Weekly Wonder Woman: Justice League (2018) #1, Wonder Woman Annual #2

Star Sapphire Diana fight

Every week (or fortnight), Weekly Wonder Woman keeps you up to date on everything involving DC Comics’ premier superheroine

We have some news about Wonder Woman 2! Or at least a very broad hint about what year it will be set in and what it might be called.

The 80s hey? They’re so hot right now.

Meanwhile, Zack Snyder has been throwing out pics from behind the scenes of his recent DCEU movies, presumably in an effort to convince everyone that his cut of Justice League would have been so much better, given he’s such a Randian superman he’s off to direct The Fountainhead next. Here’s the first ever assembling of the Trinity in-costume:

VERO: Zack showing the Trinity for the first time photographed. from r/DC_Cinematic

Comics

This week had two notable appearances by our Diana (that I noticed – as always, let me know if I missed any). The first was in the latest relaunch of Justice League, which now has another over-confident Snyder at its helm – Scott.

Justice League (2018) #1

This was, as usual, a bonkersly over the top and ridiculous affair, with the Moon being blown up, 10th metal bullets containing ‘omniversal wormholes’ and powered with Green Lantern energy being targeted at guided meteors from beyond the dawn of time, Vandal Savage finally getting killed off, Legions of Evil (whatevs, fanboys) turning up and more.

However, with regards to Diana, we didn’t get a huge amount, other than a glimpse of her up to Justice League: Dark stuff, now she’s in charge of that motley group. The highlight, though, was when she joined in with the rest of the Justice League’s efforts at Batman impressions.

Diana swears as Batman

Yes, Diana swore!

One other thing of note was that Hera showed up and it turns out that she’s banging around with some new pals.

Hera's new pals

So, by my reckoning, that’s Highfather, Hera, one of the Guardians of Oa, the Phantom Stranger and… a bald bloke. Need a little help, here guys.

Interesting, though, no, since the Greek pantheon is missing in action. More on that after the jump, though, when we talk about this week’s other title: Wonder Woman Annual #2.

Wonder Woman Annual #2

Wonder Woman Annual #2

Plot

Diana gets summoned by the Star Stapphires to fight the Dark God of Love who’s killed all their leaders by finding the weakness in their own love. Fortunately, Diana’s love combined with theirs is enough to kill the judgey Dark God, but first she has to become a Star Stapphire.

Is it any good?

It’s a bit of a filler, to be honest, a nod to continuity fans who liked ‘Blackest Night’, who presumably include James Robinson, given he explicitly references it within the story (let’s not get started on what that reference does to continuity):

Blackest Night

Not the most practical of costumes, was it, but fortunately, the combined artistic mights of Marc Laming, Frazer Irving, J Calafiore and Stephen Segovia give us something a bit more tasteful:

Star Sapphire Diana

For the most part, while there is a decent fight at least, the issue is a bit of a talkathon. Lots of discussion about the nature of love, whether love is unconditional, the nature of worship, what it is to be a god. It’s all a bit deeper than we’re used to with Robinson, but ultimately it doesn’t go very far, since the final outcome is almost exactly what you think it’ll be – a Star Sapphires/Care Bears crossover:

Yes, that goddess was impaled on a love sword. Someone think James Robinson needs to read a few books about Freudian metaphors?

The other important aspect of the annual – at least for those of us who couldn’t be bothered with Scott Snyder’s Dark Nights: Metal – is that apparently the Dark Gods are here because of Diana. She got a wish in DN:M, she wished for ‘the gods’ to return, but as she hadn’t specified her ones, this other set turned up instead. Hmm, should have said ‘patrons’, hey?

You summoned the Dark Gods

Overall, though, while a somewhat unnecessary break in the action of Wonder Woman, it’s not bad. It has some really good art (some from previous Wonder Woman issues):

The now trademark Wonder Woman ‘love triumphs over everything’ outcome is a bit more earned than the ones Robinson has previously given us, too, and it’s a relatively jaunty affair.

But time to get back to the action, I think.

Writing: 4/7
Artwork: 4/7-7/7

Author

  • Rob Buckley

    I’m Rob Buckley, a journalist who writes for UK media magazines that most people have never heard of although you might have heard me on the podcast Lockdown Land or Radio 5 Live’s Saturday Edition or Afternoon Edition. I’ve edited Dreamwatch, Sprocket and Cambridge Film Festival Daily; been technical editor for TV producers magazine Televisual; reviewed films for the short-lived newspaper Cambridge Insider; written features for the even shorter-lived newspaper Soho Independent; and was regularly sarcastic about television on the blink-and-you-missed-it “web site for urban hedonists” The Tribe. Since going freelance, I've contributed to the likes of Broadcast, Total Content + Media, Action TV, Off The Telly, Action Network, TV Scoop and The Custard TV.

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