Wonder Woman #755: And the Truth Shall Set You Free

While not revelatory by any means, Wonder Woman #755 is at least a welcome return to form for writer Steve Orlando, especially in light of last issue’s debacle (which, let’s face it, feels like it was released a year ago). As Orlando prepares to depart the title after a lot of hype and less than a year for the, er, greener pastures of writing something called a Darkhold for Marvel, he’s at least having the courtesy of wrapping up what he started before incoming writer Mariko Tamaki takes the authorial reins. The subplot with Helen Paul has been simmering since Orlando’s first issue – last year’s Wonder Woman Annual #3 – and at last is bearing fruit.

Helen has been steadily gathering allies to her side in her personal quest for vengeance against the Amazonian Princess. As a tie-in to Event Leviathan, Helen learned she she was in fact the daughter of Nazi supervillains, but had been lied to by Wonder Woman about her roots and heritage. She was only a young girl at the time, so couldn’t remember the truth. Diana even gave her a new name. She did this, ostensibly, out of love, to give the child a chance to become her own woman without the shadow of her evil parents forever upon her. Good intentions, but you know what’s paved with those…

The trick here is that Wonder Woman always portrays herself as an avatar of truth above all other things. Therefore, can she in good conscience say she did right in lying to Helen, and by betraying her supposed ideals? If you lie for good reasons, is it still a bad thing? And did Diana even have the right to hide Helen’s past from her? Good philosophical questions all, and as Diana and Helen clash, Orlando does a good job of juxtaposing these questions with the physical combat. There’s also a deeper question of the true origins of Helen’s ancestors, the Norse Valkyries, and whether or not they attacked the Amazons or vice versa. This leads to another difficult to answer question for Diana: Is it wrong to believe a lie you’ve been told your entire life if you never asked questions to know for sure it is the truth? Even the mighty Wonder Woman struggles to answer this and retain her integrity.

The issue’s B-plot involves the other two Horsewomen, Devastation and Genocide, trying to cajole Donna Troy into joining their cause. There’s no particular reason given for why she would join the villains, so it’s left up to the reader to find the proper back issues needed to fill in this plot hole. Donna, of course, was recently turned into an infected villain by the Batman Who Laughs, but she’s better now. No contextual clues are given as to why Donna might be tempted to break bad (again). I’m not necessarily advocating for an exposition dump, but here is where a Previously In… page or even an editorial footnote might be useful. Without any real in-story justification, the subplot falls flat because readers aren’t given the whys behind it.

Artistically, Jesus Merino, Vicente Cifuente, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. are a triple-trouble team for properly complementing Orlando’s story. Like the story itself, they’re none too flashy, but a step above being merely competent or serviceable. Hell, the art’s even nice to look at. That may be damning it with faint praise, but that’s not my intention. Sometimes it’s nice to just have solidly reliable art that gets the job done and fits the story well. Journeymen artists like these three are often the unsung heroes of the comics industry! The cover, too by Robson Rocha, sings – and immediately jumps out at fans for its lush details (even if it doesn’t explicitly show any actual scene from the issue).