NEW Circe In S/WW #16: A Pre-Crisis Super-villain Returned To Macabre Greatness!

[Mel Dyer]

For some years now, I have been wanting to see Circe returned to the more enigmatic and creepier countenance that made her such an enduring super-villain in the 1970s. I have speculated that doing so would give this character a new life and depth that she never had, post-Perez. Having read S/WW #16, I can say that I have been proven (once again) to be right.

Peter Tomasi has brought Circe, BACK ..with a vengeance! The new Circe, as she appears in S/WW #16, has all of the things that her post-Perez version lacked, for so many years.

1) A mysterious weakness, limiting her monstrous power and ambitions, ..giving her much needed structure!

2) A coherent back-story and motivation! YES!!! Circe hasn't had a coherent back-story and motivation, since the 1940s!

3) A characteristic base-of-power - her creepy Greek island, Aiaia - from which to launch her attacks on the world. This island, while obviously being a cracked mirror-perversion of Paradise Island, also offers her, what Apokolips has given Darkseid - a THRONE! Villains, like this, need a throne! This gives WW one more exotic and bizarre locale to slip away to and one more evil empire to topple, returning to the Golden Age, pulp-inspired roots as perennial adventuress!

4) A characteristic and coherent THREAT!!! Comparable to Darkseid's famous Parademons and Atomia's robots, Circe's army of Ani-Men offer a clear and present danger, justifying Wonder Woman's enmity with her, and she's never really had this articulated so clearly, as in S/WW #16. More than a narrative elbow-in-the-ribs to remind us what happens to anybody, who messes with Circe, the Ani-Men are omnipresent examples of what she can unleash upon the world, if Wonder Woman fails to stop her. An evil queen needs an army!

5) A truly horrifically inhuman and ghoulish appearance, characteristic of something that should worry Wonder Woman! With her china-white face and long, blood-red braid and Gothic-inspired, leather corsets, ..the new Circe is a chilling perversion of the little girl's porcelain doll - cosmic menace, masked in pale, antiquated charm and [FINALLY!] the perfect nemesis for Marston's power-fantasy for girls, ..Wonder Woman.

Tomasi has taken the Circe, who debuted in MEN OF WAR #3 and tweaked her into something worthy of enmity with Wonder Woman - as vicious, as Simonson's Loki ..and as potentially apocalyptic, as Kirby's Darkseid. No longer a purple-haired, giggling Wonder-Woman's Joker, the new Circe is a respectable comic super-villain, who - and I can't believe I'm writing this - I actually look forward to seeing more of, in the pages of the WW comic.

A GREAT addition to Wonder Woman's rogues gallery!

[Nyssane]

I love the revamp of Circe, as well. But the name "Ani-Men" for her minions is pretty lame. I prefer the simple "Bestiamorphs." Also, I wish they'd give Circe some more named servants in the series. I miss Mikos... he was pretty great (they could've easily brought him back in this issue).

[hellacre]

Agreed. I really enjoyed SM/WW #16 and I think Circe made the difference. A hero is as good as her antagonist and Circe played really well of WW (and SM). I hope we see more of her.

[Agent Z]

I haven't had a chance to read SM/WW 16. Can some one explain to me what happened in regards to Circe's and the Amazons' story?

[Blacksun]

I haven't had a chance to read SM/WW 16. Can some one explain to me what happened in regards to Circe's and the Amazons' story?

it just made Hippolyta look worse or better, Hippolyta did a deal with circe: she enchanted their armors, and the male babies from raid would be delivery to her, so she could have a animal-man army. but hyppolitas chooses hephaestus.
It still seems a weak motivation for me, circe personality was fine

[Lord of Narrative]

Wasn't the introduction of Perez Circe pretty creepy?

[Mel Dyer]

Wasn't the introduction of Perez Circe pretty creepy?

I thought so, ..but, that didn't seem to last. Circe left her creepy, little island and became a rockstar-styled clown. Even with WOGs, it seems the more powerful that Circe became, the less mysterious and creepy, she got.

The Silver Age Circe was very creepy, and it worked.

I haven't had a chance to read SM/WW 16. Can some one explain to me what happened in regards to Circe's and the Amazons' story?

As the story goes, Circe offered to enchant the Amazon's weapons, in exchange for the male offspring, created by the Queen's sex pirate missions. Apparently, Hippolyta allowed her to enchant the weapons, ..but didn't tell Circe that she had already promised the male babies to Hephaestus, who, ..unknown to Circe, ..was already providing the Island's weapons.

We don't really know what the consequences of Hippolyta's betrayal of Circe was. What did Circe need this army for? She says that the Queen's betrayal, somehow, left her weakened or disadvantaged, and the rest remains to be told.

[Lord of Narrative]

I thought so, ..but, that didn't seem to last. Circe left her creepy, little island and became a rockstar-styled clown. Even with WOGs, it seems the more powerful that Circe became, the less mysterious and creepy, she got.

The Silver Age Circe was very creepy, and it worked.



As the story goes, Circe offered to enchant the Amazon's weapons, in exchange for the male offspring, created by the Queen's sex pirate missions. Apparently, Hippolyta allowed her to enchant the weapons, ..but didn't tell Circe that she had already promised the male babies to Hephaestus, who, ..unknown to Circe, ..was already providing the Island's weapons.

We don't really know what the consequences of Hippolyta's betrayal of Circe was. What did Circe need this army for? She says that the Queen's betrayal, somehow, left her weakened or disadvantaged, and the rest remains to be told.

She was fine under Perez's pen. Everyone afterwards wrote her as too..........modern? She seemed like a poor man's version of New 52 Strife. If they ever want a more "contemporary" magic user foe for Diana, just bring back White Magician.

[Sacred Knight]

I haven't had a chance to read SM/WW 16. Can some one explain to me what happened in regards to Circe's and the Amazons' story?

She double-crossed Circe. Hippolyta came to Circe and struck a deal that if she used her powers to enchant their weapons, she would give them their male Amazons to use to turn into her Ani-men. Circe held up her end, but Hippolyta lied and never intended to give the men to Circe. She instead at the same time struck a deal with Hephaestus to take in the men (as seen in Azz's run), and in return he would provide her with weapons that would aid in defeating Circe should she come for revenge when she found out she was played. Instead though Circe remained very patient and waited as her powers grew for the right time to get her revenge.

[DochaDocha]

Circe was definitely the highlight of the issue, and in fact, the issue would've been pretty mediocre without going into her schtick.

"Ani-men" does sound kind of silly. It makes me think "anime," and when combined with the suffix -men, makes me think of the Japanese word for noodles (also "men").

Now I'm hungry...

[Step]

I love the revamp of Circe, as well. But the name "Ani-Men" for her minions is pretty lame. I prefer the simple "Bestiamorphs." Also, I wish they'd give Circe some more named servants in the series. I miss Mikos... he was pretty great (they could've easily brought him back in this issue).

Unfortunatly, both of those remind me of Animorphs, and that remins me of these covers


Though at least Bestiamorphs is less...punny

Regardless, I haven't yet gotten the latest issue but I'm glad it looks good, and I like that she has a motivation for something, I liked her under Perez's pen, but that whole Death of a Witch thing was just so needlessly complicated.

[SonOfBaldwin]

3) A characteristic base-of-power - her creepy Greek island, Aiaia - from which to launch her attacks on the world. This island, while obviously being a cracked mirror-perversion of Paradise Island

I'm not so sure that it is an obvious cracked-mirror perversion of Paradise Island. Paradise Island, as currently written and depicted, seems to be Aiaia's twin/accomplice rather than it's opposite/opposition.

[mathew101281]

I like the new look, the characterization could use some work but that could be fixed with time.

[brettc1]

I'm not so sure that it is an obvious cracked-mirror perversion of Paradise Island. Paradise Island, as currently written and depicted, seems to be Aiaia's twin/accomplice rather than it's opposite/opposition.

Oh, SNAP!

[Sacred Knight]

I liked Circe just fine before the reboot too. Maybe used a little too often, but a good character. Its just first appearance in the New 52 I didn't like. This is a vast improvement based on that.