Donna Troy

Donna Troy is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is the original Wonder Girl, and later temporarily adopts another alias, Troia. Created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani, she first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #60 (July 1965) as Wonder Woman's younger sister and protégée, joining the Teen Titans during their second adventure. Donna has been commonly featured in stories involving the Titans, initially a group of superhero sidekicks which included Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad (Garth), and is typically depicted as a founding member of the team.

Donna has appeared in numerous cartoon television shows and films. She made her live adaptation debut in the DC Universe/HBO Max series Titans, played by Conor Leslie.

In May 1947's Wonder Woman #23 written by William Moulton Marston and illustrated by Harry G. Peter, the titular heroine (also known as Diana) is shown in flashback having adventures as a little girl. Twelve years later in April 1959's Wonder Woman #105, writer Robert Kanigher reprised the formula, this time featuring a flashback tale of Wonder Woman when she was a teen. Playfully dubbed "Wonder Girl" by another character, this teenaged version would return several times in flashback stories over the next several years, paralleling similar exploits of Superboy, the teen persona of DC Comics' flagship hero Superman. After the shake-up in the comics industry caused by Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, DC Comics sought to make the adventures of Wonder Woman appear more wholesome and family-friendly. The result was August 1961's Wonder Woman #124 (also by Kanigher and Andru), which kicked off a series of out-of-continuity "Impossible Tales" in which Wonder Woman appeared alongside the teen "Wonder Girl" version of herself, as well as a toddler version called "Wonder Tot", and her mother Queen Hippolyta, creating a "Wonder Family".

The "Impossible Tale" label was dropped as of Wonder Woman #150 (November 1964), though Wonder Girl continued as a regular fixture in the publication through #155 (July 1965), both side by side with Wonder Woman as well as in her own solo stories. During this five-issue period, Wonder Girl is no longer referred to as an "impossible" younger variant of Wonder Woman. Though Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman do not directly call one another "sister" in these issues, Hippolyta does refer to them as her daughters, and all three repeatedly identify themselves as a family. Additionally, Wonder Girl is temporarily promoted to the book's headliner, receiving three full-length solo stories, including top-billing with her own logo predominating Wonder Woman's on the covers of issues #152 and #153. In July 1965, Wonder Girl concluded her regular presence in the Wonder Woman comic book with issue #155, while simultaneously appearing as a member of the newly-formed Teen Titans in The Brave and the Bold #60, written by Bob Haney and illustrated by Bruno Premiani.

The Teen Titans began as a "junior Justice League" consisting of Robin (Dick Grayson), Kid Flash (Wally West), and Aqualad (Garth), the sidekicks of Batman, the Flash, and Aquaman respectively. Wonder Girl would establish herself as a central character in Teen Titans stories, continuing to appear with the team in December 1965's Showcase #59, and in their spinoff into the first volume of the monthly Teen Titans comic in January 1966. However, no narrative information regarding Wonder Girl's precise identity was depicted until July 1969's Teen Titans #22, in which Wonder Girl is unequivocally identified as Wonder Woman's younger sister, a discrete character with her own identity who adopts the alias Donna Troy. It is established that Donna had been rescued from an apartment fire as an infant by Wonder Woman. Unable to find the baby's birth family, Wonder Woman brings her to Paradise Island to be raised by her mother Hippolyta, eventually enlisting the Amazon scientist Paula von Gunther (herself an expatriate from "Man's World") to use advanced technology to grant the girl powers like Wonder Woman's.

Donna remains with the Teen Titans until the series' cancellation with issue #43 in February 1973. She is still part of the team when the comic picks up again with #44 in November 1976. Teen Titans is canceled again in February 1978 with issue #53, with Donna and the others, no longer teens, going their separate ways.

Marv Wolfman and George Pérez revived the series yet again in 1980 as The New Teen Titans, with original members Wonder Girl, Robin, and Kid Flash joined by new heroes Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy / Changeling. Donna is romantically involved with much older professor Terry Long, but along the way is put under the romantic spell of Hyperion, one of the Titans of Myth.

Donna's origin is expanded in the January 1984 tale, "Who is Donna Troy?" Robin investigates the events surrounding the long ago fire after finding Donna's doll in a box from a coal bin. He learns that Donna's birth mother was Dorothy Hinckley, a dying unwed teen who had placed her for adoption. After Donna's adoptive father Carl Stacey had been killed in a work-related accident, her adoptive mother Fay Stacey was forced to place her for adoption again, unable to raise the toddler because of mounting expenses. However, Donna became victim to a child-selling racket, which ended with the racketeers' deaths in a furnace explosion and the fire. With Robin's help, Donna is reunited with Fay, who had married Hank Evans and given birth to two additional children, Cindy and Jerry. Donna marries Terry Long in Tales of the Teen Titans #50 (February 1985).