Wonder Woman #59 - The Just War, Pt. 2 (Spoilers)

[SiegePerilous02]

My problem was it read too fast. The art isn't good enough to slow down and admire or pick up information absent from the text, so I was done too quickly and wanted more.

Yeah, I think my eyes not feeling like lingering on the art is making the read through faster. The pacing of this is really no different than Rucka's issues, all of which ALSO read better in trade. But he had Sharp, Scott and Evley. I'd love to have them back on the title. More the latter two, I don't want Sharp leaving GL.

Good Lord this was Meredith Finch level of bad. The art is awful. Diana looks skiinny in one frame , muscular the next and suddenly sporting breast the size of watermelons. Backgrounds are overly simplstic. The characterization is just plain bad as well. Ares is bipolar. Diana outraged at hime for killing children and then wonders if she really is so different. Yes, Diana, you are, even if the author doesn't realize it.

No way is this Finch level bad. It already blows her and Robinson out of the water in just two issues.

Ares is not bipolar. That is a term that gets thrown around a lot without much thought put into what it means. He's a God. Not only that, he's a God of war and violence. Even when he thinks he's learned his lesson and is trying to be benevolent, his sense of justice is going to be skewed. He doesn't understand humans because he can't.

Diana doesn't think she's alike to Ares. At least not wholly alike. He gives her things to ponder, but there is nothing to suggest she views herself as being like him after he bombs some civilians. She quickly stops wondering if he can change after he bombs people and tries to kick his ass. Wondering if she herself is distorted from her time in Man's World, changing without noticing, is not the same as thinking she'd bomb some kids like Ares.

[Natamaxxx]

Good Lord this was Meredith Finch level of bad. The art is awful. Diana looks skiinny in one frame , muscular the next and suddenly sporting breast the size of watermelons. Backgrounds are overly simplstic. The characterization is just plain bad as well. Ares is bipolar. Diana outraged at hime for killing children and then wonders if she really is so different. Yes, Diana, you are, even if the author doesn't realize it.

I wouldn't go that far. Finch set a pretty high bar for terrible Wonder Woman writing (followed closely by Robinson) and I just don't think we've actually seen enough to really compare. Two issues in, and not much has happened.

[kjn]

I wouldn't go that far. Finch set a pretty high bar for terrible Wonder Woman writing (followed closely by Robinson) and I just don't think we've actually seen enough to really compare. Two issues in, and not much has happened.

I think the issues give a good example of "slow is smooth; smooth is fast", as Steve Trevor thinks to himself. The important things here aren't the actions that Diana and Ares take, but what those actions means to them and what they know about each other.

I think that Wilson groks Wonder Woman's political and anti-war nature better than any other writer save possibly Simone, but the character has been removed from that context for so long that Wilson needs to put in some introspection and ground-work to be able to perform that reorientation and make it feel earned.

If only the art team had been able to show that introspection, as Gal Gadot managed to show Wonder Woman's emotional journey from war-as-adventure through war-is-hell to heroism for the sake of other people.

[SiegePerilous02]

Wilson also said on her Twitter that it took her around 8 issues or so before she got comfortable writing Diana's "voice," so the internal narrations are going to go more in depth in later issues. Which means a little more content to read.

The art is going to let her down though, I hope that changes.

[brettc1]

I'm going to give my thoughts before I read anyone elses.

I like the art. Seeing Steve is always appreciated.

The story seemed very thin. I read this in about five minutes, seven tops.

The tie in with Witching Hour was a good touch.

Why is Diana straining to stop a single jet? She can lift a battleship and a jet is a problem? Makes no sense.

Then there is the missile scene. First, she needs help with one missile. ONE. Not even a nuke or anything especially large. It's like an upgraded SCUD, and she still needs Ares to help deflect it.

THEN - here we go - she just hovers slack jawed while it hits the people below. What the hell?! Wonder Woman can't outfly a missile? She just stares helplessly as a family is blown to bits right in front of her? Do missiles move that much faster than bullets? A tomahawk missile only flies at 550 mph.

No. No, no, no, no. This reminds me of the Finch run horror.

My review - bring back Orlando. Every issue he wrote was brilliant.

