Warning! Spoilers ahead for Wonder Woman!AsWonder Womanbarrels towards a dramatic conclusion, fans of the Amazing Amazon are all asking one question: Is this story good or not? There’s been a lot of buzzbehind DC Comics' latest mainline Wonder Womanvolume, but its divisive nature has even her biggest stans split.
In 2023, DC Comics began the sixth volume ofWonder Womanwith writer Tom Kingand artist Daniel Sampere at the helm. The book has largely focused on Diana’s war against one of her most odious foes ever: The Sovereign, America’s secret king. While the series has been lauded by many,some Wonder Woman fansaren’t shy about pointing out things that are ultimately holding the series back.
Wonder Woman’s Highs Are Accompanied By Big Criticisms
Narration, Dropped Plot Lines, and More are Common Fan Complaints
The first thing people need to know is that the storyline involving Wonder Woman’s war with the Sovereign was actually set up in a short story which shows Diana’s daughter Trinity in the future meeting with the Sovereign, who tells Elizabeth the story of how Wonder Woman beat the secret king. As such, nearly every issue ofWonder Womanis narrated by the Sovereign, and he tends to go on long diatribes against Wonder Woman, to the point where his narration boxes almost dominate the page.
Fans can read the short “Trinity” inWonder Woman #800 (2023)!
The actual story is set up in a pretty engaging way. An amazon is harassed in a pool hall, leading her to kill every man there, which allows the Sovereign to whip the nation into a frenzy of anti-Amazon hysteria to the point where Amazons are banned from U.S. soil. Amazons are either taken hostage by A.X.E. (Amazon Extradition Entity) or they flee back to Paradise Island. Thisinspires Wonder Woman to take action against the Sovereign, a plot that dominates the book. But plot elements like Emelie, the rogue Amazon, or A.X.E. are dropped fairly early into the story.
…plot elements like Emelie, the rogue Amazon, or A.X.E. are dropped fairly early into the story.
But this is just scratching the surface of other complaints with the story. Somedidn’t like the characterizations of characters like the Wonder Girls, Steve Trevor, or even Wonder Womanherself. Speaking of Steve, a lot of readers were not happy seeing him fridged in the same issue Trinity is introduced. And while Trinity has her fans, the backup stories (though beautifully drawn by Belen Ortega), were criticized for their attempts to force a bond between Elizabeth and the Super Sons by showing an entire history with them, rather than letting one develop naturally over time.
Wonder WomanHas a Lot of Good Going For It, But Its Lack of Focus Shows
Diana Doesn’t Shine the Way She Should Be in aWonder WomanBook
On the surface of it, King and Sampere’s book is an engaging idea. Wonder Woman fighting for her rights and the rights of her sisters as her adopted home gives into hysteria and paranoia. Not to mention, the Sovereign is a good idea for a villain. A living, breathing example of someone who stands for every value that Wonder Woman opposes. The problem is that the book leans too heavily toward the latter idea anddoesn’t spend enough time with Wonder Woman fighting against the Amazon ban, which largely fades over time.
…Wonder Woman is the star of this book, but she feels pulled in so many different directions.
Admittedly,presenting Wonder Woman through the lens of a villain who is Diana’s diametric opposite is a decent idea. But it becomes overwhelming when one reads a few chapters at a time. It’s not hard to get bored with his verbosity or his strange predilection for using the royal we to refer to himself. Maybe that was intentional to get people to hate the Sovereign faster, but it feels unnecessary and, frankly, a bit unearned. This is the Sovereign’s first story, and the choice to feature him so prominently for so long is one that’s rubbed people the wrong way.
Of course, Wonder Woman is the star of this book, but she feels pulled in so many different directions. One minute she’s dealing with the ban, then she’s taking on the Sovereign’s army. Then, all of a sudden, she’s fighting alongside Damian Wayne in a tie-in toAbsolute Powerand, before one knows it, she decides to bring Trinity into the world before heading out to finally confront the Sovereign directly. It’s hard to find a throughline in all these events.It feels more like situations happen and Wonder Woman or her friends are just reacting to them.
What’s Going to Change When the Sovereign Storyline is Finally Over?
Will it Bring Fans What They’re Hoping For?
For better or worse, the Sovereign storyline is about to close out after nearly two years. So the narration, the focus on this new villain, and hopefully, Wonder Woman being pulled in so many different directions will all stop. But the real question becomes ‘What comes next?’. This book’s identity has pretty much been wrapped up in Diana’s war with the secret king. Even when she wasn’t directly taking on his forces, his presence was certainly felt. Maybe this storyline ending isa good chance for the creative team to re-focus and start fresh with Wonder Woman.
…this is a good opportunity for King and Sampere to take in the criticisms fans have had…
To be clear,Wonder Womanisn’t a bad comic and there are certainly people who have enjoyed it. But it’s hard to argue against some of the accusations leveled at it. The Sovereign storyline was a big concept of a story, so it makes sense that some elements, like Emelie, would be left by the wayside. However, this is a good opportunity for King and Sampere to take in the criticisms fans have had for the first saga andapply them to the next adventure Wonder Woman is about to head out on.
Almost every run of every big-name comic character has its supporters and its detractors. Wonder Woman has a lot of good things going for it, but it’s hard to ignore some of the more glaring issues that have perplexed fans throughout this run. But with one chapter to go, the creative team has a chance to see what it was that fans didn’t like about this most recent story and create something thatWonder Womanfandom will certainly love.
