Wonder Woman #15 – Tom King, Writer; Daniel Sampere, Khary Randolph, Artists; Tomeu Morey, Alex Guimaraes, Colorists
Ray – 10/10
Ray: Last issue was one of the most emotional Tom King has ever written, spanning death and rebirth in one as we saw the death of Steve Trevor – killed in a fit of rage by the Sovereign, unaware of what he had unleashed. And the issue ended with the birth of Trinity, a child formed from Diana and Steve’s love and made out of clay just like she was many years ago. It all came together into one of the most fascinating issues of the year from DC – but now it’s time for all hell to be unleashed. As Diana tends to her infant daughter, it falls to her allies to make their first strike against the Sovereign – targeting centuries of ill-gotten holdings across the world as only the Wonder Girls can.
Cassie Sandsmark is the first up, taking down a massive automated ship that holds the majority of the Sovereign’s wealth in a spectacular double-page spread. Yara Flor commits some casual bank robberies and enjoys it a little too much. Donna Troy engages in a bare-knuckle brawl with Solomon Grundy for a particularly nasty piece of treasure. And even Cheetah jumps into the fray, targeting a key figure in the Sovereign’s money business by tempting him into a trap. And one by one, all the targets fall. It’s a great spotlight for the Wonder Girls and Diana’s newest ally, but as the last page makes clear, we’re not seeing the culmination of Diana’s revenge – we’re seeing act one, and it’s going to be a doozy.
The backup is equally brilliant, told from the perspective of Steve Trevor as he ascends to Elysium, a place that seems to resemble heaven but from a Greek perspective. There is everything he could want – a hero’s welcome, a feast, an archive with all the knowledge of the world, and even the chance for a warrior’s pastime. Nothing pleases him, and he’s the only man in Elysium who isn’t happy. We see the whole story through his eyes, he only says one word, and it’s such a gut-punch that I now suspect his death isn’t actually going to fully stick. In two issues, King has done more good work with this character than we’ve seen going back decades.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
