REVIEW: "Wonder Woman" #8

[CBR News]

Greg McElhatton gives "Wonder Woman" #8 4 stars saying the series by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang is "still one of the most interesting books in DC's New 52."


Full article here.

[Zeeguy91]

Loved this issue. Loved everything about it!

[Maximum Impact]

"ringlet curls"? Really? What a load of hooey.

[Outside_85]

"ringlet curls"? Really? What a load of hooey.

You're beginning to sound tired Max, are we winning you over? :)

[Zeeguy91]

"ringlet curls"? Really? What a load of hooey.

Are you seriously complaining about her hairstyle of all things. Jeez. When will you people let up?!

The story was fantastic, as was the art. Stop complaining and just enjoy a well written story when you see it.

[Maximum Impact]

Are you seriously complaining about her hairstyle of all things. Jeez. When will you people let up?!

The story was fantastic, as was the art. Stop complaining and just enjoy a well written story when you see it.

I'll complain as much as I want to, this computer isn't a rental. I'm not complaining about the hairstyle, I'm complaining about the purple prose that's so glowing it could have been written with lavender neon lights.

[Zeeguy91]

I'll complain as much as I want to, this computer isn't a rental. I'm not complaining about the hairstyle, I'm complaining about the purple prose that's so glowing it could have been written with lavender neon lights.

Wow, you kinda just proved my point for me. For the last time, Azzarello really hasn't changed Diana herself, he's changed the world AROUND her. I've read previous runs on Wonder Woman (Perez's, Rucka's, Straczynski's, and some of Heinberg's) and I can't really tell any marked difference in the way that she behaves. She's still the warrior princess who stands up for what she thinks is right and cares about the people around her. And to be honest, some of those earlier runs bored the snot out of me. Azzarello's run actually has me captivated and excited about Wonder Woman. I hope he stays on for years.

And you know, Diana's environment needed an upgrade. Why do you think Superman and Batman are such enduring characters? Its because writers have toyed with the world around them, all while keeping Superman and Batman the same characters at their core. That is what Azz is doing with Wonder Woman. Even people who don't agree with the direction have gone on record saying that the series is well written and is deserving of attention. So, here's my advice to you:

GET. OVER. IT.

[Mr. Holmes]

Just put him on your ignore list. Does wonders for me.

[SteveGus]

And you know, Diana's environment needed an upgrade.

You have odd ideas about what constitutes an "upgrade".

[Maximum Impact]

Wow, you kinda just proved my point for me. For the last time, Azzarello really hasn't changed Diana herself, he's changed the world AROUND her. I've read previous runs on Wonder Woman (Perez's, Rucka's, Straczynski's, and some of Heinberg's) and I can't really tell any marked difference in the way that she behaves. She's still the warrior princess who stands up for what she thinks is right and cares about the people around her. And to be honest, some of those earlier runs bored the snot out of me. Azzarello's run actually has me captivated and excited about Wonder Woman. I hope he stays on for years.

And you know, Diana's environment needed an upgrade. Why do you think Superman and Batman are such enduring characters? Its because writers have toyed with the world around them, all while keeping Superman and Batman the same characters at their core. That is what Azz is doing with Wonder Woman. Even people who don't agree with the direction have gone on record saying that the series is well written and is deserving of attention. So, here's my advice to you:

GET. OVER. IT.

NO. I. WON'T.

When Superman and Batman have lying, adulterous, baby subjugating, sex pirate parents then we'll have parity. Also Wonder Woman is NOT the same, because now she's STUPID.

[Gaelforce]

Don't make me break out the watering can to put out the flames, guys.

Keep this and all posts on these board to the topic at hand and not the people doing the posting.

Thanks :)

[Gaelforce]

And you know, Diana's environment needed an upgrade. Why do you think Superman and Batman are such enduring characters? Its because writers have toyed with the world around them, all while keeping Superman and Batman the same characters at their core.

I don't think Batman and Superman have had their environments or backgrounds 'toyed with' anywhere near to the extent that Diana has. Every time we get a new run we get a new origin/direction/city/supporting cast. The basic core elements of WW and her environment are unstable and the editors refuse to put their foot down. Compare the three:

1. Superman. Powers come from being an alien. Born Kal El and rocketed from an exploding world by his birth parents, he crashed in Kansas, was raised in Smallville by the Kents and then moved to Metropolis. There he becomes a reporter for the Daily Planet where his boss is Perry White, his friend is Jimmy Olson, and he's in love with Lois Lane. He wears a red and blue costume with an S shield on the chest and another on his red cape. Lex Luthor is his arch nemesis.

