We are only a few weeks away from the cinematic release of Wonder Woman, and for longtime fans of DC’s poster-girl, June 2nd can’t come quickly enough. Diana Prince fans can’t wait to see her origins explored on the big screen, with the movie promising plenty of time spent in Themyscira where Diana (Gal Gadot) was raised and trained, as well as the story of how she first came to our world to become its protector. It’s a story that is familiar to most comic fans, and she’s not the only character in it that audiences are excited to see. As well as the Amazons of Themyscira, someone from our world has a major part to play in Wonder Woman’s story: Steve Trevor (Chris Pine).
Originally conceived as a love interest for Wonder Woman, pilot Steve Trevor has been a part of DC mythology since he first washed up on Diana’s home shores. In the decades since then, he has grown, changed, and even been rebooted and resurrected once or twice, and now he’s going to be starring alongside Diana in the upcoming film. Brought to life by Chris Pine, fans are excited to see how this version of Steve plays out on the big screen - and while we wait, we’ve got a few lesser known facts about Trevor to whet your appetite.
16. Steve's Mother Landed On Themyscira First
Most people know that Steve Trevor’s plane crashed on Paradise Island, leading to his discovery of the Amazons and Wonder Woman’s mission to bring him home. What fewer fans realize is that he wasn’t the first pilot named Trevor to land here. Steve’s mother, Diana Trevor, was also a fighter pilot. She was willing to give up her career to become a full-time wife and mother when she met a man she loved, got married, and had a baby son, but she also loved flying so much that she decided to go up and test out one final jet.
That plane was struck by lightning and crashed on Themyscira, in the middle of a battle between the Amazons and Cottus. Diana, ever capable and a good fighter herself, joined the fray and saved several Amazons before being killed. She became a hero in Amazon mythology and was given a warrior’s funeral… and later became the namesake for Wonder Woman herself.
15. His Blonde Hair Was Meant To Show His Submission To Wonder Woman
A ton has been written about the original creator of Wonder Woman, William Moulton Marston, and his… interesting ideas about power and dominance. A psychologist as well as a comic book writer, Marston is well-known for including themes of BDSM in his work on Diana Prince - some of which were ahead of his time, like his creation of a male ‘damsel in distress’ for Wonder Woman to save. Others, however, are a little more out there, like his choices for his characters' hair colors.
Steve Trevor was created as a blonde, while Wonder Woman is a brunette. While this might appear to be a simple artistic choice, Marston actually decided on these hair colors because he believed that blonde men are more submissive to brunette women. He called this color combination a perfect pairing for a dominant woman and a submissive man, and chose it to reinforce Steve Trevor’s role as the gentleman in jeopardy.
14. He Tried To Cheat Wonder Woman Into Marriage
Some time later, the dynamic between Steve and Diana changed considerably, leading to a strange kind of love triangle: Diana Prince mooned after Steve Trevor, who mooned after Wonder Woman…who was Diana Prince! During this time, Steve desperately wanted to marry Wonder Woman, who continually refused. He often took her refusals poorly, telling her that if she loved him, she would marry him, and turning to contests to make her prove her love and try to win her hand. Of course, Trevor wasn’t content with simply winning the contests honestly, and he actually cheated in order to try to trick his ‘love’ into wedlock.
In one contest, he had to pick Wonder Woman out of a crowd in disguise, so he planted a government tracking device on her. He used a tracking device again when he suspected Wonder Woman of cheating on him with MerMan. This version of Trevor was jealous, manipulative, and far from the upstanding love interest that we would hope to see today.
13. He’s Not Wonder Woman’s Only Love Interest…
Steve Trevor may have been Wonder Woman’s original and best-known love interest, but he’s far from the only DC character that she has been romantically linked to. MerMan, mentioned above, was an early contender for Wonder Woman’s affections, and he was something of a boyfriend to her when they were both young. She also had a connection with another underwater hero, Aquaman, although these two haven’t shared more than a kiss or two over the years (and Queen Mera would probably like to keep it that way).
Other JLA colleagues who have been connected to Wonder Woman include Batman (who kissed Wonder Woman before the two decided to just be friends), and of course, Superman, who many see as the perfect partner for the Amazon princess. In addition, she’s had brief connections with Trevor Barnes, Tom Tresser (aka Nemesis), and it’s even been suggested that she had some relationships with other Amazons before leaving Themyscira.
12. …And She’s Not Steve Trevor’s Only Love Interest, Either
Although Steve Trevor hasn’t had quite as complex a romantic history in the DC universe as Wonder Woman has, he has had at least one other relationship since his creation. In post-Crisis DC Comics, Steve Trevor was re-created as a much older, more platonic friend to Wonder Woman, rather than a romantic interest. Instead of pining after her, Steve instead marries another woman: Etta Candy.
