Wonder Woman: Earth One Volume 2 *SPOILERS*

[SiegePerilous02]

I figured I'd start this thread early because not only is this due to drop next week, there is also a long preview available on Amazons.com at least. Spoilers/Speculation below

spoilers:

-it starts with a flashback of Paula von Gunther leading an invading force of Nazis onto Paradise Island, so Steve's reference of SS reports of a "Ghost Island" in volume 1 are being explained here. Hippolyta gives fair warning to Paula and the men to leave or else they will be subjected to Aphrodite's laws, but Paula has her forces charge. I went into this expecting a similar outcome as the Germans invading in the movie, but instead the Amazons use pacifying weapons on the men. It hits them with positive emotions or something, they shout "Yes!" in elation when being hit by the beams, causing them to surrender. - Hippolyta orders the male prisoners to be sent to "Aphrodite's World" to be reformed by Queen Desira and her butterfly winged Venus Girls. Not sure if this is actually Venus, but they have a transporter that sends the men there. I'd love to see it, maybe contact with Venus is how they got their tech. Seems this was to be Steve's fate when the Amazons were pursuing him with Diana, and Diana assuming they would kill him humanely was speculation on her part. It redeems Hippolyta's actions a bit, IMO, as it doesn't look like she would have had Steve harmed until Diana ran into "hostile" enemy territory and she sent Medusa out to deal with combatants. - Paula is a superhuman here and is called Uberfraulein. - Hippolyta slaps the Venus Girdle on Paula. The scene is kind of creepy, though the Venus Girdles have always been unintentionally creepy, so I'm wondering if that was the intent? I've always wanted them to still have a part in the lore, just not be endorsed and abandoned by the Amazons in favor of other means of rehabilitation. Paula is forced to realize that she was weak for seeking validation in the ideals of a weak man like Hitler. Hippolyta tells her that if she wants to be a slave to the ideas of others, the Amazons code is healthier and they will help her explore her desires with a loving mistress. She says the Girdle will not always be needed. Maybe this is Paula's own unique reaction to this, and not an indication of how the Girdle's always work? - Diana is ordered to remain in the city by Hippolyta but disobeys and rides out on Jumpa (yay!), but doesn't get there until after the men are sent away. Paula sees her similarity to Hippolyta and is enraptured by her. - Dr. Psycho is brought in by a shadowy group of men who want to learn the secrets of Amazons island and access their technology. They are the ones reviewing the history of Paula. Psycho's face isn't shown, but he appears to be of average height instead of a dwarf. The preview also includes some of Paquette's sketches, and it shows a later scene of Psycho being brought to Paradise island to be sent to Venus, and while he is shorter than the Amazons he is also up to their shoulders. Probably for the best, as his misogyny and sketchy use of his powers are on display here, and depicting the only character with dwarfism as that reprehensible is not a good look. - Diana will have a Middle Eastern adventure, and at Grant's insistence, Paquette designed a burka for her to wear for it. - Diana gives speeches at universities, and tells a trans student that there is room in her society for not only Trans Wonder Women, but everyone. - A less than favorable early review on Good Reads said Maxwell Lord is in this and set up as the big bad of volume 3. UGGGGH.

end of spoilers

I'm not sure if those who disliked the first volume will be won over by this one, but everything here (aside from that last bit) looks very interesting to me. Glad we have this to tide us over before Wilson starts in November.

[My Two Cents]

I never knew April Fools Day was being celebrated six months early

This is what Amazon actually wrote up about the book which goes on sale this week in shops and In Stock Trades

spoilers:

The highly anticipated sequel to the #1 New York Times bestselling original graphic novel is here in WONDER WOMAN: EARTH ONE VOL. 2, from the acclaimed creative team of Grant Morrison and Yanick Paquette! For years, Diana of Paradise Island yearned to leave the only home she knew behind for adventures that laid beyond its shores. Now, after a fateful meeting with Air Force pilot Steve Trevor, the Amazon Warrior finds herself in Man's World. And she is ready for anything that it may throw at her. But is the world ready for Wonder Woman? An American Government, fraught with dissession and conflicts foreign to Diana, have deemed her a danger to society. How will Wonder Woman carry out her mission of peace and love in a world that can't get out of its own way? That is, unless there are more insidious forces at play... Continuing the tradition of critically acclaimed EARTH ONE tales that challenge the status quo of the comics industry, WONDER WOMAN: EARTH ONE VOL. 2 is Grant Morrison's latest genre-rocking salvo. With dynamic illustrations from the divine Yanick Paquette, this original graphic novel is a classic in the making.

