Your favourite Wonder Woman stories

[Moored]

Now that Gail's WW is almost upon us, and only 5 pages have shown us that we are in for something spectacular, lets talk about the best WW stories.

Lemme go first. My favourite WW story is

JLA: A League of One.

Written and drawn by Christopher Moeller, this is, IMO, the best WW story of all time. Wonderful WW characterization in an awesomely written story which has a lot of fantasy elements, yet does not seem out of place. In fact, the interaction at the end between the Dragon and Wonder Woman defines everything that we love about her. And did I mention art. Wonderfully pencilled and even more beautifully painted, it makes the story even better, even though the story itself would have been enough to elevate it to the highest levels.

[beetlebum]

Oh good choice! A League Of One is straight up pimp, fo' sho. My favourite would have to be the Hikeita. For sentimental reasons. Back when I first started reading comics again in 2002, that was one of the first graphic novels I bought. I bought it at Barnes and Nobles (Ninja Kris will love me for that. And it might save me from a beating. For the moment.) http://www.mommiescamelot.com/forum/images/smilies/angst01(go).gifI liked it, because Diana, I hate to say this is usually portrayed as infallible. It's like she's the friggin pope (and she certainly has the sex life of the Madonna.):rolleyes:

But in the Hikeita, we see Diana as conflicted. Filled with guilt and longing, analyzing and brooding over mistakes in that brief moment in time she knew Danille Wellys. We see Diana as fallible. Her mistakes humanize her, and proves that she has irremediable flaws like the rest of us. It was the first time I felt she was relatible. And I could actually feel her pain and sympathize with her. The story was even more heart breaking considering there was a human trafficking element to it. It was hard to bear, because sadly there is no Wonder Woman to save the victims of sexual slavery in this world. That aspect made Danielle's actions more understandable, though not justified. It made it hard to see her as a villain and made me think, how would I react if someone I loved were to have been subjected to such inhumanity?

It also gave the book an air of ambiguity and reflected this world's shades of grey. The only down side was Batman was written out of character. I mean honestly, would Bat-God be dumb enough to bum rush someone like that?

But overall, I say spot on mate. It was a good read, and part of the reason why I am here. :)

[BnL]

A League of One is definitely a contender for best Wonder Woman story. I'll throw in Messner-Loebs' space arc. Diana is abducted and forced into slavery on a mining planet in an uncharted sector of space. She then leads her fellow slaves in a bold escape, and grooms the ragtag gang of fugitives into an army. Then she sets her sights on dismantling the vast, corrupt empire that imprisoned them. One of Diana's finest moments, in my opinion.

[JKCarrier]

It's hard to pick just one. I love pretty much everything Marston did, bizarro bondage fetish notwithstanding.

A silver age story I really like is "The Revolt of Wonder Woman", from WW #144. Diana's been going through a particularly busy stretch in both identities, and she's stressed and exhausted. She starts to think that people are taking her for granted, and consider her more of a crimefighting machine than a human being. Finally, she gets fed up and quits. Not a hoax, not a dream, not an imaginary story -- "Screw you guys, I'm outta here." The resolution of the story is a bit pat and cliched: Diana meets a blind girl, who doesn't know she's "the famous Wonder Woman", and therefore treats her like a regular person, and this restores her faith in humanity. But in an era when characterization was generally not very deep, the portrayal of Diana as a vulnerable person who can be hurt, frustrated, etc. was very striking.

[CaptainCanada]

"Gods and Mortals" - pretty much a perfect origin story for Diana; it's very 80s in its politics, but the basic issues are timeless. For anyone looking to make a Wonder Woman movie, it's pretty much all you should need.

"Challenge of the Gods" - it's marred by an inane tie-in to DC's "Millennium" crossover, but it's still a very important story.

"Who Killed Myndi Mayer?" - notable because it's so very different from most other Wonder Woman stories, almost an issue of Detective Comics starring Diana, with a real downer of an ending; the follow-up "Testament" will-reading is also excellent.

"God War" (or whatever it's called) - Eric Luke's first big story on Wonder Woman, as she becomes a player in a massive cosmic drama spanning from Olympus to the Hindu Pantheon to the gates of Heaven itself. I love seeing all the different religious pantheons coming into play. Also a good example of a "Wonder Woman, depowered" story, and every hero needs at least one of those.

