Absolute Wonder Woman #1-5

Absolute Wonder Woman #1-5

Originally released in 2024

Written by Kelly Thompson

Art by Hayden Sherman

Continuing with DC's Absolute line, I wanted to give their take on Wonder Woman a shot.  The main difference between this version and the original is that she no longer has Paradise Island.  Zeus imprisoned the Amazons for some perceived slight, and Apollo brought Diana to the depths of Hell to be raised by Circe, who's traditionally one of her arch-enemies.

Despite all this, she's generally as kind and compassionate as the mainstream version, with Circe growing to take the motherhood that was imposed on her seriously and to treat Diana like a daughter. We get brief glimpses of Diana being raised in this environment, and she's a lot of fun at a young age.

Diana's first appearance involves saving a city from demonic harbingers that appear from a floating upside-down pyramid.  Looking like a horseman (horsewoman?) of the Apocalypse riding a flying skeletal steed, her lasso acts more like Ghost Rider's Penance Stare, burning those who are bound in it based on the magnitude of their sins and the innocent blood that they have spilled.

Through flashbacks, we see that Wonder Woman met Steve Trevor in a sort of similar way compared to the main canon, with him washing up on the shores of her island.  The main difference is that her island is in Hell, which raises all sorts of uncomfortable questions from Steve's perspective. She can get Steve back to the land of the living, but it requires a sacrifice.

In this case, her dominant arm; she has a magical replacement, and can find a prosthetic, but normally, her right arm is missing.  As she meets with military leaders who object to her presence, the creature that the Harbinger was making way for quickly makes its presence known. It's the Tetracide, a creature that looks like a mix of Godzilla, Cthulhu, and the Demogorgon from Stranger Things.

The Tetracide creates a noise that's like a siren's song, luring people to it so it can devour their bodies and souls.  To prevent this, Diana casts a spell to temporarily deafen the surrounding area; while Diana is a warrior, she seems like more of a spellcaster in this run compared to normal.

Throughout this, we're introduced to a few classic Wonder Woman supporting characters.  Aside from Steve Trevor, there's Etta Candy (and her sister Gia), who Diana goes to in order to get supplies for spellcasting that are common on Earth but rare in Hell.  She also bumps into Barbara Minerva, known as Cheetah in the main universe though it's unclear if that will happen here, who is studying the myth of Amazons and gives Diana the name of Wonder Woman.

It's interesting coming into this with my main source of knowledge being George Perez's run, as it becomes clear how different these characters can be from one interpretation to another. Another character that is introduced, watching events unfold from the White House (where she's the head of the National Security Agency) is Veronica Cale, a character I know very little about. (By my understanding, she's an attempt at giving Wonder Woman a villain like Lex Luthor, a CEO who's envious of Diana, though I don't think she ever caught on like Lex did)

Diana is concerned that she's going to die facing the Tetracide; things don't get that far, but she does push herself to her limits, to the point where Steve needs to step in to help her regain control. We also see that her sword can shapeshift, including a point where it grows to a size that would make Cloud Strife of Final Fantasy VII feel like his weapon is inadequate.

As far as introductory arcs go, it's solid. It quickly establishes what sets Absolute Wonder Woman apart from the mainline continuity, has plenty of mysteries (it's unclear why Zeus enslaved the Amazons, or why Diana was spared relatively speaking) to keep the audience guessing, and it introduces the character to a new audience while still providing something different for established fans of Wonder Woman.

Given DC's tendency to reboot their continuity without planning far ahead (the New 52 had Batman go through four Robins in the span of five years, and Green Lantern's continuity carrying over raised all sorts of questions regarding heroes that were only just being introduced into the world in the New 52), this feels like a breath of fresh air; something that I can jump into without any background knowledge.  I'm aware of what Absolute Martian Manhunter involves, but I'm not sure about the premise of the Absolute versions of Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern, or any other Absolute series (if there are any), and I'm eager to find out.