Now with the Four Horsewomen storyline finally kicking off Steve Orlando can begin to pay off all the building he has done with his run on thus far. The first part of this Four Horsewomen storyline did not waste time as we saw Warmaster directly confront Wonder Woman. Additionally, the recruitment of Donna Troy to be the final member of Four Horsewomen also started in Wonder Woman #755. With Warmaster trying to stack the odds against Diana, Donna, and the Amazons how will our heroes respond? Let’s find out with Wonder Woman #756.
Writer: Steve Orlando
Artist: Jesus Merino
Inker: Vicente Cifuentes
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: Warmaster demands Wonder Woman open the portal to Themyscira or else risk more people dying. Wonder Woman answers by kicking Warmaster in the face and taking the spear that has her pinned to the wall out of her shoulder. Wonder Woman punches Warmaster across the room and asks her if she wants to keep fighting.
Within the Lasso of Persuasion Donna Troy fights Devastation and Armageddon, who are pissed Donna would not join the Four Horsewoman. Donna reminds the two that while she and Diana may not be on the best terms right now at the end of the day they are family. This pisses of Armageddon, whose family turned her into a tool.
Back in Norway Wonder Woman and Warmaster go back-and-forth in their fight until Wonder Woman is able to disarm her opponent. Wonder Woman than admits that Warmaster has not been told the truth. She goes on to say neither her nor Warmaster were there to know what really happened between the Amazons and Valkyries. Wonder Woman then admits that she has always cared for Warmaster since the day they met.
Warmaster just gets angrier and summons her mechanical Pegasus to attack Wonder Woman.
Over in Boston, Genocide has defeated all the Amazons protecting the portal to Themyscira.
On Themyscira, Hippolyta and the other Amazons feel something coming. Hippolyta orders Chief Geologist Botsia to summon General Philippus.
Back in the Lasso of Persuasion, Devastation, and Armageddon appear to have defeated Donna. Donna suddenly appears out of nowhere and quickly knocks out Devastation and Armageddon.
Back in Manhattan, Donna has tied up Devastation and Armageddon in her Lasso of Persuasion. Donna reveals that their battle was one done inside her lasso. She goes on to say that using the Lasso of Persuasion always comes with the risk of losing as the battle inside it is one of wills. Donna then tells Devastation and Armageddon that they will be waiting for the Justice League to arrive.
Back in Norway, Wonder Woman tosses Warmaster’s Pegasus off her. Warmaster gets on her Pegasus and reveals that Genocide will be ripping open the portal to Themyscira through brute force. Warmaster then teleports away as she tells Wonder Woman she is a fool for thinking she won.
After Warmaster leaves the entire mountainside facility Wonder Woman is in explodes.
On Themyscira, as the Amazons discuss how to fortify the portals to prepare for another attack Warmaster and Genocide have made their way in.
Hippolyta and the Amazons were ready and immediately start fighting Warmaster and Genocide.
Back in Norway, Wonder Woman does all she can to dig herself out of the rubble as she remembers her memories of Paula.
Donna suddenly appears and helps Wonder Woman break free, much to Wonder Woman’s joy. Donna admits they have a lot to talk about but first must stop Warmaster. Donna goes on to reveal that Devastation and Armageddon tried to recruit her to be part of the Four Horsewomen but they fell to her lasso and told her everything.
Wonder Woman admits that the truth about the Amazons and Valkyries may be lost to history but they must end the violence together.
Wonder Woman transforms into her normal gear and is ready to fight back with Donna at her side by saying “…Now, side by side, we Wonder Women fight back.” End of issue.
The Good: Taking the momentum for the first part of “The Four Horsewomen” Steve Orlando and Jesus Merino deliver an issue that creates greater excitement for where this storyline is going. While still dialogue-heavy Wonder Woman #756 is able to take all the developments from the last issue to tone it down on that end. This issue was much more about tackling the fallout from all the talking each character did to make the action as impactful as possible.
That is where I was left most impressed by Wonder Woman #756. Orlando does a fantastic job taking the discussions various characters had with one another in the previous issue to make the action we see throughout this issue mean more. You know exactly what the stakes are in Wonder Woman vs Warmaster and Donna Troy vs Devastation and Armageddon. The groundwork was set for what was at stake. Through it all, you could see how each separate event tied together back to Warmaster’s goals with the Four Horsewomen.
