Wonder Woman #10
written by George Perez and Len Wein, art by George Perez and Bruce Pattinson




Synopsis: Zeus is sitting around scratching his ass when Pan stops by and suggests that maybe Zeus should consider raping everyone on Paradise Island. Well, not in so many words, but that's the gist - seems he's trying to convince Zeus that the amazons, and Diana in particular, have proven worthy of his favor after their mighty deeds.

Meanwhile, the amazons are debating whether or not to share their knowledge with the outside world. Some say yes, Hippolyta says no, because she's very isolationist.

Just then! Zeus shows up and he has a suggestion for Diana - how about she have sex with him? Only, since it's Zeus, it's not really a suggestion. Still, Diana refuses. Zeus, naturally, throws a petulant temper tantrum. Hippolyta intercedes and rebukes him for being such a colossal douchenozzle. He decides he's just going to kill them, when suddenly, he vanishes!

Turns out that the goddesses of Olympus have finally just about had enough of his crap. Though they can't exactly overrule him, they force him to at least hold a trial. That trail involves Diana heading through the secret portal beneath Paradise Island - the one the amazons have been charged with keeping sealed all these centuries - and defeating the ancient evil within. If she wins, great. If not, Zeus will kill all the amazons.

Diana agrees, partially because she really wants to learn the secret of the portal, which Hippolyta has kept from her. Hippolyta is pretty bitter about this entire situation, and for darn good reason. But there's not a whole hell of a lot she can do, so Diana suits up in her coolest looking armor and enters the portal...

...where she's attacked by the hydra! TO BE CONTINUED!!! My Grade: A+


Notes: First, this cover is excellent. The best of the series so far, which is a real compliment given how good Perez is. Interestingly, there are two versions of this cover. For some reason, the direct edition was a gatefold, but the newsstand version was not, even though they cost the same. I'm not sure why they didn't send the gatefold to newsstands, but, here it is:




Beyond the cover, this is, for me, by far the best story of the series so far as well. Everything the series is about is front and center here, the subtext turned into plot, themes made action. Perez has been laying the groundwork for this all along, with details like the mystery gun on Paradise Island getting a callback when Diana finds empty bullet casings inside the portal.

More importantly, of course, the origin story of the amazons, given in issue #1, gets its full payoff here. This story is all about not just gender roles, but specifically sexual power, sexual politics and male entitlement, as embodied by Zeus. It's a really bold, daring storyline, and it's also handled with a very deft touch in this issue - everything is done for a purpose, but it's also done perfectly in character for everyone involved. This is really a powerful and I dare say groundbreaking story for mainstream superhero comics.

As much as this issue is about Diana, it's really about Hippolyta. As she says at one point, "we retreated to this island because I once allowed a brutish demigod to treat me like a dog! must we now all suffer for refusing to allow it again?!" We'll be getting into this much more over the course of this four-issue arc, but the stakes of the arc - and the whole series so far - are laid out right there. It makes plain the idea that Paradise Island is less a paradise than it is a defense mechanism, a retreat, a response to a deeply traumatic event that the amazons (and Hippolyta) have never really fully healed from. Diana isn't just fighting to save them from Zeus, she's symbolically (and maybe literally) trying to save them from the prison they've put themselves in as a result of Hippolyta's rape thousands of years ago. They can only be saved, not by locking the darkness away in their hearts - made very literal by the evil contained within their island - by by confronting their secrets, bringing them out in the open, and rendering them powerless.

Great job. So far, anyway. But setups are a lot easier than payoffs. Will the rest of the arc live up to the promise of this issue? We'll see.

I was completely unaware that the direct edition of #10 had a gatefold cover.

So glad you're enjoying this series even more than I did!

Wonder Woman #12
story by Len Wein and George Perez, art by George Perez and Bruce Patterson




Synopsis: We have three stories going at the same time here. First, Hippolyte is fighting her way through the caverns beneath Paradise Island. Meanwhile, back in America, Steve Trevor and Etta Candy are at Steve's childhood homem, where his father has just died, leading to much reminiscing.

