Broken Frontier

This past month, writer Greg Rucka ended his three-year run on Wonder Woman. Like many comic readers, Wonder Woman had never been a character that I was particularly enjoyed. An intriguing interview with Rucka prompted me to add Wonder Woman to my pull list, a book that I had not purchased since the early 1980s. With Rucka now moving on to new titles in the DC Universe, this seemed to be the ideal time to look back on his run as a complete body of work. Naturally, there are SPOILERS to be seen in this article.

Rucka’s debut on Wonder Woman (Issue #195, October 2003) remains as enjoyable today as it was 3 years ago. In this issue, Rucka avoids introducing readers to the heroine, rather focusing on her world, mission and supporting cast as seen through the eyes of a new employee at the Themysciran Embassy. In the past, Wonder Woman has been viewed as a character without direction, as different writers each focused on different aspects of her. In this case, Rucka deftly weaves the many parts into a rich whole, shown through this day in the life at the Embassy. Selecting a cover for Diana’s new book, meeting a minotaur preparing a vegetarian dinner or finding Superman dropping off a package all seem like perfectly natural events in this world of politics, mythology and superheroes. Originally, seeing these events through the eyes of newcomer Jonah McCarthy added a sense of wonder to the tale. Now, with the benefit of knowing why he really was there, readers are left with an exciting and entirely new subtext to all of his words and actions.

The first full arc (“Down to Earth”, issues #196-200, November 2003-March 2004), was one that, appropriately enough, seemed to polarize fans. Just as Wonder Woman’s book of essays stimulated debate between the right and left wings of the DC Universe, fans either viewed Rucka’s take on the Amazonian princess as either revolutionary or boring. Continuing the tone set in #195, this arc was primarily about ideals, beliefs and viewpoints, creating a subdued sense of drama that surprised many (the first actual “superhero fight” doesn’t even occur until #200 – a full 6 months into Rucka’s run).

As the opinions of mortals play out on Earth, Rucka also offers a contemporary look at the life of the Greek Gods. Most of the deities are now garbed in modern attire, updated for the 21st century just as humanity’s view of them has changed. As Ares explains, humans may no longer “worship” the Gods of War or Love, but they still fight and are moved with great passion, living lives devoted to the ideals of the Gods. Rucka also foreshadows a major element of his run, “sight.” Diana’s speech regarding a forest fire running its course shows her distinctive view of the world stating “death…is part of life, and if we say life is a blessing, we must say that death is a blessing as well.” Wonder Woman’s confrontation with the Silver Swan (a former friend) shows the strength of her love, unwilling to stop caring for and helping her friends, another element that is reflected over Rucka’s run. Also worth a brief mention is the charming back-up tale in issue #200, featuring Wonder Girl telling a bedtime story of Medousa, also gains new depth, now knowing the role that the gorgon plays in Wonder Woman’s adventures.

The next two issues, along with the “Bitter Pills” arc (#203-205), continue with the subdued pace. In all honesty, these are probably some of the weakest issues in Rucka’s run as the majority of them are devoted to either wrapping up previous arcs (the death of Dome) or setting up new ones (the resurrection of Medousa). The key point Rucka focuses on, which will take greater significance by the time of The OMAC Project, is that the people of the DCU fundamentally like Wonder Woman, but also that media has a strong role in influencing their perceptions. The interactions between Diana and Batman are also enjoyable, reinforcing the friendship between the two icons. The only unfortunate aspect to the Dark Knight’s inclusion is that DC tended to lead readers into thinking he would play a larger role in the arc (Batman’s “Guest Starring” role amounts two brief cameos).

Those with the patience and faith in Rucka’s plans were rewarded with the action-packed “Stoned” story arc (#206-210, September 2004-January 2005). In Medousa, Rucka established a mythological foe that not only posed a true threat to Wonder Woman, but also seemed a product of her time (the Gorgon aborts her first attack when she is scared away by 21st century traffic). Seeking revenge on the “whore-god” Athena through her champion, Diana, Medousa launched a campaign of terror that included attacks on the White House and the Themysciran Embassy. During the attack on the Embassy, one of the aides children is turned to stone, a shocking turn of which the true impact of which does not become evident until the mortals realize there is no way to turn the boy back to flesh.

The final duel in Yankee Stadium once again reinforces Rucka’s theme of sight and vision, as the duel is magically broadcast across the globe to 40 million viewers. Diana uses various tricks to ensure she does not look at Medousa, but as each one fails, she is forced to resort to the desperate gambit of blinding herself. At the time, many fans questioned this heroic sacrifice, wondering why the heroine did not simply close her eyes. With the benefit of rereading the entire arc in one sitting, it’s clear that Rucka showed how dire the situation was.

