Wonder Woman #750: A Hero With Enough Love for the World

DC returns Wonder Woman to her proper numbering in this, her eightieth anniversary year, and has produced one monster of a comic to celebrate. Often, these jam issues with multiple stories and creative teams are a mixed bag (see: issue 1000 of both Action and Detective Comics), but WW #750 hits the sweet spot between continuing the book’s current story and celebrating its lead’s world, history, and power. This is an icon who deserves no less.

In the lead story, Steve Orlando and Jesus Merino’s “The Wild Hunt” comes to an outstanding conclusion that hits all the right notes – a textbook illustration as to who Diana is, what she stands for, and what sets her apart from the rest of the tights-and-flights set. To summarize: Cheetah, armed with the lethal Godkiller sword, has successfully managed to incur Hera’s personal wrath. The thing is, Cheetah’s claims aren’t entirely invalid. She rages at how Diana – and every other mortal – are the goddess’s playthings to manipulate. The situation is made more complicated by the presence of Silencer, who wants just revenge against Cheetah for putting her family in danger.

Diana’s solution involves looping Hera and Cheetah into the Golden Perfect with her, thus enabling them all to see Diana’s soul. In doing so, she is able to reinforce her own transparency for love, compassion, and truth – and find common ground between the three of them. Not only does she de-escalate the situation, but it also sets her on a path where she is following her own journey, not the one dictated by Hera’s whims. On the surface this sounds like Diana is a puppet, but the truth is far more complicated. She has instead chosen to follow Hera out of respect for all Hera has blessed her with in her life, so this departure is a step forward for the heroine in her ongoing quest defined by love, peace, and understanding.

And that’s Diana in a nutshell: she always comes from a place of love, and is always ready to forgive. And it’s why she has endured for as many decades as she has: she’s not just someone who punches bad guys. She’s aspirational. She’s inspirational. Regardless of who you are, what your sex, creed, or religion, she’s someone who can always be looked up to. Steve Orlando clearly understands that, and along with the phenomenal artistic talent of Jesus Merino, proves that Diana of Themyscira is in fantastically good hands.

But wait, there’s more! With some minor exceptions, the other eight stories between these covers represent the many facets of Diana that make her great with skill and aplomb. Gail Simone and Colleen Doran deliver the sweet and heartfelt “From Small Things, Mama.” What Wonder Woman celebration would be complete without an appearance by perennial foe Ares, god of war? Mariko Tamaki and Elena Casagrande deliver a somewhat straightforward but still enjoyable tale of these two immortal enemies. Then, 2000s Wonder Woman champion writer Greg Rucka is joined by the endlessly-talented Nikola Scott craft a suitable epilogue to Orlando’s lead tale, in which Diana enlists Circe to try to help Cheetah make peace with her all-consuming rage and hate.

Kami Garcia and Phil Hester revisit Diana in her life just before she met Steve Trevor and everything changed forever; the young Amazonian finds herself inquisitive about Man’s World even as she is regaled with stories of enslavement and rape from her sisters. It’s a good story that reveals the attitudes and upbringing Diana had to overcome, but maybe a tad underwhelming overall. “Emergency Visit” is the stinker of the bunch; Shannon and Dean Hale write a too-cute story about Hippolyta over-exaggerating emergencies on Themyscira to coax some mother-daughter time out of the ever-busy Diana. Couple that out-of-character premise with some insanely mismatched art from Riley Rossmo, and this is the one story that misses the mark. “To Me” by Marguerite Bennett and Laura Braga is a return of the DC Bombshells; the story is heartfelt and well-conceived but might not resonate with fans unfamiliar with the concept. Braga’s art elevates the story past any such concerns, though. “Always” by Vita Ayala and Amancay Nahuelpan is another great illustration of Diana’s endless love and forgiveness; and finally, Scott Snyder and Bryan Hitch’s deft “A Brave New World” is a loving tribute to Wonder Woman’s World War II roots.

That’s a lot of material to consider and juggle. In the end, does it all fit? Does it paint an adequate portrait of Wonder Woman on her 80th anniversary? Abso-freaking-lutely. For an octogenarian, Wonder Woman not only looks great, she’s rarely looked better. Long may she endure.