WONDER WOMAN #9

Love And Murder, Part 4

July 2007

Written by Jodi Picoult

Pencils by Terry Dodson

Inks by Rachel Dodson

Cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson

Synopsis

In Washington DC, Queen Hippolyta leads the Amazons on their assault on the national’s capitol in their effort to rescue Diana.  However, Special Agent Tom Tresser (aka Nemesis) has already freed Diana.  The two catch up with the Justice League of America who tell Diana that the Amazons are being led by her mother.  Diana refuses to believe it could be her, but decides to find out.  When she locates her mother, Diana she can’t believe it really is Hippolyta.  While Diana attempts to convince her mother to stop the war, the Department of Metahuman Affairs capture Nemesis, who manages to disguise himself as Sarge Steel to force the DMA to take them both into custody.  At the DMA, Nemesis reveals the impostor to be Everyman and also learns there is a nuclear bomb targeted for Themyscira.  Meanwhile, Diana has found Circe and demands to know why Circe started the war.  When Nemesis tells Diana about the bomb, Diana realizes that if Circe destroyed Themyscira it would put the Amazons at the mercy of humans.  Just then, Hippolyta kills Crice as a traitor.  Before she dies, Circe tells Diana the only way to stop the war is to kill her mother.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

As her short run on Wonder Woman continues, the more I like Picoult’s work and how she is handling Wonder Woman.  Picoult’s ability to interject humor into each issue has been great, Nemesis and his witticisms are actually becoming endearing, and Crice’s general bitchiness works so well.  Each successive issue has built momentum and excitement and plenty of intrigue.  But I have to wonder how much of these issues are from Picoult and how much of this is editorial, especially since these issues are tying into the Amazons Attack mini-series.  The plots and twists seem more geared toward realigning the Amazons to the new Earth and their place in the DCU than in trying to tell a good story.  Granted, Picoult is telling a good story within the confines of a plot that may have been dictated to her, but it is not necessarily a story that she would’ve wanted to tell.  I would love to see her write a story that is not shackled by events wrapped around the entire DCU.  

It’s weird.  The last page of the previous issue and the last page of the first issue of Amazons Attack both feature Diana standing before her mother.  The set-up in two different books just begs that the first page of this issue would feature Diana standing before her mother.  Yet, that moment does not come until page 8.  And even then it seems to take place in a different location that the cliffhangers, which I thought was in one of the monuments (Lincoln) rather than an airplane hanger. 

The big reveal that Sarge Steel was Everyman was not handled very effectively.  When the imposter’s hand gets smashed I thought that it was Nemesis had been caught because how could he be able to duplicate the steel hand.  For the matter, how are Nemesis’ powers different from Everyman’s?  But, I digress.  I really thought that Nemesis had been caught.  Right after the panel with the pen through the hand, we see a faint green glow around the impostor, but nothing to suggest who it could be. 

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