Wonder Woman #770 shows Diana traveling through a new world and finding her place in the Infinite Frontier! Diana has been through some drastic changes with Dark Nights: Death Metal, a look into what’s to come with Future State, and also Infinite Frontier #0. This issue had the ascended Wonder Woman meeting with the Quintesseance; Ganthet, the head of the Guardians, Hera, Highfather from New Genesis, Phantom Stranger, The Spectre, and The Wizard (formerly known as Shazam). She is given a journey through this new universe of familiar heroes by the Phantom Stranger. Ultimately, she rejects the Quintessance to start a new life and is transformed. Diana leaves behind her white armor and ribbons to a Norse modification to her armor and fur cape. The regular cover by the interior artist, Travis Moore, has Diana about to swing her sword in the middle of a battle.
The issue, “Afterworlds, Part 1”, is by the writing team of Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad. They are continuing the story of Diana from Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman. Moore was one of the artists for Wonder Woman #750 (2020) and also contributed art to Dark Nights: Death Metal The Last Stories of the DC Universe #1 (2020). It opens with Diana in her cape feeling pain while the dashing figure of a warrior slices through a raging battle. The warrior wears blue armor with gold runic patterns on his chest. He offers his hand to Diana and we get a closeup of his face before we get to the battle in Asgard. This is an intriguing part of the Wonder Woman story. Thor, Odin, and Loki were actually in the DCU with Sandman #24 (1991). The god of thunder looked like a massive, Hulk-like figure with red hair and beard. We had Thor in Olympus, Wonder Woman territory, encountering Hercules in Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (1965). Siegfried introduces himself while Diana starts to recover. We were introduced to Siegfried, an identity of Thor, in Thor #297 (1980).
Diana gets to her senses and remembers her name, Siegfried throws her a blade, and joins the battle. He explains to Diana that the warriors are fated to fight and die in eternal battle. I think the perfect sub-title would be "To Live and Die in Asgard." She moves to protect Siegfried from an axe warrior and gets the axe at her throat. A small, red panel has Siegfried looking down at her. Then, we get a black and white, and hazy grey tones with a figure trying to explain to Diana. I like the colors by Tamra Bonvillain. These sequences run through the comic. Her eyes are closed in a close-up and then we have her waken at a dinner table. He introduces her to Valhalla, the hall of warriors, and we get a closeup of the food and cups with Siegfried and Diana in the corner, nice cinematic touch. Diana is surprised at her vulnerability, she does not have her powers. She is cheered as well as the Valkyries that brought her to the hall. Diana chugs a horn of mead and Siegfried introduces her to the other warriors.
Diana suddenly kisses Siegfried, I like his surprised eyes. We get the same dream-like sequence where the figure tells her that she is Diana of Themyscira and she wakes up naked in bed covered by furs. Siegfried greets her and tells her he is “a man of honor”, but the implication is there. Even if he is honorable, how did she get undressed? Diana puts on her clothes and armor to take a walk. We see the great hall of Valhalla and there is a mountain landscape that looks like it is out of Lord of the Rings. Diana thinks she had flown before, but can only leap off the ground. She walks the land and sees hairy giants, trolls?, pass in the distance. Her exploration is interrupted by a talking squirrel with a tiny horn on its head, squirrel! The squirrel, part of Norse myth, was in Thor #83 (2004). He tells Diana that he is Ratatosk and leads her away to the tall ash tree, Yggdrasil, which he calls “queen of The Parliament.” We first saw the Parliament of Trees in Swamp Thing #47 (1986).
Ratatosk explains the cycles that end with Ragnarok. They are startled by war horns and Diana leaves Ratatosk. The squirrel tries to explain that Yggdrasil is dying, but Diana runs back to Valhalla. Siegfried gives Diana a magical sword. They enter yet another battle and see Thor, red bearded, with his hammer. He is on the top of a head of some troll. Diana and Siegfried join the battle, but a warrior runs her spear through Diana! Siegfried vows vengeance on the Draugr, this is a Norse version of zombie. The vision tells her that she is Olympian and staying in Asgard will make her forget. Diana wakens at the hall with a smile. Siegfried is missing and Diana asks about him around the hall. She rushes out to the battlefield to find him and sees Ratatosk in the eye socket of a giant skull. He explains the Valkyries are “disappearing” so the dead are lost. This resolves Diana to be more than a warrior, to become a hero. There is also a story of Young Diana, “Birthday Blues” by Jordie Bellaire and Paulina Ganucheau where we have her on Themyscira riding a kanga! This is Diana growing up and wanting to find her place. The cartoony art is very fun. Wonder Woman #770 is some fun world building with Asgard and the mystery of Diana’s destiny.
Five Lassos of Truth out of Five!
#WonderWoman770, #BeckyCloonan, #MichaelWConrad, #TravisMoore, #Siegfried, #Ratatosk
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