Double-Sized Issue Reviews!

This article contains spoilers for Absolute Wonder Woman #1 (2024) by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman

A new world infused with Darkseid has given birth to a different amazon. Enter: Wonder Woman of Hell.

I love when Greek Gods Interfere in Wonder Woman’s life—and this is a big one. Apollo descended into hell with a baby wrapped in his arms. His intention was to give the baby to a woman named Circle—whether that baby remained alive or dead did not matter. And that baby was none other than Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman. 

This new origin caused Wonder Woman to be raised in hell, fighting and killing monsters and demons along the way. And for a reason yet to be seen, Circle cannot not say the word Amazon to Wonder Woman. Even in the speech bubbles, the word Amazon is crossed out and illegible. I feel like this is a really interesting idea, that the audience cannot see the word. It’s one of those unique things in the book that highlights the purpose of the ABSOLUTE universe: doing things different from other DC series. And I like this attempt at originality. 

This story reminded me of Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Where Loki was plucked from his frost giant land by a divine being, Wonder Woman was also uprooted and planted elsewhere. And both can only wonder why. Both are plagued with questions that have no answers— such as what is an amazon, or why didn’t you tell me I was a frost giant. These are gods struggling, which I feel is more powerful than human suffering—because nothing is sadder than a god who doesn’t know their purpose. Or worse, a god who tried. 

Overall, I feel this is a promising start, and I look forward to reading more issues as they come out. My current rating for this book is 3 stars. There is room for improvement, but I have faith.