Originally Posted by
PopQuezy
I am very late, but I just finished reading the Wonder Woman: The Four Horsewomen trade. The trade included: Annual 3, 82-83, 750-758, and Annual 4.
My controversial opinion: I understand why DC did not ask Steve Orlando to be the permanent writer for Wonder Woman after these issues.
Don't get me wrong; I think Orlando's love for Wonder Woman, her cast, her world, her villains, and just her lore, in general, is quite evident. I also think he has some great big ideas. Cheetah enslaving the Amazons, Valkyries vs Amazons, the Four Horsewomen, the Paula Von Gunther revamp and connecting her to Gundra, and the Embassy Island. All wonderful ideas and excellent additions to the mythos.
My issue with Orlando is I think he writes very shallow and repetitive dialogue. Reading the trade over two days, it's quite apparent that the characters state the same general ideas in a variety of ways on multiple pages, and as a result, the relationships feel empty, the stakes don't seem to effectively rise with the threat, and ultimately his Wonder Woman and her cast feel mechanical and lifeless. While I love both Annuals, I thought the single issues really highlighted Orlando's weaknesses as a writer while the Annuals and even his Wonder Woman/Mayfly issue from several years ago highlight his strengths.
Additionally, having a major storyline where the Amazons are slaughtered by Genocide immediately after Cheetah enslaves the Amazons only reminded me how much I used to dislike the Amazons as "characters" before the recent initiatives with Nubia and the Bana-Mighdall backups that help to flesh out the Amazons as actual characters beyond redshirts. I'm also reminded of how Cheetah had a rather lackluster "motivation" for attacking the Amazons with an ill-conceived belief that Cheetah must enlighten Diana regarding the brutality and duplicity of the Gods. Diana in the Rebirth universe had never been shown to blindly follow gods, and Diana warned Barbara Ann all the way back in Godwatch about the danger of gods, which Barbara Ann completely dismissed.
The Wonder Woman title, at that time, having to be all things to all people isn't Orlando's fault; however, I still thought he did not strike the right balance of Wonder Woman/Wonder World/ Mythology/ Villains/ Themyscira, which led to the arc just feeling bloated.