Absolute Wonder Woman #15 – Kelly Thompson, Writer; Hayden Sherman, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: The Absolute Universe has done a lot of exciting stuff so far, taking its dark twists on iconic DC heroes into stories that could never be told outside of this alternate universe and displaying a level of quality that’s almost unheard of in work-for-hire comics. But there’s one thing it hasn’t done – until now. Its six core heroes have never met, but now, Wonder Woman and Batman are coming into each other’s orbit for the same time. They’ll meet twice in the coming months, with each creative team telling a done-in-one story that causes them to intersect. And for Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s initial outing, it’s a murder mystery – but one that involves a series of mysterious sigils tied to Hecate, with indications that it’s a dark ritual that goes far beyond even a simple human sacrifice. And while Wonder Woman has the power and knowledge of the arcane, Batman has the detective skills.
The interaction between the two heroes here is very different from the way they interact in the main universe. It’s interesting to see that despite Batman being involved in such violent stories in his title, he may actually be more optimistic and humane than his original DC version. After all, this is a Batman who still has his mother and had a large circle of friends for a while. We see that element of Batman come out in his interactions with Diana. He’s fascinated by her unique upbringing – but there isn’t that much time for bonding, as there’s a massive conspiracy involving a dark ritual involving stolen organs and a twisted simulacrum. This leads to Diana being possessed, posing the biggest threat in the issue, and eventually being pulled back to reality by an unexpected callback. All in all, ths is a fantastic first meeting that hints at crossovers that are just beginning, given the implications of Absolute Evil.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes
