Olympus Rebirth by Cloonrad and Yarsky

[John Venus]

Well, the problem is, how do you define how powerful a God is? The Greek Gods are mostly just forces of nature. Lighting strike from the sky? Zeus's doing. We can't really go based on that now can we? How about the myths? Well, that's about as contradicting as DC Comics. You have one story where Zeus claimed he can hang Olympus and the Earth from a hook and another one where he got caught in a fishing net. DC Comics itself? Nah. Well, how do you define a God's power? You can't, it's entirely subjective. Not to mention that Heracles beat Ares, and Superman is strong as Heracles. So, what can writers do? The answer is simple, keep the Gods away. Have them interact with the superheroes as they did in the myths, minus the sex (well, I don't think Zeus or Aphrodite can help themselves). There's no need to humiliate Superman to show how powerful Zeus is because you're making Zeus look weak by having to actually show this. Because you're telling the readers: "SEE?! SUPERMAN CAN'T BEAT ZEUS, HA!" Then you'll have fans actually debate whether or not Zeus can really beat Superman. Then someone will have Superman eventually beat Zeus.

That's where the Gaiman/Morrison approach comes in handy. Superman beat Zeus? Actually that was just one aspect of a primordial deity that exists beyond human comprehension and uses avatars to interact with mortals. Our own perception shapes how we see them. They can never truly be beaten. They'll always be around in some way.

[DABellWrites]

That's where the Gaiman/Morrison approach comes in handy. Superman beat Zeus? Actually that was just one aspect of a primordial deity that exists beyond human comprehension and uses avatars to interact with mortals. Our own perception shapes how we see them. They can never truly be beaten. They'll always be around in some way.

This approach works, only if it's not exploited too much.

[WonderScott]

I’ve long been thinking and commenting that we need a “godyssey” series or storyline to flesh out the nature of the various pantheons on Earth and beyond. It’s not to stifle creativity, but to have better understanding of what different gods and pantheons abilities and power are like - whether that is showing it or telling it.

So many questions to think about and answer…

Do the Egyptian, Hindu, Olympian, Kryptonian, Tamaran, New Gods, etc. all have the same nature as divinities or are there differences and what are those differences?

What variance of abilities and power exist within a pantheon and in comparison to other pantheons?
- Is Zeus the most powerful Earthly god? He’s got his thunderbolts, but what happens when Apollo hits him with some heat and light?
- How do Zeus and Highfather and Darkseid compare to one another and why?
- What’s the range of the gods’ power and resiliency? If Big Barda and Orion are the stronger New Gods and are comparable to Superman and Wonder Woman, then where do Lashina, Stompa, Glorious Godfrey, Rama, Artemis, Utzkartaga, etc. stand comparably?
- Some gods seem to have specific domains for their power, does that mean if it’s outside their domain they can be challenged/hurt by it?
- Do all gods have a super-physiology that’s more powerful than a regular human or is it their particular powers that make them godly? Can Desaad shake off anything Batman throws at him or show he be afraid of his physical prowess? Can Cheetah’s divine speed work similarly to Hermes’s?

I think it’s be fun to explore and help make the characters more intriguing, to better understand their natures.

[DABellWrites]

I’ve long been thinking and commenting that we need a “odyssey” series or storyline to flesh out the nature of the various pantheons on Earth and beyond. It’s not to stifle creativity, but to have a better understanding of what different gods' and pantheons abilities and power are like - whether that is showing it or telling it.

So many questions to think about and answer…

Do the Egyptian, Hindu, Olympian, Kryptonian, Tamaran, New Gods, etc. all have the same nature as divinities, or are there differences, and what are those differences?

What variance of abilities and power exists within a pantheon and in comparison to other pantheons?
- Is Zeus the most powerful Earthly god? He’s got his thunderbolts, but what happens when Apollo hits him with some heat and light?
- How do Zeus and Highfather and Darkseid compare to one another and why?
- What’s the range of the gods’ power and resiliency? If Big Barda and Orion are the stronger New Gods and are comparable to Superman and Wonder Woman, then where do Lashina, Stompa, Glorious Godfrey, Rama, Artemis, Utzkartaga, etc. stand comparably?
- Some gods seem to have specific domains for their power, does that mean if it’s outside their domain they can be challenged/hurt by it?
- Do all gods have a super-physiology that’s more powerful than a regular human or is it their particular powers that make them godly? Can Desaad shake off anything Batman throws at him or show he is afraid of his physical prowess? Can Cheetah’s divine speed work similarly to Hermes’s?

