Picture this: Wonder Woman’s daughter, Lizzie, is on a time-travel adventure to grab the Super-Sons, Damian Wayne and Jon Kent, who have been transformed into corgis and scattered throughout the timestream. Lizzie consults her two older selves to triple her chances of keeping the timeline intact and avoiding a crisis.
The premise sounds like something straight out of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. And it’s not that far off. In this issue, Lizzie, with a domino mask and the moniker Wonder Robin, finds herself in Wayne Manor at a crucial moment in history: the midpoint of Tom King’s Batman run.
DC
Readers who haven’t read King’s infamous output will have no problem understanding what is happening, as this issue does a good job of explaining the important details while also giving nods to those in the know.
Readers who were around at the time Batman and Catwoman’s “wedding” was released will get a surprising amount of nostalgia. Not the least of which comes from Alfred’s prominence here. He plays a big part in this issue, going as far as being the point-of-view character who narrates the entire ordeal.
King’s usual eloquent prose really fits Alfred’s voice. I always thought he was more at home with the Woman of Tomorrow-type of archaic writing than regular dialogue. And it really shows in the comedy. I feel like King is more hit than miss when he uses panels and art for the punchline rather than his own words. The latter is where his jokes fall flat for me.
However, Belen Ortega’s art never falters. She makes Lizzie so adorable, and her facial expressions are more emotive than a Pixar character. She brings a refreshing energy to every panel that turns anything into joy.
Giving King credit where it’s due, I’d be lying if I said a certain moment shared between Lizzie and Alfred didn’t bring a tear to my eye. When all is said and done, he is better at delivering emotional exchanges than most. There is a melancholy here, in between the corgis and cheesy jokes. It almost makes me miss his Batman run, flaws and all.
Though Wonder Woman and her cast of characters are few and far between in her daughter’s own series, it’s amusing to see King having his own mini DC universe, complete with self-referential callbacks. Just like how Kite-Man reappeared in his Wonder Woman backup, this Trinity mini neatly ties in with King’s Batman run most of all.
The problem comes when the story tries to be both a fun tour of King’s past but also push important plots forward in the main Wonder Woman line. With Steve Trevor specifically, it can be jarring to have such an important and unmissable event happen in the comic where Batman steps on dog poop.
Trinity: Daughter of Wonder Woman #4 is fun for the most part, barring the awkward jokes and occasionally stilted dialogue. What surprised me the most was how touching it is. Revisiting Alfred and King’s Batman: Rebirth really reminds you how much time has passed, the characters lost, and things that have changed. It’s as much an ode to the past as a celebration of the future.
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