Wonder Woman #38 // Review
Trinity didn’t have a whole lot of patience for her father. She wanted him to tell her everything about her mother and how they met. He’s wise enough to know that she’s ready to hear the rest of the story, so he’s going to talk about the contest on Themyscira in Wonder Woman #38. Writer Stephanie Williams and artist Clayton Henry deliver one of the best renderings of Wonder Woman’s origin that has ever been presented in any format in history. It’s a profoundly moving look at a legend as seen through the eyes of the man who loves her.
Diana wore a mask to the contest. Maybe everyone in the arena DIDN’T know that it was her, but her mother did. Queen Hippolyte was certain by the way the masked rider got off of her kanga, but there was never any real doubt. The Amazon knew what her daughter wanted and she knew that Diana had the right skills to allow her to emerge victorious...and serve as the ambassador from Paradise Island to the rest of the world. The queen could have stopped the contest at any time and simply demanded her daughter exit the contest. She knew better than to do that.
It's a standard part of Diana's origin. There's a contest to see who gets the honor and responsibility of leaving the island. It's a part of her origin that's rarely given the kind of depth and detail that it truly deserves. Williams fines, all of the clever nuance that truly does justice to one of the most truly altruistic characters in the history of comic books superhero heroes. What's more: she's able to deliver the story in the words of Steve Trevor with the kind of heart and insight that render a character who is truly charming enough to have had Wonder Woman fall in love with him. That’s not an easy thing to do given the towering beauty of Wonder Woman. She doesn’t need a man...but Williams makes him charming enough to seem believable as a love interest for Diana.
Henry’s art is solidly impresive on all levels. Action and drama are brought to the page with a poise and style that feels suitably, ominous. Architectural renderings of the arena managed to look at impressive without totally overwhelming, the action taking place on the page. Every contestant and citizen on Themyscira his beautiful in a distinct way. There's a tremendous amount of personality being brought forth by Henry that respects a kind of symmetry within the crowd while simultaneously respecting a great deal of diversity.
The contest that turned, Diana into Wonder Woman has its own kind of poetry to it. And it's not something that's really been acknowledged all that much in previous renderings of the origin. It's satisfying to finally see someone rendering it in a way that delivers some of its potential. Stephanie Williams may be working on a structure that has been laid out pretty extensively over the course of the past 81 years, but she’s found a beautiful way to bring it to the page. Powerful work. Williams is a genius.