"She's A Wonder" - Phil Jiminez's one-shot story narrated by Lois Lane, about a day in Diana's life.

Pretty much all of Greg Rucka's run, honestly, but especially "Stoned," "Counting Coup," and "The Bronze Doors." Rucka's entire run is one big epic (until the end, when it's taken off course; it's still good, but from the end of "The Bronze Doors" on it's not really his story). So much great stuff, from the battle with the Gorgons, to Diana being blinded temporarily and not being slowed down at all, Athena's schemes, the coup and the counter-coup, Ares taking over the Underworld, etc.

[shrike]

I loved Perez's take on Wonder Woman, really. The work after that really declined. Rucka had a good 'feel' for the series but he lacked the impact to me that Perez gave to the series.

League of One is awesome, btw, I agree with other posters.

Ask me this question again after Gail's first arc is over, lol.

[Pink Bat Max]

I have to ass the Jiminez story where Circe turned all of the male heroes (and Lex Luthor) into bestiamorphs, and Wonder Woman, Donna Troy, and Wonder Girl led every female hero EVER it seemed like in an army to defeat every female VILLIAN ever and restore the boys to thier original forms. It doesn't get much better than that. And the little tribute to the West Village, with Christopher Street under attack by GIganta sealed the deal for me.

Possibly my favorite WW story ever.

[Tyr]

"Gods and Mortals" - pretty much a perfect origin story for Diana; it's very 80s in its politics, but the basic issues are timeless. For anyone looking to make a Wonder Woman movie, it's pretty much all you should need.

I agree I loved this one, it was one of the trades that brought me back to comics.


"Challenge of the Gods" - it's marred by an inane tie-in to DC's "Millennium" crossover, but it's still a very important story.


Yeah the only thing stopping this one from being a classic was the lame crossover that involved Pan, put despite being forced to get involved with that mess Perez put together a great story, and an important one like you said.

Here’s a couple more of mine.

"Eyes of the Gorgon" Had to wait several months to finally get my hands on this one but it was worth it. The whole fight with Medousa, Wonder Woman proving herself to the League after being blinded, and the showdown with Briareos at the end was great.

"Land of the Dead" Mainly because it ties into Eyes of the Gorgon, and brings the whole saga to a conclusion, but never the less a good read in of itself.

"Missions end" specifically issue #220 Affirmative Defense where Diana was justifying killing Maxwell Lord to Bruce I think this story was even more dramatic then the actually killing of Max. Because we see all the fallout and what it does to Bruce and Diana's relation ship which was touching and tragic at the end.

JLA # 90 What can I say I'm a big fan of the Bruce and Diana romance so I loved this story as it explores the possibilities of what may come of their love.

[Pink Bat Max]

JLA # 90 What can I say I'm a big fan of the Bruce and Diana romance so I loved this story as it explores the possibilities of what may come of there love.

Their daughter, the Star Spangled Bat?

[Tyr]

Their daughter, the Star Spangled Bat?

Yep, that costume kicked ass. ;)

[WhiteRose]

<snip>Here’s a couple more of mine.

"Eyes of the Gorgon" Had to wait several months to finally get my hands on this one but it was worth it. The whole fight with Medousa, Wonder Woman proving herself to the League after being blinded, and the showdown with Briareos at the end was great.
<snip>


Yes! I just picked this up last week and it is truly my favourite Wonder Woman story. I'll be picking up some more of Rucka's run today.

[CaptainCanada]

"Eyes of the Gorgon" Had to wait several months to finally get my hands on this one but it was worth it. The whole fight with Medousa, Wonder Woman proving herself to the League after being blinded, and the showdown with Briareos at the end was great.

"Land of the Dead" Mainly because it ties into Eyes of the Gorgon, and brings the whole saga to a conclusion, but never the less a good read in of itself.
Yeah, those are the stories of Rucka's that I mentioned ("Stoned" and "Counting Coup" make up the bulk of the Eyes of the Gorgon trade, and "The Bronze Doors" is the name of main story in Land of the Dead; two of the best WW trades out there, although all five Rucka ones are terrific).

JLA # 90 What can I say I'm a big fan of the Bruce and Diana romance so I loved this story as it explores the possibilities of what may come of there love.
My favourite part of that is the two-pager showing them decades in the future, where Bruce is an old man (very Batman Beyond-ish looking), and about to die, and they're saying their goodbyes.