Wonder Woman #1's debut is building on the new Wonder Woman, Trinity, and changes the status quo of the Amazons and Wonder Woman! The promise of the new Wonder Woman title was previewed in the “Trinity” story in Wonder Woman #800. Wonder Woman #1 brings a new direction for the heroine. The first part of this storyline, the title might be a spoiler, is by Tom King and Daniel Sampere. King is the writer of another superheroine in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Sampere is the artist for the digital comic, Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace #11 (2020). This was collected in the first Wonder Woman: Agent of Peace Volume 1: Global Guardian (2021) graphic novel written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. This is part of the Dawn of DC label. The regular cover has Wonder Woman a look of joy on her face holding the lasso over a blank white background and tiles of red stars rimmed in blue. The first issue has sold out at many comic stores so hopefully you may have it on a pull list.
There is a game of pool with the cue ball breaking eight-ball rack in a series of panels. The narration speaks about how she defeated the narrator, Sovereign, Lord of the Rockies. It is a disconnection from the ordinary with something abstract. One of the players is angry that the other touched her while she was taking a shot. The pool balls scatter and then we see a shadow loom over the pool table. The following page is a splash page of a woman, blonde hair, black jacket, metal collar and bracelets, and a Wonder Woman outfit. She is smashing a man’s face into the pool table. The pool balls fly up and one of them has the reflection of a stunned, bearded man. The narrator mentions that it began at the pool hall. The woman’s black shoe steps on the neck of the man with the bleeding face. The bearded man takes a pool cue to threaten the woman as she snaps the wounded man’s neck.
The pool cue shatters on her face and she grabs the man by the neck. The rest of the pool hall looks on as she holds him up with two other men holding their pool cues ready to attack. We pull back to the pool hall window where the woman kicks one of the men. There is a blood splatter as we pull back further. The narrator mentions that they tried and is mentioning this to a young lady who may be Trinity. This moves to the pool hall exterior where we see a man thrown out of a window of the Kanigher Cues Pro Billards. Robert Kanigher was the writer of the Wonder Woman comic book after creator, William Moulton Marston. The next series of panels has reporters discussing the incident in West Billings, Montana. Nineteen men were killed and two women, Marie Carey and Nora Sheridan, were left as witnesses.
Seven days have passed as there is a video of the murders of the woman. The Amazon Embassy has identified the woman as an Amazon who was working with the indigenous people, possibly Sioux, Cherokee, and Iroquois, but don’t know her location. The storytelling of a superhero with real life events in an ordinary setting seems like Tom King’s Heroes in Crisis (2018-2019) limited series with art by Clay Mann. Wonder Woman was a supporting character in the story. It had a superhero rehab end with mass murder, but this was retconned out of continuity. The events here may have the same result if DC wants to change the storyline, but it is kept to the Wonder Woman title and not most of the DC superheroes.
It seems out of place with an Amazon would act violently with people who are far underpowered in comparison. Then, there is the Washington, D.C. reaction with the president meeting with Taylor, the majority leader. At a restaurant, a man in a suit with a military cut hairstyle and grey hair at the sides, meets with two men. He says he knows what they have done, leading to some deaths of undercover agents, and he has gotten a text to deal with the “big lady” situation. He reaches out with his steel hand and shoots them in pretend finger gun closeup, but his index finger actually blasts bullets! The narrator has hired this man and is familiar with his history.
The man tidies his suit leaving the dead bodies and walks calmly through the restaurant as patrons take cover under tables. The narrator knows he worked at various times for and against superheroes and is a counterpart to Amanda Waller. The man walks up to a restaurant worker hiding behind a counter and he puts down his card for the police, Sgt. Steel. This is a spy/detective character introduced in Charlton Comics’ Sarge Steel #1 (1964) and brought into the DC universe in Legends #3 (1987). The narrator states that he was humiliated during the Amazons Attack! storyline, a limited series in 2007. Then, we have a splash page of two people walking in the rainy night towards the capitol. One them is Steven, as in Steve Trevor?
