Wonder Woman #6 – Tom King, Writer; Daniel Sampere, Belen Ortega, Artists; Tomeu Morey, Alejandro Sanchez, Colorists
Ray – 10/10
Ray: Tom King has been blowing me away since he started this run, with each issue taking place as a high-intensity set piece in Diana’s growing war with the Sovereign and the US Government, but I haven’t seen anything like this issue yet—one of the most intense superhero battles ever put on the page. Diana is contacted by Steve Trevor for a clandestine meeting, but isn’t aware that he’s been compromised—and she’s been lured into a massive ambush put together by all her enemies, with each having a specific role in taking her down. Psycho and Angle Man set things in motion, and then it’s over to Giganta—who rises from the ground in a scene that makes her feel more like a Kaiju than a supervillain.
King has probably put more thought into the strengths and weaknesses of each villain than any writer has, including the fact that Silver Swan is the only one of them who doesn’t hate Diana—she loves her, and that makes her uniquely suited to luring Diana into a trap. It’s a brutal fight from beginning to end, and it’s an unexpected choice to make so much of it center on Grail—the daughter of Darkseid and an Amazon, who hasn’t been a breakout villain so far. But oh, boy, she will be after this issue. Diana’s rogues gallery rarely gets much attention, but King has put them together in a story that will likely serve as the definitive tale for many of them—as well as for showing off Diana’s boundless strength and grit in a way few tales have.
This main story is so intense that it’s all the more baffling how cute and funny the backup is. Damian and Jon are babysitting a preschool-age Lizzie, and they get caught up in that perpetual game of parents everywhere—“Go the **** to Sleep.” No matter what stories they tell her, or how many times they check the closet for Darkseid, she won’t nod off—even if they take her to the moon. All the while, the two boys are bickering and one-upping each other in hilarious fashion. These backups are so different from anything King has written before, and it’s so great to see this side of his writing.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
