MAXWELL LORD & SUPERMAN versus WONDER WOMAN

Sacrifice Part 4 of 4 (DC)
Where: Wonder Woman #219 When: September 2005 Why: Greg Rucka How: Rags Morales, David Lopez, Tom Derenick, Georges Jeanty & Karl Kerschl

The Story So Far...
The exploitation of magic to rewrite a villain's personality began a cover-up within the Justice League that unraveled with the murder of Sue Dibny. Remembering his own mind was altered -- Batman created a stealth-concealed satellite to monitor the League and their actions in secret.

Discovered by Maxwell Lord; the Brother Eye satellite becomes a tool for a new incarnation of the covert intelligence organization Checkmate. As their Black King, Lord exploits the technology to initiate the OMAC Project and prepare for a war against super-powers.

Not content with relying on technology alone, Lord also uses his powers of mind control to turn Superman into his ultimate weapon. With the truth exposed by mental probe: Wonder Woman heads to Checkmate headquarters to confront the source of the visions that have turned Superman against the League!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Draw 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Draw 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Superman 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Superman 6 (Generator)
Agility: Superman 3 (Acrobat)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Superman 5 (Lasers)
Total: Superman 33 (Super)

Throughout much of the modern age Superman and Wonder Woman have been shown to be approximate equals. They share in similar degrees of elevated strength, durability, stamina, speed, and even flight. So what separates them?

We're catching Wonder Woman at a time when her Amazon heritage appears to be manifesting itself through harsh justice. We observed this with a bloody follow-up issue that saw Cheetah invading The Haguge in Wonder Woman #222.

Wonder Woman's warrior training arguably makes her a more technically proficient fighter than Superman, who usually has the luxury of relying on strength and invulnerability. She demonstrated this fighting off both Vixen and Fleur-de-Lis simultaneously in JLA: Classified #3.

Although incredibly strong, Wonder Woman doesn't always hit the same peaks as Superman. In Crisis on Infinite Earths #6 the Earth-One Wonder Woman struggled to tame Mary Marvel with her lasso of truth. She fared only slightly better in Final Crisis #3, losing a one-on-one struggle. Captain Marvel was also able to endure a corrupted Wonder Woman in Underworld Unleashed #3.

Superman has had his own struggles with the powers of SHAZAM.  Captain Marvel took him to the limit in Action Comics Annual #4, Superman/Batman #4, and Superman #216. A similar standstill occurred when Black Adam kept Superman to a tactical draw in DC Comics Presents #49,

Both Superman and Wonder Woman have faced the magical strength of Marvel's Juggernaut and passed with flying colours. Superman kayoed him with a sucker punch in DC versus Marvel #1, while Wonder Woman earned a more substantial win in a tag team slobberknocker with Spider-Man in Unlimited Access #1!

Superman is fighting today under the mental influence of Maxwell Lord which could be a key factor. Breaking the chemical influence of Poison Ivy was vital to Batman & Catwoman defeating him in Batman #612.

The tyrant Superman of Superman/Batman #15 showed he has the strength and speed to brutalize Wonder Woman if given the inclination. Infinite Crisis #1 showed a more reasonable disagreement. If the Lasso of Truth can overcome Max Lord's programming Wonder Woman should win.

History: 1-0-0 (Superman)
The Tape: Superman Ranking: Superman (#5)

What Went Down...

Max Lord stands gloating as The Man of Steel holds Wonder Woman to one knee with a hand around her throat. Superman is completely under his mental control.

A trickle of blood from Lord's nose is the only hint of strain dominating the world's most powerful man. He asks Superman to let her go, supremely confident that she won't attack. He tries to reach into her mind too, but cannot. She sees with the comprehension of a god. Lord's projections will not cloud her truth.

Words become Wonder Woman's weapon as the seasoned ambassador attempts to engage Lord in discussion. He recognizes her skill before revealing the entirety of his plans. Threatened, he strikes, summoning his most powerful weapon from the torment of visions of Doomsday murdering his beloved wife: Lois Lane.

Like a speeding bullet Superman darts toward them -- leading with laser focused bursts of heat vision.

Wonder Woman scrambles to throw her hands up, just barely deflecting the blasts with her magic bracelets. It is a short-lived defense as Superman is suddenly upon her, clutching her throat as he jets them out of the building.

Bereaved by telepathic visions of Lois Lane's death he screams her name. He's holding nothing back, rocketing out of Earth's atmosphere on an unknown journey with what he believes to be Doomsday.

Searing beams of heat vision find their target immediately, burning at the bones beneath Wonder Woman's cheek.

She cannot escape. Held mere inches from Superman's blazing red eyes by an unshakable choke hold. All she can do is plunge her thumbs into his eyes to try to stop the flow. Even as she does, heat begins to engulf them as they near the sun.

Superman tries to turn away, heat vision streaking around him as it bends to their incredible momentum. A moment of separation is all Wonder Woman needs to reach into her belt and retrieve the kryptonite she was given by Batman!

She thrusts it forward, but even in his confused state Superman knows the risks of exposure. He swings with all his might, hitting Wonder Woman so hard she blacks out for an instant!

Careening through space the Amazon begins to stir as the friction of her body re-entering Earth's atmosphere causes her to burn. Too late to do anything about it as gravity ushers her back to the planet with an all mighty explosion on impact!

An interstate highway in Wyoming is reduced to a massive crater. Superman hovers over it as a dazed Wonder Woman attempts to talk him down.

All Superman can see is the unstoppable monster he thinks murdered Lois. He vows to stop it, freezing his target in place with a powerful gust of exhaling.