I think it’s fun to explore and help make the characters more intriguing, to better understand their natures.

Oh, this is what you meant by last time in exploring divinity. I think they should resemble real life. The head of the Pantheons can be like a group called the All-Fathers/Mother (in cases similar to Shinto). They can be the ruling Gods of Earth. You can throw in a lot of petty politics and bureaucracy, a good explanation for why their religions died.
In one of my original works, I have an idea that one God cannot overstep their boundaries. Like a divine providence. For example, Greeks may not worship their Gods anymore, but the Greek Gods can still work "behind the scenes" since Greece is still their land. But, the Greek Gods can't do anything in say, England. Also, as I stated before, the Gods are forces of nature. They never had powers like they do in the comics. So, it's really anybody's game.

[bardkeep]

I really enjoyed this! Possibly my favorite in-continuity Wonder-book since Afterworlds.

- Thrilled to see that they seem to be distancing themselves from the n52 origin - no one ever referred to Diana as Zeus' child, just "Hippolyta's daughter" (as it should be). When they set up Hera's beef with Hippolyta I was worried it was going to be about jealousy and I was so glad to be wrong. It's just a little frustrating that no one will state it outright, which makes me wonder if it's a battle with editorial.

- I liked how Mediterranean Yarsky and Bellaire made Hippolyta look. And I'm so glad the Polly nose is firmly part of Wondy mythos. Got a good chuckle from the running gag about Hippolyta guiding the sculptors to de-emphasize the schnoz.

- Absolutely loved the scene where Hippolyta watches Diana grieve. No weeping on her knees in a temple, no superhero theatrics, just sneaking away from her friends in a dive bar to quietly cry in the bathroom because she's trying to hold it together and have a good time but can't keep up the façade. Such a universal, relatable experience of grief.

- Definitely see some Historia inspiration here and there (though with that context it's odd to see Hera as her adversary), particularly with the scene where Hippolyta is running to the underworld. And Hecate and Hera definitely have hints of the Jimenez designs. Unfortunately other than Hecate, Hephaestus, and Artemis I'm underwhelmed by the gods' designs - wish they'd at least kept Chiang's Hermes.

- Where is Ares?? Feels odd that he's missing. I wonder if his omission was deliberate or not.

- Really look forward to seeing where WW's main book goes from here. Looks like this story is continuing into #791, and the vision of Diana dead in the water reminded me of one of the teasers Marguerite Sauvage shared.

[Gaius]

Pretty enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this! Possibly my favorite in-continuity Wonder-book since Afterworlds.

- Thrilled to see that they seem to be distancing themselves from the n52 origin - no one ever referred to Diana as Zeus' child, just "Hippolyta's daughter" (as it should be). When they set up Hera's beef with Hippolyta I was worried it was going to be about jealousy and I was so glad to be wrong. It's just a little frustrating that no one will state it outright, which makes me wonder if it's a battle with editorial.

- I liked how Mediterranean Yarsky and Bellaire made Hippolyta look. And I'm so glad the Polly nose is firmly part of Wondy mythos. Got a good chuckle from the running gag about Hippolyta guiding the sculptors to de-emphasize the schnoz.

- Absolutely loved the scene where Hippolyta watches Diana grieve. No weeping on her knees in a temple, no superhero theatrics, just sneaking away from her friends in a dive bar to quietly cry in the bathroom because she's trying to hold it together and have a good time but can't keep up the façade. Such a universal, relatable experience of grief.

- Definitely see some Historia inspiration here and there (though with that context it's odd to see Hera as her adversary), particularly with the scene where Hippolyta is running to the underworld. And Hecate and Hera definitely have hints of the Jimenez designs. Unfortunately other than Hecate, Hephaestus, and Artemis I'm underwhelmed by the gods' designs - wish they'd at least kept Chiang's Hermes.

- Where is Ares?? Feels odd that he's missing. I wonder if his omission was deliberate or not.

- Really look forward to seeing where WW's main book goes from here. Looks like this story is continuing into #791, and the vision of Diana dead in the water reminded me of one of the teasers Marguerite Sauvage shared.

Think Ares might locked up with Dark Crisis stuff.

I also noticed Deimos and Phobos were still their Rebirth designs, just in togas.

[Nyssane]

Loved this! Hecate's design is so rad. I love that she's become such a big villain over the past decade.

[Shimbo]

This was super enjoyable and Yarsky was an inspired choice for a one-shot set primarily on Olympus.

