Wonder Woman # 76 review

[AmiMizuno]

I liked that Cale got to see her daughter again. I feel once again a chance to let her supporting cast shine was stopped.

[Psy-lock]

Oh wow, did Minerva actually kill a significant character who isn't another Cheetah after three decades of comic history? Better late than never I guess

[JackBNimble]

An issue with a lot of interludes and a resolution of sorts. The cover's a bit misleading as the Cheetah only shows up at the end.

[Koriand'r]

That was everything I needed. The threading a needle and stitching worlds together resolution was remarkable. The reunion between Diana and Steve was so romantic and their banter was too. Atlantiades was laugh out loud amusing. Everyone's dialogue was appropriate, rang true and Diana got off a couple of good jokes. The reversal of Cale and Izzy's separation happened lightning quick yet felt well earned for how long they'd been apart. Still would like to know how the Amazons knew she was healed and could go home, wanted her to remain on Themyscira and eventually become Wonder Girl.

Cheetah though. Most of all Cheetah was actually menacing! The art was great, consistency matters, found myself lingering over pages it was so beautiful. Five Stars all the way!

[WonderScott]

I’m glad that connecting Themyscira to Patriarch’s World wasn’t long and drawn out.

As Koriand’r said, we received lots of resolutions and reconciliations and resets across the board.

Art was good, but I miss Xermanico’s flair for the characters.

The explanation of Ares death and rebirth being the reason for the changes to the gods and expulsion of characters from Themyscira and Olympus is pretty weak and lackluster... I was hoping there was something more grand and epic behind it all that prompted the change.

I liked this Aphrodite a lot... So does the god killer make you “dead” dead? Or are we preparing for a reincarnation of Aphrodite (just like Ares did) or will Eros or Atlantiades rise up to take her place?

[king81992]

I’m glad that connecting Themyscira to Patriarch’s World wasn’t long and drawn out.

As Koriand’r said, we received lots of resolutions and reconciliations and resets across the board.

Art was good, but I miss Xermanico’s flair for the characters.

The explanation of Ares death and rebirth being the reason for the changes to the gods and expulsion of characters from Themyscira and Olympus is pretty weak and lackluster... I was hoping there was something more grand and epic behind it all that prompted the change.

I liked this Aphrodite a lot... So does the god killer make you “dead” dead? Or are we preparing for a reincarnation of Aphrodite (just like Ares did) or will Eros or Atlantiades rise up to take her place?

I assume that Atlantiades will probably take her place as the new goddess of love. They've gotten a huge push throughout this run. Then again, the Greek gods do respawn in DC when they are killed so I think Aphrodite will make a comeback.

[Pinsir]

Idk, I'm not really hugely in favour of this issue;
>> Reconnecting the island with the rest of the world feels like cleaning up for Greg Rucka's world building. Amazon Island existing in another dimension was something I've said before wasn't going to last for long as an idea, so I see a lot of this issue as being busy work.
>> Veronica Cale as a villain is finished I guess. I liked her character in Rucka's original run, but it is the sort of villainous motivation that is now solved. Again this feels like busy work to me as if Amazon Island now exists in RL (which was a contrivance created so Cale couldn't be reunited with her daughter) then you obviously have to put mother and daughter back together again.
>> Aphrodite's death was kinda of eh. She kind of ducked in and out of the story so often that she was barely a character anyway. Killings gods pretty much never sticks too.

[Koriand'r]

Cale's enmity with Wonder Woman isn't over simply because she got her daughter back, she even says so in the issue. As far as she's concerned Wonder Woman's actions were responsible for endangering her child for years and caused her to lose all that time with her, regardless of the fact Wonder Woman eventually reunited them. Diana saved Donna Milton and her daughter but that didn't stop Circe from hating her was she reverted back from her role as Donna Milton. In real life when your nemesis does something helpful you tend to look at them askance and find reasons to criticize because their help came from the wrong place, this is no different.

Another thing I enjoyed was how Dina delayed her own gratification with her mother and Steve to help her enemy. That said as much about her character as her emphatic assertion that she didn't lie.

[Gaelforce]

One of the things I'm getting tired of is the weird 'Diana can't balance work and life' idea.

She literally hugged a teddy bear while asking Aquaman how he does it, and now there's Steve complaining about how she's never around and maybe she doesn't love him.

