Dark Connections and Darker Divinity: Wonder Woman #46

The following is my review of Wonder Woman #46, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

When it comes to the ancient mythologies, the major themes often reflect distinctly human traits. Gods, demigods, and everything in between tend to highlight extremes and embellishments of these traits. The modern superhero genre frequently utilizes the same approach, forging heroes that embody powerful traits that reflect the best and worst of humanity. In that context, Wonder Woman reflects the best of mortals and gods alike.

Unlike the traits embodied in Superman or Batman, Wonder Woman's story is closely tied to that of the Olympian gods that she and her fellow Amazons worship. Much of her power, persona, and heritage stem from the stories of these gods that go back to ancient times. Sometimes, they empower Wonder Woman and drive her forward. Other times, they present her with adversaries and conflicts. In recent times, her struggles under James Robinson utilize a little of both.

There are a great many upheavals going on in Wonder Woman's life, both as high-profile hero in the DC Universe and on the personal front. After being reunited with her long lost twin brother, Jason, she goes through a bit of an adjustment period, having lived much of her life under the assumptions her mother, the gods, and her Amazon sisters instilled. More and more of those assumptions are now coming into question. The events of Dark Nights: Metal and her recent dealings with Grail have Wonder Woman at another crossroads that may result in more than just shocking family revelations.

While secrets and lies are a frequent catalyst in mythology, ancient and contemporary alike, Wonder Woman #46 lays the groundwork with conflict more relevant to Wonder Woman's recent personal struggles. Between discovering her long-lost brother and watching Barbara Minerva transform into Cheetah again, she's already familiar with divine melodrama, albeit on a smaller scale. James Robinson keeps the scale small at first, but it steadily escalates.

It starts with Cheetah's escape. It's sudden, violent, and brings her face-to-face with Veronica Cale, the woman most responsible for Barbara Minerva becoming Cheetah again. On the surface, it presents itself as simple revenge scheme in the mold of John Wick. That's how Wonder Woman approaches it when she enters the picture, but it gets distinctly less simple from there. That tends to happen whenever gods, new and old alike, get involved.

Parallel to Cheetah's story, Diana's twin brother, Jason, follows his own plot that reunites him with his adopted father, Glaucus. Like Cheetah's blood-soaked revenge story, his starts out simple. Rescuing his adopted father from people intent on studying the biology of immortals doesn't break much new ground. As with Diana, though, that changes once some divine details emerge.

Unlike Diana, though, Jason's story is still new and has a few lingering plot holes. Robinson doesn't overlook them, but doesn't give a full answer either. Jason's emergence within Wonder Woman is already heavily influenced by the Olympian gods. His connection with them is a bit less certain compared to his sister, if only because he's shown a tendency to be far less responsible. The hints dropped by Glaucus also indicate that they've influenced Jason more than he thinks.

This provides an ominous backdrop once the impact of Dark Nights: Metal catches up to the story. It's somewhat abrupt, hitting Diana both literally and figuratively as she tries to deal with Cheetah. Most stories involving gods and god-like beings tend to evoke powerful passions throughout the mortal masses, especially among those expected to provide worship. Anything that disrupts that worship is an attack on their very soul.

The passions, in this case, have little to do with piety. True to ancient mythologies that highlight the importance of the gods, their absence or lack of influence leaves the world of dangerous and prone to chaos. This is where Dark Nights: Metal starts spreading its influence and Wonder Woman is on the front line. Being a demigoddess, herself, it's fitting that she finds herself drawn into the chaos. An agent of that chaos even ends up being a familiar face who bears a familiar red cape and symbol on her chest, which further raises the stakes.

Wonder Woman #46 takes its time to set up a new plot involving the Old Gods, the emerging Dark Gods, and how it all effects Wonder Woman, someone's whose story involves battling divine chaos every other week. The connections between Diana's recent clashes and Dark Nights: Metal are subtle, but relevant. However, they're too subtle to generate much impact, aside from the last couple of pages. While the story is full of bloody battles and divinely-fueled chaos, it still moves too slowly to really test Wonder Woman in a meaningful way.

It still makes the necessary connections and establishes a foundation for a divine conflict that will bring new, but familiar contributors to her struggle. Whether they'll help or hinder her efforts remain to be seen. One of ancient mythology's most common themes, aside from gods impregnating mortal women, involves how determined gods are at maintaining their godly status. Those who worship them can be just as determined and if Wonder Woman #46 is any indication, she'll may end up fighting both.

