Justice League Giant #2 (Walmart Exclusive) - Spoilers
For whatever reason, the trashiest Walmart near me is the only one with the second issues. :confused:
Anyways, the issue starts with Hippolyta scolding a young Diana because she swam out past the reef (nevermind the fact that it was to save a pod of whales). Diana reasons that Hippolyta would've done the same thing despite being punished. Flash forward to current time, where Diana and Steve are at Doom's Doorway investigating the missing amazons. Diana had just defeated a ten-ton tiger, and Diana realizes that Echidna has taken all of the amazons. They're suddenly attacked by another monster, a rhinaur (rhino centaur, whatever you would call that). Steve tells Diana they need backup but Diana disagrees and beats the rhino-man. She tells Steve that Hippolyta had begged her not to leave Themyscira and called her a fool for leaving. She doesn't want that to be her last conversation with her mother.
Meanwhile, it was indeed Echidna who captured the amazons. She also plans on capturing Diana, whose presence she feels underneath Themyscira. She wants to get justice on the Olympian Gods for using her children as slaves and fodder, so she plans to exact revenge by killing Athena's amazons. She introduces her newest daughter, the Hydragonne. Diana immediately leaps into battle with the fire-breathing dragon while Hippolyta manages to get through to Echidna's mothering side after a speech. Echidna stops the Hydragonne from further attacking and leaves with her children.
Diana frees the other amazons (one asks about Beyonce... oye) while Diana tells Hippolyta that she wouldn't have returned had she not known Themyscira was under attack. Hippolyta once again scolds her and Diana leaves calling Hippolyta stubborn (which Steve found amusing). Cue invisible plane joke, followed by a smiling Hippolyta.
* * * * *
So this one wasn't as good as the first issue for me. I *loved* Echidna, especially her design, as well as her new daughter the hydragonne. Diana also mentions that she's an "old god," which I prefer rather than just being a random snake woman who is easily dispatched like in Perez's run.
But Echidna is about all I liked in the issue... Clearly, this is not set in Rebirth as [B]Hippolyta willingly exiled Diana after she chose to return Steve to the United States.[/B] The relationship between Hippolyta and Diana shouldn't be so hard to get right, but it certainly is wrong here. The story doesn't even end with a proper resolution, just an angry Diana who thinks her mother is stubborn and a Hippolyta who refuses to show her lighter side to her daughter.
I also didn't like Steve freaking out over the monsters Diana was fighting. He said that they should've called Superman or the entire JLA to help, but... why? Diana is used to fighting these kinds of creatures. On the other hand, though, Diana was clearly outmatched facing off against Echidna, the hydragonne, and other monsters at the same time in Doom's Doorway, yet she was super gung-ho about it. Diana's not stupid, she should know when she can't win. But here she didn't even scratch the hydragonne before Echidna prepared to join in on the fight. It was odd, but I'm sure I'm just overthinking all of this.
It was still an enjoyable story if you don't delve too deeply into it the way I am doing. ;)
