Wonder Woman #2 cover, via DC Comics.
Wonder Woman #2 — Tom King, Josie Campbell, Writers; Daniel Sampere, Vasco Georgiev, Artists; Tomeu Morey, Alex Guimaraes, Colorists
Ray — 9.5/10
Ray: Tom King has put out many of DC’s most acclaimed books for years now, but his stories set firmly within DC continuity are always a little more divisive. That’s because he writes in a very distinctive style, often treating his issues more like mood pieces rather than being concerned with moving the plot forward. On something like Danger Street or The Human Target, the story moves exactly as fast as he needs it to — but on a main line book, the calculus is a little different. That’s why I’m sure it’ll frustrate people that this entire issue takes place amid a fifteen-minute battle segment of Diana vs. the US military, combined with a lengthy flashback to the final battle of Diana’s initial tournament on Themyscira — and it is a very odd way to start a run only two issues in. But you know what? It doesn’t matter, because it’s excellent.
Face-off. Via DC Comics.
As the story opens, Diana has brought the full force of the U.S. government down on her, and Steve Trevor is sent to negotiate. Naturally, she turns down his overtures — which is exactly what Sarge Steel was hoping for, of course. A stunning segment of Diana against the entire US military ensues, juxtaposed with a one-on-one fight against a masked warrior in the colosseum of Themyscira. This final fight is much more brutal than any version of the tournament we’ve seen before, and so is Diana. Her determination, her ruthlessness, and her willingness to risk herself for what she knows is right are all perfectly in character, but dialed up for a harsher world. As for her opponent, they seem a rather random part of the issue — until the mask comes off, and it all fits together perfectly.
The Sampere/Campbell backup, which leads into Amazons Attack, also has some very strong moments as an Amazon prophet starts having dark memories of the end of the Amazons, hinting that this plot goes much deeper than any simple government aggression. It’s over relatively quickly, but nicely sets up the stakes which will be followed up on in the upcoming miniseries. It’s also good to see Yara again — hopefully Cassie follows in this book soon.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
