Wonder Woman #13 – Tom King, Writer; Tony S. Daniel, Khary Randolph, Artists; Leonardo Paciarotti, Alex Guimaraes, Colorists
Ray – 9/10
Ray: As we tackle the last few tie-ins to Absolute Power, some of them are big and explosive – and some are surprisingly intimate. This issue, which continues last month’s awkward team-up between Wonder Woman and Damian Wayne, somehow manages to be both. After last issue’s successful and chaotic interrogation of Captain Boomerang, the unlikely duo got the information on Waller’s secret base and have invaded Gammora – and the second Diana and Steve Trevor get their hands on each other, they can’t stop making out. Damian is naturally disgusted, and I thought Diana might be acting a bit too juvenile, but King has been driving home the idea that Wonder Woman loves as passionately as she does everything else.
There are no big villains in this issue, as Waller stays mostly off-screen, but the mooks working for her are more than enough – especially given that the heroes are all powerless. This leads to the most dramatic scene of the issue and one destined to be a classic, as Diana stands alone against an army of guards while Damian and Steve work on taking down the security and freeing the other heroes. She doesn’t have her powers, but she blocks the bullets with her bracelets nonetheless – feeling every one and taking serious damage, but holding out exactly as long as she needs to. And that makes the catharsis when the calvary arrives all the more of a relief and a great finish to this arc.
The Trinity backup, as usual, is hilarious. Khary Randolph takes over for this issue on art, and he matches Ortega’s style on Trinity with his own flair. The plot here is a little slimmer than other issues, with Damian telling the story of how he helped give Wonder Woman the confidence she needed to become a parent – except that like one would expect from Damian, his perception is very skewed by his own ego. The joke goes on a bit too long, but it’s the kind of ridiculous thing an older sibling would absolutely do to the youngest.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
