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On a positive note, Daniel Sampere is crushing the art work. He’s quickly becoming one of my new favorite Wonder Woman artist.

George Perez will never get enough recognition. Not only he revived the popularity of Wonder Woman with his reboot and established a new complex lore that would surround our gorgeous Amazon to this day, but also created, along with Marv Wolfman, the most iconic and transcendental incarnation of the Teen Titans and the first major Crisis that changed DC forever. R.I.P. Master

I think King saying that Batman fights for the law is reductive, and is likely why it turns people away from his take on Batman. Batman fights to save lives. Sometimes the Venn diagram of the law and that goal overlap and sometimes it doesn't

I gotta admit, the idea of making Amanda Waller the reoccurring nemesis to Wonder Woman seems like a great idea to me.

Art is beautiful in this book. But it’s a “message first” story to me. The characters are just props to deliver whatever the writer wants to lecture the reader about. Also, this felt like Steel’s book. Not Diana’s. He was the focus and it was HIS struggle. Diana felt like a supporting character in her own book. I feel this deep dive into who Strel is could have come later after the story and Diana’s place within the story were more established

Thank you so much for adressing the usa-centrism when it comes to Wonder Woman. I understand why it was originally there given the era and place she was created but I genuinely don't know why so many authors still tie her so much to it. Batman and Superman operating primarily within the usa makes sense given that they are american citizens and also each have their "own" defining cities. But Diana has no Gotham or Metropolis (which is also imo why her rouges gallery feels lacking. Batman villains are iconic because they are so tied to the setting) nor does she have any reason to be in the usa full time. If dc writers can write whole stories set in space, they should be able to write about Diana operating internationally.

I've read most of Wonder Woman - and by that I mean everything from 1941 to present day. And I have read contemporaneous issues since 1978. So, I am well acquainted with all the reboots and reimagining and direction changes over the years. For me, this actually feels clumsy, like the change of Wonder Woman to her kung fu era in an attempt to make her more contemporary and more feminist. Wonder Woman is a very strong character, and she always reverts to her basic core character despite efforts to make her a God or a fast food clerk or what have you. Having Wondy versus the US government is ok, but it does feel a lot like a couple of guys going "What if she really kicked ass? Like totally kicked ass?"

Every time one of these modern writers use the word "relatable" I already get worried. "Relatable to whom", because I usually find it hard to relate to these new takes on characters, even when I could in the past. Also, DC heroes are supposed to be, at least to me, aspirational, something we strive to be. They represent the best of humanity to the point that their civilian identities are also about helping others, even the rich dudes like Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen. I don't want to relate to DC heroes, I want to be like them despite not being a crimefighter, having superpowers, or wearing a colorful outfit. They aren't supposed to be like us; that's Marvel's deal. We are supposed to be more like them.

To me a lot of the times writers start to go the route of “X character has lost its way yada yada” it always ends in edgy😒sigh

Even in Black Label books King doesn't include the actual swear words most of the time. He's said that he prefers the use of grawlix.

Wonder Woman ain’t complicated. I might actually start a channel and make a video about this because it matters to me that much. George Perez understood it better than most. She’s an ambassador of peace. She’ll fight if needed, but she would rather connect with people. We need to ditch the Roman gladiator armor look which implies she came looking for a fight and go back to the suit that was given to her to wear as an olive branch to man’s world.

Maxwell Lord's neck: *Exists* Diana: "AND I TOOK THAT PERSONALLY!!"

I think writers like Greg Rucka, George Perez, Gail Simone, and Phil Jimenez have really written her well as a compassionate ambassador of peace who is also a fierce warrior when her hand is forced. This juxtaposition is why I love their runs and how well-balanced her warrior and pacifist sides can be. This can be ruined quickly when fans and writers take out-of-context rare moments where Diana’s morality was pushed to the limits and pretend Diana is a vicious gladiator that seldom negotiates peace. WW #1 by Tom King had an interesting start that embraced her lore that I’m ready to see more of. PS, Casually Comics, I’d love for you to do a solo video on KSD’s Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons! ❤️

It bugs me when people say WW doesn't have a rogues gallery. It's only because she hasn't had as much exposure outside of the comics. All the big JLers have had TV shows and cartoons. She hasn't. But I do think her archenemy is and always will be Cheetah. Part of the appeal of Wonder Woman is seeing her relationships with other women, many of whom are antagonists. You don't see that anywhere else in a major, ongoing superhero comic book.

