| Steve Trevor | |
|---|---|
 Steve Trevor as depicted inWonder Woman vol. 5 #14 (March 2017). Art by Nicola Scott and Romulo Fajardo Jr. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | All Star Comics #8 (October 21, 1941)[a] |
| Created by | William Moulton Marston H. G. Peter |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Steven Rockwell Trevor |
| Team affiliations | United States Air Force Central Intelligence Agency Justice League A.R.G.U.S. United States Army Air Forces Office of Strategic Services Justice League Dark Justice Society of America Team 7 |
| Supporting character of | Wonder Woman |
| Notable aliases | Steve Howard[2] |
GeneralSteven Rockwell Trevor is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics, commonly in association with thesuperheroWonder Woman. The character was created byWilliam Moulton Marston and first appeared inAll Star Comics #8 (October 21, 1941).[3] Steve Trevor is a trusted friend, love interest, and partner of Wonder Woman who introduced her to "Man's World", and has served as herUnited Nations liaison. He is the firstforeigner to have ever set foot onThemyscira and the first ambassador to open diplomatic relations with the Amazons.
The character has appeared in various adaptations of the comics. He has been voiced by actors such asTahmoh Penikett,Nathan Fillion, andGeorge Newbern, among others in variousWonder Woman andJustice League productions.Lyle Waggoner portrayed the character in the 1970sWonder Woman series, whileChris Pine portrayed him in theDC Extended Universe filmsWonder Woman (2017) andWonder Woman 1984 (2020).[4]
Steve Trevor first appeared inAll Star Comics #8 (December 1941).
Steve Trevor was originally introduced as an intelligence operative and officer in theUnited States Army Air Corps who became stranded on Wonder Woman's homeland where he was a herald to theAmazons thatWorld War II was occurring in "Man's World". He also developed a close relationship with the heroine. Though a military man with experience in the field, storylines involving post-Marston Steve and Wonder Woman also involved Wonder Woman coming to Steve's rescue, as well as vice versa.
The character was killed off inWonder Woman #180 (January - February 1969), shot by the henchmen ofDoctor Cyber. In aWW letter column in issue #195, artistMike Sekowsky explained, "Steve Trevor was dull and boring and I didn't like him much, so I disposed of him."[5] The character was later resurrected by another creative team.
Steve's visibility in comics varied through the 1970s to the 1990s, with his character either absent or sidelined in favour of fantasy and action-adventure Wonder Woman stories without romantic interests.
In more recent portrayals, and particularly since DC's2011 reboot, Steve is portrayed as a senior government agent andsuper spy whose close connection to Wonder Woman makes him the United States' liaison to theJustice League. In 2013, in his capacity as a skilled government agent, Steve himself became the member of a new incarnation of the Justice League of America.
The character was designed to be a complement toWonder Woman's character.Chris Pine described Trevor as a "rogue-ish, cynical realist who's seen the awful brutish nature of modern civilization" and added he is a "worldly guy, a charming guy".[6] Steve Trevor gave Diana the nickname, "Angel", because having been delirious from his injuries, Themyscira seemed heaven-like with her being the "angel" that saved him. Throughout his comic book appearances Steve is often shown to have a strong moral compass and has been depicted as jaded and even insubordinate towards his superior officers if he deems their decisions to be unethical.[7][8]
Steve Trevor is the first foreigner to have ever set foot onThemyscira, the firstmanDiana has ever seen, and the first ambassador to open diplomatic relations with theAmazons. Trevor,Superman andBatman are the only men in theDC Universe to be grantedhonorary citizenship byQueen Hippolyta; an extraordinary feat, given thatAphrodite's Law demands the death penalty for anyman who sets foot on Themyscira. He was oftenDiana's primarylove interest and their relationship was usually a flirtatious one, yet they always remained steadfast friends. On occasion, Marston would place Trevor in "gentleman-in-jeopardy" situations as an appropriate male version of thedamsel in distress trope. His marriage proposals were often rejected, as Diana prioritized saving the world first before marriage, in accordance withAphrodite's Law.[9] In more recent years Steve and Diana's relationships in the comics have become more platonic, or at times either of their love is unrequited.[10][11]
In the original version of Wonder Woman's origin story, Steve Trevor was an intelligence officer in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II whose plane crashed onParadise Island, the isolated homeland of theAmazons. He was nursed back to health by the Amazon princess Diana, who fell in love with him and accompanied him when he returned to the outside world. There she became Wonder Woman (and also his coworker,Diana Prince).
