Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons of Paradise Island.
Physical Appearance
Hippolyta is a tall, beautiful woman with thick long black hair, Caucasian skin, and deep ice-blue eyes. Her intense beauty also comes with commanding presence and aristocratic nature. Her daughter, Diana, seems to have inherited a lot of her mother's characteristics as they are quite similar in their appearance.
Being a queen she wears golden neck and arm jewelry, along with long earrings and a tiara with a red diamond on it. She also wears a long blue leg-slit dress covering her right shoulder. She usually lets her hair down.
When she travelled to men's world, she clothed herself as a normal civillain. She wore a black shirt with purple one button suit jacket and blue skinny jeans.
The Eye of Ares on Hippolyta's tiara.
When she was imprisoned by the D.E.O. she wore an Amazonian costume, resembling an armor, which was later worn by her daughter, Diana, when she decided to go and fight Hades. Her costume included a dark red top with a sterling silver eagle emblem on her chest, sterling silver belt and tiara with the "eye" of Ares on the tiara, dark red culottes under the extension of her top, a blue-black star-spangled armored skirt and dark red thigh boots with silver details. She also wore a dark red shoulder armor, with sterling silver details, on her right arm and silver bracelets on her wrists, although the bracelet she wore on her right wrist is covered by the extension of the shoulder armor.
After she was freed by Superman and Diana, Hippolyta wore a long purple chiton with shoulder clasps.
Personality
Hippolyta, due to her role as a queen, is a very commanding and strict woman, even with her own daughter. She respects the laws of the island and follows them without exceptions.
Early life
A long time ago, Hippolyta aided Zeus in imprisoning his brother Hades in a "hell of his own making", Tartarus. Hippolyta, in order to imprison Hades had to kill the witch who served him. Zeus crafted a jewel called the Eye of Ares and gave it to Hippolyta for safekeeping, as it was the sole object that could bring Hades back to the mortal world. For Hippolyta's aid, Zeus rewarded her with Paradise Island to raise her people.
Queen Hippolyta along with the Amazons find young Diana and Steve.
Fifteen years ago, Hippolyta, along with other Amazons, found her daughter Diana playing in the jungle with a young boy named Steve Trevor. Diana had hidden the boy for years on the island without her mother's knowledge. She ordered the Amazons to take the boy claiming that she knew what needs to be done.
Hippolyta took Steve back to Man's world and since then, she hasn't returned to the island. She took care of Steve and stayed with him for a while because he didn't have anyone else but at some point she mysteriously disappeared. Steve searched for Hippolyta but he was never able to track her down.
Five years after Hippolyta's departure, Diana decided to leave the island to search for her mother.
Season Eleven
Felix Faust's spell reveals that Hippolyta is put in suspended animation and held captive by the D.E.O.
Diana along with Superman arrive at a place where she says she feels dark magics had been practiced. Diana sees some tablets with stories of her people. Superman uses his X-ray vision and realizes that someone has covered the original stonework with a new one and Diana says not just anyone could have done that. She states that these are actually messages and her mother is still alive.
Clark Kent discovers Hippolyta.
Later at Steve's apartment, Diana finds a picture of Steve with Hippolyta and questions him for her mother's whereabouts.
At the same time, a magical terrorist named Felix Faust is shown to be searching for Hippolyta, because according to him she was responsible for the imprisonment of his master. He also says he plans to use Hippolyta's daughter in order to set him free. Casting a spell, he locates Hippolyta who is being imprisoned inside the facility of a secret government agency called the D.E.O.
Meanwhile, Diana voluntarily surrenders to the D.E.O. after she is promised to be taken to Hippolyta. Instead, the director of the D.E.O. proceeds to torture Diana in order to understand the limits of her people. While trying to help her in the search for her mother, Superman, in his civilian identity as Clark Kent, breaks into a place inside the D.E.O.'s facility called the Black Room, which is full of relics and magical objects. To his surprise he also finds some kind of big urn inside of which Hippolyta is shown to be kept in suspended animation. Clark then tells Diana that he found her mother and that she is still alive, when he is suddenly attacked by Faust and a giant sea monster.
Faust reveals that he is after the jewel on Hippolyta's tiara.