Which is a bit of a coincidence, because in the main story, Diana has just met a mysterious warrior woman who... is Steve Trevor's mother!

Wait, what?!

Yes, sink your teeth into this one: Back in the days after the war, Steve's mother was a test pilot. One day her plane hit a mysterious magical storm and crash landed on a strange island (sound familiar?). On the island, Steve's mother - who, I should add at this point, is named Diana - happened upon the amazons right as they were in the middle of a deadly battle against Cottus, the demon imprisoned beneath the island.

Her warrior instincts kicking in, Diana Trevor jumped through the breach, firing her handgun and driving back Cottus just long enough for the amazons to seal the door again - with her inside. Where she died at Cottus's hands. Now, her spirit has been released by Hades to speak with Diana and explain the whole plot of this entire series. Why did the amazons have a gun? Why did Ares choose to use Steve Trevor's plane as his weapon against the amazons? Why is Diana named Diana - and why does her outfit have so many echoes to American military symbolism? Now we know the answer to all of it!

Meanwhile! Hippolyte is in trouble, because Pan the goat god is trying very hard to kill her. He's not doing so well, so, as soon as Diana comes out of her dream meeting with Steve's mother, he changes tactics: He tricks Diana into jumping through a wormhole to attack the Manhunters. With her out of the picture, he can focus on Hippolyte. Things looks grim for her. And they become even grimmer when she realizes that the giant statue she is making her last stand in front of isn't a statue at all - it's the petrified form of a still-living Heracles!

TO BE CONTINUED!!

My Grade: A for Wonder Woman, F- for DC Comics for giving a big F U to their fans. See below.


Notes: Gee, did that bit about the Manhunters and the magic wormhole seem to come out of nowhere and have absolutely nothing to do with anything? That's probably because it did come completely out of nowhere and had nothing to do with anything.

No blame to Len and George here, they're doing what they can with the absolute garbage DC is forcing on them. This is the second time in less that a year that the Wonder Woman relaunch has been forced off the rails by a lame company-wide crossover which Diana has essentially nothing to do with, but which they are required to reference and tie into, consequences to her own story be damned.

I have no patience any more for this sort of editorial malfeasance. Right in the middle of a truly great storyline, in the key issue that explains the entire series, Diana suddenly gets hijacked into a grade-Z claptrap crossover for literally no reason. Do they really think that this horsecrap is going to convince a reader of Wonder Woman to buy Millennium? Or that anyone not reading this book is going to buy this issue because it has a Millennium logo on the front? And even if anyone did so, is the possibility of raising sales by 1% an adequate tradeoff for royally screwing narrative momentum and potentially ruining everything George has been setting up for over a year?

There's NO REASON for this crossover to happen. Newsflash, DC: Diana can appear in your stupid Millennium mini-series without needing to shoehorn it into this arc! If you really need her in it so damn bad, you can reference it after this arc is over! Hell, Marvel had just done Secret Wars a couple years ago when this came out, and they went an entire year without referencing the fact that half the characters were appearing simultaneously in an entirely different universe!

Gol dang, dude. Garbage.

Anyway.

The story itself was really good, and very well paced. George and Len had a real trick here, because the only real action in this issue takes place in Hippolyte's subplot, which is wisely used as a frame story, bookending all the flashback stuff with both Diana and Steve. It's very well done, with nice mid-story cliffhangers crosscutting between the three stories to keep them all moving forward dramatically. And it's really satisfying to see how much sense everything makes sense when they finally pull together all the threads the title has been carefully laying out over the course of the first year.

The cover for me is another instance where the coloring maybe doesn't quite suit George's art. It's a very stark, graphic design, but that runs counter to the fine linework George uses. This sort of coloring scheme would look great with Alex Toth. It looks muddy with Perez. I like the design, but the execution is not there for me, which has happened a few times with his covers from this period.

Wonder Woman #13
story by Len Wein and George Perez, art by George Perez and Bruce Patterson




Synopsis: Everything hits the fan!

