artemis in civilian clothes

During the OMAC attack on Themyscira during Infinite Crisis, it was decided by Artemis and Phillipus that in order to save the Amazon race, they needed to teleport the entire island and all of the Amazons to a new hidden location.The Amazons resurfaced some time later, once again under the leadership of Hippolyta, but unknown to the rest of the Amazons, Hippolyta had fallen under the evil influence of Circe. Hippolyta then declared war on the human world. Artemis and Phillipus were assigned to oversee the attack, but soon lost faith in Hippolyta since her actions seemed less than honorable. However, they did not do enough to stop the conflict, and as a result the Amazons were cursed by a disguised Granny Goodness. Their memories were erased and they were then scattered to different corners of the world under false identities. Artemis appeared near the Great Wall of China in travelling clothes, with no memories of her Amazonian life. 

Artemis Enslaved

A few months later the Olympian Gods returned to power, and Zeus restored the memories of the Amazons and brought them back to Themyscira. Artemis, however, was not among them. During her period of memory loss she believed herself to be a normal person without superhuman powers, and while in this vulnerable state she had been kidnapped by Mr. Smyth, the ruthless leader of a notorious slavery ring. By the time her memory fully returned, she had been bound with special shackles and kept constantly drugged in order to make her too weak to escape. Her captors also dressed her in a copy of her green and white costume, perhaps as a humiliating reminder of her former superhero status. Mr. Smyth then tried to brainwash the captive Artemis by using a frightening combination of drugs and interrogation, but she successfully resisted through sheer force of will. Artemis was later freed by the banshee villain Jeannette , and took violent revenge upon her captors.

Other Media

The animated Artemis

Artemis appeared in the 2009 Wonder Woman direct-to-video animated film, voiced by actress Rosario Dawson. There are some differences between the animated Artemis and one from comic book continuity. The Bana Amazon tribe is never mentioned in the film, and instead Artemis has always been one of the Amazons of Themyscira. She is also older than in comic book continuity, having fought alongside Queen Hippolyta in many battles, and is considered one of Themyscira's greatest warriors. However, her fighting skills are surpassed by Hippolyta's young daughter, Diana, who wins the contest to become Wonder Woman. Artemis is assigned to oversee the contest rather than participate in it. The animated Artemis has the same long red hair flowing from a topknot that she does in the comics, though her armor and mode of dress is somewhat more modest.