This issue of Wonder Woman takes a step in the right direction but still fails to impress.
Wonder Woman and ARGUS have been in the middle of a conflict against Darkseid. His plan is to find a way to get to Themyscira and enslave the Amazons. To accomplish this, the lord of Apokolips requires ancient relics for a teleporter, which ARGUS has been defending. After hearing that Grail, daughter of Darkseid, was going for a relic in Germany, Diana stepped up to face her. To everyone’s surprise, she wouldn’t have to do it alone, as her twin, Jason, now clad in armor, has returned. Will the “Wonder Twins” be able to stop the dark gods of Apokolips?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
After Grail gets away from the group, Wonder Woman needs a new plan to figure out Darkseid’s goal. She decides to capture two of the remaining Female Furies and questions them. While this is going on, Steve Trevor confronts Jason. The ARGUS officer admits he doesn’t trust Diana’s twin, due to how quickly he changes sides. Jason tries his hardest to convince Steve, claiming that he loves his sister, but Steve still has his doubts.
While this issue was far from great, it was an improvement from the last one. With the last one, we had a structural problem as well as stilted dialogue. This time around, the story runs a lot more smoothly and has dialogue that feels more appropriate to the characters who speak it. There is just one problem: it’s nearly the exact same plot as the last issue. Diana questions an Apokoliptian, Jason fights off Parademons, Darkseid plots behind the scenes. The only difference is that the story is more clear and has a neat cliffhanger. Does that justify the fact it rehashed an issue that came out two weeks ago? Not at all.
Art:
The art of this issue tries its hardest, but even that falls short. It isn’t terrible. It’s actually good at a few parts, but it has to follow issues that knocked it out of the park. Marco Santucci does a fine job illustrating the issue, but his stand-out moments are when characters stand alone. Wonder Woman looks great on the first page and Darkseid hasn’t looked this terrifying since Darkseid War. Romulo Fajardo Jr. takes point on colors and continues to kick ass. The world feels alive whenever he’s on colors and it does help the pencils stand out more.
Conclusion:
There is some good in this issue. The dialogue and story structure have improved, and the art is above average. There just isn’t enough good to justify the price of the issue. If you didn’t pick up the last one, you can pick up this one. If you did pick up the last, skip this one and wait for Wonder Woman’s next fight in two weeks.