Keeping Warmaster and her Four Horsewomen intentions at the forefront was exactly what needed to happen. These are all characters that are still building up credibility with the reader. While Devastation and Armageddon are defeated by Donna Troy in Wonder Woman #756 they aren’t squashed. Orlando carefully makes how they are defeated about Donna’s strength rather than about them being demolished. The same goes for Warmaster as she was forced to use all her tricks just so she could escape from being defeated by Wonder Woman. Orlando carefully made sure that these villains all kept their credibility.
Which was an important thing to maintain given how Warmaster and Genocide were able to reach Themyscira at the end of Wonder Woman #756. Given all these two characters did against Wonder Woman and the Amazons thus far you do have a sense of fear for what they can do now that they are on Themyscira. That made it believable that they could take on the Amazons just the two of them when we see them do just that.
Through this Orlando does a good job not making Warmaster and Genocide’s attack catch the Amazons completely off guard. Orlando carefully shows us how well aware Hippolyta is about what is going on in the outside world. Showing that she has the Amazons prepare for battle before Warmaster and Genocide arrive showed great foresight. Even if they can only buy time until Wonder Woman and Donna Troy arrive to turn the tide the Amazons still had an air of strength whenever they were on screen.
And finally, after spending just about every issue of his run teasing the reunion between Diana and Donna we finally get it in Wonder Woman #756. Finally delivering this payoff was great to see. This was a reunion that was a long time coming that immediately puts a smile on your face when Diana hugs Donna out of joy. You could tell that both characters have wanted to talk to the other by the way they talked with each other.
What made this reunion work so well was how Orlando put over how Diana and Donna see each other as equals. This isn’t a reunion of just a mentor and sidekick but of sisters. When Diana says “…now, side by side, we Wonder Women fight back” you believe that she does mean that both her and Donna should be viewed as Wonder Woman. It sets the table for a bigger discussion between Diana and Donna when all is said and done.
Up to that point, Orlando also does a great job using Wonder Woman #756 to build up Diana and Donna’s respective characters through the battles they were each in. With Diana, we see how no matter how injured or hurt she may be from Warmasters words she can’t help but want to help Paula. For Diana, she does still see a good person within Paula that has just been corrupted into becoming Warmaster. That empathy shows exactly how good of a person Diana is in and out of her Wonder Woman costume.
On the other end of the world, Donna has by far her best showing in this current DC Universe continuity. Orlando absolutely writes Donna as a badass warrior. This is the Donna Troy I’ve been waiting to see since she returned to the DC Universe a little before DC Rebirth. Even though Donna still has her share of insecurities, when it comes to a battle of wills Donna is still able to find a way to defeat two villains. Donna revealing the benefits and drawbacks of using her Lasso of Persuasion made her an even bigger badass.
Jesus Merino equally delivered on some of his best work in Wonder Woman #756. The issue looked great throughout. With so many scene changes that had different types of settings, T Merino was more than up for the challenge. He got over how badass Donna Troy was and how Warmaster was going to do whatever it takes to win through his artwork alone. The final three pages were peak hype with seeing how Diana transforms into her Wonder Woman gear and then announces that she and Donna are ready to take the fight to Warmaster. The artwork really told the story as much as the writing in this final scene.
The Bad: For as much as I enjoyed Wonder Woman #756 I will admit that there were times that this issue was dialogue-heavy. It did not detract much from the story that was presented. But after how dialogue-heavy the previous issue was we did not need as much exposition as we continued to get here. While that did not take away from my enjoyment of the issue I can see how it may affect others.
Overall: Wonder Woman #756 is the best issue to date of Steve Orlando’s run on this series. He nailed the stakes that are at hand with Warmaster taking the fight directly to Wonder Woman and the Amazons. The impressive character spotlight on Donna Troy and how much of a badass she is elevated the entire issue. Along with Jesus Merino’s artwork, Orlando just got me more hyped for the next issue of Wonder Woman after this second part of “The Four Horsewomen” arc.
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