As controversial as the Tom King-penned Wonder Woman era has been, maybe its most argued point is the one I feel gives the most freedom, and that’s on full display in Wonder Woman #31. The second I saw Trinity running through the DC Universe with a Batman first hinted at in Batman #666, it felt like it was more of a potential future than one written in stone. Since this is comic books, the present isn’t necessarily written in stone either, so I always opted to give King and Sampere the benefit of the doubt.
While it’s had ups and downs over the last two and a half years, I’ve been more entertained than not, but Wonder Woman #31 amps up the stakes in a meaningful way that feels truly unpredictable. Or to say it another way: it’s gorgeous, it’s dramatic as hell, and I’m not sure what to expect next, which is exactly how I like my superhero comics.
DC
Picking up on threads seen throughout the Island of Mice and Men, Wonder Woman #31 argues about which day the Wonder War truly began. We’ve previously seen members of the Justice League die horribly violent deaths, and with their last breath hint that Wonder Woman can’t be stopped and that Wonder Woman won’t be stopped because after all—she is the arc of the universe that bends toward justice.
Some 20 years in the future, the Matriarch has essentially killed the Justice League, leaving what appears to be only Batman (Damian), Superman (Jon), and Trinity (Lizzie) left in a world that has otherwise bent the knee to the leader of a unified America and Paradise Island. A plan hatched between the three intrepid heroes to take Matriarch off the board. This leads to the first twist of the issue, which was so juicy my jaw dropped a little. This set up the second twist of the issue which made my jaw drop a lot.
DC
Critics of Tom King will probably find less to be upset with in this issue than the previous one, but enough to at least warrant an eye roll. It’s clear the Matriarch is the central villain figure of this run, the centerpiece of what Sampere and King are trying to say about Diana. Yes, that does come at the expense of her already established and underutilized rogues gallery. Yes, this focuses on Lizzie and her world, so if you’re upset that Wonder Woman doesn’t feel like the main character in her own book, that frustration will continue.
I’ve seen the criticisms and I agree with more than a few of them. I also think this book is really well executed. Sampere’s art is simply gorgeous, letting the reader feel the weight of every punch, and the pain of every stab. King has cook up so many ways for the art to dazzle, with so many short lines that really get at the heart of a character without being over-written. It’s a fun balance the two have found in this dystopian DC 20 years from now; they’re given free rein to run wild and that’s exactly what they do in this kickoff issue.
What Tom King and Daniel Sampere are cooking up in Wonder Woman #31 feels like an event. The Wonder War has the high stakes drama and little verbal knife twists that drive a book into your brain and make you think about for days after you finish reading it. It makes you go back and re-read the previous issues to see if there were more hints you missed. Then it makes you go back to the beginning of the run and tie red string to cork boards like a true lunatic.
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