Future State: Wonder Woman #1 is available to purchase now on digital and in print from DC Comics. The issue is written by Joelle Jones who also provides both pencils and inks. Colours come from Jordie Bellaire.
Cover art is by Jordie Bellaire and Joelle Jones.
Synopsis
Deep in the heart of the Amazon rainforest lies a hero of mythic legend…Wonder Woman! But in the absence of Diana, Yara Flor has risen out of obscurity to protect Man’s World from the magic that lies within it. Along with her trusty steed, she journeys to the Underworld to rescue one of her Themysciran sisters from the grasp of Hades. Will she unleash the wrath of this god in the process? You won’t want to miss this first appearance of a character who will change the history of Wonder Woman forever!
Review
DC Future State: Wonder Woman #1 is another jewel in the crown of DC’s latest line change. Where other leads in the DC Universe – see: Superman, Batman – have been replaced with established characters, this new Wonder Woman is an entirely new invention. One which already feels like she plenty of longevity in her storytelling.
Take a huge side-step with an established name like Wonder Woman is always a risk. 2021 is 80 years since Diana first graced the pages of comic books and Wonder Woman 1984 is still attempting to make it’s mark on the DC Films universe. So why choose to drop in a brand new version of the character now?
The final issue of Dark Nights: Death Metal closed out a huge arc for Diana’s character. It has easily been one of her biggest stories for the last decade. It also leaves her future somewhat up in the air having marked her as the saviour of the multi- or is that now omni? -verse. With her character in a transitional state, why not update her and try to do something different and bring her to an even wider audience?
In walks Yara Flor. A new, Brazilian Wonder Woman. She’s no Diana. There’s a youthful edge to her character which instantly sets the two apart. She’s quippier, more gung-ho and already seems to understand her place in the universe.
DC Future State: Wonder Woman #1 surprisingly isn’t an origin story. Given Yara’s status as a brand new character I had expected to learn about her origin here. I also, somehow, expected her to have ties to Diana which, so far, she does not. Instead this is just an adventure in the life of this new Wonder Woman, treated as though it’s just another issue in an on going title.
Our insight in to her character come first from her narration. It teases her origin and a wider understanding of her history but doesn’t deal with it in great detail. A fantastical adventure featuring dragons and flying horses shows this new Wonder Woman is still as rooted in mythical history as her Greek counterpart. It’s only at the half way point, when Yara meets Caipora, that we begin to understand a little more about the tonal differences between the Wonder Women.
This Wonder Woman has more in common with contemporary female heroes like Buffy. A youthful wit and vigour which fits perfectly with The CW audience for whom a Yara TV series is already in development. I mean that in a non-derogatory manner. Yara has been developed with a specific audience in mind and, as with other Future State books, there’s a razor sharp focus in achieving market penetration.
Suffice to say that Yara’s first adventure feels like it both crafts a new path as well as honouring Diana. It feels like a story which Diana could easily be slotted in to but with a new, youthful outlook and a fresh genealogy to pull from.
Joelle Jones was the perfect choice to bring Yara’s character in to the world. Jones has proven time and time again that she has a brilliant grasp on characters within the DC Universe. Her approach to crafting stories, particularly for female characters, has shown that she is more than capable in handling an A-list book. Of all the DC Future State books I’ve read so far this is easily the one which is most ready to become a fully fledged series.
Verdict
Future State: Wonder Woman #1 offers up a brand new character suitably different from her predecessor, fully-defined and ready to take on the DC Universe.
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