Wonder Woman #6

Summary

All the pieces are in place and tensions run high as Wonder Woman’s plan is set into motion – who will take the throne of Olympus? Will Hera exact her revenge? Can Wonder Woman restore the status quo?

What I liked

· Gods: I’m a bit of a sucker for Classical literature, but I really loved the portrayal of the gods in this issue. From the gaudy metaphorical visages, to their contempt for humanity which seeps through their every word. One part in particular in which Hades states “...it actually is ONLY a game to us” really puts the whole story into perspective. Whether you believe the gods have control, making the affairs of mortals trivial (and thus most of the DCU) or you believe they don’t, and thus showing that even gods have delusions of grandeur, there is something to be gleaned from this. What makes this line of dialogue even more interesting is later, where Hera says “This is not a game” – showing how this “game” of manipulation has become so enrooted in these characters that the most important issues in their aristocracy are often reduced to child-like antics.

· The Flow: I do criticise the pace of the arc later on, however, this issue had an excellently written rhythm to it. Each scene’s dialogue would cut off early and continue in the mid-sentence in the next scene and form one cohesive sentence. It gave a real feeling of a plan in motion – in which all the cogs are turning together. Also, if you want to bring the idea of Greek Myth into this, the notion of Fate may be interpreted out of this writing technique.

· Power Struggle: The part of this story which interests me the most is the power struggle for the Throne of Zeus. I know we should be paying attention to the Zola story as well, but to me the idea of the gods contenting to be the ruler of the heavens seems just far more interesting. I hope more is done with this in the future as there is plenty which can be done with this idea. As of now, it serves as a nice backdrop for the rest of the drama to play over the top of.

What I didn’t like

· Messy: I really enjoy this series, but the plot’s pace seems very sporadic. Our first three issues were all about uncovering Wonder Woman’s origin and although it was a little slow, it felt like a comfortable speed to have the story at; everything went logically, step-by-step. Then, within the space of three issues we have been ham-fistedly introduced to a new character: Lennox, which we know little about, had a crazy plan to stop Hera put into motion, which involve lots of major players, as well as a few random tangents concerning Apollo and other goings on. To me, it seems the original tone of the series has been replaced a hurried and sloppy story-telling style.

· The Plan: I feel like I missed something along the way, please let me know if I did. The ultimate goal of the elaborate scheme which Wonder Woman concocted seemed really anti-climatic. This arc stated to focus its attention on who should be ruling Olympus, and we were left with little resolve on that front – instead Wonder Woman had some form of “vengeance” on Hera. I realise that Hera is a treat and that she killed Wonder Woman’s mother; yet I do not understand why a plan with this much risk attached to it needed to be done. To me, there was no need to get the other Gods involved. Also, the art near the end of the issue was hard to follow – the panels were too small and cluttered.

· Gods – This is such a nitpick that I’m not going to even let it impact the final score, in fact it’s almost not worth mentioning. There’s a Kraken sized god in the middle of London... and yet no-one decides to worship these deities? Most people’s problem with religion is that there is no tangible proof of God, or gods – but here we have a monolith of a God sat in the middle of a city!

· The Cover: Doesn’t happen – at all.

Verdict

I did really enjoy this issue. However, the series itself seems be directing it’s attention too heavily in some places and not in other places at all. The adoption of this new character, Lennox, into the team still feels really sudden and I would like to know more about him. Yet, as a whole, this issue has great dialogue, gods being gods and some nice art to boot. This is certainly a series to be giving some attention to.

7/10