[TheSupernaut]

If DC really wants this title to succeed, then why don't they consistently put their best talent on the book? For one thing I loved Stjepan Sejic on Aquaman but I would have really loved him on Wonder Woman.

[starlight25]

If DC really wants this title to succeed, then why don't they consistently put their best talent on the book? For one thing I loved Stjepan Sejic on Aquaman but I would have really loved him on Wonder Woman.

More than once we have had big names. But many times the passion wasn't there. Look at azz making the amazons men haters, and the male amazons saints and loving people. robinson making jason the center in her own title and suggesting he is more powerful. Do you think DC would ever allow supergirl, the female version of superman to surpass the original?, and many other examples of nerfing, inconsistencies, etc. If that doesn't change, she won't be able to have a solid fanbase behind her title like she used to.

[starlight25]

I'm going to give my thoughts before I read anyone elses.

I like the art. Seeing Steve is always appreciated.

The story seemed very thin. I read this in about five minutes, seven tops.

The tie in with Witching Hour was a good touch.

Why is Diana straining to stop a single jet? She can lift a battleship and a jet is a problem? Makes no sense.

Then there is the missile scene. First, she needs help with one missile. ONE. Not even a nuke or anything especially large. It's like an upgraded SCUD, and she still needs Ares to help deflect it.

THEN - here we go - she just hovers slack jawed while it hits the people below. What the hell?! Wonder Woman can't outfly a missile? She just stares helplessly as a family is blown to bits right in front of her? Do missiles move that much faster than bullets? A tomahawk missile only flies at 550 mph.

No. No, no, no, no. This reminds me of the Finch run horror.

My review - bring back Orlando. Every issue he wrote was brilliant.

finch is way worse. GWW still has the benefit of the doubt, since we are only 2 issues in. And she said it took her about 8 issues to find Diana's voice.

About the jet feat. We have seen many heavy hitters have the same facial expressions when lifting a jet, superman included. I don't know why but it is very common to see in comics.

Also she was going to stop the missile alone. Ares interfered. And he was the one that threw the missile at the kids. So the missile had an extra push in its speed thanks to Ares. And his action took Diana by surprise, she wasn't expecting that at all. But if the feats don't get better in later issues, then yes we have a problem.

[SiegePerilous02]

About the jet feat. We have seen many heavy hitters have the same facial expressions when lifting a jet, superman included. I don't know why but it is very common to see in comics.

Also she was going to stop the missile alone. Ares interfered. And he was the one that threw the missile at the kids. So the missile had an extra push in its speed thanks to Ares. And his action took Diana by surprise, she wasn't expecting that at all. But if the feats don't get better in later issues, then yes we have a problem.

Yeah, the Finch run had Diana suck at all of her jobs, had some unwanted JL guest appearances, and did a hatchet job on Donna. A couple panels of Ares butting in on her attempt to steer the missile away and giving it more momentum is not enough for me to consider this anywhere near Finch (or Robinson) level bad. Especially in light of all the other stuff going on.

[starlight25]

Yeah, the Finch run had Diana suck at all of her jobs, had some unwanted JL guest appearances, and did a hatchet job on Donna. A couple panels of Ares butting in on her attempt to steer the missile away and giving it more momentum is not enough for me to consider this anywhere near Finch (or Robinson) level bad. Especially in light of all the other stuff going on.

robinson gave her some good feats against Darkseid and an amped supergirl. But other than that it wasn't good. And he basically suggested jason is more powerful. Only Wonder Woman could be surpassed by a male version of her. We would never see Batgirl surpassin batman or supergirl surpassing superman. They aren't even on par, let alone above. But WW? Yeah no problem, let's make his generic male version more powerful. The irony of a female empowerment icon being treated like second best next to almost any man. DC is her biggest troll.

[SiegePerilous02]

robinson gave her some good feats against Darkseid and an amped supergirl. But other than that it wasn't good. And he basically suggested jason is more powerful. Only Wonder Woman could be surpassed by a male version of her. We would never see Batgirl surpassin batman or supergirl surpassing superman. They aren't even on par, let alone above. But WW? Yeah no problem, let's make his generic male version more powerful. The irony of a female empowerment icon being treated like second best next to almost any man. DC is her biggest troll.