For me, the Lasso of Truth is a double-edged sword. Truth can be freeing, and also extremely painful. The idea of having a "Lasso of Lies" is just, IMO, silly, as it doesn't really MEAN anything. Just as the real reason, IMO, that Diana doesn't have an "archenemy" the way Superman and Batman do, is twofold. One, back in the early days, exemplified by Paul Von Gunther, and Transformation Island, she truly believed in reforming her foes. And two, she has been hard to define by her creative teams, and even her fans, making someone who would be the antithesis of who she is hard to create, since that has yet to be fully fleshed out.

Interesting that King could take a legendary artist's dying words and make it about himself. Fascinating.

Can I just fangirl for a second that both Wonder Women and Sailor Moon can use their headpieces as a a weapon in a similar way! 💕 👑 🌙

I watched Thinking Critical's rant. I then watched Blerd's video, where he basically gave the finger to half of the audience. I would like to say, I truly appreciate your middle ground approach to covering this comic. You do great work.

Verisimilitude is a very helpful word for comic discussion. Helps criticize the world cohesion without necessarily throwing away the fantastical elements in it.

I always love how you make space for your viewers to form their own opinions, and the care with which you explore all sides of an issue fairly. I wish comic book writers could do the same. I would be interested in you dipping back into King's run after a year or so and telling us how you feel at that point.

So to start things off positively, I think the art is absolutely gorgeous. It looks amazing and has some great action to it and the mystery of who the Blonde Amazon is and why she's going on this killing spree. Now onto the gripes. While I do enjoy King's work, the first issue is as subtle as Artemis trying to smuggle Mistress into an airplane. It feels like I've read this type of story before from various other writers in the Big Two and the indies scene. On top of it, it seems like things escalated way too fast, and would have been better if Diana was in a race against time to find the Mystery Amazon, or else the US government would make its move due to growing tensions. It might just also be the fact that I've heard a lot of what King is trying to say on a daily basis and would rather have the series be Diana go on this grad Odyssey of an adventure interacting with creatures, gods, and heroes from mythology. I'll give it my usual 3 issue try but at the moment the 1st Issue didn't grab me.

Lying lasso should've been silver.

Will we ever get all the women who've held the title of wonder woman and wonder girl in one place and time just having fun?

As a South American King's run already lost me. The man has always had stories that draw on his experience from his CIA days, and those can be really good (character's acting "out of character" aside), but his decision to give Wonder Woman, a hero who has fought gods all around the world, a a US-centric story is, I believe, totally missing the mark about what makes the character work. To me, it'd feel like making a Fantastic Four comic in which the family stays in New York the entire time. I hope this is just his first arc and he opens his horizons as he goes along. That said, the fight scene narration was horrible, and, like you said, I hope this is either addressed directly, or it'll just show how little King understands of the character. Never want anything to fail, least of all a character that needs an iconic run, but I don't really have my hopes up.

I appreciate seeing Diana use the tiara boomerang prominently. And I get trying to make a relic that's a dark counterpart to the lasso, but the execution just makes it come off as meh to me. Like something that won't get a lot of play once King leaves.

The good things about this comic (aside from the artwork) are Sarge Steel doing something, Diana not surrendering to the military and doing her throwing the tiara thing from pre-Crisis as well as talking to Steve Trevor and resuming her identity as Diana Prince, and the appearance of the Sovereign.

I love that the best thing they could come up with for Aquaman was "his fish"

This video got me thinking that Amanda Waller could really be a fantastic villain for Wonder Woman if handled right. Where Diana is an honorable warrior, Waller uses dirty tactics. There could be a fun exploration of how these two characters have opposing ideologies on how to help mankind, would be pretty interesting. Also Waller could form a task force like the Suicide Squad that she needs to fight (one that could pose a threat to her)

I said this before elsewhere but the art is really good. Crisp and clear as well as detailed and leaving a lot of space for the artwork's colors.

