Wonder Woman #1 // Review
The place was Kanigher’s Cues, a pool hall in West Billings, Montana. A woman was assaulted there. That Woman happened to be Themysciran. She lost her temper. And since she was an Amazon, that loss of temper meant a multiple-homicide. She was in the United States on a work visa. People are demanding that something be done in Wonder Woman #1. Writer Tom King opens a whole new chapter in the life of Princess Diana in an issue that is drawn by Daniel Sampere and colorist Tomeu Morey. King and Sampere usher in a new phase in the history of Wonder Woman: The Amazon Safety Act of 2023.
Naturally, things were going to get out of hand. Current political climate being what it is, everyone’s ready to pounce on any incident and make it a bigger deal than it actually is. So, a multiple homicide by a superhuman from Themyscira is going to turn into a situation where all Themyscirans are deported from the U.S. until a determination can be made about the threat they pose to the American people. Themyiscirans are being escorted out of the country...either willingly or in bodybags. They have yet to face the world’s most prominent Themysciran, though. They’re not ready for what they will have to face...
Fifteen pages. Tom King draws out the first appearance of Wonder Woman in the sixth series of her own comic book for FIFTEEN PAGES. It’s a cheap gimmick, but it works. King takes a long time to set up the current political climate and how it applies to Amazons in the D.C. Universe. It’s difficult to reconcile King’s treatment of popular anxieties with a larger view of the D.C. Universe and all of the many, many people of great power that are walking around in and out of costume, but the politics of King’s story are at least internally consistent. And the big showdown between Wonder Woman and her new villain--Commander Steel. (A twisted version of an old superhero who goes back to the late 1970s.)
King directs Sampere to cast the gaze of the panels solidly away from direct action quite a few times over the course of the issue. The opening action at Kanigher’s Cues is seen from a distance. Sampere is directed to focus on the drama of popular opinion from many different angles before delivering a tragic showdown between government agents and a defiant Amazon. The action in THAT scene establishes the power of the new villain and his henchmen before Sampere is finally allowed to deliver a powerful showdown between Steel and Wonder Woman that hits the page with impressive force in a snowy graveyard.
King’s pacing hits the page with clever direction. An early showdown between a powerful Wonder Woman and a comparatively weak Steel features some very smart foreshadowing. Wonder Woman has been around for long enough that she KNOWS she’s going to face this guy again many, many times. She tells him as much...which is such a brilliantly self-aware line for Wonder Woman to utter as she defeats the guy. If King can manage more of this kind of cleverness, his run with Diana should be a lot of fun.
