In a cave in Norway, Diana confronts a revenant warrior from her past. Elsewhere a portal is opened unleashing the fury of Valkyries on the Amazons of Themyscira in Wonder Woman #756. Writer Steve Orlando ushers the Wonder Woman toward a climactic battle next issue in a story drawn by Jesus Merino with ink by Vicente Cifunetes. Orlando and company hit the right beats in a prelude to war that feels just a bit stiff and stilted in places. The overall emotional momentum of the series is, however, maintained as Orlando continues to wrap-up his run on the series. 

Wonder Woman has been speared in the shoulder by Paula Von Gunther. She’s been given a choice: either open a portal to Themyscira to allow the Valkyrie to enter, or they will continue to kill in patriarch’s world. As the issue opens, she pulls the spear from her shoulder and chooses not to make a choice. Paula could not have expected anything else. Diana will not condemn anyone to death. Resolute in her decision, Wonder Woman battles Paula as elsewhere Donna Troy battles Paula’s greatest champions. Meanwhile, the Valkyrie forces do, in fact, invade Themyscira as Amazon forces mobilize to meet them.  

Orlando hammers home the emotional intensity of the issue with heavy dialogue accompanying tense action. The pacing feels more or less right in a story that flashes back and forth between Diana and Donna. Both come across suitably heroic for different reasons, which serves as a nice contrast that is satisfyingly character-driven. The story echoes so much of what Wonder Woman has faced in the course of her past that none of what’ going on feels terribly new. Orlando muddles through the motions as best as can be expected. The wonder that is present in the best of Diana’s adventures is sadly absent as Orlando continues to march toward the end of his run on the series. 

Merino and Cifuentes manage a hit-or-miss dynamic in delivering both action and drama to the page. The determined heroism of Wonder Woman carries some impressive impact in some panels, but the percussive power of the action looks awkward and stilted in places as well. Detail ion individual panels can feel impressive at those times when it’s not bogging-down the action. As uneven as much of the art is, the most significant moments of the issue are admirably carried as the momentum of the story reaches issue’s end. 

Orlando and company still have a chance to do something refreshing and novel with this storyline if they’re willing to move against the overwhelming current of the war between the Valkyrie and the Amazons that seems inevitable next issue. The unique concerns of two cultures of warriors might be interesting to explore in greater depth if Orlando can find some way to deliver it to the page that doesn’t get lost in the motions of a traditional fantasy adventure climax. It might be stiff in places, but there’s genuine momentum here.

Grade: B