Wonder Woman has a solid rogues' gallery, but DC Comics looks set to add a new threat to the mix from a writer with close ties to DC Studios and the DCU.
In this month's Wonder Woman #25, Tom King and Daniel Sampere will introduce us to Matriarch, a "harbinger of death" who will "change Diana's fate forever." According to King, "Everything has been leading to this. The Wonder War is here."
The writer has already worked on Lanterns for DC Studios, and his and Bilquis Evely's Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow is the main source of inspiration for next summer's Supergirl movie.
King is also working on a Mister Miracle animated series, so could Matriarch be the big bad in the Wonder Woman script being penned by Ana Nogueira? We'll have to wait and see, but it seems like a strong possibility.
King and Sampere's three-year Wonder Woman run has seen them add villains like Sovereign and Mouse Man to the mix, but Matriarch looks set to be the main antagonist in the upcoming "Wonder War" event.
It's been suggested that Matriarch will be responsible for the deaths of Wonder Woman and the Amazons, with Trinity (Diana Prince's daughter) the only survivor.
As for what makes Matriarch so formidable, we know she has a working Green Lantern Corps ring, a pretty formidable sword, and a Legion flight ring. That seems to indicate that she's made a habit of killing powerful heroes and taking their powers for themselves.
"A new DC villain debuts on September 17 in Wonder Woman #25, the latest chapter in comic book writer Tom King and artist Daniel Sampere's generational epic," reads a DC Comics press release. "After days of searching through a mouse-infested world, Wonder Woman finally locates the lost Etta Candy and fugitive Amazon Emilie. Little does she know, they are hiding a tiny harbinger of death who will change Diana's fate forever!"
"Don’t miss the first appearance of the Matriarch on September 17 in this oversize anniversary issue that will set the stage for all Wonder Woman stories to come," it adds.
Wonder Woman #25 will feature main and variant covers by Daniele Sampere & Tomeu Morey. You'll also want to be on the lookout for open-to-order cardstock variant covers by Mark Spears, Homare and Tran Nguyen, a blank sketch cardstock variant cover, a foil variant cover by David Nakayama, and a Pumpkin Spicy cardstock variant cover by Yasmine Putri.
Check out Sampere's covers for the upcoming comic below.