Wonder Woman #763 Review

 

Pants on Fire!

Writer: Mariko Tamaki

Artist: Carlo Barberi

Cover Price: $3.99

Release Date: September 30, 2020

I was excited to see what Mariko Tamaki would bring to Wonder Woman, but this Liar Liar arc feels smaller and smaller with each issue.  The four issues leading into this finale have been full of recap and repeat and have not had much character work or overall setup.  However, it looks like we will finally get Emma confronting her father, Maxwell Lord, and that should be cool, right?  Let's find out...

The issue begins with Liar Liar telling Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord about the day her mother died.  Of course, it's not the lie she said earlier, and it's not shocking at all.  We have seen this girl attempt a nuclear strike on Washington DC, we all get that she is a psychopathic killer!  I say that, but later in the issue, Tamaki has to spell out entirely that Emma herself caused her mother's death.  No shit!  

So, Liar Liar is a killer...with daddy issues.  The big reveal that Emma's father is Maxwell Lord has been one of the few exciting things in this book, and yet, the daddy-daughter reunion falls flat on its face!  There is barely any reaction at all from Maxwell, or anyone for that matter!  However, the biggest problem is Tamaki's character is called "Liar Liar," and yet, she doesn't make it clear if Maxwell is Emma's dad.  There is nothing but an ambiguous statement that Emma knew the truth and the non-reaction by Maxwell Lord!  Sure, they mind control people, but so can my wife and she isn't their cousin... or is she?!?!

The two have a back-and-forth about the tech they developed/used that goes nowhere before Liar Liar attacks Diana, but Maxwell saves her with a twist that felt more like a cheat than a brilliant solution.  I got deja vu at the end with how Maxwell stops Emma.

By the end, the only thing that matters is that Maxwell remembers that Diana snapped his neck during Infinite Crisis.  It's something that I wanted to know, but damn it, this was the long way around that mountain!  The weirdest thing about this issue is that some huge things happen, yet nobody reacts to them at all!   I don't get it! 

As far as Wonder Woman goes, Tamaki shows her compassion a bit, but comparing their childhoods was a stretch, especially after seeing that Emma killed her mother.  That stuff might be fine on Olympus, but not in Metropolis!

I was not too fond of this issue.  Mariko Tamaki has stumbled through this first arc with a story that shouldn't have lasted this long and somehow ends with little setup or explanation.  Liar Liar is taken care of with a couple of words and now is sitting in a jail cell.  At least her rabbit looks to be up to something!  The big moments get shrugged off as nothing, and I wonder what happened to Mikel Janin.

Bits and Pieces:

Mariko Tamaki stumbles to the finish line of her forgettable Liar Liar story. The reveals here could have been bigger if anyone in the book reacted to them, and having a character named Liar Liar as the only source of information doesn't make things better.  Overall, this book is more of a disappointment with each issue, and that's a slap in the face to Wonder Woman fans who have suffered long enough.

4.0/10