Why did feminist Wonder Woman gain such popularity in the 1940s?

In an era where women are often talked about (by red pill and others) as wanting to be nothing more than housewives supporting their husbands, why did the concept of Wonder Woman gain popularity? (The comic has also never been out of print since 1941).

She was strong, independent, autonomous, not submissive to any man, from an island of all women like herself, and with superhero powers.

Why did the creator, Dr. William Moulton Marston, say this?"

In a 1942 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote: "Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman."

He's saying that girls want force, strength and power and they weren't finding it in being housewives playing a supportive role. He's saying, yes, women are more peace-loving, tender and submissive than men - but they aren't fulfilled in the current roles they're expected to fill (or most aren't).

It must be noted here that as a psychologist, he has theories about submission being vital for keeping peace - for both men and women.

He said this about men:

"About male readers, he later wrote: "Give them an alluring woman stronger than themselves to submit to, and they'll be proud to become her willing slaves!"

He also said:

Marston “wanted to impart to his readers a specific message about female superiority,” Hanley writes. Marston’s feminism didn’t hold that men and women were equal. Instead, he believed that women were superior and could bring about a more just and peaceful society than what men had achieved so far, especially in the midst of World War II.

And:

To illustrate the inevitable matriarchal utopia, Marston created what Hanley calls an “inverted world” in which, instead of being the damsel in distress, Wonder Woman rescues the main male figure, Steve Trevor. Wonder Woman continually rebuffs Steve’s advances, casting aside the idea that all women want is a husband and children.

Why did the concept of Wonder Women gain such popularity with girls back then?

http://www.comicvine.com/wonder-woman/4005-2048/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Moulton_Marston

http://bigthink.com/Picture-This/wonder-woman-feminist-icon-feminist-failure-or-both

My theory?

WW1 had not long happened - young women's parents would have either had firsthand experiences of it or the after-effects of it. And while we what commonly see of the 20s, 30s and 40s is glamor - that was just the rich and middle class. The others lived in poverty and despair. For women and children, life was particularly harsh. A woman couldn't make enough money to support herself and children. If she was married, she could be cheated on, abandoned and have her husband spend his wages on alcohol, prostitutes and gambling. Many women and children lived in abject poverty, with many children dying before reaching their teens.

Increasingly, women wanted independence and their own money.

People think that there was a long empty gap between the suffragettes and the feminism of the sixties onward. This is untrue. Women fought hard for the right to study and/or earn a decent wage in the 30s/40s/50s.

Women who study and engage in paid work today are standing on the shoulders of those women.