Steve Trevor was portrayed as a blonde military hero who often fought battles both alone and alongside Wonder Woman. At the same time, he was also a traditionalsuperhero's love interest and gentleman-in-jeopardy: getting kidnapped and being rescued from peril by Wonder Woman, as well as pining after the superheroine in the red-and-blue outfit while failing to notice her resemblance to his meek, bespectacled secretary Diana Prince. Although, at times, Steve has rescued Wonder Woman.The character was purposely made blond, which stemmed fromWilliam Moulton Marston’s belief that the best romantic combination is a blue-eyed brunette girl to a light-haired man, because blond males are more submissive to brunette females, according to him.
After Marston's death, much of the original supporting cast paid less attention to him. Under writer-editorRobert Kanigher, both his and Diana's personalities were compromised considerably, with Steve beginning to seem threatened by his heroine's power, and Diana almost beginning to seem apologetic about it.
During the '50s and '60s, comic writers regularly made Wonder Woman lovesick over Steve Trevor, here a Major in the United States Army. Stories frequently featured Wonder Woman hoping or imagining what it would be like to marry Steve Trevor. As withSuperman stories of the same period, the question of marriage was never far from the couple's minds. There was also considerable attention given to the threat of the Amazon's secret identity being revealed.
Wonder Woman often found herself agreeing to Steve's contests for her hand in marriage, which he typically cheated at using government tracking equipment. Afraid that she loved someone else; Steve once again misused government spying equipment to stalk Wonder Woman, finding her with her childhood boyfriend Mer-Man; whom he felt the need to prove himself better than.[12]
In 1968, Diana chose to give up her powers and cut ties with her native Paradise Island to stay close to Steve. Trevor was killed off in the next issue. He was thus absent for the next few years of the comic. In the mid-1970s, following the return of the heroine's powers, Trevor was brought back to life by Aphrodite, and given a new identity as the brunette Steve Howard. In 1978, he was killed off again. He would be replaced in 1980 by a double from another, undisclosed dimension of theMultiverse. For the next few years the classic relationship of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor would be essentially restored, and explored with some detail. In 1985 with issue #322, writerDan Mishkin dealt with Trevor's three separate "lives", and after much explanation merged the "new" Steve with the old.
During this same period in early 1980s issues ofWonder Woman, the villainousDoctor Psycho fused Steve's image with Wonder Woman's abilities and became "Captain Wonder", sporting a costume similar to Wonder Woman's. In the final issue of the originalWonder Woman series, Steve and Diana get married.
Following theCrisis on Infinite Earths continuity reboot, Steve Trevor is the DeputySecretary of Defense and married toEtta Candy. His mother Diana previously crash-landed on Themyscira and sacrificed herself to rescue the Amazons from a monster, withHippolyta naming Diana after her.
FollowingInfinite Crisis, Wonder Woman's origin and supporting cast are revamped. Diana is no longer a recent arrival to man's world, but instead has lived in it for some time, having been involved in the creation of theJustice League of America. Although Steve Trevor still remains close friends with Diana and married to Etta, his history with Diana is not fully developed.
InThe New 52 continuity reboot, Steve Trevor is a long-time advocate for the Amazons, having lobbied the U.S. government for peace with the Amazons, arguing that they are benevolent.[13] Steve then becomes Wonder Woman'sU.N. liaison during her stay inWashington, D.C.,[14] and later becomes the head ofA.R.G.U.S. (Advanced Research Group for Uniting Super-Humans) and the UN's liaison to the Justice League. Promoted to the rank of Colonel, his assistant is Etta Candy and he has made his feelings for Wonder Woman clear to her, although his feelings were not reciprocated.[15] The heroBlack Orchid is revealed to be A.R.G.U.S. Agent Alba Garcia, working covertly forJustice League Dark to monitorJohn Constantine.[16]
Trevor is also a member of several team books, includingTeam 7, which launched in September 2012, andJustice League of America, launched in 2013.
The pre-Crisis version of Trevor appears inConvergence, where he is transformed into a vampire by vampires fromEarth-43.[17]
In theDC Rebirth relaunch, Wonder Woman's origin is retold in the "Year One" storyline. Steve crashes on Themyscira and is the sole survivor. He is saved and nursed back to health by the Amazons, and a competition is held to determine the one to take Steve and the bodies of his fallen comrades back to America, one that Diana wins. In the United States, Trevor relates to the authorities his experiences with the Amazons and Diana, and the two become allies in subsequent conflicts with terrorists, the Greek god of war Ares, a global virus, an African cult, a paramilitary group called Poison, and the supervillain groupGodwatch.
InWonder Woman (vol. 6), Trevor is killed by Sovereign.[18]
Captain Steve Trevor appears in films set in theDC Extended Universe (DCEU), portrayed byChris Pine.[26]
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