Absolute Wonder Woman #20: May The Fates Will It So

Absolute Wonder Woman #20 concludes the “Season of the Witch” story arc with a bang, pitting Diana against a force that even Zatanna and Zatara fear. As often as this series pulls at readers’ heartstrings, it also never fails to move in directions that feel surprising while still being carefully foreshadowed. Although the previous issue teased a knockdown, drag-out fight, this installment flips the script and takes a far more personal approach, raising the emotional stakes in an exciting way.

One of the biggest questions heading into this arc was what role Zatanna would ultimately play: friend or foe? While the story largely paints her in a sympathetic light, Absolute Wonder Woman #20 leaves the door open for her to become whatever the narrative requires moving forward. As the battle with the Iron Maiden begins, Wonder Woman keeps her word and allows Zatanna and Zatara to escape, possibly hinting at their future roles by the issue’s conclusion. Beyond everything else it accomplishes, this chapter also serves as the true Absolute Universe introduction for Zatanna and Zatara, placing both characters in genuinely compelling positions going forward. It’s difficult not to compare this to other books in the Absolute line, where major characters sometimes feel hastily introduced only to fade into the background soon after. Here, however, the future for Zatanna and Zatara feels exciting and intentional.

As for the main plot, the central twist of Diana’s battle against the Iron Maiden is that she never truly had a chance of winning. Veronica Cale uses the confrontation as an opportunity to abandon her pursuit of Zatanna and Zatara and instead focus entirely on capturing Diana. Within the opening pages, Diana is defeated and taken back to Area 41, where she remains for much of the issue. From there, the story shifts into something far more personal, exploring Diana’s willingness to once again place herself in harm’s way for the sake of someone she barely knows.

The issue then turns to the gods, reminding readers of the brief two-issue arc in which Hades sought to punish Diana for escaping Hell, only to be deceived by Persephone into setting her free. The agreement reached at that time required Diana to return to Hell for one month every year, a blessing because it allows her to see her mother, but also a curse because it strips her of control over her own fate. Naturally, this revelation feeds directly into the issue’s conclusion, which leaves Diana trapped in Hell just as Cale captures one of her closest allies.

While Diana is being tortured, Cale also manages to capture Barbara, bringing her to Area 41 and imprisoning her alongside the supposedly dead Cheetah. Wonder Woman fans know Barbara Minerva is most famously associated with the mantle of Cheetah, so it does not take much deduction to see where this storyline may be headed. The larger question becomes what will happen to Earth while Diana is trapped in Hell for a month, and whether Barbara will ultimately blame Diana for whatever transformation awaits her. Based on the breadcrumbs planted throughout the arc, it would make sense for Zatanna to step in and fill Diana’s role in Gateway City. Still, if this outstanding series has proven anything so far, it’s that Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman are likely planning something far more ambitious than readers expect.