Superman hoists a massive chunk of Earth over his head and moves in to crush his intended target. Only Wonder Woman has escaped the ice, quickly darting completely out of sight.

She waits in silence for the Man of Steel to stop talking and start listening intently with super-human accuracy. Once he does, she lingers behind him with arms out stretched. A plot to turn his incredible power into a devastating weakness!

The sound of Wonder Woman slamming her enchanted bracelets against Superman's sensitive ears is agony!

He grabs his ears as as the thundering sound echoes within and a tiny trickle of blood spurts from them both. Wonder Woman wants to hold back, but she must seize her chance.

The Amazon warrior kicks Superman in the side of the head, then buries her heel in his left knee. A snapping right hook catches him, sending his head falling hard into the ground. A combination designed to buy the time to reach for her lasso!

The gambit shows far more finesse than anything Doomsday would be capable of, but Superman suddenly seems remarkably focused on stopping the lasso.

He closes in at speed, forcing Wonder Woman to dedicate her arms to defending simultaneous incoming strikes from either side. Another blast of heat vision forces Wonder Woman to move, the two of them dancing around each other with the Lasso of Truth coiled just out of reach of snaring its subject.

Superman grabs Wonder Woman's lassoing right wrist. She retaliates with a rising palm thrust of her free hand. It catches Superman's steely chin, but he doesn't break his grip. He just squeezes and bends the wrist tighter. Then snaps it!

Wonder Woman lets out a scream. She wonders what new visions must be driving this precision attack. She realises that Maxwell Lord is the real threat.

She ducks a haymaker, supporting her injured wrist. Then charges at Superman, narrowly avoiding his heat vision to deliver a kick that sends him hurtling across the landscape!

Shifting a bracelet provides support for her broken wrist. A call to nature summons a flock of birds to provide her cover. A distraction easily dealt with by a vortex of air created by flying in circles, but enough to allow her to escape.

The Amazon returns to Checkmate's castle headquarters to confront Max Lord head-on. She easily ensnares him in her golden lasso and hoists him off the ground by the neck. As she does: Superman returns. A problem soon remedied.

With a rapid swing Wonder Woman tosses the tiara from her head like a discus -- sending it perfectly hurtling across Superman's jugular!

Shocked, the Man of Steel wraps a hand around his own throat and applies pressure to stem the flow of blood. He suddenly sees his opponent for who she really is as Wonder Woman convinces Lord to release his control.

Superman sifts through his reality as if waking from a nightmare. He holds his wound, coming to grips with the horrors he had witnessed. Illusions cast by the man Wonder Woman now has at her complete mercy...

She asks Lord how to permanently free Superman from his hideous influence. She takes him at his word. With a hand on his chin and head she twists -- snapping his neck and severing his spinal column. With that Maxwell Lord is dead.

The Hammer...
Heading into this one I thought there might be two fights to review, but upon revisiting Wonder Woman #219, it's clear there is one. Superman was a tool for the real villain Maxwell Lord. In the end: Wonder Woman defeated them both.

Max Lord's conspiracy against superheroes recalls his earlier history as a pawn of the hostile artificial intelligence Killg%re. Its plot was behind his efforts to establish a new Justice League corporation in the wake of Legends, which included the willful manipulation of the original line-up of heroes.

The corporate shark gained mind-control powers from a gene bomb detonated by The Dominators during Invasion. His time with the Justice League only saw limited exposure to Superman, but he was never the less able to gather sufficient intelligence to exploit The Man of Steel with just the right mental suggestions.

The decision to fatally snap Maxwell Lord's neck proved a pivotal step in defining Wonder Woman for the remainder of the 2000s and beyond.

There have been many defining moments in the character's history, but the sense that there was no enduring definitive reference remained a pervasive issue for her modern post-Crisis incarnation.

Who really is Wonder Woman? What sets her apart from equivalents in the DC pantheon? Her status seemingly relied on image: Lynda Carter in live-action, and the comics drawn by George Perez. This impression, true or not, invited writers to extract answers in the most logical place: her mythic Amazonian origins.

There's no ambiguity in the final page of Wonder Woman #219. She asks Max how to stop the visions that haunt Superman enacting violence against innocents. She doesn't hesitate in the slightest to act upon his lethal answer. She simply stares Lord down and twists his head.

It was a further parting of the ways for the DC trinity through their approaches to heroics. I tried to define this as part of my "Totem of Justice" around the time, where Superman was the hero of higher ideals; Batman was militaristic force in kind; and Wonder Woman the "life for a life" level of justice by warrior's code.

It's interesting that Zack Snyder featured a similar scenario in his Man of Steel film, recasting Superman as the neck-snapping protagonist - rather than the somewhat hapless, reluctant witness he is in today's battle.

Both examples appear to address misplaced internet-age criticisms of Superman's moral integrity, and his vast power to live up to it.

Snyder takes the increasingly popular cynical approach, bringing Superman down to "our" level by corrupting him and the use of his powers. Sequels doubled down on tropes of both a tyrannical "evil" Superman, and a weak Superman, specifically reprising the Death of Superman in only his second cinematic outing.

These are fundamental betrayals of the Superman character, but Wonder Woman has always walked a fine line of contradiction between an "ambassador for peace" and Amazon warrior princess. Her brutality under extreme circumstance appears measured, and in some ways feels like an enhancement of her heritage, rather than a betrayal of it.

Wonder Woman #222 requires Diana to answer for her actions, while also further establishing her tendency towards a warrior's resolution.