Thank you for your insights, Sasha. I don't care for the story you described so I won't be too worried about collecting it. Maybe down the road, sometime, maybe not. Sampere's art is quite eye-catching, though I think he makes certain characters' heads too small, including WW's. (I voiced this opinion on X/Twitter last week, and was pleased to learn that I wasn't the only one to feel this way.) To me, Wonder Woman is a fantasy (NOT mythology, or rather, not JUST mythology) character, and that's how creators need to treat her: unleashed, wild imagination. Purple healing rays, invisible jets, giant kangas, telepathic radios, and the like. Yes, her "cause," her "agenda," is about "real" things like peace, equality (or equity), and human rights, and those are the things she fights for, but I feel a lack of imagination has been plaguing her and her section of the DCU for quite a while now. For years, the DC/Marston Amazons were a peaceful, positive society where they would engage in battle only if necessary. Those Amazons would never "Attack." They had evolved over the centuries they had lived on their island. These warrior women could still "take care of business," but always preferred peace. They became so advanced that the firearms of Man's World were merely playthings to be used in their game of Bullets and Bracelets. Those are the Amazons I want to read about. That's the Wonder Woman I want to see.

I say both when it comes to Rogues.

I will say I like the art in this, and particularly Wonder Woman's design. She looks less cheesecake and more like this was a choice of some kind. Something vaguely practical, even though it really isn't. It's interesting.

Diana has basically suffered from Reboot syndrome, While Clark and Bruce tend to keep stuff, Diana tends to almost start fresh from every reboot/rebrand. The recurring joke that every new Wonder Woman Writer wants to be the definitive Wonder Woman Writer or they only took the book to kill time or if you're John Byrne, used Diana as an excuse to write about the New Gods aka the book he wanted to do.

I think this would have been a good storyline for The Question Renee Montoya...It doesn't really feel like a storyline for Wonder Woman

8:08 The Cloonrad run of Wonder Woman was initially interesting because of Diana meeting Norse gods until she decided to return to Earth to live her life, deal with forgotten Golden and Silver Age adventures (i.e. Milk Company for Golden Age and Image Maker for Silver Age), Trial of the Amazons and Revenge of the Gods being a thing, and ending with Diana in a sleep coma in the 800th issue and her waking up to continue to be active as a superhero. Also, her meeting Yara Flor twice and barely interacting with her family.

It took a lot of work to fix Wally West after Tom King. I will be sitting this one out until they pull the plug and lure a Rucka level Titan in to rehabilitate Diana after King leaves her in tatters.

All I'll say on the matter is that to me, Diana operates in a similar space to Percy Jackson, but probably an inverse - someone who lives in the world of gods and monsters, where the myths and legends is very much a reality to her rather than a historical curiosity, but the 21st century is the weird world, and trying to balance that. Also, balancing the roles as a princess and ambassador, and someone who's fundamentally from and representative of a bronze Age warrior culture.

Honestly, this feels like the beginning of a Wonder Woman story that isn’t very interested in her or her world.

What I like about King is that when he wants to investigate a topic, he does so so with complexity. When he really understands what he wants to write, he writes it very well. Just think about Miracle Man, Strange Adventures, and Human Target. All really good books, that had one central theme and strong narrative. Where King is weak is understanding characters. Between Strange Adventures and Mister Miracle the characters are complex but clearly are KING's VERSIONs of them. He's not making a Mister Miracle comic, as much as he is writing another character who also happens to be that character. This showed when he wrote Batman as a consistently grumpy guy with darkness in him-- the most shallow and uninteresting version of bruce. Here I'm scared for Diana. Her character is distinct and complex. Both things that King is not great with dealing with in terms of established characters. If we are lucky, we are going to get a complex character who happens to be called Diana Prince and Wonder woman. At worst, we are going to get King's shallow impression of who diana is.

It’s also a misnomer that Themyscira was predominantly a warrior culture. They are warriors but not a warrior culture. Thor comes from a warrior culture. The Amazonian people are scientists, artists, athletes, etc. They’re culture is defined by self improvement and being the best version of yourself, not fighting.

“Aquaman, his fish.”

My first impressions so far is that I'm not yet sold on this direction for Diana. I get focusing on her being inspiring figure and something a lot of young woman aspire to, but the lack of subtlety in the storytelling is offputting. It worries me because i feel like Diana's character needs some of that subtlety especially if they're going for a peace seeking paragon route. Maybe its the choice of narrator that Im not sure works. But the art is phenomenal, main reason i am reading it.