Etta has been a part of the Wonder Woman comics since the early days, although her character has changed significantly over the years. Post-Crisis, she was an aide to Steve Trevor, and madly in love with him. Eventually, he returned her feelings, and the two got married. After the New 52 reboot (and the more recent Rebirth), this marriage disappeared. This is Steve’s only other real relationship in the comics, though, which is unsurprising given that he was created specifically as a romantic interest for Diana.
11. He Has A Super-Powered Doppelganger
Although Steve Trevor is not a superpowered character, a version of him has been. At one point, Doctor Psycho learned that he could use Steve Trevor as a medium for ectoplasm from the spirit world. He kidnapped Trevor, strapped him to a table and was able to use him to create a whole new being - produced from the ectoplasm and Trevor’s fantasies of himself as a superhero.
This new creation was called Captain Wonder (an obvious reference to Wonder Woman), but he was a villain, not a hero. He has superhuman strength, speed, and agility, can fly, and can use a certain degree of mind control. Captain Wonder battled Wonder Woman a few times, along with love interest Silver Swan. A short-lived villain, Captain Wonder hasn’t appeared in the DC universe since Crisis on Infinite Earths, although it’s always possible that he could make a return at some point in the future.
10. He Once Had Diana Prince Pose As Wonder Woman
In the early days of Wonder Woman comics, Diana Prince kept her alter-ego an absolute secret, even from Steve Trevor, which led to the weird Steve/Diana/Wonder Woman love triangle mentioned earlier. This particular weirdness got even stranger in one particular issue (Wonder Woman #157), however, when Steve Trevor asked Diana Prince to pose as Wonder Woman - so that he could have a fake date with the woman he loved.
In this story, Steve was about to be sent on a suicide mission, and wanted to say his goodbyes to Wonder Woman, but couldn’t find her (because he wouldn’t leave Diana alone for a moment). So he asks Diana to pretend to be the Amazonian superhero and go out with him, even going so far as to call her Wonder Woman and kiss her while pretending she was someone else. Strange enough considering that they were the same person (and in love with him); downright creepy when considering that Trevor believed them to be completely different people.
9. He And Wonder Woman Have A Daughter
Eventually, after much pestering and manipulation (as we’ve already seen), Golden Age Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman did get married, and they even had a daughter named Lyta Trevor, short for Hippolyta Trevor. The family lived on Earth-2 (after DC decided that their Golden Age stories existed in this alternate universe), and Lyta was raised between the worlds of her parents. She spent summers training on Themyscira, but she went to school in Man’s World.
Later, Lyta took up her mother’s superheroing duties, becoming Fury. She fell in love with Hector Hall (Silver Scarab), and the two formed Infinity Inc. Fury, named after the Furies of Greek myth, had the same powers as Wonder Woman, inherited from her mother and trained in the same way. Post-Crisis, the Golden Age/Earth-2 Wonder Woman was wiped from canon, and so Fury’s backstory changed, turning her into the daughter of Helena Kosmatos instead of Wonder Woman. In the New 52, however, Lyta’s mother was once again Wonder Woman (although her father here is Steppenwolf, not Steve Trevor).
8. Wonder Woman Killed Him
In the animated feature film Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, everything has changed... including Wonder Woman and her relationship to Steve Trevor. In this version of the DC universe, the Amazons (led by Wonder Woman) have taken over Great Britain, Aquaman and the Atlanteans have taken over most of the rest of Europe, and the two factions are engaged in a war that has shaken the planet to its core.
While Amazon vs Atlantean battles rage, Lois Lane is on the ground gathering intel about the conflict. Steve Trevor appears as a military man, charged with getting Lois out of the war zone and back home, but when he comes up against a battalion of Amazons, his luck runs out. After interrogating him with her lasso of truth, Wonder Woman takes it upon herself to kill the man who would be her lover in another universe. It’s a particularly brutal scene, as Diana wraps her golden lasso around his neck and slowly rises to the ceiling, hanging him while her soldiers watch.
7. He Was A Member Of The Justice League…
Steve Trevor has been connected to the Justice League of America for a long time, although his involvement has taken a few different forms throughout the years. Primarily, he works with the JLA because of Wonder Woman, and his connection with her led to more of his work with the other members of the team. He’s been a Justice League liaison for the UN, and he's been appointed to watch over Diana Prince by the US government at times as well.
However, Steve Trevor had a much bigger part to play in the New 52 version of the Justice League. After Wonder Woman became romantically involved with Superman, Steve Trevor cut off contact with her and the primary JLA. He was then approached by Amanda Waller, who was looking to create a new Justice League - one that includes counterparts for every hero in the original Justice League, in case someone should go rogue. At Waller’s insistence, Trevor headed up this team for its short life.
6. …And A Member Of Team 7…
Originally a Wildstorm Universe team, Team 7 was amalgamated into the mainstream DC universe during the events of Flashpoint. The team was originally a superpowered military special ops unit, but in the New 52, it is a covert military team designed to deal with the metahuman ‘problem’ when need be. Headed up by John Lynch, the team has had a few different rosters, with characters like Black Canary and Deathstroke signing on at various times. Both Amanda Waller and Steve Trevor are also connected to the team, with Trevor having been revealed as a previous member. He has since left the team, and he was not a particularly vital member when he worked with Team 7.