Diana doesn't have a 9 to 5 job or any other secret identity related time sinks, yet she's been shown now on at least two occasions as not being able to be a hero and a partner at the same time.

Do the guys have this problem? I don't remember this being a big deal with anyone else, generally speaking. At least Diana isn't sitting around being whiny about it.

Otherwise, I found the issue to be a bit boring, really, though I did love the scene with Diana and her mother as well as the one with her and Steve.

I really hope GWW steps it up soon.

[Pinsir]

Cale's enmity with Wonder Woman isn't over simply because she got her daughter back, she even says so in the issue. As far as she's concerned Wonder Woman's actions were responsible for endangering her child for years and caused her to lose all that time with her, regardless of the fact Wonder Woman eventually reunited them. Diana saved Donna Milton and her daughter but that didn't stop Circe from hating her was she reverted back from her role as Donna Milton. In real life when your nemesis does something helpful you tend to look at them askance and find reasons to criticize because their help came from the wrong place, this is no different.

Another thing I enjoyed was how Dina delayed her own gratification with her mother and Steve to help her enemy. That said as much about her character as her emphatic assertion that she didn't lie.

Thus far though, Cale's motivations has entirely been motivated by her daughter, which wasn't true for Circe who was always bad. Also, I don't think Donna Milton thing was ever brought up in WW continuity again, though Circe's daughter continues to exist as a character until Vol 3. I looked over WW Vol 2 #174 again (Where Circe is reintroduced) and I believe Jimenez just chose to ignore the Donna Milton stuff and revert the character back to her status quo animosity with Wonder Woman. Their exchange is no different than the usual good guy/bad guy stuff.

[SiegePerilous02]

Cale's enmity with Wonder Woman isn't over simply because she got her daughter back, she even says so in the issue. As far as she's concerned Wonder Woman's actions were responsible for endangering her child for years and caused her to lose all that time with her, regardless of the fact Wonder Woman eventually reunited them. Diana saved Donna Milton and her daughter but that didn't stop Circe from hating her was she reverted back from her role as Donna Milton. In real life when your nemesis does something helpful you tend to look at them askance and find reasons to criticize because their help came from the wrong place, this is no different.

Another thing I enjoyed was how Dina delayed her own gratification with her mother and Steve to help her enemy. That said as much about her character as her emphatic assertion that she didn't lie.

These are the reasons I liked this issue a lot more then some of the other recent ones. The characters were true to themselves and some dangling plot threads were resolved while setting up some natural new ones. Diana has access to the Amazons again, and Cale and her daughter have been reunited. But Cale hasn't declared an end to her war with Diana, just a temporary truce. In addition to her viewing all her misery as Diana's fault, she also likely still hates Diana for all the reasons she did pre-Flashpoint, and now it's tied together with the incident with her daughter. Who now loves Diana and the Amazons while Cale hates them. This may just reinforced Veronica's drive to hurt Diana, and it may cause damage to her relationship with her daughter. I love the Wilson has established that Cale isn't magically a good guy now or redeemed just because she's humanized.

Cheetah was pretty creepy in the last few pages. There is something unsettling about her creeping up to Aphrodite on all fours (she did it to Veronica too), and I like the black panel behind Aphrodite with only her fangs visible, evocative of the early issues with Sharp. I don't like that she didn't find the Godkiller herself, but hopefully Lex is gone completely aside from an odd mention going forward. This also opens up some potentially interesting dynamics between the Gods and the villains. Aphrodite was Ares's love and mother to many of his children, he's going to be pissed. Cheetah vs. Ares? Also, Hephaestus forged the weapon that killed his ex/wife, he should be brought in as well.

The continuity gaffs from last issue (Diana being away from Themyscira for 50 years??) weren't addressed here, which is the only knock against it besides the art being ho-hum. They really need to put a consistent A-list artist on this thing.

Also, Steve killed a bunch of werewolves/demons (?) on his own and Aphrodite confirmed Diana doesn't fake her orgasms. Good for you Steve.

[Tzigone]

Diana doesn't have a 9 to 5 job or any other secret identity related time sinks, yet she's been shown now on at least two occasions as not being able to be a hero and a partner at the same time.

Do the guys have this problem? I don't remember this being a big deal with anyone else, generally speaking. At least Diana isn't sitting around being whiny about it.

