Wonder Woman #51 - Discussion & Spoilers

[WonderScott]

I enjoy Orlando's employ of obscure villains like Death Bat.

[OBrianTallent]

Not to slight Ms. Wilsin in the least, but from what I've seen so far, even at this early stage, I would have been perfectly fine keeping Orlando!

[Sacred Knight]

A simple, touching tale. I really liked it. Great characterization from Diana. And it made me want to see more of Mayfly. She kinda reminds me of post-repentant Faith from Buffy/Angel.

[Stanlos]

Some teasing from Orlando :

Wow! The visuals are stunning and is that....AZTEK?!?!?

[WonderScott]

Wow! The visuals are stunning and is that....AZTEK?!?!?

It is. Orlando introduced a new Aztek in the pages of Justice League of America.

[SiegePerilous02]

Read this today. It was a very nice story, a breath of fresh air compared to the last year of Robinson.

We need more stories like this, with Diana taking the time to reform her villains. Mayfly isn't serving much purpose as a recurring villain, so doing a story like this gives her more value as a character. Diana can't really afford to lose the few relatively big name recurring villains she has, so the C and D list ones are good for this. The inclusion of the Inversion was also fun.

I loved how the story shed more light on Themyscira. I wish Astarte had just been Antiope like in the movie, though I have to wonder if Orlando wants to use Antiope as the one who lead the faction of Amazons who would become the Bana. But Astarte traveling the stars and bringing back knowledge is a cool way to explain how the Amazons got some of their technology. Did she meet the likes of Queen Desira and Suprema? And her design was the same as during the Gail Simone run when she was fighting the hordes of Hades, which was a nice touch.

I also loved that much like the Purple Ray, the Kangas looked like they hopped out of Earth One. Orlando likes to work in Morrison stuff, so this was nice, I hope he can bring in some more Morrison touches to Themyscira while he is with us (I'd love to see those sky cycles with the clam motifs and the fashion make it over to the main canon). And Mala confirmed!

[My Two Cents]

Not buying the issue ........... not buying the trade.
I do not like Orlando writing and this sample has not changed it.

[Stanlos]

It is. Orlando introduced a new Aztek in the pages of Justice League of America.

Hmmmm! Methinks I shall go trade scouting!

[brettc1]

This was the best Wonder Woman since Rucka's.

The story was short yet poignant. As we've seen from the solicits/preview, it picks up where Shea Fontana's run left off in terms of the villain Mayfly. She's in Slabside Prison in Antarctica. Diana takes to visiting her, but she's initially met with hostility. Nevertheless, Diana continues visiting with her and talking to her. Mayfly reveals she's most angry that Diana thinks of her as weak and unworthy of a warrior's death. Over time, Mayfly begins trusting Diana and opening up to her.

However, on the 24th visit, Diana comments that she feels it's good that Mayfly is finally open to bettering herself. Mayfly takes it the wrong way and attacks, and Diana's response is sharply, "No. After this long, Moon, I respect you... But I do not fear you." Mayfly has an epiphany after hearing Diana say she respects her and apologizes.

The two continue having visits and Mayfly obviously enjoys the company. On the 51st visit, Diana seems distant. Inversion the Inside-Out Man (a very obscure one-off villain from the Silver Age, kudos to Orlando!) attacks. Diana had put him away years ago and he wants revenge. He gets a shot on Diana and then begins choking her, but Mayfly saves her. Mayfly later asks why she was too distracted to take out Inversion who she normally could've taken out easily. Diana reveals her aunt Astarte who had trained her had died while defending the Amazons from Hades. She can't even return home to mourn with her sisters. Mayfly was the first person she told. On the 52nd visit, Mayfly leaves the prison and is greeted by Diana.

Thoughts:

Loved the issue! The art took some getting used to, but I ended up really enjoying it in the end.

Steve Orlando really impresses with his knowledge of both Wonder Woman and the overall DC Universe. I mean, who would've ever thought we'd see Inversion again?

I really hope we see Mayfly return as an ally to Diana. How great would it be if she had a retinue of allies who are all reformed criminals that she helped redeem?

The timeline is the one confusing aspect... The 8th visit is said to be "one year from now" and the 52nd visit is "several years from now." Diana mentions that she still can't return home during the 51st visit, but... the whole plot of Wilson's first story arc in a few issues will be Diana doing just that. So, I dunno... it's something I'm willing to overlook because it's such a good story, but I do wish the timing had just been left a bit more vague to avoid confusion.

I'm not so hung up on that, since this story also mentioned her mother forbidding her to enter the contest and we know from Rucka's issues at rebirth that this was not the case at all. To me it seems like this was written as a fill in issue and editorial didn't care too much as long as it gave a good story that foreshadowed what was to come.

Does everything in the DCU HAVE to revolve around the number 52? LOL

Anyway, this was a far better story than we have had the last 6 months at least. Diana actually shows initiative and intelligence, and more importantly she ACTS like Wonder Woman. I gave it 4 stars.