It's a tricky balance, but it seems relatively well struck by Greg Rucka and his collaborators, with some small debt to earlier runs that explored her heritage.

Further mitigating Wonder Woman's culpability for the death of Max Lord, at least in the eyes of the reader, is the impression that Superman was the stronger of the two. He'd already beaten up Batman and the Justice League, by this point. Left unchecked, who knows what he would've done under Max Lord's influence.

If you came here to see which icon is strongest, you could walk away with mixed impressions. Although Wonder Woman ultimately won through grit and redirected guile, it was clear Superman controlled most of the fight. Circumstances had it that he wasn't holding back the way the rational Wonder Woman might've been, but it also seems about right that he is the more powerful of the two.

That said, I'm not entirely sure how to read Wonder Woman's finishing blow.

It could be taken that the earlier introduction of kryptonite, though brief, was enough to soften Superman enough to pierce his skin.

I find that preferable to any alternative that might imply magical origins of Wonder Woman's tiara somehow allowed it to cut him. As I've said many times, I don't subscribe to the theory that magic is a "weakness". Just a vulnerability subject to the logic of spells that exist to circumvent our conventional reality -- the reality by which Superman is conceptually determined to be exceptional.

If you'd like to make your own assessments about this reality you can find the battle collected in both Superman: Sacrifice and Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka Volume 3: War in Paradise.

Use either of the Amazon links to purchase online and you'll not only get yourself a great deal to prepare you for Wonder Woman and Max Lord's big screen meeting in Wonder Woman 1984 -- you'll also support the site at no extra cost to you!

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Winner: Wonder Woman
#11 (+2) Wonder Woman
#5 (--) Superman
#937 (new) Maxwell Lord

CHEETAH versus WONDER WOMAN

Blood Debt (DC)
Where: Wonder Woman #222 When: December 2005
Why: Greg Rucka How: Cliff Richards

The Story So Far...
Responsible for fatally snapping Maxwell Lord's neck before the eyes of the world: Wonder Woman must answer to international outcry in response to film of the humanitarian and philanthropist's apparent murder.

Submitting herself to the International Court of Justice; the superhero and Amazon ambassador willingly agrees to residence  in an adjacent detention facility while the terms of her trial are arranged. Alas, death has followed Diana to The Hague.

Watching her plea of "Not Guilty" was the merciless Cheetah, who leaves a pile of court guards' corpses in her wake as she stalks her ultimate prey. Emergency lockdown merely serves to cage the beast as she lies in wait!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wonder Woman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Wonder Woman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Cheetah 5 (Super Speed)
Stamina: Wonder Woman 5 (Marathoner)
Agility: Cheetah 5 (Cat-Like)
Fighting: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy: Draw 1 (None)
Total: Wonder Woman 29 (Metahuman)

Cheetah is arguably the most identifiable arch-enemy in Wonder Woman's rogues gallery, so it's about time we took another look at this classic rivalry.

Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva was an anthropologist seeking the secrets of an esoteric African tribe. She hoped for the gift of immortality, but was instead cursed when she submitted to a ritual to become the cat-god Urzkartaga's bride.

For desiring the pleasures of the flesh, she was doomed to survive only by consuming it. With this animal instinct came feline physical attributes, including enhanced strength, agility, reflexes, senses, a tail, and super-human speed!

Her greatest assets fighting Wonder Woman are speed and agility, coupled with feline ferocity -- and claws to match. Extra speed enhancements acquired from Zoom helped almost secure a win in Wonder Woman (Vol.3) #29. A tense stand-off with Wonder Woman in Justice League of America #15 ended when Firestorm delivered a knock-out blow.

Cheetah's also come up short against Catwoman, developing a rivalry over two noteworthy battles. In Catwoman: When In Rome #4, her tail was used against her to efficient effect. Catwoman #78 promised a vicious rematch, but again the fighting technique and desperation of Catwoman turned the tables.

Wonder Woman's no slouch in the arena of combat, but will often forego finesse for a brawling warrior's style that suits her incredible strength.

She used power and brawling to clobber Marvel's Juggernaut in Unlimited Access #1's tag team crossover. She tenaciously endured against the unique magic of Genocide in Wonder Woman #32, as well! She even bested two feral foes in Vixen and Tasmanian Devil during JLA: Classified #3! Impressive!

The record certainly favours Wonder Woman, but we still have more ground to cover before Cheetah can be written off. It must be noted that she successfully sniffed out an invisible Phantom Lady, and slashed up Uncle Sam, contributing to the domination of the Freedom Fighters in Infinite Crisis #1.

Could today's featured fight be the one to finally see Cheetah overwhelm her arch-nemesis? Wonder Woman is waist deep in controversy at this time having just fought Superman and killed Maxwell Lord. Let's see what happened...

The Tape: Wonder Woman Ranking: Wonder Woman (#15)

What Went Down...
From the rafters she watched Wonder Woman's immediate fate be decided with spite and resentment. The tribunal hearing determined she be held in the Hague detention facility, where Cheetah effortlessly follows, hidden by shadow.

Wonder Woman takes advantage of a spontaneous visit from Donna Troy and Supergirl to usher her legal council, Peter Garibaldi, on a safe travel home, then she returns to her quarters to confront the enemy she knows is hiding there!

Stepping into the light -- Cheetah revels in the fruits of her imposed bloodlust and then she launches herself at her sworn enemy with reckless abandon!

Her incredible speed allows her to tag Wonder Woman with the sharp edge of her claws, even as she contends with the mighty swinging fist of the Amazon!

