Wonder Woman is at odds with the United States government and on the outs with her own people. It can’t get worse… can it? Your Major Spoilers review of Wonder Woman #4 from DC Comics awaits!

WONDER WOMAN #4

Writer: Tom King
Artist: Daniel Sampere/Belen Ortega
Colorist: Tomeu Morey/Alejandro Sanchez
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Editor: Brittany Holzherr
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: December 19, 2023
Release Date: $4.99

Previously in Wonder Woman: With the world losing trust in the Amazons, Wonder Woman takes a moment to grant the wish of a dying boy and gives him the perfect day. Meanwhile, the Sovereign constricts his grip on the government. Will Wonder Woman be able to hold out hope as the world around her grows darker? Plus, Trinity spends the night at the Fortress of Solitude with her babysitters, the Super Sons!

AN UNFORTUNATE SERIES OF EVENTS

The first page of this issue is a series of newscasts, covering an unknown amount of time, discussing the suicide of a US Soldier after a battle with Wonder Woman. They show the rapid change of public opinion against the Amazons, forcing the unseen President to make a statement. As the POTUS prepares his statement, Princess Diana herself is visiting a boy named Jack, who is one of her biggest fans, and whose disease is terminal. Their visit turns into a flight in her invisible jet, which then becomes a day spent on Paradise Island. Of course, that forces Diana to threaten her people, reminding the captain of the guard that she defeated every warrior on Themyscira as a child, and now… she is an adult.

While she spends her day entertaining Jack and showing him the ways of the Amazons, the President declares her to be a danger to the United States and its interests, essentially declaring war.

IS THIS A REBOOTED UNIVERSE?

The state of the DCU post-Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths is hard to discern for me, but it’s very hard to see this Wonder Woman as related to either the New Earth Wonder Woman or the New 52 revamp. King’s Wonder Woman seems to lack the heart of the former and the courage of the latter, showing an unexpected amount of macho aggression, and even her heartfelt interactions with Jack seem to lack insight into the woman. There’s also the truly puzzling character of “The King of the United States,” something that just doesn’t make sense in the context of any continuing shared universe. The art is more successful, including the backup story featuring the reunion of the Super-Sons, Damian and Jon, as they deal with Wonder Woman’s daughter Lizzie. It’s a cute little story, but once again, undermined by odd choices, as it features a Black Mercy plant serving as the punch line of a joke.

BOTTOM LINE: VERY HARD TO PARSE

Sampere’s Wonder Woman is a very powerful figure, and her facial expressions are remarkably well-rendered, while the issue lacks anything like a battle sequence, Wonder Woman #4 has a number of very striking scenes that work visually coupled with a script full of puzzling, troubling or inscrutable moments, earning a somewhat disappointing 1.5 out of 5 stars overall. If this is meant to be a newly revamped Diana, it is one that has taken a very strange turn, but as a continuation, it’s kind of a bust.

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WONDER WOMAN #4

33%

33%

Remote and Difficult

King's Wonder Woman is a cypher, and even a lovely scene with a young man in the final stages of a terminal disease doesn't quite give me a sense of what this is meant to be.

• Writing

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• Art

  4
• Coloring

  5
• User Ratings (1 Votes)
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