Wonder Woman #65: The Enemy Within

This issue sees the story take an interesting turn. Last issue left off looking like we were going down a stock standard path of hero vs. public opinion, something I was not necessarily looking forward too even as a well-written story.

Wilson banks a hard left with this issue, sending the story in a completely different direction. Veronica Cale is still tough adversary and a fitting counter to Wonder Woman’s nature. It’s been a while since Cale has been in the book and she brings with her return a much needed challenge to Diana. Of late Diana’s threats have been emotionally challenging, but ultimately morally clear-cut. Cale tends to muddy the waters, driving Diana to consider not just if she is taking the better path, but also what better even means. 

Steve Trevor seems unusually less sure of his footing with Diana, though she has been too preoccupied with the fate of Themyscira to give too much thought to that. It’s unclear whether that is because of an internal crisis or an external influence. Time will tell if that plot thread gets pulled any more. 

Visually the book performs well. I could do without Aphrodite in the two-piece in odd bendy poses for no apparent reason, especially when she’s standing next to a fully-clothed Steve Trevor. It seems weirdly clashing to her new outlook on things since she arrived as well. Nemesis looks to be rocking the bikini look too, so maybe it’s the standard Olympian expat uniform? Ultimately a minor point perhaps, but when everyone else in the book is clothed in a way that makes sense within the story, these two seem to have little thought put into their clothing. Which is a bit depressing because Nemesis’s overall physical design is quite striking. In general though, the action scenes are well laid out, the facial expressions throughout the book are particularly well-rendered and overall the art is enjoyable.