A New World of Wonder: Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1

The following is my review of Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

At what point does innovation become derivation? Where exactly is the line the separates a simple bottle of homemade soda from being Coca Cola? These are questions that have plagued artists and enriched copyright lawyers to no end. There's this nebulous gray area between being Apple and  being Weird Al Yankovich that few seem to know how to traverse. But if that area were a hidden temple, then Bruce Timm would be Indiana Jones.

With Justice League: Gods and Monsters, Bruce Timm has once again proven what Apple proves to its investors every time it introduces a new product. It's not enough to just make something similar to an established product. It's more important to make it awesome. That's how characters like Daredevil can thrive, despite key similarities to Batman. That's also why the last two Die Hard movies have failed so spectacularly. Being similar is okay. Failing to be awesome is not.

When reinventing Superman and Batman, Bruce Timm pushed the narrative into bold new territory with Hernan Guerra and Kirk Langstrom. But with Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1, he gives that narrative more of a firm kick to the gut. But in doing so, it manages to create a version of Wonder Woman that doesn't just make a case for being a female icon. She violently shoves herself into that conversation and proves herself in ways that would leave Johnny Cochran himself speechless.

Unlike Superman and Batman, the Wonder Woman of Justice League: Gods and Monsters is not a mere renovation as much as she is a complete overhaul. There are no Amazons. There's no Themyscira. There are no Greek gods that seduce mortal women and impregnate bulls. Instead, Wonder Woman is Bekka, one of the New Gods from New Genesis. Like Kirk Langstrom as Batman, she comes from one the more obscure sector of the DC Universe. In the pre-Wikedia days, most comic book fans wouldn't know she even existed.

This makes her a perfect foundation on which to build a new Wonder Woman. She's not a completely blank slate, but it never feels like she was poofed into existence like a trick from Mr. Mxyzptlk. She's very much a product of the war between New Genesis and Apokalipse, a conflict that is to DC Comics what World War II is to the History Channel. This already puts her in the same league as Diana and the Amazons in terms of fighting experience, but with much less misandery.

From this foundation, Bekka is basically cast from this devastating war and into 1960s era Earth. It's not exactly the most peaceful time in world history, but it's not Medieval Europe either. It's a world that Bekka sees through a remarkably balanced perspective, more so than most news organizations today. It helps that she has Mother Box, which basically acts as a more SFW version of Google. It allows her to learn about and explore this world as Diana once did after she left her home.

In many respects, Bekka follows in Diana's footsteps and embraced this world as she did. However, Bekka does it her own way. There's no Steve Trevor to guide her. She craves her own path. This leads from a tiny village in India to a hippie commune in the United States. And somehow, she finds a way to thrive in both environments. She even finds a way to make some very devious enemies in the form of evil hippies. Even on her worst day, Diana never had to deal with evil hippies.

It's a twisted yet fitting way to push the theme of Justice League: Gods and Monsters, putting Wonder Woman in a somewhat darker set of circumstances. It's hard to get much darker than evil hippies. Even so, it never becomes goofy on the levels of a Deadpool comic. And like Batman and Superman before it, the scope and scale of the story never escalates beyond a certain point. The story isn't about Bekka saving the world and becoming Wonder Woman. It's about her embracing Earth as her new home and becoming the woman who ascends to that title.

This is where the story in Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1 is at its strongest. Throughout her journey from her arrival on Earth to her encounter with evil hippies, we see her grow into a woman that becomes worthy of such an iconic title. The core of Wonder Woman involves embodying feminine ideals and strength. Bekka has all that on top of being a sexy redhead. She'll embrace others in a maternal way, as she does with some of the not-so-evil hippies in this story. She'll also protect the weak in the traditions of every badass warrior in history, male and female alike. And she does it in a way that actually makes living on a hippie commune seem attractive.

But beyond doing justice to the title of Wonder Woman, Bekka does set herself apart in a few key ways. It's not just that she's a redhead either. Unlike Diana and the Amazons, Bekka is basically an exile like Superman. She has no sense of sisterhood to guide her. She's more an individual following her own path, which even hardcore feminists can appreciate. And there's never a point where she separates "Man's World" from "Woman's World." They're all the same to her. While that might not resonate with hardcore feminists, it should suffice for most reasonable people.

These differences put Bekka on a wholly unique path to being Wonder Woman, but it's a path that makes the story in Justice League Gods and Monsters: Wonder Woman #1 feel complete. Through this story, Bekka grows from a semi-blank slate to a woman worthy of being an icon. It's a personal story and one that isn't solely defined by her saving the world from evil hippies. At a time when female characters are just starting to be taken seriously, Bekka's story couldn't be more appropriate. She might not make it into Joss Whedon's next movie, but she proves she's more than worthy.

Final Score: 9 out of 10

To Embody a Darker Ideal: Justice League Gods and Monsters: Superman #1

The following is my review of Justice League Gods and Monsters: Superman #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Since his creation 1938, Superman has undergone numerous revisions, retcons, and reboots. Everything from the extent to his powers to the font of the S on his chest has changed. He’s like Madonna, constantly reinventing himself while not completely deviating from his core principles. But unlike Madonna, his principles go beyond making music that hasn’t been relevant since the Clinton Administration.

