Wonder Woman #44 - Discussion & Spoilers

[Sacred Knight]

I actually thought this was going to be the direction for the two characters from the start, honestly. I saw a romantic undertone between Jason and Grail right away, with a reveal she seduced him in a more physical sense to win him over to her side. A confirmation didn't surprise me in the slightest.

[numberthirty]

Bummer for the folks who were giving this the benefit of the doubt.

I guess it could always pull something out at the last possible moment?

[Jackalope89]

Aw, I wanted Super Amazon!

Diana's hair going blonde and sticking straight up being fully optional, of course.

But I figured Grail had seduced the gullible and inexperienced Jason.

[Mel Dyer]

I think it's very telling that, in the heat of all that action and seeing Diana take revenge on Darkseid for the deaths of her family, there's no heart in this narrative that I can feel. There's no point, at which the imaginary score swells to a climactic crescendo, and the story takes an unexpected turn, ..and you feel the urge to cheer on the heroine and her companions, fighting the good fight. There's no heart, here - no emotional jump-on, sucked-in point in the story.

WW#44 certainly delivers on action and, while that's a step in the right direction, I think it falls flat on intrigue and ..making us care about the characters.

I will totally get the Jason action figure, whenever it comes out! Just the same, I think it's time for him to leave the WW comic to Diana, Etta and Steve and whoever, for awhile. Maybe, he can come back for Thanksgiving, a scruffy, lone-wolf type, who occasionally teams up with his famous sister, on very special adventures.

In spite of all of that, James put enough plot here to ensure that I will be picking up WW#45, which is [I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!] ..the finale for this arc.

[Sacred Knight]

Bummer for the folks who were giving this the benefit of the doubt.

I guess it could always pull something out at the last possible moment?

I've never thought it was nearly as bad as the consensus is here. That said, for me its not nearly as good as I'd hoped.

[RepHope]

I don't think it's "bad" per say. It's not damaging to Diana's character really. The problem is that it's boring. Jason is boring, he doesn't really seem to be anything other than a plot device to let Diana get back to Paradise Island. Grail's character doesn't even really make sense, she went from wanting to raise her father right to helping him enslave the world. Darkseid is just kind of there, he doesn't really have a presence in the comic. This whole arc is just Robinson fulfilling an editorial mandate to wrap up Johns' lingering JL plotlines. I guess it would be nice if Diana could visit home every now and then as a result of this arc.

I'm curious what the "Dark Gods" arc will be about, so I'll keep reading for that, but I really hope someone else takes over the book soon.

[Koriand'r]

Grail specifically says that she never 'set foot' on the island, so she can go back due to the relics and some glove they reverse engineered from the relics.

Diana's dialogue was just beyond ridiculous - ranting about how she can take Darkseid one-on-one and how she's going to destroy him and Grail for murdering her family (that she never met or looked for).

I swear, it felt like Robinson was mocking the fans of Diana who put her on an equal footing with Superman and therefore able to take on Darkseid by herself. She just sounded juvenile throughout the issue.

The whole thing was yet another big, pointless combat with no clear cut winner, ending in the gate to Themyscira opening.

My bet is that *Jason* will get to be the hero since he, too, never 'set foot' on Themyscira, so he can go through the portal as well.

My problem is there was SO MUCH uncharacteristic bragging, boasting and threatening by Diana that if she's successful against Darkseid it will be like "so what? she did what she said she would" if she's not, she looks like a loud mouth fool with egg on her face. It's almost a no win situation.

As someone willing to give Robinson the benefit of the doubt despite my better judgement this issue was highly disappointing. The pacing is off, it took so long to get here because of the delays, tangents and time jumps, it seemed like we would FINALLY get to the big battle...but no. This was just another delay that only served to move the conflict to Themyscira, way too quickly. The book moves like a slow boat to China that teleports the last 100 miles, there's no happy middle ground to keep the journey engaging. The dialogue is awful, Diana is written out of character, both of which are unforgivable, but what's also a major problem for me is the pacing.

[WonderScott]

Well, I read it. I can say that much.

Can I just say how much I dislike dialogue that directly says/confirms exactly what you can already determine by the characters' actions in the art. Or essentially what some other character just said. Obviousness makes for overkill.

There's no nuance or layers to the emotion or action going on here, and certainly no outstanding character moments. For the main character or supporting characters. Diana is smarter and wiser than this, ESPECIALLY when tangling with someone like Darkseid. It's not feeling epic or elegant in it's telling of the tale.

