I'm not certain if this has been covered yet, I seem to post before looking and this thread is no exception.

We had the opportunity to meet the Amazons in issue 2 of this series and I have to wonder, are the Amazon women as strong as Wonder Woman? If so what other abilities do they poses? Are they literally a nation of Wonder Women?

I'm of the impression that the Amazons were/are fierce warriors but are they Super Human in power? As of the old universe, Wonder Woman was granted powers by peripheral means,blessing of the Gods at the moment of her creation. Now she is a Demigod, daughter of Zeus and born to the Queen of the Amazons.

In this issue, Aleka (an Amazon) challenges Diana to a duel in front of the rest of the nation and the Queen. It's established in issue 1 that Wonder Woman has been living outside the Amazon nation for some time so it could be concluded that all of her super heroic feats would have been known, so why challenge the princess of the Amazons with the knowledge of all that she can do unless there was a clear chance that Diana could be bested. This challenge entails that Aleka and Diana are physical equals . . . but they couldn't be. Diana is a Demigod.

*

Aleka is made to look like an amateur but the scene is puzzling. We learn that there is some history with Aleka and Diana in issue 0 but nothing really clarifies what level the Amazon women might be playing at

Again, is there literally a nation of Wonder Women?

nope, i don't think so..... but i think they are stronger than normal humans. I guess Aleka was just arrogant enough to challenge Diana despite her superheroics.. however maybe she wouldnt have if she had known the Diana was a demigod

I don't think so either.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are stronger than Humans. Perhaps as strong as human limitations will allow? They were granted Sanctuary and Immortality by the goddess but that's really all we know.

I feel that Wonder Woman has to be unique among the Amazons in this respect.

Maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

i assumed they are stronger than normal humans because Aleka was providing some challenge to Diana

I think that's an excellent conclusion to come to! I came to the same conclusion but it occurred to me to ask why that would be? There's no evidence to support that other than the challenge to Diana and I'd really like to see this defined.

Yes they are stronger than human being, but Wonder Woman I think is the strongest... U can see this on issue 0 when children amazons show there strength in training

So how did they get that strong?

@Press Oblivion: i was always under the impression that all amazons were like in Olympian condition and there were a few that stood out past that but WW was the cream of the crop the best of the best

@SoA: That's what I think.

amazons are super powered,they are way stronger and faster than peak humans,but wonder woman is much,much more powerful than all of them combined,the reasons are different depending the version,pre 52 wonder woman had god like powers,not even all the amazons together could compete with that.

now in the new 52,diana is a semi-goddess,and once again she is in a league of her own,unreachable for the other amazons.

when she was a kid she already showed that,but since she was a kid,her power wasn't as developed as it is now,and her power keeps getting higher putting her even further from them,who knows how powerful she'll become..

I feel likeNew 52 Diana isn't at her peak. Considering she needed a power of Hermes to fly I'm wondering if she cwill also be granted other skills or skill boosts yet to come.

So I guess much more above average amazon. However breaking a Gl construct with no hesitation is pretty impressive to, something I don't think normal Amazons could replicate as easily.

OK, I did a little research and found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazons_%28DC_Comics%29

I have a vague recollection of reading about this before

the Amazons were created by the goddess Artemis from the souls of women who had died at the hands of men, and were given new and stronger bodies, made from clay transformed into flesh and blood

I guess that I should have looked this up before bothering you guys. But now here is a new question with the advent of the new 52, this whole clay thing is lost to the back issues of the old administration, what is the new status of the Amazons? Are they humans or Divine creations imbued with incredible abilities?

@Wboy: new 52 wonder woman recived her flight from hermes like pre 52 wonder woman,but just in a different way.

normal amazons are way stronger and faster than peak humans,but nowhere near wonder woman level,even now in the new 52.

and you're right,diana isn't at her peak yet,her power keeps getting higher,she showed that she has super speed in issue 13,and in issue 14 she was destroying giant rocks with ease,her power level keeps getting higher as the time keeps passing by,we have to wait,obiously this is an slow process,she will keep showing higher feats in the next issues.

My guess is the amazons received gifts from the gods.

