By Cat Wyatt

Diana has been through a lot lately, and it doesn’t seem like the universe is willing to let up anytime soon. Recently Diana found, and then lost, her twin brother Jason. In the last issue he arrived (again), only changed somehow. Perhaps he can help her with the impending battle against Darkseid?

So like I said, Jason’s back, but something is different. He’s stronger, more confident, and wearing brilliant gold armor. He also appears to have some new abilities, such as the ability to sense things (no, he wasn’t really any more clear than that). He seems to think the armor is enhancing his abilities somehow, which worries me (with good reason, I believe). Jason however thinks it’s a great thing, and doesn’t seem overly concerned about the fact that he can’t really remember the last few days of his life (which is odd – I know I’d be absolutely freaking out if I lost a day or two like that).

Jason is convinced the armor was given to him with love, but he doesn’t really have anything to base that off of (other than his new ability to sense ‘things’). I’m concerned this is all a setup, but perhaps I’m being overly cynical here.

I feel justified in my paranoia, considering the exact moment Jason arrives back home, Grail is seen on the move. That sounds like a pretty big coincidence, doesn’t it? Oh, and don’t forget the fact that Jason can fly even faster now, so he and Diana can leave now (without backup), and get there right away. I know he’s her brother (or at least he appears to be her brother…too paranoid?) but I don’t like the idea of her being alone with him (granted anybody that could take down Diana could probably take down the few humans that are around her as well).

The flight to the battle seems to invoke a flashback for Jason, as he can’t resist remembering the first time he met Grail. It’s clear he’s feeling pretty bitter about being tricked by her, and would like nothing more than a chance to fight her (probably partially to get revenge and partially to prove himself).

Thanks to Jason’s new super speed he and Diana arrive in time to prevent Grail from killing the Huntsman (wasn’t expecting that cameo, though I guess I should have). Even though Jason claims that he wants to take on Grail personally; Diana ends up facing off with Grail while Jason takes on a handful of Parademons.

On the bright side at least Diana has the lasso, and was able to wrangle some truth out of Grail. Of course it’s not everything they needed to know, and Grail somehow broke out, but it’s something, right? Jason would likely not have gotten that much intel out of Grail, so I guess it’s a good thing their plans got changed. Jason did show up in time to help save Diana from Grail (I don’t think she would have gotten killed here, just hurt), but it all seems awfully convenient to me. Perhaps I am being too paranoid about this after all.

They may have successfully stopped Grail from her mission, but it’s clear that Darkseid is about to make another big move, so I honestly don’t blame Diana from being concerned about it all. We know that he has been collecting artifacts, and that there’s a rather large collection of them being held by A.R.G.U.S., so while we’ve been spoon-fed this scenario, I’m rather surprised that it hasn’t occurred to anybody else involved (like the people trying to collect the artifacts before Darkseid can get them). Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to see how it all plays out?

I still feel like we’re in the middle of a set up here, though I admit I may be biased against Jason based on his original betrayal. Otherwise I’m not really sure what is going on just yet. It’s clear we’re about to see an attack on A.R.G.U.S., so hopefully Steven doesn’t get put at risk during the fight.

This isn’t my favorite plot for Wonder Woman – I’ll admit that I just don’t like Jason all that much. I would much rather the focus shift back fully to Diana, as it should be (it is her series after all), so hopefully once this all peters out that’ll be the last we see of him for a while.

As per usual the artwork for Wonder Woman was fantastic – and we even got to see the prefect (lasso) being used. I forgot how long it’d been since we’ve seen that in action. So that was pretty nice. I know I don’t trust Jason (and have stated it multiple times), but I do like his new character design. The armor looks brilliant.

Score: 3/5

Wonder Woman #42
DC Comics