Clark and Diana save Hippolyta.
Clark then comes face to face with Faust, who explains that he is after the jewel on Hippolyta's tiara, which is supposed to be the "eye" of Ares. Faust takes the gem from the tiara and throws it into the water. Suddenly an earthquake starts and a portal opens from which the God of death, Hades, emerges.
Diana then appears and gives a couple of punches to Faust, warning him to stay away from her mother. Clark and Diana collect the body of Hippolyta and Diana tries to awaken her but Clark asks her to help him in the fight.
Hippolyta angrily refuses help from doctors, claiming their people have already done enough to her.
Hippolyta asks Diana to return with her to Paradise island.
In the Black Room, inside D.E.O.'s facility, doctors try to examine Hippolyta but she refuses, saying sarcastically that they already have done quite enough for her. She then tells to Diana to leave together and return to Paradise island but Diana says as happy as she is to see her again she cannot leave because her work here is not yet done. Hippolyta says she should't concern herself about the affairs of this land but Diana replies that Hades has been unleashed and sooner or later his seeking of vengeance for the other gods will lead him to Paradise island too. So Hippolyta asks her what she will do to prevent this from happening and Diana says she will do what Hippolyta herself did once, she will fight.
General Lane accompanies Hippolyta to her plane.
Hippolyta asks her daughter when will she see her again.
At Andrews A.F.B., General Lane accompanies Queen Hippolyta to the plane, that will transport her back to Paradise Island. Hippolyta asks agent Chase, who will be the pilot of the plane, to assure her that no one will follow them and Cameron tells her that they will not be followed or tracked because the plane is actually invisible so they will barely even seen. Then General Lane assures her that she is in good hands because Chase is a very good pilot. Before she leaves Hippolyta says goodbye to her daughter, who is now an agent of D.E.O., and asks her when she will see her again. Diana says soon but Hippolyta says not soon enough and the hugs her.
Appearances
- Season Three: Asylum (Mentioned only)
- Season Eleven: Olympus
In The Comics
Hippolyta as she appears in the comics.
It all began during the cavemen period. A caveman was angry that he was banished from his tribe. He encountered a woman who offered him some compassion. Later, she was murdered which was the first woman murdered by man's hatred. During 1300 BCE, the goddesses of Greece organised a meeting and discussed the creation of beings that would fit under their ideals. They travelled to the Well of Souls, which is the place where the souls of all women murdered by man's hatred were placed. They gathered these souls and dropped them into Greece's lake. The souls were then mixed with clay and stone from the lake bed and thus the Amazons of Themyscira were born. Hippolyta was first to emerge and then her sister Antiope. The five goddesses decided that the Amazons should spread the message of peace, tolerance and equality. Hippolyta and Antiope were each given a Golden Girdle.
Hippolyta and Antiope lead for some time and built the city Themyscira. Their job to spread the message of Gaea was difficult however, because few men ever trusted the Amazons and Ares kept creating trouble for them. As time goes on, they become more isolated and their population grows due to the freeing of women from slavery. Zeus had a son called Hercules and he travelled to Themyscira with his friend Theseus. Arriving in Themyscira, Hercules demanded that Hippolyta give him the Girdle of Hippolyta. She refused, and offered to do battle for ownership of the girdle. Hippolyta won the battle and Hercules offered an alliance with them. The Amazons allowed them to stay as Antiope fell in love with Theseus and Hippolyta with Hercules. However, in his madness, Hercules drugged Hippolyta who found herself in chains the next day. Hercules' army pillaged Themyscira and stole their treasures, including the Girdle of Hippolyta. Hercules left leaving some of his men behind to keep an eye on the city. One of the goddesses granted Hippolyta strength which allowed her to break free of the chains and free the Amazons around the city. All of the Amazons fought until every single man was dead. Antiope was still angry sworing to kill Hercules. Hippolyta on the other hand saw things on a different level, explaining that this was not the way of the Amazons. Doing so would only bring them to Hercules' level. Then Antiope left, half of the Amazons choosing to leave with her and the rest staying with Hippolyta. It was the last time these two sisters would ever see each other again.
