Written by Aimee Garcia, Janet Harvey,
Nevala Nnedi Okorafor,
Paula Sevenberge, Robert Venditti
Art by Jack T. Cole, Steve Epting,
Sebastiàn Fiumara, Megan Leven
Published by DC Comics
The last issue dealt strongly with the concept of Wonder Woman as a demigoddess, her relationships with her sphere of immortals, and her divine protection of the world.
Wonder Woman Black and Gold #3 strings together many of its stories through the idea of truth.
Diana is an Amazon, a woman born on an island refuge of immortal women.
Themyscira, or Paradise Island, is a place built thousands of years ago on their escape from the horrors of man’s world and its abusive patriarchy and bondage.
Themyscira stands as an example of women’s potential realized absent the yoke of men. So says Queen Hippolyta in “We Built A New World,” written by Janet Harvey and art by Megan Levens.
“Here, in Themyscira, you are free. Free to grow. To explore. To be yourself, fully,” Hippolyta says. “There? They will try to make you smaller.”
But what if this retreat from abuse is also the Amazons’ retreating from the world and its problems that eventually will come to their doors? What if the Amazons are retreating from a higher duty to save the innocent left behind and show them the truth of human possibility?
“If we can’t find common ground, how can we ever find peace? … Outside our island, war is raging. It threatens to engulf the world in horror. To hide from it is not honorable. It does not enlarge us. It makes us smaller.”
So says Diana, princess of Themyscira, in the time after a man appeared in a fallen fighter jet.
That man, of course, was Steve Trevor. And through observing Trevor’s treatment of Diana and their eventual partnership as agents and lovers, Hippolyta softens.
“You had been warned about man’s world. That they would not accept you. That they would fear you,” Hippolyta says in the narration as Trevor introduces Wonder Woman to the world’s press. “But he didn’t fear you. He appreciated. He celebrated. He supported. He loved.”
This story about Wonder Woman becomes a reflection of who Steve Trevor is. That amid this horrible world of patriarchal abuse and misogyny, this man who treats a woman with full humanity, equality and love also exists.
Diana is a whole, complete being unto herself, this is true. In this story, however, her connection to Steve Trevor as a picture of humanity’s great potential in man’s world by recognizing, celebrating and partnering with her own greatness? Could she be Wonder Woman without that love? Does Steve make Diana more of what she already is?
This is the sweetest story of the series so far. The story is dedicated to Dave Nevala, Harvey’s husband who died in 2017 at age 47. It’s a touching tribute to Nevala, who was an Air Force veteran.
Diana, presumably later in the story when Trevor has died, places his service portrait on Athena’s shrine. That picture, drawn by Levens, strongly resembles Dave Nevala’s own portrait in uniform, and was made so on purpose.
Some of the best art, they say, is built on truth or speaks to truth. Harvey’s love comes through. That’s the truth here.
How could the rest of the stories in this issue live up to that? Frankly, they can’t.
Doesn’t mean they don’t try, though.
It’s fun when these anthologies explore the many iterations of Wonder Woman. And so “Espionage” by Robert Venditti and Steve Epting dives into the brief period of a de-powered Wonder Woman who was an Emma Peel-style secret agent.
The mod dress and the go-go boots are back, as Wonder Woman is held for interrogation by a foreign enemy in a secret location. Despite weeks of interrogation and torture tactics, the only words the doctor elicits are “I am Wonder Woman.”
The main action is intercut with a flashback to Hippolyta sparring with Diana and explaining that Amazons stand for truth. That they fight like heroes, by looking their adversaries in the eye, and never striking under cover of deception.
When the angered general, Diana’s target, arrives to huff about how she is not yet broken, Diana at last speaks to him. And the next time she says “I am Wonder Woman,” he learns the truth of what that means. Rather painfully, I’d say!
An encounter with Vixen in “Do No Harm” by Nnedi Okorafor and Jack T. Cole hits the nail on the head about Wonder Woman as truth-teller and diplomat. Diana came prepared for battle, only to be reminded of her main purpose in man’s world once more. Cole draws a spacesuit for Diana that resembles Lynda Carter’s diving suit, and I am here for it
“Beat the Heat” by Paula Sevenbergen and Inaki Miranda doesn’t quite work for me, but the attempt is valiant. The story starts out well, and the art is very strong. The Earth has been unmoored from its orbit and is now flying closer to the sun, causing drought, wildfires, death. Diana fights Apollo and even lassos the sun and pulls it away from the Earth. (Really? Yup!) But the conclusion, the truth bomb of it all, lands with such a clunky thud that is the setup for a much larger, better story.
I love stories where everyday people on the ground come face to face with these superheroes, some of whom are actual gods. Like Wonder Woman. “The Stolen Lasso of Truth” by Aimee Garcia and Sebastian Fiumara is such a heartwarming story.
Sofia, a mousey teen girl in Chicago who feels overlooked, stumbles upon Wonder Woman’s lasso, and feels emboldened to crash a Halloween party dressed as the hero.
Of course, when Diana appears, she lays the wisdom on the child. Diana is drawn here as full-figured Amazon, a head-plus taller than the teens. She’s downright mighty! And she convinces Sofia that she’s mighty, too, lasso or no.’
In short, “We Built A New World” is worth the issue’s price all by itself. Go get it!
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