Tom King and Daniel Sampere did not waste any time to make sure they made their impact on the Wonder Woman franchise. For an unknown reason one of the Amazons went rogue and killed a bunch of people. That has led to the United States government turning on the Amazons and setting up a policing force to kick them out of the country through the use of lethal force. This appears to be just the start as the rest of the world also has there own reaction for the Amazons status quo. Let’s see how things go next with Wonder Woman #2.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Tom King (Wonder Woman: Outlaw); Josie Campbell (Amazons Attack: The Prophecy)
Artist: Daniel Sampere (Wonder Woman: Outlaw); Vasco Georgiev (Amazons Attack: The Prophecy)
Colorist: Tomeu Morey (Wonder Woman: Outlaw); Alex Guimaraes (Amazons Attack: The Prophecy)
Letterer: Clayton Cowles (Wonder Woman: Outlaw); Becca Carey (Amazons Attack: The Prophecy)
SOLICITATION
“TOM KING AND DANIEL SAMPERE’S EPIC NEW TAKE ON WONDER WOMAN CONTINUES! AN ARMY OF ONE! Now a wanted fugitive, Wonder Woman readies herself for battle against Commander Steel and his soldiers, her former love Steve Trevor being one of them!
What could this face-off mean for her position in the world of heroes? Will it further her quest for the truth about the rogue Amazon or end in bloodshed? Find out as this demigoddess takes on an entire army! Plus, the prelude to Amazons Attack!” DC Comics
REVIEW
If you didn’t know that Wonder Woman is badass not to be messed with by anybody or even by an army than you sure know now. If you’re the other 99.9% than Wonder Woman #2 is a skippable issue. Other than the reveal in the final panel of the main story there wasn’t anything of substance in this issue.
This is not exactly the way to continue the momentum created by the massive status quo shift in the first issue. Tom King and Daniel Sampere did a great job at setting the world changing status quo for the Amazons. Along with the ending, we were left to see how Wonder Woman would go about handling this situation.
Unfortunately, King was so focused on the badass side of Wonder Woman that he forgot to do any sort of story development. We don’t leave Wonder Woman #2 in a different spot or with the feeling the story moved forward. This was simply a show of force to put over how no army in the world has a chance against Wonder Woman.
Maybe this could’ve worked if it was Hawkgirl, Donna Troy, Mary Marvel, or other heroes this is a showcase they need. But this is Wonder Woman we are talking about. Wonder Woman is one of the DC Universe heroes who is consistently put over on being of the level of Superman. Getting an entire issue of Wonder Woman beating an entire army does absolutely nothing for the character.
King’s writing doesn’t help any. Everything that is written comes across as a rehash of what is known of the character and their fortitude. The same goes for the flashback scene of a young Wonder Woman fighting in the Amazon colosseum. There is nothing new presented here.
Which just comes across as a waste of an opportunity to continue the momentum created by the debut issue. We had such a game changing status quo change with the world starting to turn against the Amazons. This should’ve ben the focus to show the global scope of this new direction for Wonder Woman. That is not how the story for this series is presented. It now feels small and something that only impacts Wonder Woman but not the rest of the Amazons.
What saved this new direction for the Wonder Woman franchise was Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev’s back-up story. It is in this back-up story were we see the greater impact of what happened in Wonder Woman #1. Credit to Campbell for embracing how all of the Amazons around the world will have to deal with this status quo. It built genuine momentum for the upcoming Amazons Attack, something that series definitely needed.
Back in the main story, Daniel Sampere is the true driver of Wonder Woman #2. Sampere once again delivers big event level artwork. He makes Wonder Woman look like an absolute badass in both the present and flashback scenes. Sampere’s artwork was so good that since this issue was just about showcasing Wonder Woman as a badass you’re left wishing King didn’t insert as much dialogue as he did.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Wonder Woman #2 is a massive dropping of the ball from a story perspective. Tom King failed to push the story forward in a meaningful way. Luckily Daniel Sampere stepped up big to make Wonder Woman appear as the badass she is with big event-level artwork. The Amazons Attack back-up by Josie Campbell and Vasco Georgiev at least saved things from the story side as we got some development for the bigger direction of the franchise. Hopefully King steps his game up in the next issue to push the story forward.
Story Rating: 2 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 5.5 Night Girls out of 10
