DCU Comic Book Reviews

WONDER WOMAN #28

Rise Of The Olympian, Part Three:  Blood Of The Stag

March 2009

Written by Gail Simone

Pencils by Aaron Lopresti

Inks by Matt Ryan

Cover by Aaron Lopresti

Synopsis

Despite her injuries, Wonder Woman prepares to go to war against Genocide to retrieve her gold lasso.  At the Department of Metahuman Affairs, Sarge Steel visits Dr. Psycho on his jail cell.  Elsewhere, Genocide continues to dismantle the Justice League of America.  Wonder Woman and her allies then arrive to join the fight.  Near Themyscira, Zeus shows the new Amazons, whom he calls Olympians, to their new home.  He tells them they will fight the warmongers to find peace.  And Zeus will create a son for them.  Meanwhile, Wonder Woman continues to battle Genocide.  Diana is able to injure it.  In the prison cells, Cheetah visits Dr. Psycho as well.  Moments later, the entire building explodes.  In the Persian Gulf, the Olympians find an army battleship.  They decide to sink it.

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

I have conflicting feelings about this issue and this storyline in general.  I love the way Simone writes Wonder Woman.  I think Simone’s interpretation is probably one of the best in recent years.  In almost every issue there are scenes and moments that I think greatly demonstrate the duality of Diana as a warrior and someone who seeks peace.  Despite Simone’s characterization, however, she has yet to create an interesting plot to showcase the character.  And this story is not helping.  I think the void surrounding Genocide is hurting the story.  It is not good when the best plot developments are for the background plot (Zeus and the Olympians).  The plot in the forefront is just not captivating enough.  The role of Genocide in this story is simply to fight Diana, much like Doomsday was created to fight Superman.  So we have a big battle but no stakes.  Yes, people are getting beaten and buildings are getting blown up, but the lack of “why” undermines the event.  The sad part is that Simone must have something in mind, given the role of Cheetah in this story.  But when Cheetah says, “Checkmate,” it doesn’t make any sense.  Was her goal to kill Diana?  Destroy the DMA?  It could be both.  It could be neither.  As I said, it isn’t explained.  I think once Simone can explain what is going on beyond the fights, this story will step into high gear.

I got a kick out of the beginning with the hero getting ready for battle while their loved one begs the hero to stay out of the fight and let others handle it.  The difference, of course, is the switch in gender.  Rather than, say, Lois begging Superman it is Tom begging Wonder Woman.  I am not sure if Simone did this consciously or not and even if it was, Simone infuses the scene with humor and affection that it works regardless of the gender.