Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace #4 // Review
It’s a simple idea. Loki used it as a central concept for Marvel’s Act’s of Vengeance crossover back in 1990. This time it’s the DC Universe. This time it’s The Penguin. The idea is simple: certain villains keep meeting defeat when encountering the same heroes all the time. The advantage of surprise might be gained if the villains agreed to fight each other’s arch-enemies. Each of the villains draws the name of a hero at random. The Scarecrow has particularly bad luck: he draws Diana of Themyscira. He’s in for a challenge a long way from Gotham in Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace #4. Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti continue their deeply enjoyable run with Diana in an issue drawn by Daniel Sampere. Color comes to the page courtesy of Adriano Lucas.
After a brief intro, the issue dives into the past. It’s the late 1940s. Wonder Woman and The Socialite defeat a villain in policeman’ uniform, the two have tea and crumpets in an upscale establishment. The narrative then shoots ahead to present day. The Socialite is dying of cancer. Wonder Woman visits her before her death and funeral. Then the bombs fall, and the world ends. There’s slaughter and suffering. There’s something strange about it, though. Things are advancing in a nightmare that doesn’t match reality, and Diana knows things are not as they seem, and she’s going to have to set things right.
Palmiotti and Conner manage an impressive narrative economy in this issue. The Socialite is introduced for the first time, three pages into the chapter. She only has 3.5 pages after that to make an impression before the narrative jumps ahead, and she’s on her death bed. Palmiotti and Conner nail a very emotional connection in those few pages that conjure a powerful sense of tragedy at her passing a few pages later. The sudden arrival of total armageddon in the following pages feels like a punch to the gut that keeps getting worse with every panel until Wonder Woman realizes what’s going on. This is a VERY sharply-paced issue.
Sampere does some clever work as well, but it’s not all apparent right away. Things feel stiff in the early pages. The jarring jumps between eras don’t feel nearly as powerful as the should, and the action feels very uncomfortably still when it should be kinetic. Sampere finds considerable momentum once things start looking apocalyptic, though. There are some profoundly dark moments brought to the page straight out of Diana’s worst fears. Lucas’ colors lend a dark radiance to the explosive fire shooting out of Wonder Woman’s worst nightmare.
After opening the new weekly series with a few one-shot stories, Palmiotti and Conner launch into Agent of Peace’s a very tightly-paced issue that delves pretty far into Wonder Woman’s inner psyche. The art may not work in action, but the nightmare of the visuals DO hold an impressive power that continues to build momentum for Diana’s new series.
