WONDER WOMAN #17

The Circle, Conclusion:  A Time Of Reckoning

April 2008

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Terry Dodson and Ron Randall

Inks by Rachel Dodson and Ron Randall

Cover by Terry and Rachel Dodson

Synopsis

Then...Queen Hippolyta’s royal guards attempt to kill her majesty’s child, the one they feel is an abomination to the Amazon way.  Hippolyta, however, fights back.  Now...Wonder Woman protects her mother against a horde of Nazis.  She is able to stop them and drive them off Themyscira.  Right after they leave, the Queen’s former bodyguards attack Diana.  They then take Hippolyta and tell Diana she must come for her.  Diana do so and manages to defeat all of the guards.  Their leader, Alkyone, tells Diana to kill her, but Diana refuses and instead forgives her.  Alkyone then plunges into the water and, seemingly, to her death.  Later, Diana leaves the island and returns home.  There she is reunited with Etta Candy.  She also questions why Alkyone had to die and what Alkyone was trying to tell her. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I really enjoyed the ending to this storyline as well as the storyline as a whole.  The good news is that I loved the way Simone showed Diana tearing about the bodyguards.  She took out each bodyguard one-by-one, effectively and swiftly.  It does a great job of showing how much Wonder Woman balances between Superman and Batman, showing her strength and power as well as her cunning and planning.  The bad news is that the final battle between her and Alkyone should have been longer and more brutal than the single punch we received.  There was a great chance to write a villain that can battle Wonder Woman physically and mentally and Simone fails to deliver on both counts, especially in the non-battle.  As a result, the ending falls flat.  As I suspected, Simone left the door open, either for herself or someone else, for Alkyone to come back at a later date but I am less interested now than I would be if Alkyone had, at least, been able to fight Diana better than she did. 

I am confused by the appearance of Etta Candy.  She was first portrayed as being an adversary, but in a shocking twist (said with slight sarcasm) it turns out that she is an ally of Wonder Woman.  Who also happens to know that her secret identity of Diana Prince.  I am not that conversant with Wonder Woman’s history, but I never thought Etta knew who Diana really was.  Or am I missing something?  And how does one get a job as unofficial alibi?  Exactly, where do you apply?  Don’t get me wrong, Etta is a nice touch to the cast of characters for this book.  Her introduction, however, seems a little odd to me. 

Hey, brownie points to Simone for including Plastic Man.  As a birthday candle.  As an aside, in the birthday scene, who is on the far left of the panel holding the coffee cup?  Lois?  Linda?

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