Absolute Wonder Woman Vol. 1
Plot Summary and Credits
With the Amazons wiped out by the gods, their sole survivor, the infant princess Diana, is sent to the Wild Isle in the Underworld, in the care of the exiled sorceress Circe. One day, an American soldier named Steve Trevor appears on the island and makes friends with Diana, who sends him back to the world of the living by sacrificing her right arm. With her arm replaced by a magical substitute, Diana ventures out into the world with the resurrected Pegasus as well as an arsenal of magical weapons created by her mother, reuniting with Steve and clashing with his superiors in the military. Her first major battle is against a monster called the Tetracide, which she eventually defeats by using her lasso to transform herself into Medusa. In this form, she beats the Tetracide by turning it into stone, but doesn’t remember who she really is until she is reminded by Steve and several other new friends. When Hades brings Diana back to the Underworld to fight for Circe’s freedom, the intervention of queen Persephone allows her to bring her back to the Wild Isle and visit her once a year.
Kelly Thompson (writer), Hayden Sherman, Mattia De Luis (artists), Jordie Bellaire (colourist), Becca Carey (letterer), Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston
Collects Absolute Wonder Woman #1-7
My Copy
I picked this up not long after volume one of Absolute Superman, when I was eager to see where the new universe went next.
Before Reading
This was the first Wonder Woman comic I’d ever read, so I went in without much of a frame of reference beyond the basics of her backstory, especially considering how said backstory had been changed in the Absolute continuity.
After Reading
Like I said, this was my first Wonder Woman comic, and it proved to be a fine introduction. I knew about her backstory on Themiscyra with the Amazons, and all of that was being thrown out of the window with this new version of the character. Like the other heroes of the Absolute universe, this new Wonder Woman maintains the core elements we’ve known for decades with a fresh take on her world.
Diana is an endearing protagonist, staying close to her character’s roots even with a new backstory like her fellow Absolute heroes. She’s strong, brave and compassionate, and there’s a stubbornness to her that pushes her towards a fight, for better or worse. The flashbacks to her childhood in Hell are effortlessly charming, from gleefully chucking a murderous snake into the sea as a baby to annoying her mother with the number of “friends” she keeps bringing home. Something that stood out to me was the spin on her magic lasso, called Nemesis, which harms its victims in proportion to their sins, an ability that feels like something taken out of actual mythology and suits Wonder Woman really well.
The supporting cast are strong as well, particularly Steve and Circe. It’s a really fun choice to have Diana be raised by one of her most prominent villains from the mainline universe. Her knowledge and experience gives this new Diana a whole new range of abilities to explore, from her enchanted arsenal to a greater emphasis on the use of magic, both of which prove instrumental in her first adventure. Steve follows the familiar pattern of waking up on an island and being rescued by Diana, with his experiences serving as her first insight into the mortal world. In these first issues, they work together really well and learn a lot from each other, but there isn’t much setup for a romantic connection between them. I kind of hope that their relationship stays like this going forward, since it opens up yet another new spin on Wonder Woman’s story, and I've always found it a little weird that someone like Diana would fall for the first guy she ever meets.
I’m a sucker for anything mythology related, so I was bound to enjoy this storyline on some level. Like almost every adaptation of the Greek myths, there are a number of creative liberties taken (why is the chimaera part tiger instead of part lion?) and repeated tropes that are followed across all media but aren’t wholly accurate (Hades wasn’t an evil megalomaniac!). On the other hand, there are some characters that remain remarkably true to their origins, even with a few minor changes to fit the story. The two major examples of this are Prometheus and Persephone. If I went through my thoughts on the comparison with the original myths in suitable detail then this review would be several pages too long, but, suffice it to say, the intertwining of aspects of their stories with Diana’s makes the narrative feel a lot richer.
Closing Thoughts
Wonder Woman’s first outing marks yet another strong entry for the Absolute universe, with a story that remains true to the character, filled with memorable action and plenty of heart.
As an extra note, on the day of writing this review, I picked up the newly released Volume Two, so keep an eye out for that review in a while.
In the meantime, as I mentioned last week, I’ll be staying with this universe for my next review, where we’ll be checking in on the Absolute Dark Knight.