However, his time with Team 7 mirrors the work that he did for Waller’s alternate Justice League and the work that he has done for ARGUS. As a non-powered human intimately connected to so many of the world's caped crusaders, it’s not surprising that he has often popped up in this kind of superhero-focused military unit.
5. …And He's Led ARGUS
Fans of the Arrowverse and Suicide Squad will be familiar with ARGUS - the Advanced Research Group for Uniting Super-Humans - a secret branch of the US military created specifically to deal with superhumans (both allies and threats). ARGUS is usually associated with Amanda Waller, who is the best-known head of the organization and the liaison to the Justice League (two positions that tend to be combined in the DC Universe).
However, Steve Trevor has also been established as the head of ARGUS and liaison to the Justice League, before Waller took over and when the purpose of the organization was primarily to provide backup to the League. His connection to Wonder Woman made things a little difficult, however, and he was ousted as head, to be replaced by Waller. He does, however, continue to work with ARGUS, and it was as head of the organization that Waller created the alternate Justice League led by Steve.
4. He Has Been Killed And Revived
Like so many comic book characters over the years, death is no problem for Steve Trevor, who has died and been revived more than once. During the Silver Age, when Wonder Woman was cut off from the Amazons and living as the depowered Diana Prince, Steve Trevor was killed off the first time, spending a few years dead in the DC universe before Aphrodite resurrected him as the brunette Steve Howard. Howard was quickly killed off himself, to be replaced by Steven Trevor, a version of Steve Trevor from an alternate Earth. This version was also the result of Aphrodite’s meddling, and involved memory wiping everyone involved so that they would believe he was the original, ‘true’ Steve Trevor.
After Wonder Woman found out about this, Aphrodite merged the memories of the original and third Steves, essentially creating an ultimate Steve Trevor, which conveniently solved the problem of multiple versions of the character running around in classic comic style.
3. He’s Been Voiced By Nathan Fillion
Nathan Fillion, nerd icon, is no stranger to superhero movies. He has a cameo in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, but he’s also known for his work voicing characters in the DC animated universe. He’s lent his vocal talents to Hal Jordan/Green Lantern and Spy Smasher in the past, and he was also the voice of Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman animated film.
Released in 2009, the film is a loose adaptation of the "Gods and Mortals" comic arc. The movie also includes Trevor’s crash landing on Themyscira and Diana’s decision to return him to the world of men - the standard Wonder Woman origin story. Because Fillion did such a fantastic job of voicing Trevor in the animated universe, he may well have been a contender for the live-action role. Perhaps it was his age or his brown hair that prevented him becoming the face, as well as the voice, of Wonder Woman’s right-hand man.
2. This isn't his first live-action appearance
Steve Trevor may not have appeared on the big screen before joining the DCEU, but the character has appeared in live-action in the past. Trevor (played by Lyle Waggoner) was a major character in the iconic ‘70s Wonder Woman TV series, although he was split into two characters - father and son (Waggoner played both). Interestingly, Waggoner was also among the final candidates to play Batman on the small screen, though Adam West ended up winning that role.
Since then, Trevor has been languishing in live-action obscurity, primarily because there is little reason to see Trevor without seeing Wonder Woman, and Diana Prince has been sadly neglected in the world of superhero movies. Wonder Woman will mark the first time that Trevor makes onto to the big screen in live-action - although he did have a cameo of sorts in Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice. In the film that introduced Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), Steve Trevor is seen in a photo of Diana Prince from 1918. Wonder Woman will be the first that we see of him in the flesh, though.
1. Chris Pine Nearly Played Green Lantern Instead
Back in 2015, rumors were swirling around Chris Pine’s leap into the world of superhero movies. Already known for his work in the Star Trek reboot films, the actor was rumored to be up for the role of Hal Jordan in the DCEU - aka, the Green Lantern. That summer, however, it was confirmed that Pine’s talks with DC had landed him the part of the comparatively obscure Steve Trevor, instead. The actor later revealed that he had never been offered the Green Lantern role and that he was simply interested in putting the rumors about it to rest. However real his chances of sporting the will-powered green ring were, we may never know.
Co-incidentally, DC very nearly gave Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern a love story in the comics. The pairing was planned in the ‘70s, but ended up being scrapped for legal reasons. But who knows, maybe the DCEU could even revive it, turning Trevor into a Lantern in a completely crazy new twist! A Green Lantern hasn't been cast yet, we're just saying...
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Do you know of any other obscure factoids surrounding Wonder Woman's main squeeze? Would Chris Pine have been a better fit for Green Lantern, or are you just psyched to see him play Steve Trevor? Let us know in the comments!
Wonder Woman hits theaters on June 2nd, 2017.