2. Batman. Powers come from training and toys. Very rich man who inherited his wealth from his parents after they were gunned down in a back alley when he was a kid. Raised by a kindly butler, he swore to avenge his parents deaths and was inspired by a flying rodent to become Batman and inspire fear in the hearts of the cowardly and superstitious criminals. He works hand in hand with Jim Gordon, one of the last good cops in corrupt city. He wears a dark costume with pointy ears, black cape and a bat on his chest. Joker is his arch nemesis.

3. Wonder Woman. Powers come from Amazon training. No, powers come from godly gifts. No, powers come from being a demigod. Born from clay to a loving mother. No, born from an adulterous affair with a Greek god. She was raised in a utopian, scientifically advanced society. No, a utopian magical society with flying horses, hydras and cyclopses. Let's make that a backwards Greek society with primitive weapons and no magical creatures. She fell in love with Steve Trevor after he crashed on the island and left to return him home. No, she left to become an ambassador and bring peace to the world. Let's not say whey she left but stick Steve Trevor back into the mix. She lives in Washington DC. No, Boston. Wait, no, Gateway City. Hang on, we'll put her in NY. Back to DC. How about London? Her love interest is Steve Trevor. No, she doesn't have one anymore. Her best friend is Etta Candy. No, Julia Kapatelis and her daughter Vanessa. Nah, let's just copy them in another city and make them Helena and Cassie Sandsmark. Heck with them, we miss Etta Candy. She wears a star spangled skirt and a bodice with an eagle. No shorts. Make it a thong. Change the eagle to a WW. Give her pants. Take away the stars and make them black pants. Change the gold logo to silver. How about Ares is her main nemesis. No, Cheetah. Let's go back to Ares. Nah, we'll make is Circe. Now it's Hera.

Get the idea? The core basics of WW have been screwed with so many times by so many writers that her 'environment' is the most unstable of any hero in the DCU. What a lot of longterm fans think she needs is stability. Up until Azzarello about the only thing that really survived from her original origin was that Hippolyta made her from clay and she was raised in a loving, utopian society.

But now even that is gone.

So for those of us who have been fans for decades, her power level, origin, costume, reason for being a hero, supporting cast, home city and arch nemesis have all changed. This isn't the character we grew up admiring anymore. She's barely recognizable to a lot of us, and so yeah, we get upset when yet another writer comes on and makes even *more* changes to the core basics of a character whose whole existence seems to be fluid.

[Roldan]

It's a good thing you followed your advice, Gaelforce.

Great issue and beautiful art. The whole souls being the constructs of hell is brilliant.

[Outside_85]

Don't make me break out the watering can to put out the flames, guys.

Keep this and all posts on these board to the topic at hand and not the people doing the posting.

Thanks :)

Think the only other place, other than internet forums, where you have to tolerate people talking rubbish constantly is in the UN General Assembly.

[Zeeguy91]

NO. I. WON'T.

When Superman and Batman have lying, adulterous, baby subjugating, sex pirate parents then we'll have parity. Also Wonder Woman is NOT the same, because now she's STUPID.

Or if maybe Haly's Circus, the circus where Dick Grayson and his family performed before his parents' deaths, the place that served as Dick's home with people who were essentially his extended family, was revealed to be a venue for a shadowy cabinet of individuals, akin to Gotham's version of the Illuminati, to pick from a crop of young athletes one child that would be trained to be that group's assassin? And then compound that revelation with evidence that Dick himself was on the top of that group's list to be trained as the next assassin? Wouldn't that be awful...

Oh, wait. That's actually happening. That's right. It turns out that Haly's Circus, all this time, has existed for the sole purpose of providing future "Talons" for the Court of Owls. And actually one of the major Talons is Dick's own great-great-grandfather and Dick himself was meant to become a Talon. If anything, that's worse than anything that's been done to Wonder Woman because, while the Amazons are simply trying to survive as a race, Haly's Circus has been transformed into a front for a villainous group, in essence a villainous group themselves. And you know what? I think that its a great twist and its being executed wonderfully to both advance the story and provide a challenging emotional conflict for Dick Grayson as a character. As long as the story is logical and well written, I'm game for anything.

So, there, now we have parity.

Also, how is DCnU Wonder Woman any stupider than pre-Flashpoint Wonder Woman???? I don't see anything to suggest that she is. In fact, I think that she's smarter. She was, after all, able to pull the wool over Hera's eyes and use Hades and Poseidon as pawns.