writer: Brian Azzarello / artist: Cliff Chiang
So this is it. It’s finally here, the epic finale to one of the most epic (in scale) Wonder Woman stories that’s ever been done and Azzarello and Chiang take us out on top. Despite some of the concerns with Amazon portrayals and retconning Diana’s origin story, at the heart of this and ever Wonder Woman story is that of a compassionate warrior, regardless of what “plane” she is currently on. As the finale ends appropriately atop Mount Olympus, we’re shown all sides of what makes Wonder Woman familiar, the lover the fighter and ultimately, the god of War that she has become during this run. The focus of the final battle between Wonder Woman and the First Born being on Mount Olympus is both a good and a bad thing as it does cut out many of the characters that have made this run so memorable and expansive. Still, that is a minor gripe as there were plenty of surprises and revelations in this last issue, that begins with Poseidon’s power play for the throne of Olympus.
Cliff Chiang closes out the run in great fashion as well. Managing between the brutal, the obscure and the nurturing scenes, Chiang was so consistent throughout this run and his visuals don’t fall off here either. I especially love his way of conveying action and how it keeps you off balance. Sometimes we see the killing blow and sometimes we see the impact of its wielder. And the panel with the last born on the throne and Strife’s reaction is worth the price of admission.
As always, it’s hard to watch great runs come to an end and make no mistake, Azzarello and Chiang’s run on Wonder Woman was great. In the new 52 launch I have it as 1a to Snyder and Capullo’s Batman as 1; and that is no small feat. They send us out about as well as could be expected and it will be sad to see them go.
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