end of spoilers

[SiegePerilous02]

I never knew April Fools Day was being celebrated six months early

Heh yeah, maybe I should change the title to include "preview."

Is it actually coming out this Wednesday?! I'm going right to LCS after work lol.

[Nyssane]

Everything sounds good to me, except the supposed "big bad" for Vol. 3. Please stop shoehorning him into the Wonderverse!

[SiegePerilous02]

Everything sounds good to me, except the supposed "big bad" for Vol. 3. Please stop shoehorning him into the Wonderverse!

My thoughts exactly. Kind of kills my excitement for volume 3 a bit. If we don't get Priscilla Rich, Villainy Inc or even a Marston-style revamped Circe, I will be disappointed. This volume has two confirmed old school villains though, so maybe we'll get multiple villains in volume 3.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Interview - How Grant Morrison Created a Supervillain Pickup Artist for Wonder Woman: Earth One, Vol. 2: https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/10...arth-one-vol-2

[Frank]

there is also a long preview available on Amazons.com at least. Spoilers/Speculation below

Would you mind linking to it? I went both to Amazons.com and Amazon.com, and I couldn't find it in either place.

[SiegePerilous02]

Would you mind linking to it? I went both to Amazons.com and Amazon.com, and I couldn't find it in either place.

Here is the link I was using

https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-...40_&dpSrc=srch

[Last Son of Krypton]

Another interview with Morrison: https://www.dccomics.com/blog/2018/1...arth-one-vol-2

[Frank]

Here is the link I was using

https://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-...40_&dpSrc=srch

Thank you! I don't know how I missed the "look inside" tag above the book image, but I did.

[Vordan]

Heh I know this forum hates it but I kind of like spoilers:

Maxwell Lord becoming a foe for WW

end of spoilers. At least he’s not a god. I don’t think Psycho really works as a ugly man. I feel like he’d be a stronger character if he was a relatively attractive person who masks his misogyny beneath a pleasant disguise.

[SiegePerilous02]

Got mine tonight. A very interesting read, but I feel the story was very rushed. I think Morrison has a ton of ideas as far as the WW lore is concerned, but just three of these books are not enough to flesh them out. I think this would benefit from a nice long Batman or JLA length run. *Spoilers below*

The main strengths were that this is a very effective and despicable revamp of Dr. Psycho. Diana plays right into his hands, and while it's sad to see, it's also believable and makes him an effective villain that you love to hate. His brand of villainy being all too real helps a lot with selling the plot. The way he isolates her from her friends is very sad and unsettling, but the rushed story telling lets that aspect of it down. We don't get enough time with Steve, Beth/Etta or the Holliday Girls to really feel Diana's isolation from them, especially as she only started on the road to a close circle of friends at the end of volume 1. When they do appear though they are great, especially Etta. Who gets to put Psycho in his place along with the Holliday Girls.

Paula I think could have used a volume all to herself. She's very easy to pity despite her monstrous acts, the combination of Nazi programming and presumably the Venus Girdle have done a job on the poor woman's mind. The narrative places more blame on the former, but Hippolyta putting the girdle on her without her consent (which was given in the Golden Age stories as far as Paula was concerned, but other villains...not so much) is still pretty unsettling. We'll see if we get more of this in volume 3, I will be let down if that's all there is to her. Diana showing her mercy and promising to care for her was great though.

The appearance of Maxwell Lord is both frustrating because it seems WW will never escape that damn story, but also interesting in that Morrison mentioned in one interview that Lord will be an avatar of Ares. I'm not sure he means that literally though, as Diana implies that they worship the Gods as abstract concepts that manifest in different ways. She tells Steve there is nothing supernatural about the Gods. Which is odd when we see the Fates and Medusa.

