Absolute Wonder Woman #5 marks the conclusion of the first story arc of this series. Thus far we’ve seen Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman present a completely different Diana Prince. With her more magical origin and powers Diana has taken on giant challenges as she has made her presence known to the rest of the world. How will the first story arc conclude? Let’s find out with Absolute Wonder Woman #5.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Kelly Thompson
Artist: Hayden Sherman
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey
ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #5 SOLICITATION
“A COSMIC THREAT ENCROACHES ON GATEWAY CITY! Wonder Woman has thrown everything she can think of at The Tetracide, and still it pushes forward, devouring Gateway City. With everything on the line, Diana has one big idea left, but in her current state, she has nowhere near the power she needs to pull it off…” – DC Comics
REVIEW
The importance of sticking the landing of the end for a comic book’s first story arc is as important as the opening chapter. It sets the standard for what fans can expect for a series. Luckily for us Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman absolute nail the conclusion for “The Last Amazon” opening story arc with Absolute Wonder Woman #5.
Ending “The Last Amazon” story arc by focusing on the origin of Wonder Woman’s lasso completed this origin story. The lasso’s creation further defines how different Absolute Wonder Woman is compared to her DCU counterpart while maintain core elements.
Tying it back to Diana and Circe’s relationship helped to further define what defines this version of the character. Circe’s speech about the vision she had about Diana’s future sums up this character well. Diana’s is set on a path to have a glorious future. But it is a future because of Darkseid’s machinations will be one filled with “beauty and horror, danger and opportunity.” Because of that Diana needed to transform the lasso she wields into something that will get her through the path to what is the endgame of her “glorious future.”
The lasso being reflective of Diana and Circe’s relationship makes for such compelling narrative. Both characters are important to define who they have become in the present. Because of Diana’s presence Circe came to believe in the power of transformation being a powerful tool. How that in turn challenges Diana self-esteem as like any child, she sees Circe as an invisible being rather than person who grew because of the love Diana taught her to have. Having this understanding made the lasso have an even greater importance to who Absolute Wonder Woman is.
This led to the present with Wonder Woman showing the true power to transform her into Medusa an incredible moment. Transforming into what many view as a horrifying monster further showcases this version of the character. Sure, she uses this power to defeat the Harbinger. That was certainly impressive. But as Diana mentions, it is really about who the person is, not their appearance, that defines them, that includes even the Gods.
That said, because the focus was so much on this part of Wonder Woman’s origin story the Gods’ Harbinger was treated as nothing more than a monster of the week. The lack of personality to the antagonist of this story thus hampers the overall impact of this story. Harbinger is just a nameless thing that gave Wonder Woman something to punch.
Thankfully the development around Wonder Woman did lead to a strong transition to the next story arc. With Diana showing that she is willing to openly challenge the Gods by defeating their Harbinger she puts her directly in their sights. The Gods not wasting any time in showing that they will not put up with Diana rebellion was a great hook ending. Particularly since the God that captures Diana is none other than Hades. This certainly creates a lot of question for where Diana goes next in the path she has chosen to take.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Absolute Wonder Woman #5 drives home how compelling Diana of the Wild Isle origin story is. The mother-daughter relationship between Circe and Diana did so much to help get over what defines this version of Wonder Woman. That led to Wonder Woman’s iconic lasso to take on a twist that is unique to the Absolute Universe. How that then transitions into the next big story for Absolute Wonder Woman was done so naturally your immediately invested in where Diana’s journey goes from here.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
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