Wonderverse Year In Review 2021

[Alpha]

Let's move the conversation over here. It's a topic worthy of it's own thread.

Personally, the 80th anniversary special really did feel like a tribute to Wonder Woman. It started all the way back in January with WW84 which unlike most people I genuinely enjoyed, including the use of the Lasso in ways we had never seen before.

She finally lead a team in the Justice Society WW2. And yeah, she was quite stiff as a character and she used a sword and shield for no reason, but she looked good and bulky and commanded respect in a caring manner.

Then we had Yara Flor blowing everyone away, and Cloonrad/ Travis Moore Acing it with the Asgard storyline, finally bringing fun and intrigue back to the book. Unfortunately we lost the Wonder Girl tv show, but I'm still holding out some hope that with The Flash, Supergirl and Black Lightning being over someone else will come along and pitch Wonder Girl again.

And we've had all these great things over the last few months! Historia finally arrived and was trully fascinating and the hype hasn't settled down, we have Nubia, Wonder Girl and the backup expanding the Wonderverse in a huge way, we have a videogame announcement that puts the Lasso in first place as an awesome artifact, we had great short stories by Amy Reeder, Mark Waid, Steve Orlando and many others, both in the Anniversary issue and in Black & Gold. And we have a big crossover in looking at us that will involve the whole Wonder Woman family.

It's a year that is showing all the strengths that Wonder Woman has.

I still don't know if Wonder Woman Evolution is gonna be good or not, but it's nice to have some OOC effort put into her. And it's a shame that the amazons weren't in the Pride Month special, but at least Wonder Woman got to kiss another woman this year.

[Gaius]

Probably one of her best years ever, at least since when Rucka's second run was still going when the solo movie came out. Definitely a step-up from last year's the Year of Max Lord.

Good;
- Historia. Probably my favorite WW thing all year and hopefully the best reinvention of WW's world since Perez.
- A Wonder Woman solo game.
- The main book being good. Hopefully Cloonan and Connrad do well with ToA, as that'll probably solidify them in my favorite WW writers list.
- The Nubia book and Artemis backups expanding on WW's world.
- The various minis; Sensational Wonder Woman, Black & Gold, and Wonder Woman: Evolution
- Trial of the Amazons announcement.
- The Injustice movie being bad. A long overdue black eye for that franchise.

Bad;
- Yara's been a lot of hype for a lot of "meh".
- Tom Taylor's new DC exclusive contract.

Unfortunately, there was also the news of Perez and how we'll likely lose him sometime next year.

[Nyssane]

It was a fantastic year! I'd give it a high 8 or low 9 out of 10.

THE GOOD:

• Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons #1 released and was fantastic.
• The announcement of Wonder Woman: The Video Game by acclaimed developers Monolith.
• Wonder Woman by Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad being very, very good.
• Wonder Woman: Black and Gold had a great range of stories by comic legends, including a standout story with the return of one-off 40's villain Badra.
• All the other Wonder Woman titles: Nubia & The Amazons, Wonder Girl, Sensational Wonder Woman, the 80th Anniversary Special, Earth One Vol. 3, etc. We WW fans have been begging DC for more WW and we got it all this year.
• Blue Snowman is the villain MVP of 2021. With several appearances and coming out as genderfluid, Byrna came out of the year as one of WW's most recurring villains.
• We also got tons of other villain appearances this year: Image-Maker, Gundra, Hypnota, Mouse Man, Firework Man, THEM!, Saturnette, Minister Blizzard, and the Mask to name a few. Of course, Cheetah, Giganta, Circe and Doctor Psycho all had their moments, too.
• Trial of the Amazons, a Wonder Woman event, announced by DC Comics. Another thing we've been begging for for years.

THE BAD:

• No Villainy Inc. return. Also, how has Queen Clea not been used at all this year?
• Wonder Woman: Evolution. Sorry, just not a fan.
• Suffering the fallout of Wonder Woman 1984... oof.
• No Wonder Woman Animated Series (or even a WW Animated Film).

THE UGLY:

• George Perez's diagnosis.

I'll edit as I think of new things.

[Vordan]

Probably her best year ever to be frank.