Other tidbits
- As sad as the reasoning behind it is, Diana looks pretty awesome in her current position on that last page
- I love Diana being a teacher at Holliday College, and could have used an entire issue devoted to one of her classes
- We see the butterfly women! I wanna see Desira!
- Psycho's new civilian name is Leon Zeiko. I don't believe he had a civilian name until post-Crisis right? Grant may be giving the pre-Crisis Psycho a name he never had. And Marva is name dropped. I wonder what the poor woman is going through being married to him.
- The bracelets of submission are confirmed to be made of Amazonium
- I love the depiction of the Mental Radio
-Etta's brother Mint is name dropped, but "Mint" appears to be a nickname.
- Lord is in charge of Project A.R.E.S

Overall, definitely a flawed comics that fails in some regards but at least fails in interesting ways, and has plenty of Golden Age Easter eggs. I just think these ideas are too big to squeeze into three kind of short graphic novels and need to be fleshed out more. But I'd take this over the majority of things we get on the regular title any day of the week.

[brkndwnbus]

I've read this twice now, and I appreciated it more on the second read. And that was also the same with the first volume.

As SiegePerilous02 said, the isolation of Diana from her friends does read as rushed. It was more noticeable on my first read than second, but it did stick out.

The scene with Dr. Psycho and Diana in conversation and the robotic butterfly in the background had great pacing, I thought.

The art is spectacular -- Paquette and Fairbairn are a great duo.

[Lokimaru]

Got mine tonight. A very interesting read, but I feel the story was very rushed. I think Morrison has a ton of ideas as far as the WW lore is concerned, but just three of these books are not enough to flesh them out. I think this would benefit from a nice long Batman or JLA length run. *Spoilers below*

The main strengths were that this is a very effective and despicable revamp of Dr. Psycho. Diana plays right into his hands, and while it's sad to see, it's also believable and makes him an effective villain that you love to hate. His brand of villainy being all too real helps a lot with selling the plot. The way he isolates her from her friends is very sad and unsettling, but the rushed story telling lets that aspect of it down. We don't get enough time with Steve, Beth/Etta or the Holliday Girls to really feel Diana's isolation from them, especially as she only started on the road to a close circle of friends at the end of volume 1. When they do appear though they are great, especially Etta. Who gets to put Psycho in his place along with the Holliday Girls.

Paula I think could have used a volume all to herself. She's very easy to pity despite her monstrous acts, the combination of Nazi programming and presumably the Venus Girdle have done a job on the poor woman's mind. The narrative places more blame on the former, but Hippolyta putting the girdle on her without her consent (which was given in the Golden Age stories as far as Paula was concerned, but other villains...not so much) is still pretty unsettling. We'll see if we get more of this in volume 3, I will be let down if that's all there is to her. Diana showing her mercy and promising to care for her was great though.

The appearance of Maxwell Lord is both frustrating because it seems WW will never escape that damn story, but also interesting in that Morrison mentioned in one interview that Lord will be an avatar of Ares. I'm not sure he means that literally though, as Diana implies that they worship the Gods as abstract concepts that manifest in different ways. She tells Steve there is nothing supernatural about the Gods. Which is odd when we see the Fates and Medusa.

Other tidbits
- As sad as the reasoning behind it is, Diana looks pretty awesome in her current position on that last page
- I love Diana being a teacher at Holliday College, and could have used an entire issue devoted to one of her classes
- We see the butterfly women! I wanna see Desira!
- Psycho's new civilian name is Leon Zeiko. I don't believe he had a civilian name until post-Crisis right? Grant may be giving the pre-Crisis Psycho a name he never had. And Marva is name dropped. I wonder what the poor woman is going through being married to him.
- The bracelets of submission are confirmed to be made of Amazonium
- I love the depiction of the Mental Radio
-Etta's brother Mint is name dropped, but "Mint" appears to be a nickname.
- Lord is in charge of Project A.R.E.S

Overall, definitely a flawed comics that fails in some regards but at least fails in interesting ways, and has plenty of Golden Age Easter eggs. I just think these ideas are too big to squeeze into three kind of short graphic novels and need to be fleshed out more. But I'd take this over the majority of things we get on the regular title any day of the week.