Final Score: 6 out of 10

Deriving Novelty from the Inane: Action Comics #962

The following is my review of Action Comics #962, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

When is it okay to put the proverbial genie back in the bottle? Is it even possible to accomplish without destroying the bottle and everything within a five-mile radius? That radius may be much wider when Superman is involved. It may also involve more than one bottle. It sounds confusing and it certainly is. It's a major reason why the events of DC: Rebirth are affecting Superman more than most, but not because of anything Doomsday or Lex Luthor are doing.

DC: Rebirth decides with little to no depth that the genie needs to go back in the bottle. Superman needs to go back to his pre-Flashpoint method of operation. That means every meaningful change from the New 52 has to be nullified, rendered meaningless and pointless in the grand scheme of things. It gives the impression that the narrative of Superman and Action Comics is inherently shallow. It's not that nothing really happens. It's that nothing can happen that has any lasting impact on Superman.

Dan Jurgens is tasked with crafting a meaningful story with this narrative in the first post-Rebirth arc of Action Comics. However, the meaning is often lost in the confusion of all the contrivances attempting to purge New 52 impacts and the all-too familiar clashes with Doomsday. It can't acknowledge that Superman fought Doomsday on multiple occasions during the New 52 era. It can't acknowledge any dramatic entanglements that may or may not have occurred in that era either. It doesn't just limit the story. It flat out ignores the context.

If there is a strength within this confusion, it's Jurgens' efforts to re-frame Superman's story as a husband and father. Action Comics #962 tries to use this strength to complete an arc that relies too much on contrivances and disaster porn. It isn't enough to circumvent the flaws that inevitably emerge when putting Superman back into the pre-Flashpoint bottle, but it does keep the story from falling flat.

Any battle involving Superman and Doomsday has to be destructive. It has to be epic. This is the creature that actually killed Superman at one point. It can't be ended by one punch or by some secret gadget in Batman's utility belt. There has to be destruction, danger, and desperation every step of the way. Jurgens definitely goes the extra distance in capturing these elements. Stephen Segovia's artwork goes just as far in capturing the visuals.

Things blow up. Mountains crumble. The laws of physics are strained in ways that would make Einstein cringe. The aesthetics are definitely there. They help distract from the fact that this is a battle we've seen before. It's a battle that doesn't bring anything that new to the table. Other than Superman having a wife and son, there isn't much in this battle that hasn't played out before. It feels slightly more novel than seeing Batman punch the Joker again, but not by much.

Beneath the aesthetics though, there are still flaws. There's still a sense that this story has to ignore, negate, or undermine the stories that came before it in order to function. The substance of a battle between Superman and Doomsday may check all the right boxes, but the circumstances of that battle have too many blanks and details have some distressing implications.

While the outcome of the battle is never in question, the effects it reveals along the way are telling. It basically pulls back the curtain and shows the actual process of putting Superman's various genies back in the bottle. The revelation of his secret identity is undermined. His romantic history with Wonder Woman is flat out ignored. Lex Luthor's efforts at being a superhero come into question in a way that's fairly predictable. Ignoring circumstances may work with the Joker, but it doesn't work with Superman.

There's little mystery. There's tension. The purpose and goal of this new era of Action Comics is clear even if it's stated indirectly. Superman is going back to the way he was before the Flashpoint reboot. The only difference now is that he has a kid. That may keep the story from feeling regressive, but it still comes off as contrived.

That said, Jurgens manages to make the most of Jon's presence. His personality and youthful charisma add some much-needed novelty to the story. He also creates an extra dimension of drama with Superman. Him being a family man on top of being a superhero helps add some new dynamics to battles that have played out before. He's able to make those dynamics work in Action Comics #962. Peter Parker would be wise to take note.

DC: Rebirth, as a concept, works because it doesn't try too hard to be edgy or modern anymore. After years of trying too hard to make every character more like Batman, this initiative attempts to re-focus on the basics. The approach works when it happens organically and naturally with the characters. With Action Comics and the Superman comics as a whole, there's too much force behind the effort. Superman defines himself by being careful with his vast powers. It's a lesson that DC Comics would be wise to heed.

In this case, putting the genie back in the bottle causes the bottle to crack and fracture. At the very least, Action Comics #962 keeps it from shattering completely. There are one too many predictable plot lines, but there are also new and interesting dynamics emerging within the story. It doesn't prevent some parts of that story from being inane at times, but it still finds a way capture the heart of what makes Superman so iconic.

Final Score: 6 out of 10