Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #3 – G. Willow Wilson, Becky Cloonan/Michael W. Conrad, Writers; Emanuela Lupacchino, Cian Tormey/Raul Fernandez, Alitha Martinez/John Livesay/Mark Morales, Artists; Jordie Bellaire, Alex Guimaraes, Colorists
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: Spinning out of both Lazarus Planet and the ongoing Wonder Woman run, this mini-event has delivered some interesting storytelling while putting the heroes up against some of the most powerful forces in the DCU. When we last left off, Shazam had been betrayed by his patron the Wizard, who was now aligned with Hera. Betrayed and stripped of most of his powers, he’s only able to get free with the help of an unexpected ally—Hecate, a former big bad of Wonder Woman’s who has now become one of the few figures able to resist the Gods. An escape from Olympus with the help of Yara Flor is one of the issue’s funniest scenes, as they manipulate Hermes and Aphrodite against each other.
Back on Earth, Diana returns with her new look and joins up with her old compatriots against Apollo’s army. The odd friendship that has developed over this run between Diana and Cheetah has has been one of the book’s highlights, and it’s disappointing that I’m sure it’ll be folded back the next time one of the book’s writers wants to make them enemies again. There are some great battle segments, and the biggest surprise of the issue comes when the hooded man finally reveals his identity. While there were only a few people it could have been, this reveal still promises to completely upend Diana’s rogues’ gallery going forward and tilts the balance of power in this story in a major way.
After an issue off, the backup by main series writers Cloonan and Conrad continues as well, with the Amazons going up against a massive army of resurrected rogues. While the battle scenes are chaotic, the real heart of the story comes when Hippolyta steals away from the fight to pray at Hippolyta’s memorial and potentially make a sacrifice. She’s interrupted by Hippolyta herself, making her return from Olympus to join the fight—all setting up a great final showdown as this series concludes next issue.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