@Press Oblivion: i don't think the divine origin is true post Flashpoint. Diana showed absolutely no regard for Artemis and actually beat her to a pulp(which she deserved). And if Artemis had created the Amazons i think a douche like her would have gloated at Diana saying she created her mother and her entire race...

now it has got me thinking if the amazons in the new 52 are actually immortal( unaging). if Azzarello is following the myths exactly than they cannot be, however it raises a conundrum since in the myths Hippolyta was the queen of the Amazons before the Trojan War which is traditionally believed to have been fought around 1194 BC making her around 3000 years old.

In the New 52, Wonder Woman got some training from Ares and in Greek mythology, the amazons were more associated with Ares (and descended from Ares). In ancient Greece even the amazons had shrines and were worshipped so I would assume the amazons are immortal both in greek mythology and in the New 52 mythology.

@colonyofcells: Amazons were not immortals in greek mythology... in fact the tradition of amazons mating with sailors and raising the female children from the union was speifically developed to explain how a race of all females living in an island are not extinct in the span of a generation. And just because someone was worshipped and had a cult in classical Greece doesn't equate to them being immortal. Many heroes were worshipped in antiquity and they may have had one godly parent but they were not immortal themselves. for instance the greek hero Diomedes was widely worshipped in Italy, there are shrines to Helen and Menelaus in Laconia, Agamemnon was worshipped in Mycenae etc

@cloudzackvincent said:

@Press Oblivion: i don't think the divine origin is true post Flashpoint. Diana showed absolutely no regard for Artemis and actually beat her to a pulp(which she deserved). And if Artemis had created the Amazons i think a douche like her would have gloated at Diana saying she created her mother and her entire race...

now it has got me thinking if the amazons in the new 52 are actually immortal( unaging). if Azzarello is following the myths exactly than they cannot be, however it raises a conundrum since in the myths Hippolyta was the queen of the Amazons before the Trojan War which is traditionally believed to have been fought around 1194 BC making her around 3000 years old.

You bring up good points here!

@Press Oblivion: another question problem with the Amazons being immortal in the New 52 is, wouldn't it lead to overpopulation in Paradise Island since they mate thrice in a 100 years...

If they don't show any old amazons, I would assume all the amazons are young and immortal like pre-flashpoint. In our current time, we look back on the amazons and will tend to think of them as immortals similar to hero worshippers or ancestor worship.

@cloudzackvincent said:

@Press Oblivion: another question problem with the Amazons being immortal in the New 52 is, wouldn't it lead to overpopulation in Paradise Island since they mate thrice in a 100 years...

Yeah, that makes sense.

@colonyofcells said:

If they don't show any old amazons, I would assume all the amazons are young and immortal like pre-flashpoint. In our current time, we look back on the amazons and will tend to think of them as immortals similar to hero worshippers or ancestor worship.

That's interesting.

My guess on the current amazons is that they are maybe descended from Ares so are immortal or Ares gave them immortality in ancient Greek times. Children of amazons are also immortal. The amazons can die which is probably why they like to have children. The male children of the amazons also seem to be immortal and are serving the god of fire. I also don't remember seeing any old male children of amazons and they all seem to be immortal, both the male children and the female children.

@colonyofcells: so u r saying if they don't show any old Atlantean it would mean there are no old Atlanteans? And u said Amazons can die, but how? in battle? how many battles do u think they fight? against who?

I am not saying they cannot be immortals.What i m saying is at tis point anything is possible, but the one evidence that suggests to their immortality is how Diana calls humans "mortals" in Batwoman #14

Hippolyta also don't look old at all for somebody with an adult daughter so she either has some beauty secrets or she is immortal.

I'd imagine them having a similar strength level as captain america (with the super soldier serum) maybe a little stronger. can they fly as well?

So far, they showed the amazons and they don't fly. Wonder Woman got the flying power from Hermes later on. I don't really expect to see any amazons with lots of wrinkles.

@colonyofcells said:

So far, they showed the amazons and they don't fly. Wonder Woman got the flying power from Hermes later on

Yeah, that was issue 12 of the current run.