9:50 Leaving aside what people think about Kanigher's stories about Wonder Woman, he had a fundamental role in DC's story, as he was the man behind the creation of very iconic and awesome characters like Black Canary, Sgt. Rock, Poison Ivy and Ragman. He truly deserves to be remembered in a positive light

King looks at Wonder Woman as someone who berates them for Diana never sees herself as perfect, but knows that strife cannot be stopped with words alone. It's sad to me that the Masters who have captured the essence of Wonder Woman stories and made them so great are not working on them now.😢

Kinda funny they would get Supes to comment and not show him since he’s even more a foreigner than Amazons. At least they come from Earth lol

I would love a video discussing why and when the Amazons decided to send some of their other peeps to America. I haven't read Wonder Woman since the 80s, so I'm a little confused by the premise.

I think this is the first era in comics where I'm disinclined to buy from specifc comics authors, not because of how they write or even their politics, but because of how they've acted in the real world.

From my community post: “I don’t necessarily think Wonder Woman is hard to write. There have been some really successful iterations, George Perez, Greg Rucka (twice), Gail Simone and William Messner-Leobs for example. I don’t think King went into this with the right frame of mind plus his track record for deconstructing DC characters unnecessarily. His take even perhaps without the intention is misogynist & criminalising the Amazon’s is such a tired trope. What I think is, like many male writers who take on Diana they don’t know what to do with the WW mythos & especially are challenged writing large groups of female characters so it’s easier to take the Amazons out & reduce Diana to a singular character (Brian Azzerello & Denny O’Neil are examples of this trope). I was angry for much of issue #1 but will admit to being intrigued by the “secret” King at the end. That said I’m a little more Zen than I was reading Azzerello’s revisionist take on Diana than King as I’ve learned with comics “this to shall pass”. 🧘🏼‍♂️”

“Writers who use subtext are cowards” - famous horror author Garth Marengi

I never understand the need to put down other heroes in order to prop up the one you're writing. Black Canary is about as rebellious as it comes, she's literally been defined lately as ground level punk fighting against the establishment. Hell, her voice is used to sing, which is literally an artform. Perhaps the best example to describe what they seem to be solely attributing to Diana, which is kinda baffling. To me if you want to describe WW as different in the context of America, you don't have to diminish her role as a fighter. To me Diana has always been about truth first and foremost. Batman is justice, Superman is hope, but Diana is about understanding. She's an outsider through and through, and as a result is able to approach any element of humanity from a fresh perspective. And her struggle as a character is being able to understand even the negatives of the world without condemning them. That's the strength of the lasso, if she encounters someone that calls her a bitch, she can use it to know what they truly think and understand why they'd resort to that kind of language. But in this context when you present someone as just being that evil man here to represent how America and sexism is bad, her choosing to crush his fist feels like something any female hero could do. I can see Canary doing that, Supergirl, Starfire, Batwoman, it's not exactly a strong stand out moment so much as it's kinda played out and safe. And for her to have forgiveness and understanding without sacrificing her ground or refusing to fight is in itself a bold concept and something that I feel can be inspiring for anyone. Hell it's a good reason Dr. Psycho could be her main antagonist, they both refuse to back down when it comes to the battle of beliefs. Psycho uses illusions and manipulation to get what he wants, Diana uses truth regardless of if it's pleasant or ugly. It feels like the elements are there, and trying to say that they aren't and that you need to set the standard by going a different direction feels less like taking up a challenge and more overstating your importance. At least in my opinion, I don't know Tom King very well outside some of his work.

Your mature measured takes are always appreciated. You are a Wonder Woman.❤

Tom King? Isn't that the guy who wrote "and then Catwoman knocks out all The Flash family with a kick" and made people draw it

I think my problem with Wonder Woman is simply that she lacks cohesion throughout her history. With Superman and Batman you had creators building onto what's come before and because of that one can draw a relatively straight line from their intial appearences until today and still be able to recognize those characters. Wonder Woman however has been massively retooled over the decades making it much more difficutl to pin her down. And Tom King isn't helping here at all. An espionage thriller seems to be one of the most incompatible stories one could do with her, since those usually don't gove much room, if any, for her character core of wanting to foster understanding between people. The character gets yanked all over the place to the point where DC might aswell declare every other run if not every other issue to be an elseworlds. What Wonder Woman would need is an EXTREMLY basic run where she just has adventures involding her traditional villains and greek mythology. Literally what Perez did and it worked fairly well to the point that basicly all adaptations draw from it. I'm also still at a loss about the renumbering. Like... why?! Nothing about this story appears to require any reboot or reset of any kind in order to work. Same with The Flash. Why? The whole Dawn of DC thing is absurd to me because they just slap a new name on the same old problem riddled thing. As far as I'm concerned this is all still the New52.