Cheetah hits the wall with her feet and springs back in the direction of Wonder Woman. The warrior for peace is ready, but there's little she can do to prevent the momentum of Cheetah's returning charge. They smash through the wall!

Cheetah slashes at her downed foe, anticipating the taste of her flesh. She pounces into the air -- striking back down at Wonder Woman's cheek with the relentless whipping of her feline tail!

By now, armed guards have rushed to respond to the commotion -- but they're helpless before Cheetah's speed and agility. She darts between their bullets and effortlessly disarms them with a flick of her tail, and slash of her claws!

Before she can devour their flesh -- a gleaming projectile slices through her tail!

The agonizing pain clears her mind. She turns, finding Wonder Woman receiving her golden tiara as it arcs back to her hand like a boomerang. The perceived arrogance of her posture inspires a second wind. Cheetah dives at her prey!

This time Wonder Woman catches the charging Cheetah with a straight hand to the throat and slams her into the ground!

In her mind, Cheetah pleads for mercy from the jealous god who supplies her power, but the real negotiation is over. Wonder Woman slams her powerful fists into Cheetah until she's unconscious in a pool of her own blood.

The Hammer...
A decisive victory for Wonder Woman that takes her further down a path of violence.

She may have stopped the murderous Cheetah, but her bloody victory raises further questions as she awaits trial for the killing of Maxwell Lord.

The next issue deals with the fallout of the battle, with the International Criminal Court left with no choice but to revise the conditions of Wonder Woman's parole.

Diana agrees to the now mandatory imposed detention at The Hague, but quickly breaks the conditions when Themyscira comes under attack from an army of OMACs.

"Omni Mind And Community", or the OMAC Project, is a collective of nano-tech converted humans who were used as programmable soldiers by Checkmate, under the directive of Maxwell Lord.

Even in death, he continues to have his revenge against Wonder Woman, attacking her island home, and her international standing.

This all happened as part of the tangled web of events that built toward Infinite Crisis. An interesting time in DC history, when escalating mini-events created an interconnected foundation for an ultimate mid-decade blockbuster.

At the time, I very much enjoyed the unfolding, controlled chaos of it all, but looking back after years of repeating blockbuster events, it does start to feel a little bit bogged down and exhausting.

The strands of Infinite Crisis would define much of the 2000s, but in some ways it feels as if Wonder Woman was the most permanently effected by it.

These 2005 issues inspired part of my Totem of Justice: an attempt to categorize and define a scale of violence and attitude in contemporary super-heroics. Using the DC heroes of the time, Wonder Woman personified Level 7 of 8: Longstanding Solution, or lethal force -- "a life for a life". Echoes of this time still seem to resonate within most versions of the warrior princess.

This period wasn't the first time Wonder Woman had been shown to be an uncompromising warrior in the ancient sense. It did seem to serve as a lightning rod for rethinking her characterization as an Amazon Princess, though.

Refining the definitive status of icons was one of the pleasures of DC Comics in the early to mid 2000s. There seemed to be a genuine effort to reflect upon the past, searching for the truest aspects of various iterations to inform (and reform) a modern classic take.

Even after sixty years Wonder Woman still seemed to lack that type of enduring touchstone. Lynda Carter could only offer the character so much, and even the post-Crisis period by George Perez seemed to be most fondly referenced for its visual exploits and classic riffs.

At the time, it seemed like an uncompromising Wonder Woman was a good way to differentiate her from counterparts like Superman and Batman. It expanded upon and honored the spirit of the Greek Amazon tradition that remains one of the most unique reference points for the character. The friction it created with her tradition as an ambassador for peace supplied interesting circumstance for drama, as in today's featured issue.

The execution of Maxwell Lord ultimately created a single memorable moment Wonder Woman could hang or hat on. That's probably why aggression is still a part of the character, and why Maxwell Lord will soon appear as a foil in the Wonder Woman theatrical sequel, Wonder Woman 1984.

Some time soon we'll work backwards to take a closer look at that defining moment. In the mean time: if you'd like to read today's featured battle you can find it collected in Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka Volume 3: War in Paradise.

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Winner: Wonder Woman
#13 (+2) Wonder Woman
#423 (-1) Cheetah

GENOCIDE versus WONDER WOMAN
Rise of the Olympian Part 7:
Compound Fracture (DC)
Where: Wonder Woman #32 When: July 2009
Why: Gail Simone How: Aaron Lopresti

The Story So Far...
Created as a living weapon of pure malevolence by Cheetah and the scientists of The Society, the creature known as Genocide has successfully bested Wonder Woman and her Justice League allies in their every encounter.

As a dark mirror to the Amazonian warrior for peace, Genocide has spread death and destruction to everything she touches, using the Lasso of Truth as a weapon of negative psychic energy to manipulate and disorientate Wonder Woman and her friends.

Having fought off the advances of Zeus' new chosen warrior, Achilles, she now returns her attentions and fury to the evil mirror using her own gifted Lasso as a weapon against the ones she loves. Having learnt the dark truth about Genocide, only one Amazon can survive, but will it be Wonder Woman?

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Genocide 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Wonder Woman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 5 (Superhuman)
Stamina: Genocide 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Genocide 7 (Living Weapon)
Energy: Genocide 3 (Explosives)


- The creature called Genocide was designed as a weapon of pure malevolence, fashioned by T.O. Morrow and the most brilliant and deranged scientific minds within the membership of The Society. Approved during Libra's reign over the union of villains, and overseen by Cheetah, the golem-like creature was created using a similar mystic ritual to animate clay with life that gave birth to Wonder Woman. By collecting samples of soil from the darkest corners of the Earth, the taint of genocidal attrocities committed over the past one hundred years embued the creature with vile inclinations when given life by the magic of Felix Faust.

