Warning! Spoilers ahead for Future State: Wonder Woman #2 from Joëlle Jones
In the latest issue of DC Comics’ Future State: Wonder Woman, Yara Flor continues her journey into the depths of the Underworld, seeking to liberate her fallen friend and fellow sister Potira. As she embarks through the dark realm, the new Wonder Woman of the DC Universe’s future faces several threats, including various gods of the dead before meeting the ultimate Lord of Hell himself: Hades.
In the beginning of Future State: Wonder Woman #2 from writer and artist Joëlle Jones, Yara continues her showdown with Cerberus from the previous issue. Cerberus is of course the massive three-headed dog from Greek mythology who guards the gates of the Underworld from intruders to his master’s realm. However, Yara gets the hunch that a dog is still a dog, regardless of how big it is or the number of heads it has. As such, she tears off the skeletal arm of Charon the boat driver to use as a stick, distracting the beast with a classic game of fetch. With the big dog happily preoccupied, Yara has all the time she needs to board the boat and continue on into the dark realm of the dead.
However, the new Wonder Woman soon finds herself standing before the throne of the Underworld and various gods of the dead from different mythologies. While she tries to gain their favor with a not-so impressive magic trick (pretending to detach her finger), it ultimately fails and she soon finds herself at the mercy of Lord Hades himself. Naturally, he’s not happy that a living hero has intruded upon his domain, and he demands to know why she’s come before him.
Yara’s explanations of her intention to save Potira only angers Hades even more, and he looks prepared to torture Yara Flor for eternity right then and there. However, Hades’ wife Persephone thankfully arrives at the Lord of the Dead’s side to calm his spirt, just like the Greek tales of old. Having been calmed, Hades provides Yara with a slim opportunity to find her sister. If Yara can find Potira in a sea of lost souls before Hades’ hourglass ends, he’ll give them a chance to leave the Underworld. However, should Yara fail, her soul will be his to torture for eternity. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, Yara does manage to find her sister before the time runs out. However, this enrages Hades, and he sends hordes of hellish spider legions after them, causing cave-ins to halt their escape.
Sadly, Potira is caught by a cave-in just before the exit to the surface, and Yara ultimately fails to save her from the realm of the dead and Lord Hades. However, it does provide a valuable lesson about heroes for Yara and readers alike on the issue’s final page: heroes aren’t heroic because they’re perfect. They’re heroes because of their ability to overcome their imperfections, and Wonder Woman’s encounter with Hades and the Underworld proves this fact quite well. Likewise, both of these issues of Future State: Wonder Woman from Joëlle Jones have been incredibly entertaining, providing an amazing introduction to DC’s new Wonder Woman. As such, it’s going to be really exciting to see what Yara Flor does next in DC Comics.