IDK, the feats against Darkseid and Supergirl really don't make up for the bland characterizations for practically everybody in the book, Battles of the Daddies and the stuff with Vanessa. And coming up with a male spin off hero that is overshadowing her in her own book is astoundingly stupid.

I agree that I don't want the feats to become less impressive, but I'm also just more concerned with consistent mythos building as far as supporting cast and villains. I can honestly say I'd be fine with this run going issues as a time without some action scenes as long as we have some interesting character and world building stuff going on.

[starlight25]

IDK, the feats against Darkseid and Supergirl really don't make up for the bland characterizations for practically everybody in the book, Battles of the Daddies and the stuff with Vanessa. And coming up with a male spin off hero that is overshadowing her in her own book is astoundingly stupid.

I agree that I don't want the feats to become less impressive, but I'm also just more concerned with consistent mythos building as far as supporting cast and villains. I can honestly say I'd be fine with this run going issues as a time without some action scenes as long as we have some interesting character and world building stuff going on.

I was just pointing out the few ok things in his run, which isn't saying much.

My problem is that i'm tired of certain writers making it sound as if her power level is the problem. Acting like the problem is her being a powerhouse, so we must portray her as middle of the road. I never see this being a problem in male books. I'm not here for female kratos or super human xena. That is not WW. Character development is important. But so is action and power in a book about a legendary God like amazon warrior. Heros are as good as their villains. She has many avatars, Gods, etc as villains. So big power is expected. If they will continue to treat her and her villains the way they are treating them. Cheetah and WW in drowned earth is just the most recent example, then nothing good can be expected for the future. Even after proving her potential outside of comics again, with her 2017 film. I still see DC doing nothing. She is just there most of the time while almost everybody else is doing something importan. we have no world building and no powerhouse. And both aspects are important.

[VonHammersmark]

finch is way worse. GWW still has the benefit of the doubt, since we are only 2 issues in. And she said it took her about 8 issues to find Diana's voice.

About the jet feat. We have seen many heavy hitters have the same facial expressions when lifting a jet, superman included. I don't know why but it is very common to see in comics.

Also she was going to stop the missile alone. Ares interfered. And he was the one that threw the missile at the kids. So the missile had an extra push in its speed thanks to Ares. And his action took Diana by surprise, she wasn't expecting that at all. But if the feats don't get better in later issues, then yes we have a problem.

The thing that’s starting to annoy me a little bit is the insane amount of innocent people who get killed on Wonder Woman’s watch, sometimes even as an unintended consequence of her actions. For instance, just in the last 3 or 4 years, Wonder Woman unwittingly brought the Termite Queen and the Dark Gods to Earth, both of whom went on to kill thousands of people. Donna slaughtered the male Amazons whom Diana had swore to protect as the then Queen of the Amazons. In the movie, Ludendorff wiped out the whole village, now Ares threw a missile at innocent civilians. Oh and the nun was impaled with Wonder Woman’s sword in Priest’s Justice League run..

[VonHammersmark]

What's even worse is when Wonder Woman herself cuts down german men left and right, and throws them off towers

[Pinsir]

I'm not a huge fan of this issue, and the art, which I gave a pass on last time is in need of improvement;



I mean these two panels look like they come from a comedy. Steve Trevor is suppose to be running away from his captors yet he has no energy in his movement. He honestly looks like he's just out for a hike. He also fled quiet a distance between the first and second panel. It gives you the feeling that Trevor attacked the griffin the animal just froze, pondering the audacity of this pale mofo and then broke out of his fugue to discover their captive had fled with none of his cohorts bothering to impede the man in the meantime. It could actually be humour, but given the wider tone of the book I don't think its suppose to be.

I'm not a huge fan of the direction of the book either. The hook of the first issue, that Ares is now a good guy, is already gone. He's clearly just a bad guy now. The cadre of monsters plot could be interesting though.

The only positive I have is that this issue picks up the New 52's broader policy of killin' kids. Kids are little fascists, saying things like, "Get me milk!", "No, you can't watch Star Trek! I want to watch Paw Patrol!" and the like. With this and aging Jonathan Kent, DC is moving into a good direction.