Warning: Spoilers for Wonder Woman #12 ahead!
Summary
As one of DC’s flagship characters,Wonder Womanis well known for her strength, compassion, and indefatigable heroism. So it’s surprising to see her admit defeat when faced with a foe clearly below her measure:Captain Boomerang,abottom-of-the-barrel Flash Rogue and the frequent butt of jokes. Yet in a surprisingly one-sided encounter, the foul-mouthed villain has proven capable of forcing Diana past her breaking point.
The confrontation takes place inWonder Woman#12 by Tom King and Tony S. Daniel, which featuresWonder Woman and Robin Damian Wayne teaming up to interrogate Captain Boomerangwith their own spin on the classic “good cop, bad cop” routine.
While Damian’s blunt attempts to intimidate their captive are rebuffed, Diana’s attempts to appeal to Captain Boomerang through compassion are equally ineffective.The man’s crass attitude instead provokes Diana into violent, frustrated outbursts. “Fear cannot do it. And neither can love,” Diana laments before outright calling herself a failure; Captain Boomerang successfully withstood her style of interrogation.
Crucially,Wonder Woman#12 is anAbsolute Powertie-in. For more context on the events of the issue, check outtheAbsolute Powerevent series by Mark Waid and Dan Mora.
An Iconic Piece of Wonder Woman Lore Returns With A Badass Post-Apocalyptic Upgrade
Wonder Woman revives a classic element of her lore with a brutal, post-apocalyptic twist that’s sure to leave fans grinning from ear to ear.
Diana’s Compassion Has Met Its Match In Captain Boomerang
Captain Boomerang Is Traditionally a Flash Rogue
The2023 run ofWonder Womanemphasizes Diana’s caring and compassionate natureover her more violent aspects. Issues #4 and #10 — by King and Daniel Sampere — are standouts in this regard: in the former, Wonder Woman defies Amazonian edict to give a cancer-stricken boy a tour of Paradise Island, while the latter sees her finally forgive and redeem her long-time nemesis, the Cheetah.
Yet Captain Boomerang’s abrasive nature manages to cut through all of Diana’s vaunted patience, insteadprovoking her to acts of violence that are much more in line with the Wonder Womanwho snapped Maxwell Lord’s neck in 2005than her contemporary incarnation.
Diana kills Maxwell Lord inWonder Woman#219 by Greg Rucka, Rags Morales, Tom Derenick, David López, Georges Jeanty, Karl Kerschl, Dexter Vines, Bit, Bob Petrecca, Mark Propst, Richard Horie, Tanya Horie, and Todd Klein. This decision haunts her forever and plays a major role in the massive and iconic DC line-wide initiative and event, Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
To be fair to Diana,Captain Boomerang is no ordinary scumbag. While contemporary depictions are quick to play him off as a joke (he’s been killed off quite often ever since 2021’sThe Suicide Squadfilm, directed by James Gunn), this is still the man who killed Tim Drake’s father inIdentity Crisis.Captain Boomerang’s crass nature and callous disregard for anyone but himselfplaces him in the dubious company of figures like Dr. Psycho and Maxwell Lord - the few, rare people who Diana finds to be utterly irredeemable and who can only be met with violence.
The tragic death of Jack Drake — and, incidentally, of Captain Boomerang — can be found inIdentity Crisis#5, by Brad Meltzer, Rags Morales, Michael Bair, Alex Sinclair, and Ken Lopez.
He’s an Annoying Force to Be Reckoned With
While Wonder Woman eventually gets the information she seeks out of Captain Boomerang, it is not through the merits of her love or compassion (he blabs completely by accident). Captain Boomerang has scored a major ideological victory over Wonder Woman, pushing her to violence again and again each time she attempts to preach patience and love. This defeat is far more stinging than any physical confrontation; when push comes to shove,Captain Boomeranghas forcedWonder Womanto abandon everything she strives to stand for through sheer cussedness alone.
WONDER WOMAN #12 (2024)
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is the superhero identity of Diana, Princess of the Amazons. Created on the island of Themyscira, Wonder Woman is a super-powered demi-goddess with extreme physical strength who utilizes magical gifts (like her famous Lasso of Truth) to defeat her foes. As mighty as her fellow heroes Superman and the Justice League, Wonder Woman is unmatched in her compassion and virtue.
