Absolute Wonder Woman #2 is miles better than the first issue. I want to make that clear immediately. This comic is fantastic. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this comic as the first was definitely a let down (you can read my review here), but I was blown away by this issue.
SPOILERS for Absolute Wonder Woman #2 below.
The issue starts right where we left off with Wonder Woman fighting the big bird thing which we find out is named Harbinger Prime. Her Lasso of Truth is revealed to actually be named Nemesis. It’s made from a basilisk, imbued with the blood of Prometheus, and blessed by Demeter. This lasso does not force those it holds to tell the truth, but makes them feel pain proportional to the sins committed by its prisoner. Wonder Woman’s speech about the lasso is written with the perfect amount of dramatic flair a Greek style hero should give speeches with. It’s riddled with history and spoken with pride. The Harbinger admits defeat and Diana mercifully allows it to live as long as it promises to never return.
Behind Diana, amongst the smoke and ash from the battle, is Steve Trevor. I expected him to show up eventually, but I did expect his relationship with Diana to be a bit different. Their relationship is more or less the same as it is in other comics, but it’s shaped by the differences in the setting and the differences in Diana’s origin. That being said, it’s written expertly. It feels organic, like two people actually falling for each other unlike Lois Lane’s infatuation with Superman in Absolute Superman #2 which felt like the exact opposite. Neither Steve, nor Diana, are pretending to be uninterested in each other or trying really hard to hide their feelings. They’re both mildly nervous just like people usually are when they meet someone and become interested in them. I’m invested in it and am excited to see how their relationship progresses.
Speaking of the setting, we learn that the island Diana was raised in which is called Hell, is actually in the Underworld. In the first issue, this wasn’t clear. When it was said that Diana was raised in Hell, I expected it to be, well, Hell. I thought, after reading the first issue, that the island was simply called Hell because it was Hell for Circe. It turns out that the island is in the Underworld which is essentially Hell. This resolved one of my biggest issues with the first comic as it seemed like there was a tease that immediately was dropped on the very next page. Nope. Diana was raised in the Underworld.
Steve Trevor eventually washes up on the Island of Hell in the Underworld, but why or how isn’t revealed to us. It’s teased several times throughout the book. It also isn’t revealed to us how Steve makes it out of the Underworld. Just the right amount of information is given to keep me invested in all parts of the story. A military commander tells Steve that he doesn’t care that the rest of the world looks at him as a “superhero-meets-Jesus” and elaborates no further. It made me look forward to issue three more than Absolute Batman or Absolute Superman.
The dialogue is also written with expertise. I don’t know what changed in Kelly Thompson’s writing abilities between issue one and two, but her ability to write dialogue was either entirely unexpressed in the first issue or she really worked hard to improve it in this one. It’s realistic. It’s human. Characters react and speak the way you think they would. They have real emotions. All of it is complemented perfectly by the artist, Hayden Sherman. The positions and facial expressions of the characters match with and communicate the message behind the dialogue.
The story itself has just the right amount of simplicity and ominousness. Diana talks with the rude general about more threats approaching Earth; the Harbinger was just the start. Why there’s so many threats approaching Earth one right after the other is unknown and will hopefully be explained. One of the most interesting plot points of this issue is a conversation between Steve and Diana about the incoming monsters. Diana says to Steve, with a heaping side of foreshadowing, that there will be other heroes that need Diana’s help. Is the Absolute Justice League incoming?
The comic ends with the menacing Tetracide, a terrifying, massive beast at least ten times bigger than the Harbinger, approaching to take on Diana.
I have literally no complaints about Absolute Wonder Woman #2. It was a masterpiece. What else is there to say? I give it a 10/10 and highly recommend all comic fans read it.