Superman, regardless of the font he uses or the presence/absence of red underwear, still embodies the ideal of truth, justice, and the American way. These ideals have helped him stay relevant as a superhero from the dark days of the hippie era to the afro-loving 70s to the overly grungy 90s. Superman has always found a place in our world. Even as society has become more jaded by Fox News and reality TV, he’s never deviated significantly as a hero and an ideal.

But what would kind of hero would Superman be if he did deviate from that ideal? Would he still be Superman? Or would he just be a Superman who tries too hard to be like Batman? These are the questions that Justice League Gods and Monsters: Superman #1 tries to answer. They’re questions that nobody has really asked before, but the answers are so compelling that some might feel the urge to party like it’s 1938.

Bruce Timm challenged himself with re-inventing DC’s trinity in a new world with Justice League: Gods and Monsters. It’s one thing to make Batman a vampire, but how does anyone go about reinventing Superman? It’s one thing to remove the red underwear, but it’s quite another to completely revamp his story from scratch and still call him Superman. It would be like trying to reinvent Coca Cola from scratch. Is it even possible at this point? Bruce Timm effectively answers that question with a definitive yes.

Enter Hernan Guerra. He’s not Clark Kent. He’s not Kal-El. He’s not the humble, selfless farm by from America’s heartland. He’s not the virtuous, upstanding hero that smiling children and puppies rally behind either. And yet, he’s still Superman. He still finds a way to make himself worthy of that title. He’s not Hyperion, Goku, or some other character that pretends it isn’t a blatant rip-off. He’s Superman. He lacks a cape and goofy red underwear, but Hernan Guerra proves he’s every bit as worthy of that title as Clark Kent.

The story of Hernan Guerra that unfolds in Justice League Gods and Monsters: Superman #1 contains the core aspects of the Superman mythos. He’s the last survivor of Krypton, he was sent to Earth in a ship, and he was raised by a human family. That’s basic Superman 101 and that’s as far as the similarities go between Hernan Guerra and Clark Kent. From this point forward, their stories diverge in so many meaningful ways. Yet in the end, they both become Superman.

Hernan’s story is told through his adopted sister, Valentina Guerra. Since Clark Kent never had a sibling he grew up with, it offers a unique perspective that offers insight and commentary into Hernan’s journey to becoming Superman. Her voice never becomes overly emphatic like John Madden or excessively detached like Ben Stein. Her love for Hernan shows on many occasions. In many respects, she understands Hernan’s journey better than Hernan himself. This alone makes her the most lovable sister outside of Full House reruns.

This journey covers a lot of ground, going from Hernan’s innocent days as a super-powered kid to his not-so-innocent days as an embittered young adult. But what makes this journey so engaging are the obstacles he faces that Clark Kent never had to deal with. Clark Kent was raised in the mid-west in a small community full of friendly, down-to-Earth people. He could walk down the street and nobody would bother him. That kind of environment might as well be a Father Knows Best re-run on TV Land because for Hernan Guerra, this is not the environment that shaped him.

In addition to being a biological alien, Hernan happens to be the kind of alien that Donald Trump loves to insult in his speeches. His parents are Mexican migrants who live at the very bottom of the social and economic ladder. They’re subject to discrimination, poverty, and outright racism. It’s the kind of path that could just as easily turn him into Lex Luthor instead of Superman, but he never strays too far, nor does he go bald.

At the same time, Hernan establishes early on that he’ll do things that Clark Kent would never do. He lets a plane crash, he insults his mother’s religion, and he fights back when a bunch of stereotypical redneck racists attack him. He won’t always do the right thing, but he never gets to a point where he seems inclined to throw those principles aside. He’s not a Boy Scout, but he’s not Bart Simpson either.

In this sense, the morals his parents and sister instill in him are very influential. It’s not at all unlike the influence the Kents had on Clark. But because of the different circumstances, Hernan becomes a very different kind of Superman. He’ll fight for truth and justice, but he’ll do it his way. And if that clashes with the American way, he couldn't care less.

Hernan Guerra’s evolution into Superman was a lot harder and a lot darker than that of Clark Kent’s. Because of this, he goes about being Superman in a very different way. He’ll use violence. He’ll kill. And even those who complained about the ending to Man of Steel will understand his methods. It won’t make the kind of icon that gets plastered on kids’ lunch boxes, but it will make the kind of icon that gets the job done.

The greatest accomplishment of Justice League Gods and Monsters: Superman #1 isn’t just establishing Hernan Guerra as Superman. It’s establishing the kind of Superman he is. His sister understood it best. The world can be a dark place and sometimes it takes someone who understands that darkness to do something about it. Hernan Guerra understands it in ways Clark Kent never will. Hernan has been subjected to poverty, racism, and Ann Coulter books. This means he might not be the Superman we all need, but he will be the Superman that we deserve.

Final Score: 9 out of 10