Wonder Woman” continues its winding unsatisfying arc toward something nobody is quite sure of in issue #609 as Dr. Psycho leads Diana by the hand to all her supposed potential and greatness..
In this issue, Diana has been badly injured and is taking a mind trip with Dr. Psycho (going by "Edgar" here, taller and with a more handsome visage) as he leads her to all her “past lives” which are really just potential incarnations of Diana’s spirit. Phil Hester is clearly trying hard to get Diana back to who and what she should be, but it’s not effective or very compelling. At one point Dr. Psycho proclaims that, “Every era somehow finds a way to create you,” which is a nice sentiment in that it shows how necessary Wonder Woman is to the world. Later Dr. Psycho says, “It is not enough to merely become Wonder Woman, you must choose it. Create yourself,” which nicely reinforces the agency that Diana needs to have in her own life in order to be successful. However, since Diana has to be literally led by the hand to these revelations by her former enemy, the reality we experience as readers is of Diana continuing to be a tourist in her own life and book.
There’s some nice art here by Don Kramer, and some particularly gorgeous stuff toward the end when readers are treated to many different reflections of Diana as Wonder Woman. However, the art is inconsistent and sometimes really out of synch with who Diana should be, even in this incarnation. There are far too many panels of doe-eyed innocence, paired with “seductive” constantly open mouth syndrome. It’s pretty off-putting overall.
My thoughts:
I disagree with the reviewer from Comic Book Resources, I liked the trip through Diana's mind with Dr. Psycho. We saw him rescue her from the three fighters that were sent to either take her out or capture her so I think it is fitting that he should make an appearance her as well. Diana has been getting bits and pieces about alternate pasts since the first issue, so here she is being given a back story. I'm not sure if we are to believe that she has been coming back as each of these different warriors, the blind woman, the pirate, the disowned princess and Wonder Woman or if it has just been her essence that has been a part of each of these lives. Perhaps it is the whole parallel universe thing again. I thought the cover was misleading because it made it seem like she was going to be fighting with herself or the memory of herself, but she wasn't. Perhaps the cover with make more sense and the story continues. The good part of having fallen behind is that I can read them each one after another without having to wait for a new issue to come out.
Story by J. Michael Straczynski, Phil Hester
Art by Don Kramer, Sean Parsons, Wayne Faucher
Colors by Alex Sinclair, Pete Pantazis
Letters by Travis Lanham
Cover by Don Kramer, Chris Beckett
Publisher DC Comics
Cover Price$2.99 (USD)
Release Date Mar 30th, 2011
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