Hippolyte is pretty startled to see Heracles, turned to stone, apparently holding up the weight of Paradise Island, Atlas style. She doesn't have much time to think about it, though, because she immediately stumbles into the lair of a murderous cyclops. Then it's the turn of Zeus and company, watching from the comfort of their living room sofa, to be shocked, because among the skeletons in the room is one that clearly belongs to Pan the goat god. But if he's dead, then a) who is the current Pan, who b) convinced Zeus to do this whole stupid test of the amazons?

Zeus gets pretty riled up about being deceived, but Hera calls him out on his crap - he can't pin this on fake-Pan, because it's his own epic dumbassery and incessant misogyny that led to these problems. Zeus doesn't like being called out, but Hera informs him that she and the other goddesses are sick of his crap, so he better fix this, or else.

You go, Hera!

Just, you know, 3000 years too late. But, better late than never I guess.

Meanwhile, Diana is stuck in a complete horsecrap crossover, so Hermes zooms in, informs her that corporately mandated crossovers that capriciously ruin storylines for no benefit whatsoever are, in fact, terrible. So he whisks her right back to her own storyline, you know, the one was as readers actually care about. He informs her in the process that the whole test was a big deception, and that she needs to go save her mom from the cyclops guy.

That she does, only to immediately be attacked by a minotaur and a demon lady. The demon lady gets killed, but the minotaur proves tougher - right up until the cyclops decides to eat him. The minotaur fights back and both of them pitch into the abyss, never to be seen again.

So. Hope you're following all this, because it gets more complex. Harmonia - the insane daughter or Ares from previous arcs - shows up, only with the evil vanquished and Ares' madness apparently calmed by his defeat at Diana's hands, Harmonia's insanity has also been lifted. She now gives them a magic amulet which they use to free Heracles from the curse that has turned him to stone.

Heracles' pain causes Hippolyte to collapse, because only she can hear his screams. The terrible bond between them - forged by rape - still binds them. Diana uses her lasso to literally tie them together, showing them both the truth of the other's soul. They share each other's pain, and the release of this frees Heracles from his curse.

Unfortunately, this causes a massive explosion that threatens to destroy everything by unleashing the demonic power caged beneath the island. Diana manages to hoover up all the demonic power into the amulet, but then she's stumped what to do with it. Luckily, Ares shows up and is like, hey, all that overwhelming power of destruction? How about you give it to me. Diana thinks this is a bad plan, but the alternative is the amulet - and the island - blowing up - so she gives him the amulet. He runs off with it, giggling inappropriately.

THE END! Except, obviously it's not the end, especially since there's a tacked on ending where Hermes shows up and demands that Diana return to DC's stupid-ass crossover. Eff that.

My Grade: A.


Notes: First, a quick note - this cover doesn't do anything for me. Not one of George's better designs. Just boring for me.

So, the "Challenge of the Gods" arc ends in this issue, at least, according to the editorial labels slapped on the covers to make sure you know this is a self-contained event arc. However, the story doesn't really end in this issue - there are tons of loose ends still loose - and in fact quite clearly and appropriately ends in the next issue. So why isn't next issue called "Challenge of the Gods part V?" Because the fighting ends in this issue and next issue is "just" the conclusion that gives all of the action emotional resonance? Isn't that, like, not only part of the story, but in fact the entire point of the story?

Anyway, what is in this issue is excellent. While this arc is partially about Diana's journey of self-discovery, it's equally - and maybe even moreso - the story of Hippolyte, and how the trauma of her rape continues to affect not just her, but by extension the rest of the amazons and even the gods themselves. The symbolism of Diana binding them together with unbreakable chains is a perfect metaphor for how this act of violence and betrayal has forever bound them together intimately. Heracles' punishment - an eternity of pain and suffering as a living statue condemned to the netherworld - is, again, a power symbol of how this bond of violence goes both ways, trapping not just the victim, but also the victimiser.

There's a lot more about that in the next issue, but while most of this issue is devoted to action and plot threads being tied up, it's still the scene between Hippolyte and Heracles that forms the center of this issue, just as the exploration of how Zeus and the male gods treat women is the center of the whole arc.

It's very interesting, powerful and thoughtful stuff. In addition to everything else going on in this arc, it stands as maybe the most complete examination of sexual assault in mainstream superhero comics.

