Wonder Woman #21: The Truth… REVEALED

Wonder Woman #21 concludes a two issue interlude to the main story, with Guillem March on art duties. At the end of the precious issue, Batman was struck down by a mysterious bolt of lightning, just as he and Wonder Woman were making headway on their investigation of Ares murder. With lower, but personal stakes, and a team up between two of DC’s premier characters, Wonder Woman #21 does a fantastic job of keeping what could have been a wasted arc fun and fresh, while also thematically and emotionally tying it back to events of the main story.

While the first issue was very Batman heavy, Wonder Woman #21 focuses more on its titular character as Batman slowly recovers from his injuries. Diana’s journey leads her to more of the pantheon of Greek Gods as she slowly starts to realize how Ares’ death came about and how it may be tied to her prior interactions with him. Because of this, it becomes apparent that Tom King is pulling a lot of inspiration and back story from the classic, George Perez Wonder Woman series, specifically the struggle between Diana and Ares that famously ended with her making him find the error of his ways rather than the typical fisticuffs of a comic book series. There is a lot of love paid towards that era of Wonder Woman here, with this series at points feeling like a love letter to Perez.

As for the results of the mystery itself, once it is revealed, all of the obvious clues that were previously laid out start making a lot more sense. This two issue arc is very self contained and while the ramifications of this investigation may thwart Diana’s efforts down the line, there is no doubt that this is a perfect one and done story that requires little to know prior reading, outside of an understanding for who Diana is at her core.

The final footnote of this issue features a connection to the ongoing events of the Wonder Woman book, namely the death of Steve Trevor. King and March do an excellent job of maintaining the pathos of that event, using this short arc to bring relevance to the other relationships Diana has made, particularly with Batman. This is probably the most human interpretation of Batman in recent years, with King stripping him back to his human nature and kindness towards a long term friendship.