We get a man interviewed by a news crew with his daughter at his side. This is split with her energetic love of Wonder Woman with the daughter in the panel framed by a star. The other has the angry father who says the Amazons have their island and his fear of them. More real world politics enters the scene with Congress passing the Amazon Safety Act according to the narrator. The Amazons are banned from the United States and the embassy is closed. I’m not certain if this conflicts with international law. Like Heroes in Crisis, real life situations go out of control, there are no checks by the UN or consultations with the Justice League. We see a knocks at a door by Sgt. Steel. A woman, Cybele, opens the door.
The narrator notes that the Amazons who refuse to leave are taken by the Amazon Extradition Entity (A.X.E.). Armed soldiers pile behind Steel as he asks Cybele and her wife to leave peacefully.
The narrator notes that she, Wonder Woman, and her “heroic friends” tried to stop the forced extradition, a reflection of the real world immigration problems in a superhero mirror. We see a soldier checking out the back of the house as we hear that Cybele has a daughter whom she is dealing with a lawyer. The soldier points his rifle at the daughter innocently playing with blocks!
Behind him, a blond Amazon with her hair in a pony tail, Nyx, raises a shield! We see the soldiers hand with blood from the falling shield. She screams, “For Paradise!” and charges the soldiers with her sword and shield. A shield?, she should have it ready to deflect gunfire. Cybele calls out her wife’s name. Steel says, “Ain’t that a shame”, just cold. The soldiers quickly authorize themselves to open fire. We see in a chiaroscuro, Nyx, shot in automatic fire with the sound effect behind her. Her bloody body is on the pavement and we see Cybele’s horrified expression. A political talk show host, Jerry, is interviewing the senator, smiling in his sweater, from Montana. More series of panels inter cut with violent scenes.
We see an Amazon taken into custody by A.X.E. soldiers. The senator notes the attack and Amazons are from a monarchy. We see a dead Amazon in the grass. Jerry asks the senator about Wonder Woman’s part in the chaos. Queen Nubia, she became the new queen of Themysicra in Trial of the Amazons #2 (2022). She has an impassive face on her throne and sems to take the death of Amazons with a regal distain. The Amazon ambassador reports that she spoke with the princess, Diana, about Queen Nubia’s decree of returning to Themysicra. The princess returned her sword and the ambassador repeats her words, “In what I now do, I must avoid temptation.” In a snowy cemetary, Steel meets with the person he calls, “girl.” He says he respects her for coming to the graves of fallen Amazons as we see the A.X.E. soldiers with their rifles.
The narrator notes that three hundred Amazons were captured or killed. Steel is still cocky dealing with one of the greatest Amazons and hero. A sniper in a tree takes sight of the dark haired woman, Diana. She counters that he is trying to belittle her calling her girl. Steel gives a warning and then we see the sniper reach for his rifle’s trigger. He says she is in violation of the Amazon Safety Act and the sniper fires in a closeup of the rifle’s muzzle! Then, we finally get a splash page of Wonder Woman deflecting the sniper shot in the snow with pigeons scattering John Woo-style! Steel is at one side and Wonder Woman is surrounded by A.X.E. agents, they need back-up. Wonder Woman takes out her Lasso of Truth, closeup of Steel telling the soldiers to “get her home”, euphanism. Wonder Woman leaps over all for them in an awesome panel.
She has tied up two soldiers with the lasso and slams them together as the narrator notes Wonder Woman in comparison to the rest of the Justice League. Wonder Woman takes down the soldiers in impressive action scenes. This is contrasted with the impotent Steel and the narrator, but we finally are revealed the narrator! Wonder Woman hasn't found the rogue Amazon, Emelie, whom may have been under some sort of control by the Sovereign or her long time foe, Doctor Psycho who may be the Sovereign. He is also tied to the build up of Trinity. "Wonder Woman: Outlaw Part 1" has potential with a new direction. It is in line with King’s Heroes in Crisis in disrupting the superhero status quo. The comic has great art by Sampere. Wonder Woman #1 adds real world situations, which is interesting in part, but veers from the fantasy of superhero comics!
Four Lassos of Truth out of Five!
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