From this tainted Earth was born a creature as powerful as Wonder Woman, only as despicable as she is kind. Genocide possesses abilities additional to Wonder Woman's strength, speed, and endurance, including using the Lasso of Truth as a conduit to amplify negative psychic energy. Through this technique Genocide can channel concussive blasts, amplify negative emotions, and cause erratic behaviour.

- Commanded by the Greek gods to carve a child from clay; the Amazonian Queen, Hippolyta, bore witness to the animation of this child as her daughter, Diana. The child was enchanted with abilities comaprable to those of the gods themselves; fantastic speed, strength, agility, and endurance. With the teachings of Gaea and the peaceful Amazon warriors to guide her, Princess Diana grew to be their greatest champion, as powerful as she was gentle -- Wonder Woman!

When the Princess was of age she was the natural choice of the warrior women of Themyscira to carry their message of of peace and harmony to the world of man. There, she served not only as a diplomat, but as a founding member of the Justice League whose legend grew to be one of the greatest heroes on Earth.

Math: Genocide Ranking: Wonder Woman (#13)

What Went Down...
Crash landing in the busy streets of Washington DC's business district, Wonder Woman leaves a streaming crater from her crash landing. Responsible for her sudden descent - Genocide - a twisted version of herself tainted by the dark magics of Ares and her deadliest enemies. With only a moment's pause, Wonder Woman compells local law enforcement to clear the area, doing her best to protect the innocent from the carnage that will be unleashed.

Moving at incredible superhuman speeds, Wonder Woman charges along the main street with the conviction of a hero out of patience. She brings both fists colliding into either side of the head of a flat-footed Genocide, following rapidly with an elbow to the jaw, and raking nails that rip Genocide's spiked visor from her face.

Urbana crumbles as Wonder Woman charges Genocide's body through cement and ponders the necessity death might play under the stakes at hand. Genocide is not ready to go down without a fight, however, reversing the momentum with a swing of Wonder Woman's hair! The evil creature defies any expectation of stupidity, denying Wonder Woman's ability to out-think her. References to the torture of Etta Candy - WW's friend - and knowledge to be used to hurt others become Genocide's weapons in a secondary psychological assault.

With superhuman strength, the creature tosses Wonder Woman like an overgrown discus with sufficient force to penetrate a nearby bus. The toss leaves a clump of the Amazon warrior's hair clutched in Genocide's hand, held with a grim boastful prophecy of Wonder Woman's death.

Genocide's actions had made as many enemies as Wonder Woman's had friends, inviting the interference of Agent Tom Tressman and TO Morrow pilotting an invisible helicopter from the Department of Metahuman Affairs. With the best of intentions they fire a missile into the empty street, but even unconventional weaponry, such as a probability bomb invented by Amos Fortune, proves grossly inefficient against the evil Morrow helped to conceive. The dust stirred by the explosion helps to obscure Genocide's retrieval of a populated city bus -- which she hurls as her own missile toward the copter!

Before Wonder Woman can take flight to save her fellows, Genocide snags her ankle and drags her back down to Earth. The grappling, however, serves to bring Wonder Woman into close quarters, where she unleashes a fierce left-right hook combination. With the beast staggered, she pulls the tiara from her head, using the sturdy metal to slash violently at Genocide's throat!

While Genocide clutches her gushing throat - Wonder Woman leaps to the aid of the bus full of people, forsaking the helicopter to crash. The Shield emerges to help evacuate bystanders to safety, but a recovered Genocide is able to retrieve Tom Tressman from the chopper wreckage. She uses the stolen lasso of truth to force upon Tressman revelations about Wonder Woman's true feelings toward him, crushing hopes of romance.

Wielding her tiara as a weapon once more, Wonder Woman charges, slashing Genocide's arm to break the tendons that control her grip on Tressman. With the Agent freed, Wonder Woman delivers an uppercut that props the monster into the air. From there, she clutches the stunned beast and flys hard and fast for the Earth's outer atmosphere. It is the beginning of her end game!

Flame engulf Amazon and abomination alike as they burn on a pointed reentry.
Fighting on the way down, the duo crash through the Earth to the subway system below, where serendipity brings a speeding train to collide with the monster.

Unrelenting in her follow through, Wonder Woman takes full advantage of the train, catching the airborne creature to fly it back toward the streets. A fist provides the punctuation to drive the fiend through layers of concrete to the surface. Even so, such a blow is still insufficient to finish the power concerned.

Genocide strikes back with another blow, fighting as if the stakes were of a terran fist fight, rather than the high speed airborne struggle they are locked in. They continue to trade blows, a choike hold, a polish hammer, an elbow to the nose, and a headbutt that finally puts the beast on the back foot.

Emitting a regret detected by the creature's tainted use of her lasso, Wonder Woman leaps around onto Genocide's back and in spite of the terror and conflict inflicted upon her and her friends, apologises. With storm clouds gathering to provide a dramatic backdrop, Wonder Woman clutches the lasso of truth in her fists and rips it from Genocide's body, reclaiming it from the tainted golem.

The agony, or perhaps even mythic implications, of the lasso's removal is enough to send Genocide's limp body hurtling toward the ocean depths below. Wonder Woman could save her, but chooses not to. It is a revenge fitting for a monster whose sole purpose was to spread the evil it was born from. This, however, is not the end for Genocide. Eventually Wonder Woman attempts to recover the body, but finds none, for it has already been claimed in the name of Ares.

