The finale of Robinson’s Wonder Woman run fails to impress, despite the circumstances.
Since the beginning of Robinson’s run, there has been one priority in Wonder Woman’s mind. That priority is to find and keep her brother safe. The first arc found Jason and readers watched him grow over the story arcs. He soon became a confident hero in his own right, with powers to match. When the Dark Gods arrived, he was ready to stand against them alone as his sister vanishes. During their fights with the Gods, however, Jason is brainwashed by them. With the League out of commission and Jason under Dark God control, Wonder Woman faces this evil alone. Can she save them all from the madness?
**Some Spoilers Below**
Story:
Despite her valiant efforts, Wonder Woman is unable to take down the Dark Gods and her brother. When they are alone, however, Jason reveals he is actually on her side. The brainwashing was a ruse to get close to the Dark Gods. Together the Amazonian twins create a plan to trick the Gods into taking them to the location of the Justice League. The plan works, and while Diana takes on the three lesser Gods, Jason speaks to King Best. Jason offers a deal to the leader: Leave Earth and release the League and he will go with the Dark Gods as a slave.
Despite the many flaws this issue has, this goodbye between siblings was a sad one. Despite them not knowing each other for very long, watching Jason say goodbye in this way is painful. It’s possible for another writer to bring him back in a future storyline, but it could be a while. Despite the rocky arcs of Robinson’s Wonder Woman run, I am glad Jason was introduced to this world.
There are still a ton of missteps throughout this issue that brings the book down. The first page reveals what happened to Jason, removing any chance for actual tension. From there, it continues to go downhill as every exchange ends up being boring. From the reveal of Jason’s trick to the deal with King Best, the dialogue feels dull. The only other positive is that the action is pretty cool, but only because of the excellent art team. This should have been a Wonder Woman event of epic proportions, but instead, it fails to impress at every chapter.
Art:
While the story may have fallen flat, the art continues to impress. Jesus Merino gives us one last amazing looking issue, especially with the fight scenes. The Dark Gods continue to look menacing and fitting of the universe Dark Nights Metal introduced us to. What else can I say that I haven’t mentioned in past reviews? This art team deserved a much better story to illustrate.
Conclusion:
While there are some good parts lightly sprinkled throughout, this finale wasn’t great. It felt more like a chore to read, with the fights being small breaks from the dull dialogue. This was the finale of Robinson’s run, and I can only hope Steve Orlando has a great arc up his sleeve. This series needs something exciting to liven it up again.
