Wonder Girl #2: Eu Devo ser Uma das Maravilhas

We begin right where we left off last issue, with Yara being dragged underwater by a powerful sea nymph, who is also her namesake Iara. Iara gifts to Yara her golden boleadoras, which not only grants her the gift to compel others to speak the truth, but also the ability to compel them to do anything she wants. The sea creature is beautiful. She’s lithe and menacing while alluring to look at. According to myth, she was almost a victim of foul play by her two brothers who were planning to assassinate her to be elevated in their father’s graces. After quickly dispatching of her brothers after their attempted murder of her, she became a nymph who would lure men who were violent towards women to their demise. I’m not 100% sure if that’s exactly how the mythology has Iara, but I do like that it’s a nod to George Perez’s post-Crisis origin for the Amazons. Jones’s definitely trying to build up something big between the several factions of Amazons, and the different pantheons, which will be interesting, if only to further explore the Bana clan, as well as this new Brazilian sect.

 After returning to the surface of the water in a Jean Grey Phoenix-like moment, Yara’s saved by her newfound friend, the cabby João. Upon her emergence from the river, she sets off some kind of beacon that seems to put out a foreboding warning to the Amazons of the Bana Mighdall, as well as Hippolyta at the Hall of Justice. She sends Cassie out to search for whatever is causing this feeling inside of Hippolyta. Jones is definitely putting in the work to try to develop an attraction between the two, but his over-eagerness to help this woman he just met seems a tad too… off. Like, is he an agent of one of her upcoming villains? Or even Ares himself, in disguise. I’m not sure, but after the scene where her mother was slain by a pair of Greek warrior-like men in the first issue, this could all be tied together. 

The art by both Jones as well as Adriana Melo is absolutely breathtaking, as is to be expected from these two incredibly talented women, and is very much the highlight of the issue. The story wasn’t particularly engaging, other than the bits with Iara, it struggled to engage me story-wise. We still don’t know who Yara is as a character, and with only having twenty pages per issue, I feel Jones needs to put the work in to build this world to rope the fans in. It read far too quickly, and felt like it was a backup rather than a whole issue in and of itself. I’m deeply invested in any additions to the Wonder Woman corner of the DC universe, so this arc will have to up its game to keep everyone on board.