@18:49 I'm imagining everybody stopping in their tracks after the expletive, just like in "Harley Quinn" when Doctor Psycho called her a @#$%! 😄

Thanks for this. I’m a huge Wonder Woman fan but I didn’t particularly enjoy this issue very much. I guess I’m just an old school simpleton. My favorite was a 23 issue run of WONDER WOMAN: AGENT OF PEACE. They were short, simple and action packed. Probably marketed to a younger audience but I enjoyed them anyway.

I really enjoyed this but it's very divisive and I can totally see how someone may not

When he said his daughter dressed up as wonder woman, not gonna lie, that hit straight in the chest

As always great video with very nuance takes. I wish the comic itself could have been similar, but oh well. I personally plan on giving King's run two more issues to hopefully find it's footing. But as it's stands now nothing particularly interesting beyond the surface level thing's like the art being pretty

Diana going up against societal structures does make sense given she grew up in a completely different type of society but within a status quo that tries to mirror the real world she can't really cause the change she might be fighting for so I think it would definitely make sense for it to be an elseworld. This is probably why it had to fall back on having one bad guy be the cause of all the bad stuff that's going on and I can't really see that it's going to be a satisfying conclusion to have Diana beat the Sovereign because one secret bad guy just doesn't fit within the allegory as the cause of the problem and she'll go back to living in a world that mirrors ours where the problems she fought continue on.

Here's a problem I have with so many writers I hear speaking and a phrase they use. They want to write a "character defining run". They want the glory before the story is even told. The great stories of characters are great often because of how time was good to them. A writer had a good story to tell and told it. Whenever I hear a writer is going to tell a character defining story, it's likely they are going to make some kind of 180 on the character to make it stand out, then the either reset to status quo in the end, or let the next writer retcon the crap they pulled. Just tell a good story! If people like it, if it's well told, then perhaps it will go down as character defining. Also, Tom King is an idiot. I avoid anything he writes now because aside from his okay run on Vision, what he writes turn to crap pretty fast. Which is sad because I'd like to get back into reading Wonder Woman but not while he's writing it.

As far as I can recall, Sarge Steel (formerly of Charlton) had his first DC appearance in "Legends" in 1987, the same series that introduced the Waller, so he is a contemporary of here, in that sense, and pre-dates her in others. Curiously, he was Diana's boss at the DEO during the Gail Simone run. Traditionally, he's a good guy. Using Steel, rather than the Wall, though... Not only is his genitalia is on the outside, but he's also Caucasian. Neither is true for Waller. Maybe it's part of the point King is trying to make. As you said, there's no subtlety.

