Wonder Woman #326-329

Wonder Woman #326-329

Originally released in 1985

Written by Mindy Newell

Art by Don Heck

I've been catching up on Stranger Things, so when two comics were shown midway through season 3, I figured I'd read at least one of them. (Probably an odd reason for making my choice, since I doubt the comics were chosen for any particular reason beyond comparing Eleven, a girl with powerful psychic abilities, to Wonder Woman, but it's as good of a motivation as any) This issue focuses on Wonder Woman dealing with a crisis in Central America as two intelligence agents are kidnapped.

Part of the problem with jumping into the middle of a run is that some subplots are lost on me (Etta Candy is involved, but Steve Trevor is nowhere to be found for the first two issues, and there's all sorts of government intrigue afoot that involves various senators, junior senators, and generals), though the agents were in the nation of Tropidor (a stand-in for various Central American countries like how Kahndaq stands in for various Middle Eastern countries) to investigate Colonel Montez, who turns out to be controlled by Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of (among other things) night and conflict.

There's also a shadowy figure who's spying on Wonder Woman through cameras in Diana's office.  She knows Wonder Woman's secret identity (I'm assuming it is still a secret at this point) and criticizes that she doesn't do enough to defend women.  Given that issue 327 is advertised as a Crisis On Infinite Earths tie-in (even if it's limited to the skies momentarily turning red), I'm not sure if this will be resolved or not, as the series comes to an end at 329 before being rebooted post-Crisis with George Perez's run.

Wonder Woman arrives on Tropidor, defending herself against soldiers who refuse to listen to reason, before tracking down the agents and a journalist who was caught up in all of this.  This leads her to Tezcatlipoca, who has trapped the three mortals in a time loop of human sacrifice, seemingly to give Tezcatlipoca more power.

In America, news of Wonder Woman's arrival in Tropidor has ruffled feathers - General Darnell, Steve and Etta's boss, has been illegally funding revolutions in that region, and now it's believed that Wonder Woman is working for Darnell.  I'm guessing this was in reference to the US government's actions around the time that this book came out, though this subplot doesn't particularly interest me.

On Paradise Island, there's trouble in paradise, as Hippolyta's leadership is called into question and some of the Amazons are considering putting someone else on the throne.

Issue 328 feels sort of like the end of an era, akin to "Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?" by Alan Moore - Themyscira is attacked by the Anti-Monitor's shadow minions, prompting Hermes to arrive and get Diana so she can aid her sisters.  He does this in the middle of a meeting, revealing her identity to her supporting cast in the military, with all of them (even Steve) being unaware of it until now.

We get some insight into General Darnell's backstory, such as how he joined the military in the aftermath of the Pearl Harbour attack and quickly became a hotshot pilot who struggled with authority.  This struggle continued into the present day, where he continued to act covertly in Tropidor because he felt like he knew better than his superiors or the president.

The mysterious figure who had been watching Wonder Woman is seemingly revealed to be an ex-girlfriend of Darnell's who came to America and got into a variety of businesses, using her connections to spy on Darnell and his associates and expose his under-the-table dealings. It's a bit of an underwhelming reveal, but a recording that Darnell left clears everyone else involved, such as Etta, as he admits that he was the only one responsible. (As this storyline has continued, it seems as though it might have been a reference to the Iran-Contra Scandal, though I'm not sure of the timing)

Wonder Woman, with the help of Hermes and Demeter, fends off the shadow creatures that are attacking Themyscira, though many lives are lost in the process, including the chief conspirator against Hippolyta who was openly grabbing for power herself.

Issue 329 involves a plot between Ares, Hades, and the Anti-Monitor, though Ares is unaware of the Anti-Monitor's involvement. (And both are seemingly unaware of the Anti-Monitor's ambitions) Ares thinks Hades will provide him with an army in exchange for half of Ares's new kingdom, but Hades intends to kill Ares while the Anti-Monitor wants to absorb everything into the anti-matter universe.

Upon discovering that Hades intends to attack Mount Olympus, Wonder Woman wants to help, but there's something that she has to address first.  Heading to Washington DC, she meets with Steve Trevor amidst the chaos and effectively proposes to him if they both manage to make it out of this alive.

Steve volunteers to go with Diana, and as they leave, Etta remarks that she feels like she's never going to see them again, hinting at a possibly bittersweet ending for this series.  Steve Trevor isn't a character that I've particularly cared for outside of the first Wonder Woman movie (at least, from what I've read of him; there are likely plenty of stories where he gets focus and development, but most of what I've read has him feel like a gender-flipped version of Lois Lane but without much justification for why Diana would love him in particular beyond him being the first man that she saw), but with this being his final appearance as the universal reboot looms, it seems like he's going out on a high note, voluntarily tagging along on a mission to save Mount Olympus from the forces of the dead who are hell-bent on conquering it.

Considering that Ares was one of Diana's first foes, it seems fitting that he returns here. Upon Diana's arrival in Olympus, it becomes clear that Ares and Hades have already conquered it, leading an army of long-dead Greek heroes like Achilles and Odysseus.

As the Amazons arrive to back Wonder Woman up, Steve searches for the imprisoned Greek gods, and Ares enters the battlefield to target Wonder Woman directly, Hades meets with his estranged wife Kore (also known as Persephone), who has been helping the Amazons.  Hades was convinced by the Anti-Monitor that Kore has always hated him, but Kore convinces him otherwise.  (It seems fitting that one of the main antagonists of this story is stopped through the power of love)

Recalling what Ares said to mock the gods of Olympus, Steve finds them trapped in their own statues, freeing Zeus and ending Ares's plan.  In a brief moment of calm, Zeus performs a ceremony to marry Diana and Steve in the hours before the final battle against the Anti-Monitor.

Even without the context of the earlier issues, or Wonder Woman's pre-Crisis history, it seems like a perfectly fitting fairy tale ending for her, and a fond farewell to the iteration of the character from the golden, silver, and bronze ages before she is reborn post-Crisis. I may be critical of DC's tendency to reboot their continuity every twenty years or so, but every once in a while, it provides golden opportunities like this to give a character what feels like a definitive ending, even if their adventures will continue in another universe.