Absolute Wonder Woman #2 is written Kelly Thompson and published by DC. Artwork is by Hayden Sherman, colours by Jordie Bellaire and letters by Becca Carey. Main cover art (left) is by Sherman and Bellaire.
Absolute Wonder Woman #2 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
Gateway City has never seen anything like the Harbinger-Prime, the enormous, ravenous monster that has just risen from the depths of the ocean to darken its shores…but the Harbinger has never seen anything like the unstoppable Diana, Princess of the Underworld!
Review
DC’s Absolute Universe continues to offer up a fascinating alternate look at classic characters this week with the release of Absolute Wonder Woman #2. More so than her Trinity colleagues, Diana’s Absolute treatment is a scintillating slow-burning story which balances out big stakes monster-movie scale with deep character interrogation.
The world-building of Absolute Wonder Woman begins right from the first panel. Picking up right where issue #1 left off, Diana is still facing down Harbinger-Prime and its army of flying demons. Writer Kelly Thompson continues to frame the story through TV news reporter Allan Fox. Though this Motif will disappear for the end of the issue, the familiarity of the opening scene is a nice bit of continuity with last month’s debut. More importantly we learn through Fox’s reporting that Wonder Woman isn’t known to the people of Gateway City. So, like Batman and Superman, we’re witnessing a new origin story of sorts for Diana.
There are still shades of the original Diana in this new version. Despite her hell-bound upbringing and lack of connection to Amazonian roots, Diana still uses her words as much as she uses her might. Some critics seem to be divided on how far the Absolute universe is separating its new interpretations. But arguably Thompson has really strongly defined those differences from the outset.
Rather than lingering on the success of stopping the threat from Harbinger-Prime, Absolute Wonder Woman #2 instead shifts focus to a different aspect of her character. As the smoke clears on the beach in Gateway City we’re introduced to another classic element of Wonder Woman storytelling, Steve Trevor. The character’s appearance thrusts the narrative back to the Wild Isle for expose more of Diana’s time in hell. Thompson riffs on the classic introduction of Steve Trevor, having him wash up on the beach once again. Of course the story soon divulges as Steve soon has to reconcile that he has somehow wound up in hell. Something which weighs heavy on his character.
We’re only gifted with part of the story this issue. Just how Steve came to escape from hell remains to be seen. But what it does do is allow Thompson to show us Diana’s capability for human connection. It shows more of her compassion and capacity for love. All the characteristics that anyone would associate with her character. Having that foundation fully baked in to the DNA of the book then allows for all of that fun interpretation and riffing to sit comfortably on top.
Back in Gateway City, Steve is able to act as a conduit to introduce Diana to the military forces which are amassing in reaction to Harbinger-Prime. Absolute Wonder Woman #2 becomes even more dialogue heavy as Diana and Commander Cole thrash out their differences. We’re used to seeing Diana being somewhat universally accepted in classic portrayals. Whilst Tom King is telling a very different story in his current Wonder Woman run, Diana is still a beacon of hope. The scale of the attack from Harbinger-Prime and the danger caused by Diana fighting them back on the beach leads to skepticism. She may have saved Gateway City but being an unknown quantity puts the military on edge and that’s where Thompson really continues to break new ground.
I really admire how Thompson is balancing out the characterisation of Diana against the scale of the battles before her. Issue #2 ends with an even larger foe on the horizon. It seems that Diana is far more aware of the threats which face humanity. But as a reader we’re no more clued in as to what is really going on. We’re dutifully coming along for the ride, discovering events as they happen which makes Absolute Wonder Woman a pretty rewarding read.
Verdict
The second issue of Absolute Wonder Woman is a wordy affair, diving in to the legend of Diana and Steve. Kelly Thompson is digging deep to define who Diana, Princess of Hell, is and where she fits in to the pantheon of the new DCU. Absolute Wonder Woman continues to be a divine slow-drip story with a strong sense of character.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