Good
1. Her ongoing is enjoyable to read for the first time in ages and features her classic Rogues
2. DC has been putting out a lot of minis that are connected to her Mythos
3. A video game! Probably won’t release until 2024 at the earliest but even still!
4. Injustice movie was a flop
5. I like Yara a lot and think she has great potential
6. Her first event since Amazons Attack! is coming

Bad
1. That Wonder Girl show was killed
2. WW1984 was a disappointment
3. George Perez’s cancer

[Mel Dyer]

This comic needs a CAST and a regular setting, in Man's World, ..and, preferably, for me, in the American Southwest. Afterworlds was a CLASSIC, and I'm hoping we retain Siggy and Ratatosk, as a regular cast members. That would round out the cast, with Diana, Etta, Steve, some Amazons, Siggy and Rattatosk - all living in nondescript Washington, DC, I guess.

I really, REALLY want to see WW, established in a fictional, iconic city, in the American Southwest, for a totally new, refreshing tone and flavor, divorced of the iconography of American politics. World War II is over; so, what the hell is she still doing in bloody Washington?! London would be an upgrade. At least, there, Colonel Steve sticks out, as an American...something interesting, ..and the new, Who-ish Circe fits, very well. I'm spoiling for a move to the American Southwest, but would tolerate a return to UK or Europe, generally.

Nubia and Paradise Island are so unrecognizable and irrelevant, I almost don't care what happens to them. Seriously...sink it and her, with it! Bye. Don't care.

[Alpha]

Nubia and Paradise Island are so unrecognizable and irrelevant, I almost don't care what happens to them. Seriously...sink it and her, with it! Bye. Don't care.

Wow bud, why do you you hate what we have right now?

[Fuzzy Mittens]

It has been an amazing year for Wonder Woman.

We had another Wonder Woman movie which abandoned the sword in favor of the lasso. Gave us a Diana who talked down her villain instead of killing them.
A videogame announced which will star Wonder Woman. The very first of its kind.
The latest book in the YA 'Young Diana' book series.

And the comics side of things have been simply stellar as well.
Putting aside smaller elements like Hippolyta rejoining the Justice League and Diana in Justice League Dark, we have had;

Three OGNs this year. Three of them. When not to long ago it was amazing to see one in half a decade.
Nubia Real One which used the classic origin and had Nubia taking on a real menace.
Wonder Woman Earth One Volume 3 which had some amazing moments to it.
Wonder Woman Historia which is setting up the Amazons with a stunning origin story all their own.

We had the pleasure of enjoying a Young Diana backup which helped to build her world a little more.
Were currently enjoying an Artemis backup in which the Bana Mighdall are discovering something amiss with Dooms Doorway.

And if that wasn't enough, we got FIVE Wonder books this year. FIVE OF THEM!
Wonder Woman Black & Gold which was a delightful anthology with some beautiful artwork
Sensational Wonder Woman which was another delightful anthology
We got the Wonder Woman 80th anniversary special which was another wonderful anthology

Nubia and the Amazons which has been exploring Nubia as the new queen of the Amazons while at the same time working to pave the road to the upcoming announced 'Trial of the Amazons' event. Giving us new Amazons and a new threat in a delightful and creative take on Medusa.

Wonder Girl which has introduced a new member of the Wonder family in the form of Yara, with Cassie and Donna appearing in the book as well.

And the main title Wonder Woman has had an amazing arc journeying through Asgard. A magnificent return. And currently we are embroiled in a fascinating throwback with Image Maker of all villains. We have a creative team that isn't just using the same three elements every writer uses. We are seeing a focused effort to bring back older elements of Wonder Womans lore and a focused effort to brush them off and do new and creative things with them.

This is a year where those with a say about things took a moment to care about and respect Wonder Woman. And we have reaped the benefits.
I am eagerly awaiting the delight the coming year will bring.

[Mel Dyer]

Wow bud, why do you you hate what we have right now?

It's not fair that new writers on WW - writers, like Cloonan and Conrad, who truly feel privileged to be here - get saddled with the expectations of people, like myself, that they should use their hard-won opportunity to fix editorial problems, which have plagued the WW comic, since the 1950s. I understand that. While I realize the expectation is unfair, my feelings about them are unchanged; I feel the WW comic needs an engaging setting (in Man's World), a strong, entertaining regular cast, a clear and relevant archenemy and stories, which clearly drive that home.

