Written by Becky Cloonan &
Michael Conrad, Jordie Bellaire
Art by Travis Moore, Paulina Ganucheau
Published by DC Comics
From the belly of a snake to the fortress of the Valkyries, this issue takes Wonder Woman on a real journey.
It doesn’t matter that Diana shouldn’t be in Asgard at all. It doesn’t matter that, according to her own demigoddess provenance, she should be on Olympus, not this Viking plane.
When she hears that Ragnarok is coming, Wonder Woman responds by trying to save lives. If not halt the Armageddon, then to prolong the days of life before it must come. Only then, when she has found out why the Valkyries have gone missing and the mission is complete, will she go to Olympus.
In short, Wonder Woman’s gonna Wonder Woman.
That’s what she tells the mysterious figure that speaks to her every time she is “killed” in this afterlife, before she comes back.
Also, because she’s Wonder Woman, a warrior born and trained, she doesn’t mind a good fight.
We see that much when she fights alongside the mighty Thor. She sees this new battle as a chance to draw out the Valkyries, if they are still around.
Diana is a warrior of truth, and as she gets closer and closer to the truth, the more powerful she’s becoming. Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan’s storytelling return to this theme again in this issue, and they start to pay off some of the mystery set up in the previous two parts.
In the heat of that battle, Wonder Woman begins to remember her powers. She grows stronger. She flies again.
It’s all going well, until that time Diana gets caught in the claws of a giant crab and her neck is snapped.
The voice in the void before Diana is respawned finally reveals itself, and it’s a fun surprise for folks who love DC’s weirdness in the same way when Doctor Psycho appeared in the previous issue.
Olympus is in trouble, the person says. (No spoilers!) Diana, however, is determined to help restore Asgard first, especially for the sake of Siegfried, who has returned, though as a diminished, spectral figure.
But soon she must flee – the Valkyries are sighted in the skies.
Like many a great fantasy story, Diana is lost in an enchanted forest.
Here she meets a version of herself that fully embraces Asgard’s violence and endless murder without morality because everyone is already dead. But violence for its own sake, or to take glee in killing, is not Wonder Woman’s way.
After picking up a few more trials and warnings and twists in the story, Diana meets a new Charon of sorts to ferry her to Fortress Valkyrie.
Travis Moore’s art remains a delight, a showcase of fantasy swords-and-sorcery illustration. And Tamra Bonvillain’s colors add warmth, depth and texture, especially in the big Viking fight with Thor and our first look at the Valkyries’ crystal fortress.
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