Here is my timeline of the Earth-Two/New Earth/Prime Earth Wonder Woman Family. 1938: The Golden Age begins. 1940: The JSA was formed. 1941: Steve Trevor crash-landed on Paradise Island, causing Diana to arrive on Man’s World, make her debut as the first Wonder Woman, and take on the identity of Diana Prince in DC. Helena Kosmotos made her debut as the first Fury. The Seven Soldiers of Victory, All-Star Squadron, and Freedom Fighters were formed, and the Freedom Fighters traveled to Earth-X. 1942: Diana joined the JSA. The Young All-Stars were formed before they eventually became part of the All-Star Squadron. 1948: The Seven Soldiers of Victory were scattered throughout time. 1951: The JSA disbanded. 1953: Diana traveled to Earth-59 and teamed up with the Earth-59 Wonder Woman to defeat Duke Dazam. 1956: The Silver Age begins. 1961: Flash of Two Worlds. 1962: Diana and Steve Trevor were married. 1963: The JSA came out of retirement and teamed up with the Earth-One JLA to defeat the Crime Champions. Hector Hall was born. 1964: Hippolyta “Lyta” Trevor, the daughter of Diana and Steve Trevor, was born. 1970: The Bronze Age begins. 1972: The JSA and Earth-One JLA rescued the Seven Soldiers of Victory. 1973: The Earth-X Freedom Fighters were teamed up with the JSA and the Earth-One JLA. 1976: The JSA, Earth-One JLA, and Earth-S Squadron of Justice team up to defeat Earth-S King Kull. 1981: Judgment in Infinity. 1982: Diana revealed her identity as the first Wonder Woman to the world. Beautiful Dreamer, Death Unto Thee. Earth-One Diana Wonder Woman meets Lyta Trevor. Lyta Trevor made her debut as the second Fury, and Hector Hall made his debut as the Silver Scarab. Infinity Inc. was formed. 1984: Lyta Trevor and Hector Hall were engaged. 1985: Crisis On Infinite Earths. Diana and Steve Trevor arrive on Mount Olympus, causing Lyta Trevor to graduate as the second Wonder Woman. The JSA was sent to Limbo. 1986: Legends. 1987: Hector Hall was killed, resurrected, and graduated as the second Sandman. Millennium. 1988: Lyta Trevor and Hector Hall were married. Infinity Inc. was disbanded. Cosmic Odyssey. Invasion! 1989: Hector Hall was killed again. 1990: Daniel Hall was born. 1991: War of the Gods. Armageddon 2001. 1992: Eclipso: The Darkness Within. The JSA returned from Limbo. 1993: Bloodlines. 1994: Zero Hour. The JSA disbanded. 1995: Underworld Unleashed. Daniel Hall made his debut as the third Sandman. 1996: The Final Night. 1997: Genesis. 1998: DC One Million. 1999: The JSA was reformed again. Hector Hall was resurrected, graduated as the fifth Doctor Fate, and joined the JSA along with Lyta Trevor. Day of Judgement. 2001: Our Worlds At War. 2004: Identity Crisis. 2005: Infinite Crisis. Hippolyta Trevor and Hector Hall disappeared. 2006: Diana and Steve Trevor died. 52. 2007: One Year Later. 2008: Final Crisis. 2009: The JSA All-Stars were formed. The Titans disbanded again. Blackest Night. 2010: Brightest Day. The JSA All-Stars disbanded to join the JSA. 2011: Flashpoint. 2013: Forever Evil. Trinity War. 2014: The Multiversity. Trinity of Sin. 2015: Convergence. DCYou. Darkseid War. 2016: DC Rebirth. 2017: Dark Nights: Metal. 2020: Dark Nights: Death Metal. Endless Winter. 2021: Infinite Frontier. The Lost Children (renamed the Young Society) returned. 2022: Dark Crisis. Lazarus Planet. 2023: Dawn of DC. Knight Terrors. 2025: Time Crisis. 2030: Secret Crisis.

I side with J. R.R. Tolkien on allegories. Applicability is infinitely better than allegory.

R.I.P. Arleen Sorkin .

1:24 comicpop was not a fan of Tom King and critiqued his work. But with the help of his wife now they are good friends and he shills for Tom's work hard now

Hi ! Just wanted you to know you are one of my favorite channel on KZfaq ^^ Every video is so well researched and full of nuance. You paint a beautiful portrait everytime and I wish you the best !

Nothing can make me groan faster than Sasha saying "Tom King" What fresh hell has the company come up with today?

"Aquaman, his fish" - LOL, it is just impossible to describe Aquaman and make him sound cool.

I must say. I am a more new WW fan, I’ve recently gotten really into her and reading the Perez and Messner-Loebs stuff and I actually picked up WW #1 yesterday. So take my stance with a grain of salt as I may not have the best full knowledge of the character yet but I personally loved the issue. Also as a Tom King super fan, I loved the tone, the art was amazing, it Kept me interested and invested throughout, it was a good single issue I can reread many times. Again, as a newer WW fan my opinion my not be the strongest but I really liked the depiction of Diana, despite understanding that she feels Detached from the story itself, but I really vibe with it, she feels strong and has a impressive Aura, I loved the set up and her big reveal moment. I struggle to articulate myself well (ESPECIALLY on a KZfaq comment) so forgive me if what I say doesn’t make much sense, my brain is very slow and Swiss cheese at times. But essentially I really liked it and I will definitely check out more of the run

I would love to see you do a deep dive on something like Omega Men, which to me feels like the most King book in terms of not having to bend himself to the magnitude of the character.

Thanks for covering this in a balanced way. I understand why King is polarizing, but I tend to like his writing (I thought the last issue of Danger Street was hilarious). I mostly view his work as elseworlds stories so I get nervous when he's put on main titles. Sampere's art is awesome though so I'm here for it at least as long as he is!