On several occasions it is established that all people need to do is make eye contact with Medousa for her to turn them to stone – even through television broadcasts. Under the Gorgon’s relentless assault, and with 40 million lives hanging in the balance, Diana simply could not take the risk at accidentally catching a glimpse of Medousa or having her eyes forced open. Even as the duel between Diana and Medousa played out as a game of the Gods, Rucka’s subplot involving the Goddesses of Olympus began moving to the forefront. 

Rucka then moved the series into a trio of shorter stories. Issue #211 (February 2005) allowed Rucka to show just how serious of a sacrifice Diana had made in the aftermath of her battle. “Counting Coup” followed in #212-213 (March-April 2005), a pair of issues that ranged greatly in quality. As positives, Rucka’s story involving Athena’s coup in Olympus was exciting as it tied together all of the subterfuge established over the previous year, while the memorial for young Martin Garibaldi was touching. The unfortunate aspects came in the follow-ups to Diana’s new situation. Rucka failed to make a strong impression that Diana’s blindness was affecting her, showing her honed abilities easily compensated for this loss, and instead relying on exposition that explained that Wonder Woman just wasn’t quite as good as she used to be.

The “test” the JLA put her through also seemed a ridiculous waste of time, providing nothing more than an excuse to advertise them as guest-stars (as I did reading Birthright, I can’t reconcile the idea that Superman would ever use a gun, even in a controlled environment). Finally, issue #214 (May 2005) was a forgettable crossover with The Flash, teaming the heroes against Zoom and Cheetah and accomplishing no more than letting readers know that the bad guys were allying themselves together in the Villains United mini-series.

“The Bronze Doors” (#215-217, June-Late July 2005) was the last Wonder Woman arc before the events of Infinite Crisis began to enter the title. In that sense, this was Rucka’s final arc that truly stood on its own merits, as Diana, Wonder Girl and Ferdinand descend to Hades at the request of Athena. The arc has nice mythic qualities as the heroes carry out their labours, ending with a new status quo for the underworld. The long-standing question of Wonder Girl’s parentage is resolved in this arc, as is the “blind Wonder Woman” story. Diana’s sight is, not surprisingly restored (although Rucka does use a small twist on reader expectations to do it), putting and end to a plot point that while intriguing, never seemed to amount to much more than an inconvenience to the protagonist. In all honesty, the entire concept serves as a physical manifestation of the “vision” themes Rucka uses throughout his arc. “The Bronze Doors” made for an enjoyable tale, and also featured a nice “in-plain-sight” clue as to Jonah McCarthy’s true motivations.

The final chunk of Rucka’s Wonder Woman run (#218-225, August 2005-March 2006) suffered from the fundamental fact that it was a supplement to other titles. If a reader was not following The OMAC Project and Infinite Crisis mini-series, many of the details of these issues become vague, at best. Rucka makes a solid effort to provide exposition as to exactly what these outside forces are, but looking at Wonder Woman as a series itself, elements such as the OMACs, Max Lord, Checkmate and Brother Eye all seem like deus ex machina.

What made the situation most frustrating however, was the fact there was so much potential in the climax of Rucka’s run. Rucka’s concepts about Wonder Woman’s mission and perception all come to a head in dramatic manner. Obviously, the most significant is her decision to kill the villainous Max Lord and the schism it creates among the DC trinity of Wonder Woman, Batman and Superman. Just as each of these heroes views the situation differently, so to does the world at large. Echoing the strategy used by Medousa, Brother Eye broadcasts not only Wonder Woman’s lethal assault, but also the equally violent battle among the OMACs and Diana’s Amazonian sisters. Despite the failings of this final run, Rucka pulls the entire arc together in the final pages of #225 as, despite all that Wonder Woman has lost, she sees that there is indeed hope for her mission.

After so much focus on the fracturing of the trinity’s friendship, Wonder Woman #226 (April 2006) features a series of vignettes, looking over the bond between Diana and Superman. Spanning from the aftermath of Diana’s arrival to the current events, Rucka uses the Superman/Wonder Woman friendship to show what lies at the core of Diana’s mission – caring and compassion. Given her extreme actions in the past year, this issue does an excellent job of reminding readers of the reasons why she does the thing she does. In a sense, this issue seems like an odd place to end the series, but all of these quiet, heart-warming scenes give both Rucka and the readers, an opportunity to look back at just what has made Diana a Wonder Woman.