What did the New 52 get right? According to longtime DC fans, not much. But the Wonder Woman run from writer Brian Azzarello and artist Cliff Chaing was an exception to that.
Anyway, every so often I read the next book in that run, and most recently that was the fourth volume subtitled War.
Now that Diana’s friend Zola has given birth to her son, half-brother to Diana through their mutual father Zeus, that hardly means that no one will be coming for the baby. Sure, Diana’s general peacemaking ways seems to have forged an unlikely alliance with a depowered Hera, the still-powered drunk Ares, fellow demigod Lennox, and maybe Orion of the New Gods, but that doesn’t mean the prophecy about the baby isn’t still hanging over the infant’s head.
So, beyond Apollo, who wants the child?
Well, Orion was told to kill the baby before he ends all of creation, but Orion seems to be softening his approach. He’s still a boorish jackass that gets on even Diana’s nerves, but he’s getting better.
And then there’s the First Born, the original offspring of Zeus and Hera, has returned. First seen in the previous volume, he’s angry with his entire pantheon family, and he doesn’t care how many heads he has to stomp. First, he has to finish off his confrontation with Poseidon, but then he’s going to meet Diana, and some of her allies may not be getting out of this alive.
Azzarello, Chiang, and additional artist Goran Sudzuka don’t pull any narrative punches. Ares shows off some incredible and unexpected power, the cast briefly visits New Genesis and meets a less than friendly Highfather, and the story ends with what is definitely a new status quo for the Amazing Amazon. The threat of the First Born may not be over, and the mystery of Zola’s baby is far from resolved, but the ride so far has been fantastic. 9 out of 10 hyena men.
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