Divine Plans and Unholy Agendas: Wonder Woman #49

The following is my review of Wonder Woman #49, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

There are a number of common themes in ancient mythology and not all of them involve gods hooking up with mortal women/boys/animals/etc. These themes are often built around the consequences of mortals attempting to defy the will of the gods. It serves as the basis of most major cultural and religious traditions, minus those inspired by George Lucas. Eventually, within the context of these themes, the will of the gods tends to overwhelm the ambitions of mortals.

When Brian Azzarello kick-started Wonder Woman after the Flashpoint reboot, he built Wonder Wonder Woman's story around these themes, having her navigate the agendas of numerous gods and the mortals they manipulated. He tied Wonder Woman's story closer to Greek Mythology and less towards mid-20th century feminism. It helped create a more compelling narrative while proving that there's just no getting around the centuries-old appeal of gods impregnating mortals.

Wonder Woman's ties to the gods weren't just built around her being the daughter of Zeus. She ended up becoming the new God of War while saving Olympus from the wrath of her father's first of many, many obscene infidelities. She's had to manage this role on top of being a member of the Justice League, an icon to women all over the world, and Superman's lover. If it's true that no woman can truly have it all, then a case could be made that Wonder Woman come closest.

However, the themes of petty gods and the mortals they torment starts to catch up with Wonder Woman in Wonder Woman #49. The plot once again revolves around Zeke and Zola, who were the catalyst to all these holy/unholy upheavals during Brian Azzarello's run. Meredith Finch's plot focuses more on the unholy aspects of those upheavals and for once, it doesn't involve an unplanned pregnancy.

It starts with a mysterious illness. Something or someone, and sometimes that line is blurred when godly forces are at work, has caused Zeke to fall ill. It's up to Wonder Woman to help him. Zeke is, after all, the reborn incarnation of Zeus, her father. That means she's essentially babysitting her father. It's the kind of unholy upheaval that makes the Kardashians look dull and yet it feels oddly appropriate in a mythology where a woman with snakes for hair isn't even the tenth greatest oddity.

In attempting to help Zeke, Wonder Woman has to confront some of the less holy virtues that are uncomfortably common with gods. As nearly every mortal in the Odyssey learned, the gods tend to exercise a level of moral flexibility that even the most amoral televangelist would find disgusting. They will do and say whatever they must in order to maintain their power and authority. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, betraying those who see them as allies.

This creates a powerful sense of drama in Wonder Woman #49, which is by far the greatest strength of the story. Since the latter half of Brian Azzarello's run, Wonder Woman has considered Hera a friend and ally in her ascent to her godly roles. In terms of the larger narrative, she's someone who was easy to root for. She was, after all, married to a god who treated infidelity as an Olympic sport. Her gaining a greater role on Olympus in his absence felt like obscenely late karma. Now, she's in a position to screw Wonder Woman over in a way that might not leave her pregnant, but it will break her heart.

Wonder Woman has to entertain the uncomfortable possibility that Hera might be the one causing Zeke's illness. It's a possibility that Hecate, the Goddess of Magic and Witchcraft, presents to her and it's not one Wonder Woman can just casually discount. She's already learned that gods are annoyingly adept at keeping secrets. She can't, given her experience with other gods and the illegitimate offspring they bear, blindly trust that Hera is above plotting against her.

As uncomfortable a possibility it might be, Wonder Woman doesn't let this distract her from helping Zeke and Zola. It's another common theme that Meredith Finch carried over from Brian Azzarello and it works perfectly well within the context of the narrative. Like Azzarello, Finch has Wonder Woman carry out tasks that feel like they came right out of the director's cut of Greek Mythology. For that same reason, it makes that same narrative feel limited.

There's a lot of drama and uncertainty in Wonder Woman #49. While this helps create a plot with plenty of tension, it does little to add much excitement. There's no Trojan War in this story. It's mostly Wonder Woman having to navigate a world of gods who may or may not be plotting against her. The only bit of action involves a cyclops and even that unfolded off-panel. If it were the director's cut of any movie, then it would still be missing some key scenes.

That's not to say that the lack of action derails the story. The story in Wonder Woman #49 isn't built around the kind of conflict that would require epic, CGI-rendered battlefields on the level of a Peter Jackson movie. It's built as a personal drama where Wonder Woman is trying to help a friend while being mindful of the gods' tendency to act in very ungodly ways at times. It's a story that has many strengths, but the reliance on this drama does cause it to drag at times.

