Wonder Woman Giant #4 - "Gundra the Great"

I've been skimming the Wonder Woman 100-Page Giants whenever I see them, but unfortunately none of the stories have stood out for me. Until today, where I saw #4 had included a Gundra story. Did anyone pick it up?

I'm not sure if these stories are for sure set in Rebirth (I always assumed they were, but Gudra's playing a role in the current comics so there are some inconsistencies). But it was a fun story nevertheless that spotlights a seldom-used antagonist with a lot of potential.

The story (by Jeff Parker) is super short, but still manages to have some great moments. Diana travels to some foreign country where there is war brewing and finds Gundra, who states "The Great Gundra hears the cries of women, and she answers." Diana tries to tell Gundra to stay out of it which prompts Gundra to punch her through the building. The fun battle scene ends when Diana uses the lasso to uncover Gundra's tragic backstory of being mystically exiled from her Valkyrie sisters. In perfect Wonder Woman fashion, she embraces the tearful Gundra and offers her help. Together, they stop the war that Gundra had caused and share a cheesy fistbump.

While Gundra is certainly less villainous here, I loved the relationship and bonding the two shared. I'm always a fan of Wonder Woman offering her hand to her often misunderstood enemies, and this story had all of that. The art was also quite nice, with Gundra looking like a [I]very[/I] sturdy woman easily capable of throwing hands with Diana.

The other new story in this special was also decent, though I hate to see Cheetah once again relegated to team member, this time led by Penguin (to be fair, other big villains like Black Manta and Captain Cold were there, too). Her role was very small but the story was by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Connor who seem to be regulars on this book, so it may be continued in later issues.

That story focuses on Diana's superhero friend Socialite (who may or may not be an existing character? I've never heard of her). It shows their adventures from a while back, with Wondie wearing an outfit inspired by Lynda Carter (fun!). But cut to present where she's dying of cancer. The super-villains all picked names out of a hat to fight other villains' archenemies, so Scarecrow got Wonder Woman and used poison gas to torment Diana on the day of Socialite's funeral. Wonder Woman manages to overcome it and gives Scarecrow a taste of his own medicine.

Nice to see her coming back.

I thought these Giant comics were set out of continuity? The Titans roster in the Giants is different than the one in the main DC line.

Cool to see someone finally use her rather than just an extra body in a group shot. I always thought Gundra would be cool way to bring in Norse mythology to WW's world since I like it when she interacts with other mythologies given her Greek ties.

[QUOTE=Dr. Poison;4912079]I thought these Giant comics were set out of continuity? The Titans roster in the Giants is different than the one in the main DC line.[/QUOTE]

Are they? I wonder if it's been confirmed somewhere?

[QUOTE=Gaius;4912096]Cool to see someone finally use her rather than just an extra body in a group shot. I always thought Gundra would be cool way to bring in Norse mythology to WW's world since I like it when she interacts with other mythologies given her Greek ties.[/QUOTE]

Steve Orlando set up Gudra (ugh I prefer Gu[B]n[/B]dra) for future writers if he doesn't get to her in this Warmaster story. So here's hoping she isn't just dropped completely!

I always wanted to see Gundra/Gudra return to the WW series.

[QUOTE=Nyssane;4911720]I've been skimming the Wonder Woman 100-Page Giants whenever I see them, but unfortunately none of the stories have stood out for me. Until today, where I saw #4 had included a Gundra story. Did anyone pick it up?

I'm not sure if these stories are for sure set in Rebirth (I always assumed they were, but Gudra's playing a role in the current comics so there are some inconsistencies). But it was a fun story nevertheless that spotlights a seldom-used antagonist with a lot of potential.

The story (by Jeff Parker) is super short, but still manages to have some great moments. Diana travels to some foreign country where there is war brewing and finds Gundra, who states "The Great Gundra hears the cries of women, and she answers." Diana tries to tell Gundra to stay out of it which prompts Gundra to punch her through the building. The fun battle scene ends when Diana uses the lasso to uncover Gundra's tragic backstory of being mystically exiled from her Valkyrie sisters. In perfect Wonder Woman fashion, she embraces the tearful Gundra and offers her help. Together, they stop the war that Gundra had caused and share a cheesy fistbump.

While Gundra is certainly less villainous here, I loved the relationship and bonding the two shared. I'm always a fan of Wonder Woman offering her hand to her often misunderstood enemies, and this story had all of that. The art was also quite nice, with Gundra looking like a [I]very[/I] sturdy woman easily capable of throwing hands with Diana.

The other new story in this special was also decent, though I hate to see Cheetah once again relegated to team member, this time led by Penguin (to be fair, other big villains like Black Manta and Captain Cold were there, too). Her role was very small but the story was by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Connor who seem to be regulars on this book, so it may be continued in later issues.

That story focuses on Diana's superhero friend Socialite (who may or may not be an existing character? I've never heard of her). It shows their adventures from a while back, with Wondie wearing an outfit inspired by Lynda Carter (fun!). But cut to present where she's dying of cancer. The super-villains all picked names out of a hat to fight other villains' archenemies, so Scarecrow got Wonder Woman and used poison gas to torment Diana on the day of Socialite's funeral. Wonder Woman manages to overcome it and gives Scarecrow a taste of his own medicine.[/QUOTE]

Sounds like fun and interesting stories! How was the artwork?

Whether or not it's in continuity with the main book is inconsequential to me at this point. After all the Flashpoint/Nu52/Rebirth/5G timeline shenanigans over the years, I simply just don't care anymore. I'll take a good story where I can get it without the irksome "continuity" issue spoiling it for me.

Is this a Wonder Woman Giant or just the DC Giant? I don't recall there being a Wonder Woman Giant.