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Review: Superman/Wonder Woman #18

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sww018After a fairly mediocre turnout elsewhere, Truth finally arrives to this title.  This story arc/crossover is one which takes everything that we know about Superman and turns it on its side, as the still super Superman has to learn to deal with powers that aren’t as impressive as they once were.  Looking a lot more like the character from Action Comics #1 (the original), the character is seemingly meant to appeal more to the street level fans of comic books as he can now bleed and be hurt, and as his super strength is not quite what it once was.  At the same time it helps to highlight just what Superman does as a hero, that he won’t stop despite the odds, and while the story has been a bit cliched in this manner, it also hasn’t been a complete disappointment.

This issue is perhaps one of the weirdest as to how this all works out.  Superman has confronted Lois elsewhere as well as the stand-in Batman, but this issue is the first to show this non-powered Superman with Wonder Woman, who is arguably at her most powerful level ever in her publication.  Six months ago she was arguably more powerful than Superman, now it is without question, at least until he inevitably goes back to full strength.  This changes the dynamic a little bit for this series, but also surprisingly doesn’t as Wonder Woman as usual in this series takes the passenger seat to Clark’s adventures as they are drawn into a government cover-up/mystery in Smallville.  The reader is introduced to things which would likely have been part of the Superman mythos if they actually did exist before in comics, but the way in which they are introduced here is kind of sloppy as plot developments that don’t really follow, and as the cover-up gets to be weirder and weirder.

There are those that like the idea behind this series as they have always wanted to see what Superman and Wonder Woman would look like together, but in order for this to be more than a stunt and fanboy service they would also need to provide a story line that is worthy of the union, and so far in this series there hasn’t been one.  That this series is thrown into the mostly mediocre Truth crossover from Superman doesn’t help much either as it once again doesn’t give this series much to build on.  Instead the story here is about par for the course for this series, if not a bit worse, as Truth drags down a little bit what has mostly been an average series.

Story: Peter J. Tomasi Art: Doug Mahnke
Story: 6.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 6.5 Recommendation: Pass

Review: Superman Wonder Woman #17

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sww17With the onset of Convergence, DC Comics’ newest Crisis level event, it is interesting to look at the progress of this series in particular.  The romantic union of Superman and Wonder Woman is after all one of the biggest changes post-Flashpoint in the new 52, where readers were promised a lot of changes but mostly got a lot of new costumes.  The pairing of these two was hinted at even before Flashpoint was over, and while it took about a year to realize, the two were destined for each other.  The concept at first was even one of almost childlike execution, with the two falling in love with each other over flimsy reasoning, and the application of their feelings for each other was often presented in what wouldn’t make it past the editing room for a Harlequin romance knock-off (for instance the Young Romance Valentine’s Day special).

With Convergence promising to come back into the DC universe and to shake things up again, it kind of remains to be seen whether this pairing is one which should stand after the event, or if it is an experiment which is failed and should be removed.  The inherent problem with the association has never been Superman.  He has Lois, but a different route is being taken for him and her romantically.  The problem was and is Wonder Woman, how one of DC Comics’ strongest heroes is reduced to knee shaking quivering schoolgirl at the sight of Superman.  This presentation is one which has been more evident in the Superman focused titles.  The opposite approach has been that of the Wonder Woman monthly which has barely addressed the romance at all (even going so far as to suggest a better pairing of her with Orion.)  The middle ground of course is this series.  The series can be said to be somewhat of an evolution of the pairing, with Wonder Woman in the first few issues being presented as a damsel in distress and not so much of a hero, and even less of the person behind the tiara.  That there has be a shift in the attitude is evident in this issue as it ties into Wonder Woman’s history more than Superman’s, as they battle Circe and one of her agents Magog, with a mind controlled Superman to boot.  It is Wonder Woman that is left to save the day, as Superman is left as a mostly helpless bystander.

Time will tell if the romance between the two will endure or just be a flash in the pan of comic history, but at the very least if this is the route being taken for their time together then at least it is one which does the characters justice.  Instead of this being the Superman comic featuring Wonder Woman as his main squeeze as it started out, it is now much more balanced between the two, and that it has reached this status by the time of Convergence is an indication that maybe the gamble worked to put these two together.

Story: Peter J. Tomasi  Art: Doug Mahnke and Ed Benes
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read