I passed this up last week, but now I'm going to pick it up. Thanks for the review.

I'm hoping that Lasso of Lies comes from Eris in some way. I really like her as an anti-Wonder Woman, and having her use a lasso like that to manipulate the world (especially if she used it past America, maybe passing it down from one conquering superpower to the next as a more powerful "golden apple") could be a lot of fun.

Honestly, Wonder Woman is not a hard character to write as long as you remember her core values and traits. Also, to create a new Wonder Woman storyline and villain all writers have to do is look into mythology and give her an evil god or monster to fight. Mythology is at the core of her stories, so draw from that. Superman is sci fi pulp, Batman is Noir, and Wonder Woman is fantasy and mythology.

Merciful Minerva but yes! Diana's core villain IS Dr Cyber. There was plenty that Denny O'Neil didn't like about his own run on WW, but his arch nemeses are hard to beat!

Thank-you for a great video and creating a space to discuss comics, greatly appreciated. You made some great points and I was very inspired to comment. Writing Wonder Woman isn't difficult, and I agree with another commenter that her basic character is not complicated. The fact tom has already made such an incredibly immature statement about taking George Perez's comment so personal and challenging, is a grossly SAD red flag about the basic white/colonist man's alarming DEFICIENCY. It's clear any writer having to kill off Amazons in their first issue's run, does not have the respect or basic creative ability to even be allowed the position of getting anywhere near a character, especially Wonder Woman. The first issue was a total projection of who tom is as a powerful woman, what a tragic MESS. The outfit given to Wonder Woman's daughter should have been the costume given to Wonder Woman, to say the least, really, it's past time for an updated and respectful outfit.

I feel like DC needs to start using the entire continuity of their characters histiry now. The aftermath of Dark Knights Death Metal should have both herors and villiabs and the workd making all sorts of new choices

This is the first I've heard of a writer dismantling Wonder Woman's legacy. That would be great to learn about

I have persistently purchased Wonder Woman comics for nearly 30 years (through the good and bad)… but King taking over the writing chores finally convinced me to drop the title. I dislike his character-assassinating, ultra-depressive style that much.

I think her core villain should be a woman.....and a man A sort of competition of opposition of Diana's values. And i personally have no idea why the villains she does have aren't that prominent in the popular consciousness. Maybe Maxwell Lord, but he's more a justice league villain who moonlights as an ally. Cheetah, Dr Poison, Dr Psycho and a few other icons of WW just don't have the unkillability/psuedo immortality of Lex or Joker. You expect Diana to win with mild difficulty at worst whereas there is a legitimate chance of Joker and Lex winning for long stretches of time. And her immortal enemies of Circe and Ares and Eris, they're just meh. Wonder Woman was always going to be difficult coz of her mythological origin which is explicitly separate from the stuff Superman and Batman do (mad scientists, gangsters, crazy weirdos like Scarecrow and Joker plus the occasional alien for a doomsday scenario), you know, things that click with an average person. She's stuck with gods and monsters, and when she's not one wonders why she's involved at least a little bit. I liked the Wonder Woman movie, and even liked 1984 in concept, if not execution. But i always thought in the back of my mind that the premise was ridiculous. This Warrior Woman, in an isolated culture from the rest of the world should have had a better introduction to the wider world. A better reason to be part of it. While i cant come up with a better plot than the ones published off the top of my head, that's not my job. And me being a classical mythology enthusiast probably doesn't help with that. 😏. My guy Kyle Raynor is always welcome to the chat

Very interesting. I haven't read anything by Tom King that I'm aware of, but what you're describe sounds a lot like the problem I have with Brian Michael Bendis. The man is very clearly a strong competent writer, but he kind of puts *everything* subservient to the story he's trying to tell. Character traits, pacing, past history, none of it really matters in the end, because he's going to tell the story he wants to tell no matter what. Sounds like the same issue here.

Thanks for doing this video. While I don't think I'm going to pick up this series, it is nice to see what's going on.

That "Oh Lawd" meme was right on time, I wouldn't be surprised if you had cornrows under that wig lol anyway, you're definitely invited to the cookout lol

I think Vandal Savage could be great archnemesis for Wonder Women. Young Justice has proven that caveman has the potential to be up there with the likes of Lex and Batman's entire rogues gallery. Vandal was involved in WW2, fought the JSA and has been aiding conquerors for centuries so the Amazons must have been aware of him some time in the past. So yeah, the divine ambassador for peace and eternal warlord, that's my pitch.

