Wonder Woman #9 Review

Writer: Greg Rucka/ Artist: Liam Sharp/DC Comics Welcome to the Shippy Issue. Now, I should probably be clear here: I tend to cringe automatically when people start shipping Wonder Woman. I’ll admit that I say this as someone who 99% of the time when consuming any kind of media compulsively ships characters together with a quickness, but I’ve rarely seen anyone pull off romance well with Diana without having to reduce one of her key personality traits in order to fit the couple’s dynamic. Too often Wonder Woman’s first love, her love of all humanity and living creatures, takes an uncharacteristic backseat to attending to her lover as she flirts seductively or is overcome with girlish naïveté. I mean look, I don’t always make the best decisions when I’ve been hit by Cupid’s arrow, but that doesn’t mean I want my heroes to act that way. So while Rucka’s writing is still as sharp as ever (and Sharp’s art as stunning as ever), this issue left me a bit torn. Is Rucka able to pull off the fated not-quite-friends, not-quite-lovers bit with Steve with a nod to some uncomfortable history? Of course he is, but Great Hera does it feel a bit awkward to flip through.

I’ve mentioned previously that I’m not a fan of Steve Trevor so even though this particular incarnation remains one of the best of the bunch I still think the area where Rucka continues to shine brightest is when women are the main spotlight. For instance, there’s an absolutely lovely scene towards the beginning of the issue…