With Wonder Woman hitting theaters on Friday, we’re running through everything you need to know about Diana of Themyscira’s history ahead of the premiere.

Anticipation couldn’t be higher for the first, female-led movie of the current generation of superheroes — and, if you put much stock in Rotten Tomatoes ratings, it’s almost certainly not going to disappoint. But as Wonder Woman makes her solo debut on the big screen, we’re looking back at her origins and history, to give you a head start on his iconic, and doubtlessly important character before you see the film.

Wonder Woman’s Origins

Wonder Woman made her debut on the pages of All-Star Comics in October 1941, the creation of American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston, and illustrated by Harry G. Peter. (And for an incredibly fascinating read on Marston’s life and inspiration for Wonder Woman, I highly recommend picking up The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore.)

From the outset, Diana was inspired by some of the earliest feminists, most notably Margaret Sanger (who was a birth control activist and sex educator), and has rarely — if ever — strayed from that path, solidifying her place as a feminist icon in her own right.

Though she was originally sculpted from clay by Queen Hippolyta — for all intents and purposes, Diana’s mother — and given life by Aphrodite, the ever changing continuity of comics has shifted that origin by way of DC’s New 52. And that updated origin is the one that the DC movies will also be adopting, making her, instead, the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta. (A raise of hands for anyone shocked that Zeus is the father? No, I didn’t think so.)

What remains the same from the page to the screen is Diana’s home of Themyscira, where she was raised by her mother and aunts, and trained in the art of hunting, combat and strategy, alongside the other Amazonian warriors on the island.

Whilst Diana’s comic book debut came during the height of World War II, and often pitted her against the Nazis, Wonder Woman will instead take place during World War I. Her alias of Diana Prince was procured from a nurse in the army, with whom Diana exchanges money so the nurse can travel to South America to be with her fiancé, and receives her credentials in return. Wonder Woman worked under that alias, like the original Diana Prince, as an army nurse, and then later as an Air Force secretary.

With an expedited timeline for the movie, we’ll likely see a different reason for her Diana Prince alias — but it’s nevertheless an important marker in Wonder Woman’s history.

Themyscira and the Amazons

Though in its inception, the home of Wonder Woman and the Amazons was known as Paradise Island, it was later renamed Themyscira — and has become best known by that name. No man was allowed to set foot there, and the island was entirely populated by women — a point of contention for Diana when she returns with Steve Trevor (who crash landed there) and discovers the limitations placed on women by way of the society in the “World of Men.”

Hippolyta and her sister, Antiope, originally led Themyscira together — though they fundamentally disagreed on certain issues. Hippolyta believed in peace and the democratic process, whilst Antiope was more prone to physicality and violence. Antiope eventually left the island with some other Amazons, leaving Themyscira solely to Hippolyta’s rule, and the paths of the sisters never crossed again.

Whilst the Amazons remain on the island of Themyscira, they are also immortal. To an extent. Though they can be killed in battle, they will never age or die through natural means. When Wonder Woman leaves Themyscira for the World of Men, she also gives up her immortality — though she ages at a much slower rate, which would go far to explain why she looks exactly the same when Bruce Wayne encounters her in Batman v Superman.

Also of note at that the Amazons all posses powers of some kind. Other than their immortality, the Amazons also enjoy super strength, stamina and agility. There is one downfall, however, in that they also wear bracelets known as Bracelets of Submission. These were bestowed upon them by the Gods, as punishment for allowing Hercules to enter their island and lay waste to them. If their bracelets or wrists are bound together, the Amazons lost their powers. Something to keep in mind as Diana heads to war in Wonder Woman.

Diana’s Powers

Via her Amazonian heritage, Diana is gifted in many of the same ways as her sisters. She has, like them, super strength, stamina and agility, all honed by the years of training she endured. She is talented in the ways of the sword and shield, but also archery and hand-to-hand combat. Not to mention a keen strategist. And though she is incredibly compassionate and democratic, preferring peace like her mother Hippolyta, she is also unafraid of taking action to protect those unable to protect themselves.

But perhaps the most iconic of Diana’s powers come through the symbols that she wears, as Wonder Woman, the appointed protector and representative of Themyscira.

The bulletproof bracelets she wears have seen significant action in the trailer already. The Lasso of Truth has also made an appearance, and it compels anyone touching it to tell the absolute truth, something that proves to be a huge asset when Steve Trevor crashes on their island — bringing with him the wars of man. And lastly, her tiara, a symbol of her status as a princess, but also a formidable projectile — we can’t imagine it’d be painless when being brained by that with Diana’s considerable strength.