Even if the story doesn't get anyone's heart racing, it does generate plenty of intrigue. Meredith Finch does a good job of generating the same intrigue that made Brian Azzarello's run on the series so engaging. It might not result in another mortal woman being impregnated by a god, which would make it an novelty in Greek Mythology, but it does adhere to the same powerful themes that has helped certain mythologies stand the test of time.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

A Royal Struggle: Wonder Woman #38

The following is my review of Wonder Woman #38, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

There's a reason why the royal family is regular fodder for British tabloids. It's the same reason the Kim Kardashians and Donald Trumps of the world are fodder for American tabloids. There's this eerie fascination with high society, be it royal or rich. These people live in a world so different and so detached from reality that, like the wreckage of a derailed freight train, we just can't look away. It's not something most people are proud of, but it's an industry that still has a fertile market.

If Wonder Woman and Themyscira existed in real life, she would certainly have her share of tabloid headlines. These are the same publications that regularly report that aliens have placed chips in the brains of every President since Lincoln. But when real gods and goddesses are involved, it has a special level of intrigue. So much so that the affairs of Wonder Woman's world would probably require its own TV network. If Oprah has one, then Wonder Woman could certainly manage.

It's this world that has become so chaotic and so disorganized that it's several steps beyond a train wreck. And Wonder Woman, the feminine ideal who is supposed to be able to have it all in that classic feminist mentality, has been struggling to manage it. She's the God of War, the Queen of Themyscira, a member of the Justice League, and Superman's lover. That's a lot of responsibilities to juggle, even for a demigod. And in Wonder Woman #38, even the embodiment of feminine strength struggles with it.

The core of this part of Wonder Woman's story isn't built around one major struggle. It's a series of smaller struggles that are overwhelming her. It's death by a thousand paper-cuts rather than death by guillotine. Granted, a smaller struggle by her standard still involves being a god and dealing with infighting on an island of immortal warriors, but these struggles still come off as real and genuine. Her fears and insecurities manifest in a very real, albeit not entirely literal, way that makes her relatable in a way usually reserved for shows that rip-off Dawson's Creek.

It's jarring in some ways. Wonder Woman isn't supposed to be vulnerable. This is the same woman who can battle the entire Olympian pantheon on Monday and still have enough strength to fight off an invasion by Darkseid on Thursday. However, Wonder Woman really doesn't do much battling in this story. In fact, she does next to none. On paper, that sounds like it shouldn't make for a good Wonder Woman story. But in practice, it's still a story worth telling in the sense that it's probably the easiest story to overlook.

For Wonder Woman and the many characters like her, male and female, there plenty of stories about them fighting epic battles and winning with varying degrees of style. But there aren't quite as many stories about how they manage their lives in between battles. Wonder Woman battles the First Born, becomes both the God of War and Queen of the Amazons in the process, and somehow finds time to be a member of the Justice League in between. How does she cope with that? This story offers some insight into that question. In terms of an answer, at best it leaves room for improvement.

Wonder Woman confides in her insecurities, but she's not crippled by them. She's still Wonder Woman. She's not going to curl up into a fetal position and whine about it. She understands that being the God of War and being the Queen of the Amazons carries with it some heavy responsibilities. To her credit, she attempts to imbue her own values of compassion and understanding to these tasks. But in the same mold as "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington," these ideal values clash with the same fodder that keep tabloids in business.

The gods of Olympus still plot against her. The Amazons she's supposed to rule don't care for all these new changes, as kind as they might be. Compassion and understanding just aren't enough in a world where people need to get upset about something and trolling message boards just aren't enough. Wonder Woman can do all the right things for all the right reasons, but it's still a struggle and that's what makes her story so compelling.

But as compelling as it is, the story itself moves along at a painfully slow place. In addition to not doing much fighting, the other ongoing plots surrounding the newly-introduced Donna Troy and the the Justice League don't make much progress. There is some, but it comes off more as a movie trailer at times. It helps that there is still plenty of character depth to compensate for this lack of progress. It's just not as balanced as it could be.

If this part of the story were a tabloid story, then it probably wouldn't get many people worked up. There aren't any scandalous affairs. There are no hookers or drugs involved. There aren't even any embarrassing photos of bad hangovers or botched botox. But there is a power struggle in both Themyscira and among the Olympians. Power struggles may not get the same headlines as scandalous affairs, but they do feed into the public's fascination. Even if the details are mostly teasers, there's still a story worth following in Wonder Woman #38.

Wonder Woman's humanity and vulnerabilities take center stage in this story, but there are still conflicts unfolding all around her. And if the ending is any hint, she'll have to share that stage with Donna Troy. The pressure is building for Wonder Woman. There's only so much that even the world's strongest woman can handle. At some point, she has to confront her limits. That doesn't make her less a feminine ideal. It just makes her someone who can keep fighting, despite tabloid-level scrutiny.

Final Score: 7 out of 10