After a year beneath the dome, Diana has built a life for herself with her beau Steve Trevor, but that’s all about to come to an end… Your Major Spoilers review of Convergence: Wonder Woman #1 awaits!
CONVERGENCE: WONDER WOMAN #1
Writer: Larry Hama
Artist: Joshua Middleton
Colorist: Joshua Middleton
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Editor: Marie Javins
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Convergence: Wonder Woman: Princess Diana came to man’s world to spread the Amazon ways, taking a second life as Diana Prince, Air Force nurse. She met a man named Steve Trevor, whose love kept her invested in the outside world, and became one of the premier heroes of her world. Now, Brainiac blah blah blah Telos blah dome blah a year without powers fishcakes, leaving us to wonder (you should excuse the expression) what happens now… This is a tale of Pre-Crisis Earth-1 Gotham City.
WHY WAS SHE IN GOTHAM? BECAUSE REASONS!
One year later, Steve and Diana are living together, and their morning routine is actually kind of adorable. He laments the lack of “real sunsets”, she reminds him that the beautiful pinks of the past were due to pollution. He has been activated, apparently with all of the remaining military in the city, while she provides visiting services for the sick and infirm, more important than ever now that the city is running out of medicine. There are also strange cults springing up around the city, trying to find meaning in their new life. When Etta Candy takes one of their clients to visit one of those same cults, all hell breaks loose. Diana is captured by a coven of doomsday cultists, Etta is overpowered, and their friend Vera actually dies…
…and that’s when the dome comes down.
SEASON OF THE WITCH
In previous issues of the Convergence crossover, we’ve gotten to see characters dealing with their own issues, and heroes trying to be heroes, but very few have addressed the greater mechanisms of the cities under the dome. Seeing the various weird groups and cults trying to make sense of what is happening is a very real bit of story, and Hama’s script delivers a very understandable and human Wonder Woman in the midst of it all. Of course, the appearance of vampires from Red Rain Gotham City plays into all the talk of angels and demons, and when their leader is revealed to be a vampiric Joker?
That’s more than a little horrifying. This is a really strong script, and the art is really attractive as well, with strong facial expressions and utterly monstrous vampire versions of Batman’s baddies. (I’m not sure whether any of them actually ever appeared in the Red Rain books, but if they didn’t, Middleton also did some great character design here, as well.)
THE BOTTOM LINE: PRETTY TERRIFYING
As a fan of Diana’s powerless run from the early 70s, I found this issue to be quite enjoyable, showing us a Wonder Woman who wasn’t afraid to try to make the world a better place, even without powers, and setting up a battle of magical monsters versus magical princess next time around. I had been wondering where the Red Rain world was going to come into play, and this proves to be the perfect place to play them, leaving Convergence: Wonder Woman #1 with an impressive 3 out of 5 stars overall and a renewed appreciation for the veteran writing skills of Larry Hama. It’s a good issue that uses the crossover elements well, playing them a bit differently than we have been seeing…
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