Use the Force, Diana
Written by: Renae De Liz
Art by: Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon
Cover Price: $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2016
Last chapter ended with Wonder Woman on the verge of death at the hands of the Duke of Deception. I even said in my review that it's silly to think that Wonder Woman would die in her own book, but it at least showed the true threat that is the Duke. We also are getting very close to the big gala in France and while I complained a bit that the arrival of the Holliday Girls was a little forced, I can't wait to see them wow the pants out of the fancy Parisians and send Pamela Smuthers home with her tail between her legs. Yea, I may have an unhealthy obsession with seeing that! It all leads to my review for this chapter. Was it good? Did I get everything I wanted? Am I suddenly writing a school essay titled, " What Jim got for Christmas"? Let's find out...
The chapter begins where we left off and while Wonder Woman might be near death, she still has her whits about her and looks deeply into the soul of the Duke and finds an opening. You might say that Diana uses the Duke's unfortunate past as a way to trick him, but after following this series all this time, I truly think that she just wants to help him find peace...and not die. She really doesn't want to die! Even if the Duke shrugs it off after a second of vulnerability, it was a really nice opener that leads off into crazy, whack, funky territory.
Really, I can't tell you how shocked I was that Diana finds herself face-to-Face with Alcippe. Yea, her old teacher is caught between life and death and yes, it is so a Obi-Wan Kenobi moment! She tells her former student that the gods are coming to give her a choice, but not to make the same mistakes that controlled her mother's existence. Wise words indeed.
It all continues with Zeus giving Diana the choice...let things go as they are and watch as Hades destroys everything including Themyscira or become a true champion of the gods and help...well, kind of destroy the world, but leave Themyscira and rebuild everything else using Zeus' blueprints. That is a very broad synopsis, but I want to save the big moments for the reader to enjoy themselves. It really ties everything that has happened since this series started and gives you a couple of "ah ha" moments that are really great. This chapter definitely feels like a "Thank You" for those who have been around since the beginning and I'd like to be pretentious enough to tell De Liz and Dillon, "You're Welcome" from all of us and also "Thank You" right back at them!
Of course, neither of the choices given to Diana are totally acceptable and the rest of the chapter deals with what happens when you pick choice three on a two part question. Again, I won't spoil it, but it is not one of those "you have chosen wisely" trick question type results that I was expecting. In fact, it really throws this whole series on it's ear even if it sets up Diana for what just might be a better life.
This chapter is one of those game changers that we have gotten a couple times in this series, but this one trumps them all. Renae De Liz shows the reader that everything has been another piece of the puzzle and some of it was shocking, but all of it was awesome. This is one of those chapters that makes everyone before it even better in hindsight.
Here's a shocker...the art was great! If you see De Liz or Ray Dillon on the street, tell them to draw a stinker of an issue just once so I have something different to talk about in this section. Maybe offer them a coffee or a sandwich, it's up to you, just make it happen!
Bits and Pieces:
This is one of those chapters that doesn't just transition into the next phase of the story of Wonder Woman, but lifts the veil from everything that's already happened. The cliffhanger is one of those "I don't know what's going to happen next" moments, but seriously, I don't know what's going to happen next and I can't wait to see how it all works out. If you have been reading this book since the beginning, this issue is for you.
9.5/10
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