Now if only DC had given it the respect it deserved and not undermined it at every turn with this Millennium garbage.

I'm an issue or two past the latest review here. It has gotten pretty good and kept my interest. I was wondering what the hell that Manhunter thing was about that Hermes told Wonder Woman to look into. That was really random. I thought it might be some tie-in thing from the time. Thanks for the clarification.

The Perez WW was collected into a series of trades, but they are all out of print now. 

-M

Wonder Woman #14
story by George Perez and Len Wein, art by George Perez and Bruce Patterson




Synopsis: Diana flies back into the pit to find her mother. Instead, she finds Heracles! After the events of last issue, Hercules is now holding up Paradise Island - and if he falters, it will pretty much land right on Hippolyte, who is unconscious at his feet.

Diana jumps in to help Heracles, and Zeus finally realizes he's been a gigantic toolbag. So he whisks them out to safety and ends the Trials. Outside, the Amazons are pretty surprised to see Diana come flying out with Heracles of all people in her arms. But he asks them to listen while he delivers a heartfelt apology for, you know, being a rapist.

The Amazons are happy to accept his apology, though, because it allows them to finally let go of the injury that has been a black cloud over their whole society for 3,000 years. Meanwhile, up in godland, Zeus likewise apologizes to Hera for being such a complete jackass for, well, all eternity. And the hits keep rolling in - while this is happening, in Oklahoma, Etta Candy and Steve Trevor declare their love for each other! Did not see that coming, but it make sense. I like it.

Hippolyte heals and she and Hercule reach a private rapprochement. He then ascends to Olympus, having finally paid his debt to the Amazons. Hippolyte goes back and convenes a council of Amazons, where she decrees that they must learn more about man's world, because remaining in self-exile is no longer an option - or needed, after the events of this arc. So they decide to send Diana back to America to act as emissary.

Diana flies back to Boston, where she reunites with the professor and Vanessa. And prepares to start the new chapter in her life. THE END!!

My Grade: A.

Notes: Great, great cover from Perez. This scan doesn't do it justice.

The apology from Heracles and the resulting response from the Amazons is a great moment, symbolizing the power of forgiveness, but also highlighting how the psychic scars from rape can linger long after the act. The joy they feel at finally allowing this burden to be lifted from them is an unexpected and unexpectedly powerful moment.

I will say I was a little iffy on the idea of Hippolyte and Heracles starting a romance, though. The possibility is only briefly touched on, but the juxtaposition between this and the apology for rape that directly preceded it was a little offputting. I might have preferred this was left to their next meeting. We'll see how it plays out I suppose.

As I mentioned last issue, despite clearly being part of the same story as #10-13, this issue is not branded as part of that arc. No idea why. This issue makes no sense without #10-13, and "The Chellenge of the Gods" arc makes no sense without this issue, as it provides an ending for everything in the arc. A real head scratcher.

This issue also provides a tidy closing of the circle for the entire series so far. Everything Perez set up in #1 and the following issues gets tied up here. There are a couple diversions in the first 14 issues - notably the dead end Cheetah appearance in #9 - but in general, the whole series up to this point can be seen as one big story. With this concluding chapter, Diana is now fully reset, integrated into the DCU, and ready to move forward.

In those terms, this is a really impressive achievement by Perez. There have been a few moments in the first 14 issues where you wonder "where is he going with this?" Now we know, and it turns out everything is pretty darn well thought out. It's all cohesive, not to mention really good.

I am concerned about where Perez is going to go from here. Obviously, given that he stayed on the book as writer until #62, he has more stories up his sleeve. But this storyline so completely ties up everything he's been doing so far that it's almost like he's going to have to begin again now. We'll see.

The lettercolumn this issue deals with #10, but surprisingly, only one letter tackles the tough subject matter of Zeus' attempt to sexually subjugate the Amazons. I am a bit surprised; I was expecting a lot more discussion of this. Maybe next issue I guess? I have to assume people are writing in about it, and it would seem odd to me to tackle this subject matter in the comic istelf but sidestep discussion of it in the lettercolumn. I'll be curious to see what people think.