Wonder Woman #31 *Spoilers*

[Nyssane]

After the preview where we are introduced to Paul, the Henry Cavill-lookalike is confronted by Grail. Grail gets a good hit on Paul with her scythe apparently forged by Hades (though Paul corrects her about it being Hephaestus, may mean something later?). Then Paul reveals himself to be... Hercules! He and Grail battle until Grail uses her omega beams and then absorbs his essence leaving him a dried husk on the ground.

In Los Angeles eleven days later, Wonder Woman one-punches Giganta (ugh). Giganta had apparently been stealing artifacts across the country, and Diana and Steve were tracking her down. Diana and Steve are approached by Blake Hooper, a probate lawyer. He tells Diana that she's inherited Hercules's fortune.

Elsewhere, Grail gives child Darkseid Hercules's life essence, but it doesn't age him as much as Grail hoped. Darkseid replies that it's fine, that there are more of Zeus's children on Earth and that they'll have to kill them faster.

- - - - -

I thought it was an all right start to the story. It felt very short, and maybe not the most engaging way to start a story arc (it will definitely read better in trade). It was a pretty neat surprise that Paul wasn't actually Jason as we all originally thought, but rather Hercules.

Ugggh, when will Giganta stop being a one-shot villain to open a story arc for Wonder Woman? I'm really hoping the artifacts she was stealing will come into play and that she'll play a larger role in the arc than just being punched out by Diana. It's becoming almost routine at this point for the villain.

I did really enjoy the art, however!

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Nice fake out with Hercules, who, technically, would be Diana’s brother (if the Zeus origin holds).

Otherwise, great art and the writing was solid. Robinson managed to avoid indulging in his worst impulses. I am absolutely on board for the next issue.

[Outside_85]

That... really sounds like a waste of a demigod/friend/foe of Diana, especially given his role in the WW mythos.

[theoneandonly]

so in continuity this obviously takes place after the events in metal. Most likely grail is having a gratuitous appearance in metal to retrieve baby darkseid. seemed like a very casual way to murder a demi god instead of the earth shaking trope common in such battles when children of gods clash.

[Dr. Poison]

I was surprised to see Hercules killed off but this story isn't over and we all know how likely it is that gods can be reborn. Just look at one of the main stars of this story - Darkseid. My only gripe with this issue was Giganta being on the cover and only having a cameo appearance. I really hope this is another "fake out" and she ends up playing a larger role in this story.

[Miles To Go]

spoilers:

Diana's living the high life! One Punch Wonder! Some advancements with Kidsied!

end of spoilers

Very good opener.

As always, here's the monthly reminder

Put all posts pertaining to the actual issue in the Issue discussion thread (or start one if there isn't one) with 'Spoilers' marked in the header.

This is a discussion of the Preview only.

Thanks!

The thread says discussion and spoilers, I presume this was posted in the preview thread but they've been split now?

[adrikito]

Hercules, I remember see him in one AQUAMAN story, now cancelled.. I doubt that this Jason can have a better design.. He should appear in WW 34(this solicitation talk about their first meeting), but maybe he appears before..

The Heir of Hercules fortune.. I suppose this will help her find hercules killer.

Grail should be Darkseid right hand, not Kalibab or the Furies Boss(barda is good).. She is helping him to restore his power.. Speaking about this, even now, Darkseid design is cutter than Kalibab..

[Fenix]

Best art so far for Wonder Woman Rebirth IMO. Loved the fake out with Hercules and the when he said Hercules with his giant logo on the page made me chuckle for some reason.

People were concerned that this run will focus mostly on Jason and not Diana, but it doesn't look that way. The Times Past issues will be the ones that focus on him, but there is only two of them so far.

[RealWonderman]

WOW. I was not expecting to be so on board with this story!! This was fantastic! And...did anyone notice that Diana looks JUST LIKE Gal now??? YAAAAAY!

[Mel Dyer]

Let us not forget that Tio Mel predicted this fake-out business, with Paul Bunyan, ..AND that Grail would kill him off, setting the story in motion. This is exactly how Robinson kicked off the JSA series, in case some of you didn't check out my links in the #31 preview thread.

[Vanguard-01]

I think it's off to a pretty great start, honestly. Sets up the characters quite nicely. Grail continues to actually come across as a truly menacing villain who can actually be a quality antagonist for Diana. The story starts off by setting some very high stakes. Good intro with good art.

And yeah, I wouldn't worry about Heracles. Gods are notoriously easy to respawn in comics. He'll be back.

[Rakzo]

I'm glad that James Robinson is back to DC and this pretty much reads like one of his stories. A pretty interesting premise and development... with less than stellar execution. The way how the characters of Hercules and Grail are introduced to Wonder Woman's world makes sense and is intriguing and exciting, the thing is that if you know something about Robinson's work is that his dialogue is rarely natural and there are some lines here that kept me out of the story, not to the point of ruining it but they're still noticeable.

Pagulayan's artwork is pretty good though, really beautiful characters. Not a perfect beginning but interesting enough and still miles better than the last unremarkable arc.

[Calvinr]

This was a good solid start, I'm also glad Robinson is back at Dc. Grail just kicks asss, I'm definitely intrigued to where it heads.

[DragonPiece]

It was a cool fakeout, but don' the solicits already say he'll probably come back in this arc anyways?

[Soubhagya]

It was a very good issue.
It caught me off guard atleast three times.
It has set up future issues nicely. I am excited for what to come.

spoilers:

So Darkseid is no more a baby! Hercules! He was so easily killed by Grail! Diana is rich! And the costume which suits Giganta. I don't mind the normal but logically speaking she should wear this. For a while i thought that guy was the brother. Then he was Hercules.

end of spoilers