Not quite sure if I can get away with calling it Weekly Wonder Woman, given that’s it’s been three weeks since the last round-up, but seeing as there’s not actually been much out (with one honourable exception), I’m not sure it makes much difference.
Anyway, follow me after the jump for a proper look at Wonder Woman #30, as well as a couple of guest appearances by Diana and/or her lasso in Justice League #29, Justice League Beyond 2.0 #19 and Batman/Superman #9.
Plot
Hades and Poseidon are discussing whether to intervene in the war between Wonder Woman and the First Born. Hades convinces Poseidon not to intervene.
Meanwhile, Diana is rallying her army. Unfortunately, some of her army doesn’t want to be rallied and her mother is still a statue, despite Hera’s best efforts.
The Amazons aren’t especially chuffed by the presence of male gods Hermes and Dionysus on their island, either.
And someone appears to be causing ructions in their ranks. Strife, maybe?
However, Diana takes charges to ensure that Zeke at least is safe.
Meanwhile, down in the underworld, Hades is tormenting his father Kronos, while handily explaining his plan to him:
Unfortunately for him, the First Born has other ideas:
Is it any good?
Meh. It’s okay. But after the previous issue’s home run, this feels like Azzarello returning to bad habits. We also have Goran Sudžuka instead of Cliff Chiang on art, which is never as good as the real deal.
The bad habits hardly need listing but as a mnemonic, here you go:
- Minimal action
- Everything feeling like set-up for some future action that never happens
- Bad puns
- Confusing dialogue
- Hints at some higher plot arc that never happens
- Wonder Woman being weak and generally being pushed around or subservient to everyone else
- Wonder Woman apologising to a man about something
- A poor grasp of Greek myth
- The gods hardly being god-like at all
- General gross out ideas
And we have all of that in spades, whether it’s a war that doesn’t happen, intercession by someone in the Amazons’ ranks without any kind of explanation, Hera unable to turn Hippolyta back into a real-live girl, Kronos being tortured by Hades despite being ostensibly free to rule the White Island in myth, the First Born having relatively easy access to the god of the underworld, who’s not able to deal very well with him, the Amazons having a beef even with gods and not appreciating what happens to those who disobey goddesses, and Cassandra being forced to eat human flesh.
There is a little balance at least, with Wonder Woman taking charge of her army towards the end of the issue and the First Born doing something with Hades. Yet after the promise of issue #29, this feels like more of the usual, rather than the beginning of Azzarello’s home stretch. More set-up, more twists, when we should be straightening by now.
Still, somehow, it still feels like the wind is changing and we might finally get to see the conflict and excitement Azz has been promising for gods know how long.
Rating: 3/5
Justice League #29
Meanwhile, over in Justice League, the end is thankfully also in sight for the Forever Evil storyline, even if we’re going to have to put up with Futures End for a bit instead. The harbinger of our salvation here is Steve Trevor, who has brought Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth along to help out. But he doesn’t last long before being zapped, so it’s up to Cyborg to give Diana her property back and save the Justice League. Maybe next issue. Or the next.
Justice League Beyond 2.0 #19
Over in the near future, the Justice League is busy wondering if the Wonder Woman who’s just arrived from a parallel universe (apparently bringing some of the Futures End storyline with her) is the real one or not. Especially given she apparently married the parallel universe’s Lord Batman. But hey ho, what do you know? It turns out she killed him.
Batman/Superman #9
Back in Batman/Superman, it’s also parallel universe time but this time it’s Earth 2 that’s getting all the parallel action. If you remember, there was a great big crossover between the universes, where out Batman and Superman met with the older Batman and Superman of Earth 2. Then they forgot all about it. Oops.
But now, they’re having flashbacks and they’re remembering that time they met Wonder Woman and Darkseid, too.
Which is odd, because I could have sworn it was the Earth 2 Wonder Woman who did that. Did that happen in another issue? Oh well. Shows you how wrong you can be.