The goddesses appeared again, displeased that the amazons had failed in their mission to spread peace. The goddesses decided that the word Amazon would, from now on, be associated with death and not peace. As penance, each of the Amazons were give a pair of steel bracelets to wear forever, to remind them of their humiliation. They then began a new journey. They found an island called Paradise Island and on that island they built a new city, called Themyscira once again. As long as they were on the island, they were immortal. There, Hippolyta ruled for three thousand years.
Hippolyta creating from clay her baby daughter.
Years later Hippolyta felt a strange feeling, that feeling was that she wanted a daughter, and so the Oracle and goddesses granted her wish. She moulded a baby from clay and the last soul from the Well of Souls. A true baby, a baby of flesh, was born. Hippolyta named her Diana. Diana grew up with many sisters, though none of them were her age. Magdala, a sorceress, created an identical playmate for Diana; whom would be known as Donna Troy. When Diana turned twenty two, the deities demanded that a champion be sent to Man's World. Hippolyta forbade Diana from competing, but since the competitors were required to wear masks and hence could hide her identity, she did so anyway. Diana won and after completing one more test, she was made the champion and given a costume.
Mother and daughter as the Wonder Women.
During the Our Worlds at War story arc, an enemy called Imperiex attempted to destroy Earth, the Amazons were also involved. While Hippolyta was fighting Imperiex, Diana came to fight as well. Diana ordered her mother to leave, but Hippolyta still wanted to fight. She saved her daughter's life by pushing Diana out of the way when the Imperiex probe was about to kill her. The explosion killed only Hippolyta.
Some time later Hippolyta was resurrected by the witch and long time enemy of the Amazons; Circe as a part of a wider scheme. Enraged that Diana was being detained and tortured by the Department of Metahuman Affairs, Hippolyta rallied the Amazons and invaded Washington D.C. in an effort to free her daughter and take revenge on those responsible. The discredit the invasion brought the Amazons was the ultimate goal behind Circe's spell casting and the ire of Athena (Granny Goodness in disguise) left Hippolyta almost completely alone on Paradise Island as most of her people had been robbed of their memories and powers.
When the Deities returned to Earth, Zeus found the Amazons failing his expectations, so he created a new type of male amazons who would share Paradise Island with the older Amazons, who eventually regained their memories and returned home. Their leader, Archillies, would favor Alkyone effectively replacing Hippolyta as Queen. For her own safety, Hippolyta was placed in house arrest somewhere on the island as Alkyone also relieved Diana of her titles and rank, before intending to return Diana's clay body to the dark creature that made up the heart of Paradise Island.
Hippolyta in the New 52.
Hippolyta was freed with the aid of Donna Troy in time to hear Alkyone boast that she would gladly sacrifice the entire island if she had to, if it meant Hippolyta would endure. Hippolyta respectfully renounced Alkyone's actions, after planting three arrows in her, fatally wounding her.
In the New 52, Hippolyta is still Queen of the Amazons, who generally appears more scrapped down than previous incarnations, and she commands instant respect from her subjects, Diana included. It has been revealed that Hippolyta once had an affair with Zeus, King of the Deities, and that the product of the union is Diana. However, knowing Hera and her vindictive streak, Hippolyta chose to leave Zeus, who did not follow her, and raise Diana on her own. When Strife revealed the truth of Diana's birth, Hippolyta knew Hera wouldn't be far behind, and when the two Queens finally met, Hippolyta asked for forgiveness, some Hera couldn't give and turned the Queen of the Amazons into a stone or clay statue and her people into snakes.
Notes
- In most of her appearances in other media and in her New 52 version, Hippolyta is decipted as a blonde or at least having light-colored brown/red hair but in Smallville, like originally her first and her most appearances in the comics, she appears to be a brunette like her daughter.
- When Hippolyta is revealed to be a prisoner of the D.E.O. she is shown to wear an outfit similar to that of Wonder Woman in her appearances in the comics and other media. This costume is also the one that Diana will wear in the future, as she is seen wearing it on the cover of Olympus, Part 4. In the comics many story arcs feature an origin for Hippolyta, where she travels to men's world and becomes the first Wonder Woman years before Diana's birth.
Other faces of Hippolyta
