Absolute Wonder Woman #3 Review

• Written by: Kelly Thompson

• Art by: Hayden Sherman

• Colors by: Jordie Bellaire

• Letters by: Becca Carey

• Cover art by: Hayden Sherman (cover A)

• Cover price: $4.99

• Release date: December 25, 2024

Absolute Wonder Woman #3, by DC Comics on 12/25/24, unveils Diana's plan to thwart the massive Tetracide and explains the high price Diana paid to return Steve Trevor to the land of the living.

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Is Absolute Wonder Woman #3 Good?

First Impressions

Absolute Wonder Woman #3 is a complicated issue to review. Writer Kelly Thompson arguably has the best handle on creating an alternate (Absolute?) version of an established DC character, but a few gaps in storytelling fundamentals detract from the imaginative concept. It's like a really cool cake decoration on a lopsided cake.

Recap

When last we left the Absolute Woman of Wonder in Absolute Wonder Woman #3, Diana encountered a castaway Steve Trevor in Hell... somehow... signaling the beginnings of a potential romance. In the present, Wonder Woman defeated Harbinger Prime... somehow... followed by the arrival of the Tetracide.

Plot Synopsis

In Absolute Wonder Woman #3, the story waffles between Diana's time in Hell with Steve Trevor and the present conflict against the Tetracide on the shore of Gateway City.

In the past, Diana finds an ancient spell that will send Steve Trevor back to the surface world, despite no explanation as to how he wound up in Hell in the first place. The spell, however, requires a great sacrifice, and Diana pays the price by cutting off her right arm.

In the present, Diana attacks the Tetracide with physical attacks and magical spells, but her efforts only slow the creature down. She later warns the military that the Tetracide will soon emit a sound, a Siren's Song, that will mesmerize the entire city to race to the shore and willingly sacrifice itself to the beast. Since evacuation efforts are taking too long, Diana concocts a magical plan to temporarily deafen the entire city.

The issue concludes with Diana losing her magical prosthetic right arm and replacing it with a robotic placeholder and Diana running into Barbera Minerva.

What’s great about Absolute Wonder Woman #3?

If you read the synopsis above and thought to yourself, "Huh? That's weird, I guess, and maybe kinda cool. A one-armed Amazon from Hell doesn't sound like a traditional Wonder Woman comic, so sure. Let's go with that," then you get the gist. Kelly Thompson goes out of her way to distinguish this version of Diana in uniquely interesting ways, and the lengths Diana goes to for the protection of others says volumes about her character.

What’s not great about Absolute Wonder Woman #3?

Big, wild, weird things are happening, but you don't know why. Motivations for the heroes and villains are a fundamental aspect that must be established quickly for readers to make sense of the plot. If not, the flash and spectacle become little more than empty calories.

Why is the Tetracide attacking? Why is the Tetracide attacking Gateway City? How are the gods involved in this conflict? If they're not involved, why not?

In effect, you're dropped into a conflict without pretext, so the stakes become random. On paper, the plot so far reads as "Wonder Woman fights a giant random monster," which has all the narrative depth of a Saturday Morning Cartoon.

How’s the Art?

Hayden Sherman's art is a mixed bag. Sherman has a strong knack for making beautiful, expressive faces, which buoy the emotional moments between Circe, Diana, and Steve in Hell. However, the details of the figure gestures and action scenes leave a lot to be desired. 

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About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Final Thoughts

Absolute Wonder Woman #3 is a strange mix of cool character developments and interpersonal interactions for Diana, paired with an oddly incomplete plot. Kelly Thompson's script at least gives you the most different Absolute version of one of the Holy Trinity, but the lack of character motivations and pretext, combined with Hayden Sherman's uneven artwork, makes this issue a tough recommendation.

6.8/10

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