Wonder Woman #49 – James Robinson, Writer; Jesus Merino, Artist; Romulo Fajardo Jr., Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 4/10
Corrina: More Jason is the Worst
WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW
Ray: Our long national nightmare is finally over, as the run that is considered by many to be the worst extended Wonder Woman run in recent memory comes to an end with the jumbo-sized issue #50 in two weeks. But before we get there, there’s one last battle with the Dark Gods to deal with. These new villains, refugees from the Dark Multiverse with designs of bringing their influence over the worst of humanity to the DCU. These villains remind me more of Masters of the Universe villains than anything, with their giant figures, sparse dialogue, and threats of menace. They do look good, but they’re less villains than obstacles. Now that their individual fights are over, Jason and Diana are reunited at the start of the issue and they jointly narrate the issue as they battle against the massive forces threatening the world. Steve Trevor is part of the fight as well, and while Robinson’s writing of his relationship with Diana is far from the series’ worst element, he seems to rely way too heavily on pet names between them.
Robinson tries to do something interesting, almost reminiscent of the four-panel grids in The Terrifics, with scenes showing the Dark Gods’ effect in four countries around the world. These scenes are undeniably horrific, yes, but what they’re lacking is any context. We’re introduced to these characters briefly, and then they do horrible things either to others or to themselves because of the influence of the villains. The main villain, King Best, is a giant stone monolith with a face that floats around and shouts random boasts as Diana and Jason fight him. Eventually, of course, things are going too well so Jason goes off and does something very stupid. After confronting the Dark Gods himself, he winds up possessed, meaning that the final battle will once again be Diana vs. Jason, just like it began. Whatever happens in the next issue, I’m very much hoping that the next issue writes him out of Wonder Woman’s story, so Steve Orlando doesn’t have to do the dirty work when he comes on board.
Corrina: Can we Mopee Jason? Like just pretend EVERYTHING from this run doesn’t exist?
To recap: Jason was left on Earth, had a nice childhood, betrayed Wonder Woman because no reasons, decided he would be on her side, became a party bro-dude, was useless, got more powers because no reasons, and now he’s turned on Wonder Woman again.
In none of this has Jason been interesting. Not even mildly interesting. Not even a tiny bit interesting.
However, the Jenny Frison variant covers have been killer. (And, not coincidentally, Jason-free).
I want a book of Jenny Frison covers.
Replace the whole arc just with Jenny Frison covers.
Please.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
Thank you, you are one of the few who have not sugar coated how terrible Jason and Robinson’s, writing was. Why is DC doing this to WW.
First Zeus,now Jason how many cliched male charaters are they going to bring into Wonder Woman