Art: Nicola Scott, Claire Roe, Stephanie Hans, David Lafuente
Colors: Romulo Fajardo Jr., Jordie Bellarie, John Rauch
Letters: Jodi Wynne, Josh Reed, Dave Sharpe
Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston, H. G. Peter, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Olive Byrne.
The stories that get published in superhero annuals usually tend to be best described as “continuity lite.” For the most part, this also applies to this year’s Wonder Woman Annual. But thanks to the effects of the ongoing DC Rebirth, the character's history is presently in flux. In the New 52 timeline, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman would meet during Geoff Johns and Jim Lee’s 2011 run of the Justice League, where they would team up to thwart an invasion from Apokolips. Apparently, this is also the plot for the comic’s upcoming cinematic adaptation. More recently, Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott have been retelling WW’s origin in their Wonder Woman Year One story arc. Their efforts have pretty much undone those events, the controversial Brian Azzarello 2011 run, not to mention the squicky Supes-WW pairing (with help from Superman's scribes). Wonder Woman is no longer the God of War (seriously, how was this ever a thing?), and back to being a symbol for empowerment, peace and compassion.
Rucka and Scott cap off their Year One arc with the Annual’s headliner “And Then There Were Three....” Taking place shortly after Wonder Woman #10, Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne catch Diana’s superhero debut on television, and independently conduct their own investigations. They both coincidentally (and very improbably) end up on the same patch of Nevada desert while trying to locate the secret government facility housing Diana. But while the two caped crusaders banter, WW has already snuck up on them.
At ten pages, this is hardly the grandiose occasion envisioned by Johns and Lee. This is a character driven story where Rucka channels his experience writing for all three superheroes into amusing dialogue. Clark is consistently hilarious when trolling Bruce, I mean Batman (heh heh!). With Diana around, no one’s going to engage in needless name calling, macho posturing, or any gratuitous violence. But Batman’s still the biggest dork. And Rucka leaves no doubt who he thinks is the greatest hero among the three of them.
Since 2016, Scott has established herself as one of Wonder Woman’s leading artists. There’s a sweetness to her portrayal of Diana that hasn’t been seen in almost a decade. But in this story, she’s also proving to be just as good in capturing Clark’s relaxed confidence, and Bruce’s guarded disposition.
The other stories are more typically written to be harder to pin down. "The Curse and The Honor" by writer Michael Moreci and artist Stephanie Hans is however closer to Azzarello’s Diana as stoic warrior. She has travelled to rural Japan to aid a swordsman save his village from a curse. But the swordsman has already taken on the curse, becoming a monster in the process. The story is clearly a homage to samurai tales. But the ten page limit hampers both the reveal and the ending. Everything is dependent on drawing out the mood. Instead, everything feels rushed. This feels like a lesser version of a comic written by Frank Miller starring Wolverine or Elektra.
“In Defense of Truth and Justice” by writer Vita Ayala and artist Claire Roe lands in more familiar territory with Diana rescuing the villainous King Shark from being executed by Markovian authorities for a crime he didn’t commit. Roe’s art combined with Jordie Bellarie’s muted palette makes the story look like a noir crime drama with superheroes. She draws the most buff version of Diana in this Annual.
But “The Last Kaiju” by writers Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, with artist David Lafuente, repeats the same theme, only now with a giant monster. When Diana realizes that she can communicate with a Kaiju rampaging through the Pacific coast, she decides to protect it from ARGUS and find it a suitable home. Lafuente does draw the goofiest visuals. At one point, Diana grabs the Kaiju by the nose and airlifts it to safety. That’s one way to tame a beast. The sight itself is almost whimsical.
