Say What?!?
Writer: Mariko Tamaki
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 8, 2020
Artist: Rafa Sandoval
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: December 8, 2020
This past weekend, DC Comics announced that Mariko Tamaki's run on Wonder Woman would end with this one being the penultimate issue. I, for one, am not upset at all since this Maxwell Lord scavenger hunt for nonsense stolen technology hasn't been close to being good. At least we finally got to Maxwell confronting Diana about killing him in a past timeline (yep), only for Liar Liar to show up and maybe kill him. Oh goody! So, what do we get this week? Let's find out...
Well, Maxwell Lord isn't dead (surprise), and after standing around talking about not knowing anything, Diana and Etta open their eyes and see that it just might be Liar Liar. We then get another look at Emma's backstory/origin and suddenly get the extra information that she has epilepsy and schizophrenia. It felt weird to find that out this late in the game, but of course, that can only mean it's going to be a major focus of the issue.
Speaking of things forced in suddenly, we also find out that she might have been the subject of some experimental therapy and that Maxwell Lord paid the bills for it. Hmmm... All this could only lead to Emma losing herself in a medieval world she thinks is all around her, with her trusted rabbit Mullaney calling the shots with her.
As if that wasn't enough nonsense, Deathstroke suddenly shows up with a few pages to kill because he was activated when Etta opened Emma's file. Hmmm... When Deathstroke finds out Emma is Maxwell's daughter, though, he backs off and goes home. Thanks for stopping by Deathstroke!
We then head off to see Emma doing her shining knight thing with Mullaney and find out that she is after the Evil Queen. I WONDER who that can be! The plan to stop her is to "send a message through people's cell phones" that her father is still alive to use him as bait. I love how easy the technology in this book works. You can say ridiculous things, and boom, it works. I shouldn't complain since this is one of the most detailed explanations Tamaki has given the reader. The issue ends with Liar Liar and Diana about to battle, but at what cost? At What Cost?!?!
Mariko Tamaki suddenly decided that Liar Liar needed to be a more sympathetic villain, and without any bit of setup leading into this issue, it falls flat on its face. My guess is she couldn't figure out a way for Diana to take out Emma, so instead of a takedown next issue, it will end with Diana getting Emma the help she needs. That's fine and good, but again, there was no setup for this at all! That's infuriating enough, but it is worse since all the setup and scavenger hunting with Maxwell amounted to jack shit! At least we got Deathstroke, right? How about using the space to do something instead of mailing in a guest star only here to fill in some pages? Rafa Sandoval's art is good, but there is only so much turd polishing you can do!
Bits and Pieces:
This issue adds things out of nowhere and throws out things that we wasted time on for months. The art was good, but everything, including Deathstroke showing up, was a nothing story to set up a 180 for the next issue's finale. I can't wait since it will be the last issue of this nonsense I will have to read and review!
3.0/10
Thanks for the review, I couldn't agree more. Mariko Tamaki's run has been terrible. It had a kernel of a great idea in the beginning and wasted it on lackluster villains, scavenger hunts, and nothing fun or great. Tamaki tried way too hard to make Liar Liar sympathetic this issue when her origin story - in this very series - establishes her as a sociopath who killed her own mother.
ReplyDeleteOn a positive note: that Bunny IS evil! I knew that Bunny would be important! Tamaki just couldn't resist making a cute bunny evil. I totally called it. So, I'm going take another shot at a prediction. I think the Bunny will be the "true villain" for not only this story arc but the whole series. He'll be the real mastermind behind everything. Whether he's an evil spirit, a disguised Olympian, or just the source of Liar Liar's malice. And in the end, the Bunny will either be trapped in his cage, Maxwell Lord will kill him, or Maxwell will actually team up with the bunny.
Honestly my favorite issue of this run so far. Id honestly have enjoyed this run alot more if it was less 'Asshat Maxwell Lord and Wonder Woman go on a road trip' and more 'crazy psychic living in a fantasy world in her head as she tries to go after Wonder Woman because the voice in her head tells her too'
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't we get this take on Liar Liar originally instead of that pointless 'I saw post crisis' business?
Because I don't think the story was well plotted out and Tamaki needs to get something in here so that the last issue can show Diana's compassion when she helps Liar Liar instead of beating her up. This is all to make Maxwell Lord the real villain because of what he did to Emma as a kid and it is out of nowhere! We already saw that she killed her mother...but I have a feeling that will be twisted over to being Maxwell all along.
Delete