By Cat Wyatt

The latest issue of Wonder Woman started off on a different tone; it’s told from the perspective of one of the (many) people Diana has saved. Like many people who have been saved by Wonder Woman, she met her on what was one of the worst days of her life. Unlike many, she was pretty okay with things; she survived and she got to meet her hero. What more could a girl ask for?

As it turns out, quite a bit. After her rescue it’s revealed that she’ll likely never walk again (which also means her ballet career is over), but on the bright side of things, Diana keeps stopping in to check on her. I’m sure most of us could predict how things were going to go from here; Diana (being a super hero and thus pretty damn busy) will start showing up less and less, until finally she stops coming by all together. From here Vanessa has two options; get over it or let the feel of abandonment fester.

Now I feel like most people would be hurt by what has happened here; not only did Wonder Woman, Vanessa’s hero, stop making time for her, but she also lost her mother during this time. Again, Wonder Woman didn’t show. Not even for the funeral. It’s reasonable to feel at least a little bit betrayed and abandoned. I do believe that most people would allow themselves to feel that hurt, but then try to move on with their lives.

Especially after having been given a second chance like Vanessa; unlike many people out there who lose the ability to walk again, Vanessa has been given the opportunity to receive an implant to help her. It’ll take a lot of work to get her back on her feet again (no pun intended, but feel free to run with it), but it’s more than she had previously, so most would be thrilled by the option. Admittedly she has a bit of a backslide after the death of her mother (a freak accident, but still awful). But baby steps, right?

Vanessa…doesn’t handle the rejection as well as one would hope. She lets those feelings fester and turn into hate. It corrupts all the feelings she’s had for her hero all these years, and turns it into something else. It turns her daydream into a monster. And I mean that almost literally. She warps the fantasy hero concept she had created for herself into a nemesis for Wonder Woman. To say she isn’t handling things well is putting it lightly.

Meanwhile things are still moving forward in Diana’s life. She’s still trying to track down all the items Darkseid was hunting, while also adapting to living with her newly found twin brother. That doesn’t sound easy in the best of days, add them both being superpowered, and him adjusting to city/hero life and well…it’s a lot to handle. So it’s understandable that things start slipping through the cracks. Things like visiting injured fans.

I actually really enjoyed this plotline. I think it was pretty badly needed, in a number of ways. Diana is always portrayed as a figure for good, as she should be. However she has always tried to do too much, which ultimately causes things to get missed. In this case she tries to be a hero as well as a friend to all of the people she’s saved. Stop and think about how many people that would be; it’s impossible to keep up with all of them, even without having a superhero day job to work around. So it’s not surprising that she misses important signs, like a fan losing faith in her, or not being there when somebody needs her more than ever. This is exactly what happens when one spreads themselves too thin. In a way this story showed just how human Diana really is – she can only be in so many places at once, no matter how hard she tries to be everywhere.

As per usual the artwork for this issue was pretty decent. There were little details in particular that I found myself loving, like Vanessa’s drawings or the concept art for her costumes (both the hero and the villain versions). They’re both elegant and striking. It’s a perfect concept, really, as it allowed for an easy transition from one to the other with just a simple color palette change.

Score: 4/5

Wonder Woman #38
DC Comics