By Cat Wyatt

Now that we’ve finished catching up with Jason’s backstory (thank you for that, issue #35), we’re back to the main plot once again. The scene opens with Diana chained up to a stone pillar while Jason monologues (though not as verbosely as a villain can). He (or maybe it was Grail) somehow managed to find an ancient Beachhead from New Genesis. It could even be an earlier world, who’s to say?

Turns out that in the short amount of time that’s passed Jason is still bitter about everything; about being left alone, never having met his mother or his father, the whole lot of it. Now I know I had a certain question burning in my mind for the last issue, and I’m betting you do too. If Jason and Hercules were friends (is that the correct term in this case? I think so), then how does he feel about Grail killing him? Conflicted, as it turns out. He never thought she was going to kill them, just take their energy (and what? He believed that she ‘accidentally’ killed every single target she found? I call bull).

Despite what Grail has done (and is more than willing to do again) Jason believes he has a good reason for trusting her. Before Grail came along he was alone. Which again, bull. He knew about Diana’s existence, the reverse is not true. He had more than ample opportunity to make himself known, to reach out to the only family he has access to. But he didn’t. His choices led him to this place, to commit the actions of his past. Not Diana. Along with all these facts, Diana truly believes that if their mother was capable of seeing Jason, she would, and the fact that she hasn’t means she must have had a good reason not to. For what it’s worth, I actually agree with this.

The funny thing about tying up a demigod like Diana? You have to put a lot of effort into it. So it’s really no surprise that Diana breaks free, that she was able to break free at any point she chose. It’s also not surprising that a fight breaks out between her and Jason/Grail. What is surprising is how short the fight is. Their battle is pretty much interrupted before it has even begun, as Darkseid is more interested in Diana’s energy than anybody’s pride (which while he’s evil, I do understand his viewpoint there).

There are events simultaneously being unveiled back on Earth, but honestly they feel more like a distraction than anything. Trevor and Waller (yes, you read that correctly) are interrogating (well, it’s much more polite than that, but since Waller is involved it still feels like the more accurate term) Giganta (AKA Zuel) about the artifacts she was caught stealing. There’s a lot of banter and back and forth, but the end goal is to figure out who hired her (based on the sudden jump of events, I’m sure anybody could put two and two together here, the question is: why?).

Now that the fight is three to one (Diana versus Darkseid, Jason, and Grail) the odds are clearly not in Diana’s favor, however she wasn’t raised to give up hope, which in this case means she won’t give up the fight. Again the fight is interrupted (gah! I so badly want to see the impending beat down here!), and again it’s time for a sudden twist (shocking, I know). Jason has switched sides (gasp!) because he and Diana are blood.

If you’re hoping for an amazing twin versus father/daughter fight, then I suggest you settle down. Because once again (seriously???) the impending fight is interrupted…by Diana’s lawyer, of all people. If this has you scratching your head, let me assure you that you weren’t the only one. My first guess was that it was Glaucus in disguise or something (we never did find out where he went after all), but I guessed the wrong father figure. And once again that fight is postponed, though this time by an issue break, so that’s something at least. I so desperately want to see this fight happen though. It’s been building for what, three issues now? Give to me!

I’ll confess I was a little annoyed by the start and stop nature of the fights in this issue. Maybe it’s because I really wanted to see Wonder Woman beat the ever loving snot out of Grail (man would that be satisfying), but in truth I think it’s because I felt like I was getting messed with. Though they did successfully make me antsy for the next issue, so if you’re willing to count that as a win, then there you go! Hopefully we actually get a fight next issue.

The landscapes and backgrounds for this issue are absolutely stunning. Especially the first scene; the beach/forest that they are in is striking; it looks distinctly not of Earth (or an idealized Earth, at least). There were plenty of dramatic poses in this issue (I’m pretty sure every character shown got at least one, plus Diana probably got at least five, because duh). What little they showed of the fight with Darkseid was well done as well – I love the way they showed his energy (or specifically, how he was stealing Diana’s energy). The best artistic choice for this issue was something unexpected; the flashbacks. They were done in this sort of watercolor effect that made them distinct and faded looking (picture the wobbling effect you’d see in TV shows before a flashback). It was perfect.

Score: 4/5

Wonder Woman #36
Publisher: DC Comics