Genocide will return.

The Hammer...
Well, for the second time actually, I give you your winner: Wonder Woman!

Yes, I actually already wrote the last third of this article a few days ago, but a nasty mishap with a loose sleeve, a touchpad mouse, and Blogger's auto-save function, meant I faced the demoralizing task of doing it all over again. As you can imagine, the first version was much better.
Still, in taking some time to find the positive, I realise it's given me opportunity to reflect more upon the details of these closing thoughts.

As tends to be the case, there was a bit of a patronizing tone to the original discussion I wrote. It's a bad habit I'm sure I share with many other commentators who feel the need to constantly discuss Wonder Woman like it's a puzzle that needs solving, rather than a comic series to be reviewed.
What probably doesn't help is the fact that: Wonder Woman needs fixing.

She isn't necessarily broken, but as a franchise, WW just isn't performing to a standard that you would expect of a character generally sharing banners and lunchboxes with Superman and Batman -- DC's superhero holy "Trinity".

There's a tendency to look past the on-going series toward fabled projects like Adam Hughes' All-Star Wonder Woman, or Grant Morrison's promise to make-up for Wonder Woman's diminished role in Final Crisis with a story of her own. Like a lot of other readers, I'm thrilled by the prospect of a special project like those, (particularly Morrison's), but is this really the tactic to elevate the character to the status she deserves?

I wouldn't say there's been an excess of pressure on Gail Simone, but it's difficult not to look at her work with added scrutiny. Like every writer who tackles the character, [Simone] shoulders the baggage of previous attempts to revamp the series for a modern audience. Though not in the echelon of A-list writers, Simone's work has garnered cult fandom sufficient enough to make her appointment to the series feel like a statement. It hasn't appeared nearly as conceited a shift as recent efforts, like the ill fated white bodysuit secret agent escapades in Allan Heinberg and the Dodsons' relaunch, but there's a feeling that Simone has been given the opportunity to elevate her own status off the back of recentering the Wonder Woman title.

Aaron Lopresti's clean and (usually) attractive artwork might not boost the book into the top ten sales as instantly as other names, but he does well to serve the return to good old fashioned superheroics that defines this run.
There's a sense that maybe Simone (and/or DC editorial) is trying to hang the hat of the title on an epic that balances elements from various periods, combining mythology with superheroes. I don't know how successful the story is at building the gravitas it aims for, but it feels so much more productive by investing in this type of basic forward movement, rather than sitting, waiting for the short-lived fruits of a messiah like Hughes or Morrison. In this respect, Simone has arguably been the writer picked to oversee the most successful incarnation of the series in recent times. One that doesn't indulge an unhealthy obsession with creating the next important 'graphic novel' or Dark Knight Returns for Wonder Woman.

It isn't all glowing praises, however...
Genocide, the character who stars in this particular issue, is just a little too ridiculous to be the kind of heavy-hitting villain Wonder Woman has lacked. Like some of the worst characters to come out of the nineties, Genocide boils down to spikes, a gaudy costume, and a bad attitude. She is to WW what Doomsday was for Superman, and Bane for Batman. Not that this character had the misfortune of actually being sold as indefinitely successful against her prospective foe, unlike those villains that killed and crippled DC's other leading heroes. I guess there are some advantages to being the struggling icon, particularly when your creator had the foresight to mandate a regular publishing schedule.

Time will tell if Genocide becomes one of those wacky creations that finds artistic balance through later context, or is damned to the annals of shame like the many burly harbingers of doom that came before her/it. [I'm still a little unclear on the revelation of the whole future-tainted-Wonder-Woman situation...]

I like Wonder Woman as a character a great deal, so it's nice to at least feel compelled to buy the comic. From our pseudo-sports league perspective, Wonder Woman's finally fighting her way into the top ranks, but you need only look at our archive of reviews to see how little of that has come from the Wonder Woman series itself. It's a predicament that speaks to the nature of Wonder Woman's struggle as a marketable hero, always present by association (ie; JLA), but never quite successful as a solo presence. Who knows if we'll ever actually get to see that long promised Wonder Woman feature film, or if it'll avoid the pitfalls of being mindless drivel with Hollywood's latest 'hot young thing' in an invisible plane and star-spangled panties. You'll forgive me if I consider Megan Gale a massive Australian bullet dodged, pretty though she may be.

I don't know if Rise of the Olympian will be the trade paperback [*ahem* "graphic novel"] that everyone will have to have on their shelf, but it's produced some of the better issues I've seen in recent times. It might be a bit of an underhanded compliment, but by being slightly less ambitious than previous revamps, it feels like things are finally heading in the right direction. It'll take time before I look at Wonder Woman as a must-read from month to month, but it's been fun at least indulging in some Amazon fisticuffs with super-villains. More than I could have said of other recent tales. [Don't tell Greg Rucka I said that!]

The Fight: 5 The Issue: 4.5

Gail Simone and Aaron Lopresti continue their run on Wonder Woman monthly. Unfortunately, at the time of this posting, I was unable to find any collected editions containing this issue, but you'll find previous chapters of "Rise of the Olympian" in the trade posted to the right (containing issues #20-#27). You'll also find plenty of other stories, including a few with Wonder Woman in them, in the Infinite Wars Amazon Gift Shoppe. If Wonder Woman were to endorse any online store, I'd like to think Amazon.com would be the most fitting. Not only that, by using purchase links provided on the site, you help sponsor truth, justice, and future reviews! Check out the Secret Archives or character tags at the bottom of posts to navigate your way to more materials.

