Wonder Woman #800 – Becky Cloonan/Michael W. Conrad, Tom King, Writers; Joelle Jones, Alith Martinez/Mark Morales/Nick Robles, Todd Nauck, Skylar Partridge, Cully Hamner, Jen Bartel, Daniel Sampere, Artists; Jordie Bellaire, Tamra Bonvillain, Jen Bartel, Tomeu Morey, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: It’s the end of one run and the beginning of another in this oversized anniversary issue, and the creators take a very different tack to the anthology we saw with The Flash #800. This only has two stories—an oversized wrap-up to Cloonan and Conrad’s run, and a preview of King and Sampere’s. It’s good that they gave the extra space to the conclusion of the current run, because it needs it. When we last left off, Diana was caught in a strange psychic loop, unconscious and visiting the dreams of her closest friends one by one. That continues this issue, with each dream having a different artist. Last issue focused on the core characters of this run, while this one takes a much longer look.
One of the biggest focuses of this issue is the Wonder Girls—Donna Troy, Cassie Sandsmark, and Yara Flor, each drawn by an iconic artist. I was the fondest of Cassie’s story, drawn by Todd Nauck and packed with the kind of fun, innocent energy the character’s been lacking in recent years. Then we get a pair of stories focusing on Bruce and Clark, as Diana meets with her two closest allies and sorts out some of the complexities of their relationships. The Bruce segment was particularly excellent, getting to the core of the character’s pain and showing why he and Diana don’t always see eye to eye. The final guest is Hippolyta, in God form, as Diana enters the next phase of her life. It’s a bit of an abrupt ending, with the main conflict of the run ending a few issues back, but it’s a beautiful tribute to the character.
The tone shifts dramatically for the preview of King and Sampere’s run, which flashes forward 20 years into the future to introduce us to Diana’s daughter Trinity—or Lizzie, as she’s known to her de facto big brothers, Damian and Jon. The segments with the three of them are some of the funniest stuff King has written, turning the two mature heroes into squabbling friends who aren’t sure how they got roped into this. There are some interesting details dropped—it seems Lizzie did have a normal childhood and wasn’t artificially aged, so look for the story of how she came into the world to be part of King’s run. But there’s a darker story behind it, as Lizzie convinces Jon and Damian to infiltrate a magic temple they were warned to never enter, in order for the two boys to undergo agonizing trials while Lizzie interrogates a mysterious villain. It’s a very strange start, but a fascinating one. Okay, King, you have my attention.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
