Wonder Woman #787 Review

 

Mind Your Man-ners

Writer: Becky Cloonan, Michael Conrad, Jordie Bellaire

Artist: Emanuela Lupacchino, Paulina Ganucheau, Wade von Grawbadger

Cover Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 10, 2022

Wonder Woman #787 arrives fresh out of the Trial of the Amazons, and I don't know about you, but I still have many questions about what went on in the Trial, but even more about what didn't.  I kept seeing the Wonder Woman team of creators crowing about how big and essential the crossover was, but I guess some things got lost along the way because it didn't feel significant or even necessary by the end.  I would say, "you win some, you lose some," but Wonder Woman has been on a losing streak for quite some time.  Now that the crossover is over, maybe Cloonan and Conrad can right the ship and make this book good.  Let's see if that's the case...

Wonder Woman #787 opens with Diana worrying about all that has happened recently.  She blames herself for the destruction during the Trial of the Amazons and her mother's death.  Neither is the case, but this is a recap to get readers up to speed.    However, maybe there could have been a little more emotion behind it.  Diana has seemed so emotionally disconnected from everything going on lately, and even here, she looks more irritated than concerned.

Things continue with Altuum in his submarine.  While it looked like "The Survivor" would play a more prominent role (along with the Anki people) in the Trial, he was nothing more than an odd plot device.  Maybe there were more plans for him, but he feels like an afterthought for now.  Before Wonder Woman shows up, though, he struggles with the symbiote-like piece of Chaos that he mysteriously ended up with at the end of the Trial.  Shouldn't this be huge?  It certainly seems like it until Cloonrad tosses it aside.  

We do end up with Diana showing Altuum his real truth, which seems a lot like the "lie" he's been telling himself all these years anyway.  The gods used the Anki people, and Altuum ran and hid.  Cool.  With that done, Diana leaves him to drown in the submarine she destroyed.  Of course, the argument will be that he wants to die, but still...

Wonder Woman #787 continues with Dr. Cizko still rallying his hate troops in their crusade against women and Steve Trevor, Etta Candy, Siegfried, and eventually Diana dealing with it.  I think a lot of this story comes from Cloonrad thinking "Man-ifest Destiny" is hilarious wordplay, but the whole thing is pretty basic and boring so far.  It is a bit more clever than "Tiar-mory," but that shows how low the bar is set in this book!  Maybe this sort of thing is just a man-date from the higher ups, sitting in their fancy man-sions, trying to man-ipulate the man-y to man-ufacture drama!  Besides that, though, Cizko has assembled an interesting enough team and I look forward to seeing that develop.

Overall, the issue moves things forward after the Trial of the Amazons, but it all feels stale already.  The art is the high point, but that's usually the case in any book Emanuela Lupacchino draws.  On a side note, I'm not sure what Cloonrad thinks Checkmate is, but having Steve Trevor "call in favors" to get a permanent Washington DC office and having Siggy "on the payroll" feels entirely off.

Bits and Pieces:

Wonder Woman #787 recaps and ties up some loose ends from the Trial of the Amazons Event before getting back to Cizko and his nonsense.  He's been hanging in the background so long that it doesn't feel all that fresh or exciting.  On the other hand, we are moving ahead, so that's something.

4.0/10