Absolute Wonder Woman #9: The Maze of Destiny

Absolute Wonder Woman #9 picks up with Diana’s journey to locate more Amazons, which currently sees her up against Doctor Poison. Diana soon learns of the mysterious prison maze under Area 41; a place riddled with all sorts of magical creatures that is rumored to also house an Amazonian warrior. While this issue serves as the rising action of the current arc, setting the stage for grand battles and reveals, it also helps further explore Diana’s character.

Directly following the conclusion of the previous issue, Absolute Wonder Woman #9 shows a bit more of Doctor Poison, a doctor that accidentally turned herself into poisonous gas, who is now trapped in a suit of armor. Thankfully, this does not look like a one and done character, with her exit in this issue promising to showcase more of her backstory and actions in future appearances. For now, it is still unclear if she is just a tool of the government or if she is acting on her own means, but regardless, she looks to be a fun addition to this growing mythos.

The subtext of this issue starts to be revealed when Diana returns to her new home, where she discusses the head of a creature mounted on her wall with Steve and the others. The story behind this creature feels very reminiscent of the story of Diana herself, with it being revealed that the creature must be killed three times in order for it to truly die. Now, this at face value has little significance to Diana’s story, but it is how the characters react to this information that makes it feel the most relevant. Much like Diana’s backstory, there is so much that these characters don’t know about the greater world beyond their own. This story shows how much faith these characters are putting in someone they know so little about, yet someone who is more confident and headstrong then anyone they have ever met before.

As the issue reaches its climax, Diana enters the maze and gets introduced to a Minotaur, which once again showcases this series’ fun way of challenging expectations. The Minotaur introduces himself as Ferdinand and reveals that he has lived in the maze his entire life. This is where the theme of the arc starts revealing itself, with Ferdinand questioning why Diana would feel bad for him since this is the only life he’s ever known.  This mirrors Diana’s current journey, as she seeks out Amazon sisters she has never actually met. This all foreshadows a dark fate for the Amazons that may ultimately tie this all together and help solidify Diana’s future journey in this series. But however this goes, there is no doubt that the slow build and deep character work make each issue as stellar as the last.