Mariko Tamaki kicked off her run on Wonder Woman by setting up what her first arc will be about. It was a lot of character building as Wonder Woman made her move to Washington DC and got thrown into a new mystery around mind control. This new mystery led Wonder Woman to a confrontation with a villain from her past in the form of Maxwell Lord. Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord have a long history with one another, the biggest of them going back to the Countdown To Infinite Crisis. What will this new meeting between them turn out to be? Let’s find out with Wonder Woman #760.
Writer: Mariko Tamki
Artist: Mikel Janin
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Inside Stryker Island Penitentiary, Wonder Woman suspects Maxwell Lord of being the one causing all the people to fall under mind control. Maxwell Lord assures Wonder Woman all he is responsible for is saving her from being killed by the prisoners who attacked her earlier.
SWAT officials appear and convince Wonder Woman enough to back down, though she still doesn’t trust Maxwell Lord.
Later, Wonder Woman meets up with Etta Candy, who informs her that Maxwell Lord has been closely watched and hasn’t been using his powers from prison. She goes on to say that all the reports of people falling under mind control don’t appear to be connected. Wonder Woman still suspects Maxwell Lord.
Back at her apartment, Diana Prince is surprised to find Emma waiting for her. Emma reveals she assembled Diana’s new furniture.
Diana and Emma bond while eating dinner, where Diana learns that Emma’s parents died in a car accident when she was a kid. Emma wonders what it is like to have a job that involves saving people. Diana says all she can do is help.
The next day a construction worker suddenly falls under find control and destroys part of a building with construction equipment. Wonder Woman shows up and stops the guy under mind control before someone gets hurt.
A little girl asks for a selfie together which Wonder Woman is more than happy to take.
Suddenly Wonder Woman blacks out and when she wakes up she is surprised to find herself in her apartment with her gear on. A bunch of mechs suddenly appear and start attacking Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman goes into the hallway looking for Emma but is eventually driven outside.
Once outside Wonder Woman sees a sky that has turned completely red. An army of Parademons appear and all start attacking Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman does her best to fend off all the Parademons.
Wonder Woman is suddenly blinded by a bright light. When she regains her sight Wonder Woman is shocked to find soldiers knocked out and military vehicles destroyed around her. End of issue.
The Good: Keeping the momentum moving forward Mariko Tamaki takes the ending of the previous issue to add a greater sense of mystery around her first story arc. Throughout this issue, you are left wonder what exactly is going on. Which is exactly the feeling that should be had as Tamaki is building a new major threat for Wonder Woman to fight.
What’s worked so well thus far in this story arc is that Tamaki isn’t immediately giving away what is going on. Tamaki is allowing the mystery around all the people falling under mind control to build so you understand the scope of the story. Establishing the fact that there is no clear connection between the people falling under mind control adds to the mystery.
This all leads to creating an aura around this threat being someone new. That is at least the indication since everything that goes on until Wonder Woman falls under mind control is to random to be a known villain. The reasoning for whatever this new villain’s motives are will hopefully be something that Tamaki gets into now that we’ve seen the scope of these attacks
Also, having Wonder Woman fall under the mysterious mind-control helps in establishing whoever this new villain is as very powerful. The way it was handled makes you wonder how exactly Wonder Woman will be able to take on this threat. Because unlike other villains, Wonder Woman won’t be able to simply beat this villain in a fight. Wonder Woman will need some sort of another way to battle a person who can take over her mind at a moment’s notice.
Which is likely where Maxwell Lord factors into all of this. Given how random everything is Tamaki is able to present the idea that Maxwell Lord isn’t responsible for what is going on. Through that set-up, Tamaki does a very good job of still keeping Maxwell Lord in a villainous standing. Even though he says he is not responsible there is something sinister with the way Maxwell Lord talks. You do get an unease that he knows more than he is telling Wonder Woman. Though that may just be part of who Maxwell Lord is as he simply can’t turn off his love of mind games. What role he ends up serving will be interesting to see.
In the middle of this Tamaki does a solid job of expanding on who Emma is. Through the scene with Diana, there is a feeling that there is more to Emma than meets the eye. If that means that she is directly connected to all the mind control business is something we will see in future issues. Tamaki certainly writes Emma as having some involvement with how she suddenly appeared in Diana’s place and talking about Wonder Woman’s work.
Mikel Janin once again delivers high-quality artwork throughout Wonder Woman #760. Along with Jordie Bellaire’s, the artwork really helps to elevate every scene in this issue. From the tension in the scene between Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord to the nightmare sequence that concluded this issue, it all looked great. Janin and Bellaire have a great sense of how to draw out the emotions that draw you into what is going on. It all helps add to the mystery that is building around Wonder Woman.
The Bad: One thing that is hopefully worked on in future issues is establishing why Wonder Woman is in Washington DC. Tamaki still has not explained that to new readers who may not know about Themyscira establishing a new embassy with Wonder Woman as one of the ambassadors. Not even mentioning that does hurt the secondary storytelling that can be done in this series. It would help with making Wonder Woman’s interactions with other officials like Etta Candy have a greater sense of importance.
Overall: Wonder Woman #760 is a solid continuation of what Mariko Tamaki, Mikel Janin, and Jordie Bellaire built in the first issue. The tense meeting with Maxwell Lord and the ending of Wonder Woman #760 are both strong hooks that will make readers invested in the mind control mystery that is being developed. It is definitely a good jumping on point for fans looking to read a Wonder Woman comic book.
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