CHEETAH versus WONDER WOMAN
Rise of the Olympian Part Four:
A Changed World (DC)
Where: Wonder Woman #29 When: April 2009
Why: Gail Simone How: Aaron Lopresti

The Story So Far...
With the machinations of the evil New Gods thwarted, the deities of Mount Olympus return from capture to find their ethereal home tarnished by dark ruin. Recognising their increasing obsolescence, Zeus uses his remaining powers to create radical change in the world. After retiring the Amazons, he creates a new army of legends to champion peace in the world of man, the Gargareans.

Wonder Woman is far from ready to concede her position, however. While Zeus rallys against WW's newest godly sponsor; Kane Milohai; the warrior princess herself battles against a horrific new villain created by the evil masterminds of a newly reformed Society. Genocide is a creature created by the brilliant madmen of a newly reformed Society who, upon gathering the soil of locales marred by humanity's darkest moments, gave birth to Wonder Woman's ultimate evil counterpart -- a mythic monster lusting for destruction.

Capable of utilizing the golden lasso of truth as part of a destructive psychic weapon, Genocide lays waste to the heroine and her allies at the Department of Metahuman Affairs. Green Lantern (John Stewart), Donna Troy, and others, are able to help minimize the destruction of the attack, but when Wonder Woman redirects her focus from a disturbed Troia, to a rescue effort, she finds lurking beneath the rubble the mastermind behind her troubles -- Cheetah!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wonder Woman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Wonder Woman 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Cheetah 5 (Superhuman)
Stamina: Wonder Woman 5 (Marathon)
Agility: Cheetah 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Wonder Woman 6 (Warrior)
Energy Power: Draw 1 (None)


- Before becoming a super-villain, Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva was an anthropologist who travelled to Africa to seek the secrets of a tribe whose guardian is said to possess the mystic powers of a cheetah.

When this guardian is killed by marauders, Minerva steps up to the mantle, but details of the mystic process mean the recipient must be a virgin, which she is not. The irregularity means the mystic powers of the Cheetah become a curse, as Minerva finds herself wracked with pain, and bloodthirsty when in the form of a human-cat.

As Cheetah, Minerva possesses strength, speed, agility surpassing any ordinary human, approaching the levels of the creature from which she takes her name. Her senses are also heightened to comparable levels to the animal.
With guidance from her eventual Society teammate, Hunter Zolomon, Cheetah was able to attain a new level of super-human speed far exceeding her natural skill.

- Commanded by the Greek gods to carve a child from clay; the Amazonian Queen, Hippolyta, bore witness to the animation of this child as her daughter, Diana.The child was enchanted with abilities comaprable to those of the gods themselves; fantastic speed, strength, agility, and endurance. With the teachings of Gaea and the peaceful Amazon warriors to guide her, Princess Diana grew to be their greatest champion, as powerful as she was gentle.

When the Princess was of age she was the natural choice of the warrior women of Themyscira to carry their message of of peace and harmony to the world of man.There, she served not only as a diplomat, but as a founding member of the Justice League whose legend grew to be one of the greatest heroes on Earth.

Math: Wonder Woman Ranking: Wonder Woman (#15)

What Went Down...
Descending into the cavernous darkness of the collapsed Department of Metahuman Affairs building, Wonder Woman seeks the hope of survivors of Genocide's lethal blast. Instead, she finds herself ambushed by Cheetah!

The feline villainess tugs at her arch-rival's hair, before unleashing the slashing terror of her cat-like claws. The Amazon defends well, returning the favour with a superhuman left hook that sends Cheetah hurtling through the air!

A verbal assault puts an already concerned Wonder Woman further on the back foot. Utilizing her fantastic speed, Cheetah disappears into the darkness of the collapsed rubble, forcing her foe to question whether or not she can fight in such confined space. The speedy Cheetah punctuates her mental assault, emerging from the dark in a blur of orange to strike the disoriented Amazon.

Support from the DMA arrives to aid the embattled Princess, but Cheetah's speed continues to bedevil, making any clear shot with weaponry almost impossible for the mortal men. With their attempts rendered moot, the villainess is left to run free, slashing from side to side across the flesh of Wonder Woman's face.

Disappearing into the dark again, Cheetah mocks her nemesis. The space she allows, however, gives Wonder Woman the opportunity to put into action a cunning plot. She summons her allies to fire their missile, using her unbreakable bracelets to ricochet the weapon toward her target in an unexpected assault directed toward the sound of the taunting voice.

Finding faith in her skills as an Amazon Warrior, Wonder Woman catches Cheetah in the air! Snagging her tail, Wonder Woman vaults the villain into a wall with superhuman strength!

Cheetah remains undeterred, despite the physical dominance. Instead, she pokes at the emotional imbalance being felt by the Amazon. Gleefully, she reveals Genocide to have Etta Candy in her posession; wife of Diana's former love-interest and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Steve Trevor.

Enraged, Wonder Woman warns Cheetah that any ill fate to fall on the woman will be paid for. With that, she delivers a final knock-out blow to Cheetah.

The Hammer...
If you're a regular reader of the Infinite Wars, you've been here for our many occasional musings on today's winner, Wonder Woman.

Despite being one of DC's leading icons, the heroine so frequently fails to match the sales quota of her fellows in the famous "Trinity". Such is her struggle with success that Wonder Woman typically meets appearances only out of obligation, joining the JLA in feature events as a broad concept, while more notably kept to a contractual mandate of monthly appearances that keep her own title afloat where others might have drowned.