Some of the designs are underwhelming but still have some interesting things going on. Zeus has the thunderbolts as earrings (?) and his beard has cloud like formations in it. Gaia has what looks like some rocks and a waterfall as her hair which is kinda neat. Apollo steps fire. Dionysus has a frothy beard (though I much prefer the Chiang design). There's definitely some interesting stuff but I prefer the more out there looks, like Hecate, Hephaestus, and even Hera's strange hair.

[Nyssane]

Hera looked great from the neck up. Her dress was far too basic for my tastes.

[Primal Slayer]

This was so damn good! This is what i was expecting out of TotA as far as quality.

[WonderScott]

Happy to hear people are liking it - I’m looking forward to reading it now.

[Sebastianne]

I really enjoyed this! Possibly my favorite in-continuity Wonder-book since Afterworlds.

- Thrilled to see that they seem to be distancing themselves from the n52 origin - no one ever referred to Diana as Zeus' child, just "Hippolyta's daughter" (as it should be). When they set up Hera's beef with Hippolyta I was worried it was going to be about jealousy and I was so glad to be wrong. It's just a little frustrating that no one will state it outright, which makes me wonder if it's a battle with editorial.

- I liked how Mediterranean Yarsky and Bellaire made Hippolyta look. And I'm so glad the Polly nose is firmly part of Wondy mythos. Got a good chuckle from the running gag about Hippolyta guiding the sculptors to de-emphasize the schnoz.

- Absolutely loved the scene where Hippolyta watches Diana grieve. No weeping on her knees in a temple, no superhero theatrics, just sneaking away from her friends in a dive bar to quietly cry in the bathroom because she's trying to hold it together and have a good time but can't keep up the façade. Such a universal, relatable experience of grief.

- Definitely see some Historia inspiration here and there (though with that context it's odd to see Hera as her adversary), particularly with the scene where Hippolyta is running to the underworld. And Hecate and Hera definitely have hints of the Jimenez designs. Unfortunately other than Hecate, Hephaestus, and Artemis I'm underwhelmed by the gods' designs - wish they'd at least kept Chiang's Hermes.

- Where is Ares?? Feels odd that he's missing. I wonder if his omission was deliberate or not.

- Really look forward to seeing where WW's main book goes from here. Looks like this story is continuing into #791, and the vision of Diana dead in the water reminded me of one of the teasers Marguerite Sauvage shared.

I agree with all this, it really surprised me for the better, and obviously a story with the gods of Olympus is coming, where Hera will be the antagonist, something that we have already seen in the WG miniseries, and in the last arc where she is who pulled the strings of Dr. Psycho.
Undoubtedly Cloonrad have had the possibility of building something in the long term, echoes of what happened in Afterworlds still resonate and they are weaving a totally cohesive story, I think that they alone should have been the writers of TotA.
The absence of Ares and Eris/Strife is certainly no accident, nor is it something left to chance.
We'll see how this plays out in the Wonder Woman series, which I need to turn bi-weekly!

[Dr. Poison]

While not a terrible read, this was probably my least-favorite story that Cloonrad has written for the Wonder-verse. It barely felt like a DC book with public domain characters front & center. Some of the story elements were predictable as they seemed to come straight out of Greek myth. Another thing that disappointed me was that Hippolyta was face to face with Zeus for a while yet there was no mention of if Zeus was still Diana's father in-cannon. This was a perfect opportunity to clear that up for the present continuity. One good thing that came out of this story was that we finally know who Hera is working with so I'm glad that was finally revealed after months of anticipation.

[Gaius]

While not a terrible read, this was probably my least-favorite story that Cloonrad has written for the Wonder-verse. It barely felt like a DC book with public domain characters front & center. Some of the story elements were predictable as they seemed to come straight out of Greek myth. Another thing that disappointed me was that Hippolyta was face to face with Zeus for a while yet there was no mention of if Zeus was still Diana's father in-cannon. This was a perfect opportunity to clear that up for the present continuity. One good thing that came out of this story was that we finally know who Hera is working with so I'm glad that was finally revealed after months of anticipation.

It was a story set, and advertised, in Olympus?

I'm not exactly sue why would one expect it not to heavily feature said Olympians.

[Dr. Poison]

It was a story set, and advertised, in Olympus?

I'm not exactly sue why would one expect it not to heavily feature said Olympians.

True but Diana could have played more heavily into the story or some of her original supporting characters like Donna, Cassie, Nubia, or even villains like Aegeus or Devastation who both have connections to the Greek gods but aren't public domain characters. I don't think the story was bad, just not what I'm looking for from DC Comics.