I will be the first to admit that I just don't like the Nubia And The Amazons comic. I don't like what's being done, with Nubia, Hippolyta, Mala, Artemis, the Bana'zons and the addition of new Amazons, ..especially, when it seems most writers don't know what to do, with the Amazons we already have.

I look at what's happening, with Nubia, Hippolyta and the Amazons, and, frankly, I don't understand it. That said, drifting out of Afterworlds, my confidence in the Cloonrad team's ability to tell a challenging and entertaining story is unshakable. I am awaiting Trial Of The Amazons to make all of the fuss, over characters and story elements, that I don't care about, ..worth the time and trouble.

I believe, in the creative team and in Wonder Woman's new editor, Brittany. As fans, we are lucky to have them.

On a sidebar, ..I guess I'm the only one, who didn't know ARGUS doesn't belong to the Wonderverse. ARGUS turned Steve Trevor into the Nick Fury of the DCU...Steve Trevor (seriously). It's one of the only cool things to show up in WW, in recent years. Maybe, it sounds weird, but, I was proud of ARGUS, ..before finding this out.

It belongs to the JL books or some BS. ARGUS, Donna and Artemis, while occasionally passing through the Wonderverse, ..do NOT belong to the WW comic. Oh, well...

[Avi]

It's been a great 80th Anniversary.

• Historia #1 - What an unapologetic and beautiful milestone.
• Nubia: Real One (OGN) - I've been enjoying the WW OGNs a lot and this one is no different. It's art got dragged through the mud by the usual suspects before it was even released, but it really fit the energy of the comic and everything felt incredibly real down to the way people moved in panels or across the page while they talked.
• Wonder Woman by Cloonrad - The Asgard arc hit a high note right away and even though I grew a bit tired of Janus by the end, the Mirror arc has me fully invested again.
• Bana Back-Up - Patridge on WW is a god-send, and I like how Ayala is exploring their society.
• Nubia & the Amazons - A lot of fun to read. Nubia's relationships with Phillipus and Io are great and I love how it fleshes out Themyscira in a way I haven't seen happen before.
• Trial of the Amazons Announcement - Very much looking forward to the event. Especially because the named editors and writers of it seem to be on the same wavelength.
• Wonder Woman Game Announcement - Still can't believe that this is truly happening. A wonderful surprise.
• Yara Flor - I'm not really on the Yara hype train, but I think she is a good addition to the Wonderverse, and I plan on getting her trades.
• Sensational Wonder Woman - I enjoyed most of the stories, and it's good to see we are getting another anthology-style comic next year too.
• Wonder Woman: Black & Gold - Sadly this one didn't fit into my budget anymore, so I'm waiting for the trade, but it is one of the comics that showed quite early on that things were going to change for WW this year.

[BiteTheBullet]

Wow bud, why do you you hate what we have right now?

Can't a guy have an opinion?

[Alpha]

Can't a guy have an opinion?

Yes. And I wanted him to elaborate.

[Frontier]

Definitely feels like one of the better years for Diana in recent memory .

[BiteTheBullet]

Yes. And I wanted him to elaborate.

Do you elaborate on all your opinions on this board? Does everyone need to write a paragraph if they just don't like something?

For instance, I could do without Nubia because she doesn't interest me at all. I want Wonder Woman to be the focus of different books, preferably in continuity and with a consistent powerset. And, I don't want her flightless or spidey level strength as you always want.

[Nyssane]

Do you elaborate on all your opinions on this board? Does everyone need to write a paragraph if they just don't like something?

For instance, I could do without Nubia because she doesn't interest me at all. I want Wonder Woman to be the focus of different books, preferably in continuity and with a consistent powerset. And, I don't want her flightless or spidey level strength as you always want.

There's no need to get so defensive on someone else's behalf.

[Alpha]

Do you elaborate on all your opinions on this board? Does everyone need to write a paragraph if they just don't like something?

For instance, I could do without Nubia because she doesn't interest me at all. I want Wonder Woman to be the focus of different books, preferably in continuity and with a consistent powerset. And, I don't want her flightless or spidey level strength as you always want.

Cmon dude. Mel Dyer was more than happy to discuss his opinions with me in private. Anyone is welcome not to respond. I ain't attacking nobody. I just asked a question.