Future State continues with Immortal Wonder Woman #1! The issue was released on January 19th. It is written by Becky Cloonan. She was the artist for Demo and the co-writer of Gotham Academy. Jen Bartel is known for co-creating the Image comic Blackbird. Bartel offers some beautiful art, almost watercolor in look. The cover by Bartel has Wonder Woman with a lock of grey hair with a cosmic background. It begins in “the distant future”, where Wonder Woman walks in a cave, and eventually we find out that it is the Batcave. The last we saw Diana, in Dark Nights: Death Metal #7, she was ascending with the Golden Age Wonder Woman. She goes to the case of Batman’s uniform, then the spirit(?) of Bruce Wayne (Batman) appears, a Force Ghost? He was fighting against the Robin King in Dark Nights with the Black Lantern army. Batman tells Wonder Woman that he believed in Gotham City and says that she is their heart. Diana cries at his remark and takes up his utility belt, kinda cool.
She flies away and then puts on the utility belt, this image is on the cover, she sees a star twinkle in the evening sky. She flies away to “warn the others.” Apokolips, Big Barda tries to tell Darkseid that New Genesis is gone, she mentions the “Undoing.” Darkseid doesn’t care about it’s fate or the destruction of Apokolips. Black, spectral shapes attack, this reminds me of the creatures in The Langoliers, the 1995 mini-series based on the Stephen King novella in Four Past Midnight (1990). Big Barda flies to take on the creatures, but she and Orion are bound by black tentacles. A splash page has Darkseid leaving the world consumed by the Undoing. This seems like a dark reflection of what happened with Krypton. The swarming of Apokolips also reminds me of the Shadow Demons in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Wonder Woman has traveled to the empty Themysicra and tells Swamp Thing now a lone tree to hold on. Darkseid is hurtling through space to head to Earth. Wonder Woman is floating in the air addressing the Amazons who were in a Council of War. I get the impression that the scarred blonde Amazon is Etta Candy? Diana wants them to go to another world, but the Amazons want to fight.
Darkseid sees flying towards him a white-haired and bearded Superman. Wonder Woman sees a burning, cosmic form headed to Themysicra, she changes her stance, and calls for the Amazons to defend Swamp Thing and the Green against an “unknown enemy.” Superman has fallen to Darkseid, but Wonder Woman is there with a Green Lantern ring as a necklace. Darkseid strikes Diana back. The Amazons attack, but Darkseid unleashes his Omega Beam and ends the threat! Swamp Thing gives Wonder Woman a final gift and then is gone as Darkseid has Superman in a chokehold! To be continued in the next issue. This is an epic aftermath of Dark Nights: Death Metal. It looks like Wonder Woman has to protect the legacy of Batman and Green Lantern to save Superman! The next story is set at night in Atlanta at the Michael C. Carlos Museum. This is a real museum at Emory University. What may not be real is the villainess, Grail, she is the daughter of Darkseid, first appearing in Justice League #40 (2015). Her mother, Myrina, was an Amazon assassin!
She is about to bring down an axe on a security guard, but stopped by the Bracelets of Submission of Nubia! The character first appeared in Wonder Woman #204 (1973) and was a clay twin sister to Diana and taken by Mars (Ares) to destroy the Amazons. There is a graphic novel, Nubia: Real One., set for release on February 23rd. The writer is L.L. McKinney, a young adult writer of A Black So Black (2018) and the Nubia: Real One graphic novel. Alitha Martinez is the artist who also worked on Batgirl. Nubia says she isn’t talking to Diana and the Amazons, takes out the Lasso of Truth, and says she is Wonder Woman! There is the Yara Flor Wonder Woman and possibly the Diana Prince Wonder Woman, a trio! We get a splash page of Wonder Woman with her Lasso of Truth! They battle, but Grail is vicious. There is a fallen piece of stone which Wonder Woman picks up releasing its power! This gives her visions of the aftermath of a battle, robed figures, and Grail stands over Wonder Woman.
The stone sends a blast at Grail and she picks it up to escape in a Boom Tube. Later, Nubia heads over to the Ebony Web nightclub. She sees the doorman, a transformed Minotaur, named Maurice. Nubia heads into the club filled with mythological creatures and reaches the office of Aunt Nancy. She brings Aunt Nancy up to date and says that she lost Kali’s Wrath to Grail. She saw Aunt Nancy in the vision. Aunt Nancy explains how she is connected if Nubia strikes a bargain to come when she is summoned by her. She reveals the war between gods and that a Master Key can bring peace to the gods. It sounds like the Anti-Life Equation connected to the New Gods. The artifact can also open ways into other realms. Aunt Nancy says there is only one left that is protected. Then, a Boom Tube opens through Aunt Nancy’s defenses and pulls away Nubia! This seems to set up Nubia’s story, we will have to see her back story to bring us up to date, and if Aunt Nancy trained her. Some mystery, but both stories in Immortal Wonder Woman bring in some cosmic threats and also brings in Nubia!
Five Lassos of Truth out of Five!
#FutureState, #ImmortalWonderWoman, #BeckyCloonan, #JenBartel, #LLMcKinney, #AlithaMartinez, #Nubia
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