I don't see how a comic can be considered flawad when it's exactly what the author intended. In other words it's not a bug it's a feature.

[brettc1]

I figured I'd start this thread early because not only is this due to drop next week, there is also a long preview available on Amazons.com at least. Spoilers/Speculation below

spoilers:

-it starts with a flashback of Paula von Gunther leading an invading force of Nazis onto Paradise Island, so Steve's reference of SS reports of a "Ghost Island" in volume 1 are being explained here. Hippolyta gives fair warning to Paula and the men to leave or else they will be subjected to Aphrodite's laws, but Paula has her forces charge. I went into this expecting a similar outcome as the Germans invading in the movie, but instead the Amazons use pacifying weapons on the men. It hits them with positive emotions or something, they shout "Yes!" in elation when being hit by the beams, causing them to surrender. - Hippolyta orders the male prisoners to be sent to "Aphrodite's World" to be reformed by Queen Desira and her butterfly winged Venus Girls. Not sure if this is actually Venus, but they have a transporter that sends the men there. I'd love to see it, maybe contact with Venus is how they got their tech. Seems this was to be Steve's fate when the Amazons were pursuing him with Diana, and Diana assuming they would kill him humanely was speculation on her part. It redeems Hippolyta's actions a bit, IMO, as it doesn't look like she would have had Steve harmed until Diana ran into "hostile" enemy territory and she sent Medusa out to deal with combatants. - Paula is a superhuman here and is called Uberfraulein. - Hippolyta slaps the Venus Girdle on Paula. The scene is kind of creepy, though the Venus Girdles have always been unintentionally creepy, so I'm wondering if that was the intent? I've always wanted them to still have a part in the lore, just not be endorsed and abandoned by the Amazons in favor of other means of rehabilitation. Paula is forced to realize that she was weak for seeking validation in the ideals of a weak man like Hitler. Hippolyta tells her that if she wants to be a slave to the ideas of others, the Amazons code is healthier and they will help her explore her desires with a loving mistress. She says the Girdle will not always be needed. Maybe this is Paula's own unique reaction to this, and not an indication of how the Girdle's always work? - Diana is ordered to remain in the city by Hippolyta but disobeys and rides out on Jumpa (yay!), but doesn't get there until after the men are sent away. Paula sees her similarity to Hippolyta and is enraptured by her. - Dr. Psycho is brought in by a shadowy group of men who want to learn the secrets of Amazons island and access their technology. They are the ones reviewing the history of Paula. Psycho's face isn't shown, but he appears to be of average height instead of a dwarf. The preview also includes some of Paquette's sketches, and it shows a later scene of Psycho being brought to Paradise island to be sent to Venus, and while he is shorter than the Amazons he is also up to their shoulders. Probably for the best, as his misogyny and sketchy use of his powers are on display here, and depicting the only character with dwarfism as that reprehensible is not a good look. - Diana will have a Middle Eastern adventure, and at Grant's insistence, Paquette designed a burka for her to wear for it. - Diana gives speeches at universities, and tells a trans student that there is room in her society for not only Trans Wonder Women, but everyone. - A less than favorable early review on Good Reads said Maxwell Lord is in this and set up as the big bad of volume 3. UGGGGH.

end of spoilers

I'm not sure if those who disliked the first volume will be won over by this one, but everything here (aside from that last bit) looks very interesting to me. Glad we have this to tide us over before Wilson starts in November.

Well it took a while but I finally picked this one up from my box and the LCS.

The art is great.

I enjoyed the poetic way the Amazons speak.

The non-stop man bashing from the first volume continues here, but seems even worse. I mean for gawd's sake, is there not one woman on this whole Earth who will stand up and say she loves her husband/boyfriend/father/son?

Seems like every single woman in Morrisan's world who is not an Amazon is single and angry.