The Purple Ray is an imaginary healing device presented in Wonder Woman stories of DC Comics. This is a very powerful healing device and it can heal almost all the injuries and diseases. In the pre crisis storyline when Steve Trevor crash landed on Paradise Island, he had fallen into the sea and remained there for many days.Wonder Woman saved him from the sea and discovered that he had received many injuries.

At this time Wonder Woman created this purple ray to heal his wounds.Later the Purple Ray was modified and used to transfer powers of Amazons to Donna Troy, the Wonder Girl and the younger sister of Wonder Woman. Gradually after many years, the purple ray started generating some technical problems which resulted into weakness of Donna Troy.

Teen aged superheroes of ‘Teen Titans’ compelled Donna during the period of her weakness to reveal her past to them. Later the Amazons solved the problem and mended the Purple Ray. After this, the Purple Ray was once used to revive the ‘Beast Boy’; Changeling, and in the process his powers were also increased somehow.
Apart from healing, the Purple Ray also possesses destructive powers. It destroys or burns if overloaded. Once, Love God ‘Eros’ lost his mind and tried to kill Steve Trevor.

During the battle the Purple Ray was overloaded and there was a fire on Paradise Island. Amazons had to repair it and then use it to heal Steve’s injuries. The Purple Ray also cured the God Eros of his craziness. Once, the Purple Ray was also used to destroy ‘Shadow Monster’ who had come to destroy Paradise Island.
In the post crisis stories it is mentioned that ‘Baroness Paula von Gunther’, best friend of Wonder Woman, had helped to make the Purple Ray perfect. The Purple Ray can cure almost all kinds of injuries but some wounds caused by Gods or their agents and cancer cannot be cured by it. There is a drawback of the Purple Ray that if one is exposed to it longer than a particular time or repeatedly, the body loses its natural healing power. Small doses of the Purple Ray are safe.

Once, a blackguard agency of US government attacked Paradise Island to know the technique behind the creation of the Purple Ray. At that time Amazons introduced ‘Purple Death Ray’. This is the time when Wonder Woman was imprisoned illegally and tortured. In another comic named; ‘Secret Six’ an Amazon woman was presented who used to handle the maintenance of the Purple Ray. She used to do different experiments to know the healing powers of the Purple Ray. In one story the Amazons are shown living on Venus in 853rd century where they used the Purple Ray to bring their warriors back to life during the war.