Claiming the Trinity represents the cream of the DC crop is open to debate. The heroine's role as a totem in the DCU feels very right, but when an event like Final Crisis rolls the character out in an inconsequential manner, one has to wonder exactly where Wonder Woman stands.

After our many visitations to the subject, it's very nice to finally be talking about a current issue of 'Wonder Woman.' Despite ranking in the top fifteen characters in our cumulative account, most of those reviews came from guest-spots and team obligations. Never before have we really had the opportunity to sit down and look at Wonder Woman on terms dictated by the character herself.

Thus far, Season 2009 of the Infinite Wars has been focused chiefly on the releases of each week. This approach gives us a chance to rank the contemporary involvement of characters based on reviews of significance week to week. Our budget isn't exactly impressive, however, and it's very likely the system will revert to matters less relevant to the current reader. Weekly sections are narrow and often dictated by reluctance as much as any keen favourtism.

This is relevant because I cannot claim to have any grand insight into the goings on in Wonder Woman at this point. I am largely ignorant to the specifics of Gail Simone's current run as writer-slash-saviour on the Wonder Woman title.

With that in mind, I'm not about to make any grandious declarations, one way or the other. I really can't tell if this is the touch to finally restore the percentile balance of significance to the Wonder Woman character, or if it's just another walk in the park. I want to say it's all a bit too wishy-washy to be noteworthy of any kind of revival, but, I also feel compelled to reiterate that it's an absolute joy to want to buy a Wonder Woman comic, and actually enjoy it, too!

It's difficult to seperate the influences of DC Editorial and Gail Simone.
That's not to say there's any imposing sense of pressure on the script, (like Dwayne McDuffie's Justice League of America), but the lines of direction seem to plausibly be shared between the writer's story, and a grand design for the character. Rise of the Olympian is very obviously challenging the mythology of Wonder Woman, even though the direction of the character seems to feel very familiar and unadventurous. It seems unlikely this will be the story upon which Wonder Woman fans can finally hang their hat, far from memorable in a context comparable to the classic Batman or Superman stories.

Unremarkable to the superhero landscape, though it may be, it's not really what I would consider worthy of criticism. In many ways, attempts to contrive revamps and epic tales within these pages have only led to their further deterioration.
Striking a balance between action and plot, it seems Simone is more than suited to at least raising the game of Wonder Woman to a standard that makes it a consistently noteworthy monthly title. I know I've been watching with interest, and am glad to finally have had reason to jump on in.

The art team really deserves recognition for the title.
While Aaron Lopresti's pencils sometimes veer into mediocre staging, they are more often than not, superb. Matt Ryan's inks are as confident and bold as the titular character herself, while Brad Anderson provides a colour palette that's cool and developed, offering gradients of depth without overly burnt highlights.

Lopresti's Wonder Woman falls at the centre of a visual triangle of muscular power, raven haired beauty, and functioning superhero, in a way many recent artists have failed to. The action creeps away from the penciller ever so slightly, but figures that are neither too hard, nor too soft, make up for that.

If I had a pet peeve, it would be an issue of characterization.
Personalized takes on superheroes and villains are nothing new in comics, but Simone's phrasing takes the book in some slightly uncomfortable directions. Bold and vaguely poetic overstatements feel a little awkward in the hands of different characters, but particularly Cheetah, who is a character I've grown very comfortable with over the past few years.

Simone's Cheetah, by necessity of the story, is perhaps a fraction more sinister than I'm accustomed to expecting. Recent turns in Catwoman [#78], Final Crisis: Resist, and JLA [#15], have eased me into regarding the villain with a vein of humanity that feels slightly absent in these issues. Her role in the plot feels like a reversion into a much less substantial character, reminiscent of classic and interchangable supervillains. Whether or not that's just my baggage, or a disappointing element of the story, I do not know. It certainly isn't the Cheetah I've come to look forward to, but the departure isn't so far that she's rendered unrecognisable. Actually, she's probably not altogether dissimilar to Loeb's casual reinvention of the character [from When in Rome], meeting the others.

It's slightly ironic that Grant Morrison's brief liason with the character in Final Crisis probably numbers among my favourite recent appearances, given his apparent difficulty with the character. The domination of his Wonder Woman wasn't terribly auspicious, but the heroic distance I read into the character felt somehow suitable. Simone's Wonder Woman doesn't have that natural sense of aloof stature, perhaps partly due to the effects of Genocide's attack, but also a script that interprets her role with clunky proficiency; "My cursed duty. My damnable priorities."

Sharing a third (or more) of the book is a B-plot centered on Zeus and the reclamation of Wonder Woman, presumably in the interest of opposing her as part of his initiative to employ men in the role of the retired Amazons. Usually I'm not especially interested in the mythological aspects of Wonder Woman, but this actually played rather nicely. Resonances between events effecting Wonder Woman and Zeus seemed wanting for a connective resolve, but weren't so far apart that the conclusion crumbled.

All in all, I'm sorry I didn't get to this sooner! As a book coming out in the week of Feb. 25, it was an all together good read!

The Fight: 4.5 The Issue: 4.5
Winner: Wonder Woman

You can catch all the action from Rise of the Olympian by checking out the collected edition from DC comics! By utilizing Amazon links provided, you help sponsor future entries on the site just like this one. You can find more great editions in the Infinite Wars Gift Shoppe, boasting collections that feature almost every issue review in the Secret Archives!