Guys definitely have had this problem (definitely including whining). It's an absolute trope, as far I'm concerned. But, I'm not sure guys have had this problem recently. It feels more like something that used to be done a lot more. I'm unsure if that's reality or perception, though. Or tied in with the move from civilian to fellow-hero love interests. Five Minutes being a well-known Spider-Man story for it, sort of. Though he's frequently been on the losing side of life, admittedly (historically speaking).

[JackBNimble]

The explanation of Ares death and rebirth being the reason for the changes to the gods and expulsion of characters from Themyscira and Olympus is pretty weak and lackluster... I was hoping there was something more grand and epic behind it all that prompted the change.

I liked this Aphrodite a lot... So does the god killer make you “dead” dead? Or are we preparing for a reincarnation of Aphrodite (just like Ares did) or will Eros or Atlantiades rise up to take her place?

So the "killing" of Ares unleashes a cataclysm so great that it destroys (or reconfigures) Themyscira and Olympus. But the (supposed) killing/death of Aphrodite does nothing? Just a bit of a head-scratcher.

>> Reconnecting the island with the rest of the world feels like cleaning up for Greg Rucka's world building. Amazon Island existing in another dimension was something I've said before wasn't going to last for long as an idea, so I see a lot of this issue as being busy work.
>> Veronica Cale as a villain is finished I guess. I liked her character in Rucka's original run, but it is the sort of villainous motivation that is now solved. Again this feels like busy work to me as if Amazon Island now exists in RL (which was a contrivance created so Cale couldn't be reunited with her daughter) then you obviously have to put mother and daughter back together again.

GWW's pacing has been an issue for me from nearly the beginning. Considering how long it took to get to Themyscira and such, it took them nearly no time to figure out the problem and realign the dimensions.

And yes, now that you point it out, these recent adventures seem like busy work.

One of the things I'm getting tired of is the weird 'Diana can't balance work and life' idea.

She literally hugged a teddy bear while asking Aquaman how he does it, and now there's Steve complaining about how she's never around and maybe she doesn't love him. Diana doesn't have a 9 to 5 job or any other secret identity related time sinks, yet she's been shown now on at least two occasions as not being able to be a hero and a partner at the same time. Do the guys have this problem? I don't remember this being a big deal with anyone else, generally speaking.

Same. With her speed and abilities, commute times shouldn't be an issue. She can spend enough time with all her loved ones.

It's not a big deal with the guys. Clark and Lois are fine even as they both juggle day jobs and he has a side gig. He makes time and she's understanding--and has a life and passion separate from him. They're even working through a "love triangle" in the media with aplomb. And while he was around, Clark made time to spend with Jonathan.

Bruce has weird relationships anyway. The only one who complains that he doesn't have enough work/life balance is Alfred--but it's his job/role to be nag and worrier.

Guys definitely have had this problem (definitely including whining). It's an absolute trope, as far I'm concerned. But, I'm not sure guys have had this problem recently. It feels more like something that used to be done a lot more. I'm unsure if that's reality or perception, though. Or tied in with the move from civilian to fellow-hero love interests. Five Minutes being a well-known Spider-Man story for it, sort of. Though he's frequently been on the losing side of life, admittedly (historically speaking).

For a young man and/or adolescent to juggle work/life balance is a different thing than an adult woman. Peter is juggling a secret identity, a job or school, and a relationship. He was also created for this kind of struggle.

Diana is an accomplished adult. She has no real 9-5, no secret identity, no rent to worry about, and little commute time challenges: no work. As a character who is supposed to be wise/intelligent, compassionate and empathetic, about love, about poise and grace and wonder...she can't figure out "work"/life balance and spend more time with Steve?

Or Steve really just needs to Lois-up.

[Pinsir]

One of the things I'm getting tired of is the weird 'Diana can't balance work and life' idea.

Yeah, it doesn't really work here. When was the last time Wonder Woman had an established civilian identity? Gail Simone, maybe? We don't know if she has a job, until recently she had no family...does she superhero all the time? This works for a character like Spiderman because we see his struggles outside the mask but for Wonder Woman, the character really only exists as a superhero.

[Masterff]

Yeah, it doesn't really work here. When was the last time Wonder Woman had an established civilian identity? Gail Simone, maybe? We don't know if she has a job, until recently she had no family...does she superhero all the time? This works for a character like Spiderman because we see his struggles outside the mask but for Wonder Woman, the character really only exists as a superhero.

In Pre-Flashpoint she definetely had a job, because she met Cassie and her mother there...