Also, I've already read a DC Comic that covered a "secret origin of America." John Ostrander's Spectre run went with the Founding Fathers having a secret ceremony which created a ghostly avatar for the United States... which went on to bevome Uncle Sam. The ending was a little hokey, but it looked at America as flawed but optimistic. There's worse stories and hot takes on America than that.

"Aquaman, his fish". That made me giggle.

From the comments here i see that this might be one of those runs that i’ll love but some hardcore fans will hate. I like that this first issue takes the time to set things up and just shows us Diana shortly, so we understand the context she is in. I like the themes. I like the perception of her as a rebel against the status quo - she was literally created by Marston for that reason. I like the idea of sovereign. The art is amazing. Really, how is this clumsy or not in character (she barely shows up and people already decided she is not in character). Idk. Maybe ends up being annoying and frustrating like his Batman run, but for me its off to a great start.

I thought the issue was fine but definitely a story that would be better suited for Black Label. The continued talk about how Diana is different from the Trinity (and other heroes), how she does not have this or that, sadly just reinforces to me that all King sees is "woman", and if he wants an archnemesis, Circe, Ares and Cheetah are right there. It might be adressed later and this might as well be King working through his apprehensions about Wonder Woman, but working through that isn't something I'm interested in when it's her one monthly ongoing. The Lasso of Lies is an easy fix to go back to the status quo, but also makes the critique kind of mood to me.

Saying Wonder Woman isn't a soldier definitely feels like they're going against what could be an excellent defining trait. Wonder Woman is a soldier who's been fighting for hundreds of years. If you want to give her a unique vibe compared to Batman and Superman, playing into that feels like your best option. Emphasize her efficiency and practicality, her ability to adapt and overcome to any situation via superior experience. Batman relies on gadgets and plans, Superman relies on powers and ideals, let Wonder Woman be the hero who relies entirely on herself, and whatever happens to be on hand. As for personality, if you want to keep her feeling human, make her battle-hardened and a little jaded, like a grizzled old veteran who's been doing this for too long. Emphasize the weight of her life's experiences, and have her sometimes flash back to old wars. If Superman is the optimist and Batman is the pessimist, let Wonder Woman be the realist.

I think its a strong issue #1 and hope the series is good but only time will tell. Thanks for this video it has helped me get a better perspective on tis comic!

It's great seeing Heroclix still going AND sponsoring great content like yours.

The problem with bring very real-world issues is that it grounds this fantastical world but in a bad way. It tends to send a very specific message with little to no nuance. At least for me, I want to read these to escape reality but putting in too many or too big issue real-world things defeats that escapism. Not everyone wants to slapped over the head with a message.

His ideas are on point- she is a rebel, she went against her whole homelands ideology. She is different, she fights for something beyond order. She is a warrior, and has been trained in martial arts that are dead to the mordant world and therefore would pose a threat. It all depends on how this is executed. Even the fetish could be awesome if it’s coming from Steel as a character and not the book itself, because even if he does see her for being different he doesn’t understand what she really is. As for the man vs woman aspect that can be great if she is the one who clarifies that it shouldn’t be man vs woman but good vs evil. So much potential, hope it goes/went well

"There is no subtlety to be found here at all..." 🤣😅🤣😅 Yup. That about sums King's oeuvre up.

I really wish we got that WW animated series alongside Superman and Batman. We've never had a proper introduction Diana outside of comics and games like Injustice are so bad portraying her. Also, I think Amazon being so isolated ends up being a problem because unlike Marvel's Asgard, Wonder Woman lore doesn't get to interact with rest of the universe. Not to mention DC's Greek god lore is very inconsistent.

I like Wonder Woman as a concept and I've liked her in various depictions, but she's such an inconsistent character. She might be the most inconsistent of the bigger heroes.

I have this one Wonder Woman/Ragman Chanukka story in my head that I'd love to write but will never get the chance. It basically revolves around the fact that WW is for all intents and purposes a Greek golem, and it would involve an ancient maccabee-era golem created to fight the Greeks reawakening in present day. It practically writes itself.

The quality of your videos continues to improve. 👍🏾

I recently read Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow...and Loved it (I also did a video about it on my channel). So, I'll definitely be checking out Wonder Woman #1.