This article contains SPOILERS for Wonder Woman (2023) #1
In DC Comics‘ newly-launched Wonder Woman series, Diana finds herself in a position she has never been in before – a fugitive in the adopted home she’s risked her life countless times to protect. Moreover, the cause of her outlaw status is based on the age-old prejudices that she’s fought for decades to disprove.
Wonder Woman #1 – from Tom King and Daniel Sampere – a bar fight turns into an international incident, kicking off a story that promises to be as full of political commentary as it is high-octane superhero action.
Seeking answers in the aftermath of the bar incident, Wonder Woman conducts her own search to find the killer, putting her in direct opposition to the government’s efforts.
Criticism of Wonder Woman’s Gets Old But Never Dies Away
In Tom King and Daniel Sampere’s new Wonder Woman reboot, a bar fight escalates into a horrifying tragedy, when an Amazon citizen ends up slaughtering every man on the premises. When one patron bumps into the Amazonian while she is playing pool, he makes matters worse by refusing to apologize. What results is a massacre. The incident brings to a boil long-simmering prejudices against Amazonians, which also sweeps up Wonder Woman its fury. This intense set-up has positioned the new Wonder Woman series to ask some difficult questions about the hero and her position the DC Universe.
Wonder Woman Decides To Handle This New Villain On Her Own
While the new series will surely contain the action and adventure that Wonder Woman readers have come to love and expect, another compelling reason to be interested in the series is the plot line that King decided to use. Having the series’ inciting incident be one of Wonder Woman’s fellow warriors, from the all-female Amazonian society, brutally killing a group of men, situates the story firmly in the conversation about a controversial, historical complaint against Wonder Woman. That complaint, which has followed the character since her debut in 1940, is that Wonder Woman is a feminist tool created to liberate women from their traditional roles and facilitate the end of patriarchy.
With the issues of gender equality, women’s empowerment, and social movements such as “Me Too” front and center in current cultural debate, for King to tackle this plot line in a “lightning rod” title such as Wonder Woman is sure to attract the attention, and criticism, of people who buy into the idea that underneath it all, Wonder Woman hates men. However, the interesting tweak that King seems to pull off in Wonder Woman #1 is that it sets up a conflict between Wonder Woman and a character who is, for all intents and purposes, the embodiment of specific criticisms against Wonder Woman.
By establishing the story up in this way, King and Wonder Woman’s creative team have a chance to directly address criticisms of the character in a modern, relevant way. Moreover, it also gives the series the opportunity to address those criticisms on its terms. Put another way, Wonder Woman’s new nemesis gives King the chance to proactively address the issues in a manner that is best suited to the argument he believes the story should be making, instead of reacting to complaints made by others. This is a great way to ensure Wonder Woman can keep the moral high ground, while at the same time producing socially relevant DC Comics content.
Wonder Woman #1 is available now from DC Comics.
