Wonder Woman #15: Casualties of War

Wonder Woman #15 starts the series’ newest arc, “Fury”, as Wonder Woman goes on the offensive to take down The Sovereign following the explosive Wonder Woman #14, where Steve Trevor was killed. The cyclical nature of the issue revolves around different members of Diana’s team, Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark), Wonder Girl (Yara Flor), Donna Troy (sometimes Wonder Girl, sometimes Troya, sometimes just Donna Troy), and Cheetah start attacking The Sovereign’s finances while Diana attempts to put baby Lizzie to bed. The backup under artist Khary Randolph explores Steve Trevor’s new life in the afterlife, as he gets introduced to the best Elysian has to offer.

Starting with the backup, writer Tom King and artist Khary Randolph do an excellent job in creating this first person perspective story surrounding Steve Trevor. Following Wonder Woman #14, many readers may have felt that Trevor got the short end of the stick, not able to really showcase his character much throughout the series before his untimely demise. This backup really highlights the part of the character that King really seems to be attached to: his love and affection for Diana. King definitely turns the stereotype on its head, showcasing a male character that is defined by a female character. This ultimately captures one of the many goals that King had for Wonder Woman, showcasing how her love impacts others, especially in how it differentiates her from the likes of Batman or Superman. In this case, Steve Trevor is as defined by his relationship with Diana as her other friends and family members.

Going into the main story, King keeps this first issue of the arc very simple. Thus far, Diana has reacted mostly on a defensive perspective. She has been operating under the pretense that she is only going to prove her detractors right if she stoops to the level of The Sovereign. With Wonder Woman #15, The Sovereign finally realizes that his patriarchal war against Diana was the wrong move and will be his demise. Like George Lucas popularly said, “it’s like poetry, it rhymes.” And that is the theme of this issue. Much like The Sovereign systematically destroyed Diana’s life from the luxury of his castle, often smirking on his throne, Diana does the same thing, proving that all of his wealth and power was for not, striking back against his favorite thing, money.

It should be noted that this entire series, outside of what King and series’ artist Daniel Sampere have seeked out with the character of Wonder Woman, has really been a scathing criticism of poor leaders in the world today. With Wonder Woman #15, the idea that the source of power comes from money (thus producing the first target for Diana’s offensive), is more confirmation of the subtext in discussion here. This idea of money and power is very poignant in today’s political landscape, helping showcase the villainy behind The Sovereign and why he feels so familiar to those who seek power in the real world.

Though King’s writing continues to be superb here, there is no doubt that this series constantly stands out because of Sampere’s fantastic art. Here Sampere gets to draw the supporting cast in action, highlighting each of their personalities as they take on The Sovereign’s financial holdings. Something great that Sampere does here is showcase each of the women’s individual personalities while also showcasing how similar they react and respond due to their training from Diana. Sampere depicts a little bit of Diana in all of them, creating a really fun read for those who have been invested since the series’ start.