"On one hand, said Lepore, the character has solid feminist roots. She was invented in 1941 by William Moulton Marston, a Harvard-trained Ph.D. psychologist-cum-advice columnist for Family Circle magazine. Marston had been brought on board by the company that eventually became DC Comics to help deal with a public relations problem. The company's first two superheroes, created in the late 1930s, had become controversial. "Superman looked a bit like a fascist — he's an ubermensch. Batman carried a gun and was quite violent," explained Lepore."