WONDER WOMAN #19

Expatriate, Part 2:  Lifeblood

June 2008

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Bernard Chang

Inks by Bernard Chang

Cover by Bernard Chang

Synopsis

The Khunds have asked Wonder Woman to help them fight the Ichor, which has been destroying Khund cities all over their planet.  When Wonder Woman investigates, she discovers Green Lantern Procanon Kaa, who has allowed the Ichor to continue its attacks as revenge against the Khund because they destroyed his homeworld.  Meanwhile, Khund advisor Kharhi has unleashed a radioactive suicide bomb over the area.  Wonder Woman convinces Kaa to fulfill his lantern oath and together the two of them stop the bomb.  Then, Wonder Woman devises a plan to help insure lasting peace throughout the Khund empire.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

One of the unique aspects of Wonder Woman’s character is that she is a warrior who is searching for peace.  It is also something that many people find contradictory, that someone trained to fight doesn’t want to fight, even though I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive.  Many writers often take one side or the other and forget that Diana is both sides of the coin.  Simone tackles this aspect of Wonder Woman in this issue and I think she handles it very well, with Wonder Woman engaging in battle but stopping short of ultimate victory to insure peace.  It was a nice moment and helped to define Simone’s take on the character.  As for the rest of the story, I still think that taking Wonder Woman to outer space is not the wisest decision and I am not sure Wonder Woman has the power to create a new member of the Green Lantern Corps.  Plus, the Ichor seems like an afterthought and nothing more than a plot device secondary to everything else going on.  I mean, Etta’s reasoning may be sound, but it doesn’t seem like the type of thing that I would think would be enough to stop them what they are doing.

It is interesting to note that men and women were showering together at the Department of Metahuman Affairs (and I type it out because the abbreviation tends to change depending on whatever book they appear).  I would like to think that this is a sign of equality, that men and women who are fighting together should not be separated because of societal values.  Or it may have been easier to draw the woman oogling Nemesis while he is naked.

PREVIOUS ISSUE	Main		Page	NEXT ISSUE