A Warmongering Amazon?
Myself with friends and fellow Wonder Woman fans have been up in arms against DC Comics' latest treatment of its most famous heroine. Mostly due in part to the botched WONDER WOMAN relaunch starting in issue #600 (officially in #601), envisioned by J. Michael Straczynski and the bloodthirsty Amazon warrior that replaced our beloved Wonder Woman, a protector of peace, commonly known for turning enemies into allies. Coupled with a failed WONDER WOMAN TV pilot that starred an even angrier version of Princess Diana, fans were throwing their hands up in dismay. It seemed that no one working with Wonder Woman understood the essence of this seventy year old character. Then news hit that the DC universe Flash centered crossover, Flashpoint, would costar a Wonder Woman in a similar vein of what we were all against. That wasn't totally true ...
In Flashpoint #1 and 2 readers experienced a Wonder Woman that never reached the shores of Man's World as the champion of Paradise Island, rather as the queen of the island nation. This Amazon queen conquered the United Kingdom, claiming it her people's home outside their protected island as New Themyscira. Meanwhile the Amazons are at war against Emperor Aquaman and his Atlanteans of Atlantis. The rest of the world is caught in the middle. But before die-hard fans of the Amazing Amazon could break out the torches, Flashpoint: Wonder Woman and the Furies hit the stands.
Writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning delve into the background of this warmongering Amazon, and believe it or not, there's a (brief) return to the bright and charming princess from old. While it's difficult to accept another version of an angry warrior woman, at least here there's a believable reason for it, revealed with this first of three chapter. The histories of a young Wonder Woman and Aquaman are intertwined in a fun innocent way, but unfortunately the typical bad guys from both the Amazons and Atlanteans seek to ruin their friendship and possible union. This interference erupts into the war that threatens to consume most of the planet, an event the Flash hopes to prevent in the main Flashpoint book. Reading about a young wide-eyed Diana, eager to explore the world beyond the shores of her island home, then prepared to be the dutiful princess her people later require, was a blessed respite. One beautifully depicted by the detailed art by Scott Clark, a sure to be rising star following this limited series.
Unfortunately, that's all this is -- a respite, a brief break from the criminal that Queen Diana is to become in the present. How will myself and fans feel beyond this? That's tough to say, but for now I'm happy to have had this moment of peace. Hopefully the Flash will be successful at the end of Flashpoint and this vengeful Wonder Woman and the angry Amazon of Straczynski's Odyssey will be but a memory.
~ Hype