[Mel Dyer]

...Can I just say how much I dislike dialogue that directly says/confirms exactly what you can already determine by the characters' actions in the art. Or essentially what some other character just said. Obviousness makes for overkill.

There's no nuance or layers to the emotion or action going on here, and certainly no outstanding character moments. For the main character or supporting characters. Diana is smarter and wiser than this, ESPECIALLY when tangling with someone like Darkseid. It's not feeling epic or elegant in it's telling of the tale.

"...dialogue that directly says/confirms exactly what you can already determine by the characters' actions in the art..."

Dead-on...thank you for articulating that, so finitely.

It's almost like watching the Saturday morning cartoon version of the Dark Phoenix Saga. Somehow, this story, which should be grand and epic, rushing all the characters to a climactic razor's edge, feels generic ..and written for nine year olds. At this point, "Amazons Attacked!" feels like the literary equivalent of an optical illusion - you look at this story and see more than what is actually there. You see big things, like Darkseid and his big, Stargate-thingy and the grand promise of how that might be used in the story, ..that just get smaller in relevance, the more of it that we read. I don't understand how James Robinson accomplished what feels like so much of what might be so little...or so little of what should be so much?

I still can't believe that THIS run is essentially the conclusion of The Darkseid War! Seriously...The Darkseid War? How is this possible?

[Armor of God]

Well atleast Darkseid is migrating to JLO soon and without the waste of space Grail so there's one positive.

JL and JLD may also be positive for Diana. The upcoming also looks mandated to me.

[Titan Theo]

lol.. Darkseid with his own powers, and absorbed the power of both Zeus and Hercules can't find PI?

[Nyssane]

I don't think it's "bad" per say. It's not damaging to Diana's character really.

I'm not sure that's necessarily true. I mean, nothing is permanently damaging to anyone in comics since everything is temporary, but this whole run has certainly stained the Rebirth Wonder Woman series, particularly at a time where the character is at her highest popularity.

She's off saying some of the most out-of-character statements and doing some of the most un-Wonder Woman actions. I *really* hope the next writer who hops on board ignores the majority of Robinson's characterizations for Diana. But who knows.

[azurescarf]

Oh, god. Why do I now feel like the next issue is going to just be Jason reuniting with Hippolyta, warning the Amazons, and stopping Grail while Diana does literally nothing?

Also, yeah, they said that Grail technically never set foot on the island since she was a baby and was constantly being held. Kinda stupid, but whatever. But this does bring up the question of how did Philippus give the newborn Jason to (I can't remember his name) and still return to Themyscira? I'll have to go back and begrudgingly reread that.

Didn’t Phillipus hand Jason over to his guardian through a portal where the walls of reality were weaker? She never actually left. I keep imagining her tossing baby Jason, like “he’s your problem now”.

As for your later comment about writers, does anyone else get the feeling that maybe Steve Orlando is taking over the title soon? He’s handled three Wonder Woman villains (yes, the Queen of Fables counts), and he says his new title is one he never dreamed he would write. Plus, Chris Conroy is his new editor.

[donnafan]

Didn’t Phillipus hand Jason over to his guardian through a portal where the walls of reality were weaker? She never actually left. I keep imagining her tossing baby Jason, like “he’s your problem now”.

Good question. So, are we to assume that the magical spell/portal preventing comings and goings to the island extends from the physical island to the surrounding waters and the air itself? So a certain proximity to the land mass means you are passing through the portal. This dome-like barrier prevents return visitors but, is weaker in some spots. Could there be a "trap door"? Was thinking about the TV show the dome, where certain spots would allow back-n-forth travel in an otherwise impenetrable barrier. Obviously, the Amazons have an awareness of the weaker spots. Could they have knowledge of a door?

Question about Darkseid's Parademons: has there every been a case where someone has been "cured"? If people can be turned due to a technology "virus" doesn't that mean there is hope that someone like Vic (Cyborg) could come up with a techo-cure?

[Knight]

Horrible Dialogue? Check

Out of character Diana? Check (it should be obvious, even to her, she cannot beat Darkseid by herself. This kind of arrogance in the real world would lead to people's deaths. She seriously needs to deal with this. Better yet, hire a better writer who knows how Diana would react and what she would say. Which is anything but what was in this issue and those before it).

Jason continues to be annoying? Check.

Darkseid has horrible Dialogue? Check.

Grail continues to be a boring villain? Check.

The only good thing about this issue is the art? Check.

Robinson has proven incapable of writing Wonder Woman. He desperately needs to be replaced by a better writer ASAP!