In defiance of the cosmic order, the goddesses of the Greek pantheon, led by Hera, created the Amazons. Gifted with great and terrible powers, the Amazons invoked the wrath of the gods when they shed blood in Apollo’s temple and set in motion a battle even the warrior race couldn’t have anticipated.
Hippolyta is faced with the possibility of the death, ruin, and destruction of everything and everyone she loves. When the inevitable arrives, she’ll need divine intervention to save her people. But the gods’ help comes at a price, and the Amazons’ survival will cost them the one thing they value most — their freedom. Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, drawn by Nicola Scott, colored by Annette Kwok, and lettered by Clayton Cowles, Wonder Woman Historia #3 forces the Amazon queen to make an impossible choice that could lead to the Amazons’ defeat and the creation of the greatest hero they have ever known.
Wonder Woman Historia #3 is the origin story of the Amazons that sets the stage for the arrival of Diana. DeConnick evokes the poetry and writing of ancient Greece to tell this story. She writes this issue like an epic poem, using an omniscient perspective to give readers a glimpse of what each character is thinking. Wonder Woman Historia #3 has a huge cast, separated into distinct groups — the Amazons, the gods, and the goddesses — making this issue and the overarching story play out like a political drama, but this final issue focuses primarily on the war as the tension that’s been building since the beginning erupts in full force.
DeConnick depicts the Amazons, their heavenly counterparts, and their opponents with subtlety and sympathy. While the narrative takes the side of the Amazons, there is still a semblance of humanity and empathy given to the goddesses and the often antagonistic male gods. Rather than a simplistic battle of the sexes, Wonder Woman Historia #3 reads like a nuanced war story with losses and consequences on both sides, with the gods held accountable. But the mortals still have to pay the price in the fashion of classical Greek tragedy.
The most striking thing about this issue is the art. Artist Nicola Scott and colorist Annette Kwok are a literal dream team, crafting beautiful visuals perfectly suited for the epic narrative. Scott’s smooth, elegant lines combine with Kwok’s soft, painterly pastel shades to evoke the poster art of the early 20th century, especially the works of Alphonse Mucha. These sweet and pretty visuals pack a disturbing punch. Wonder Woman Historia #3 is a war drama that’s as visceral as it is gorgeous. Bloodshed, violence, decapitation, and dismemberment are portrayed unflinchingly and graphically. Scott captures characters’ emotions with the same skill she uses to depict violence, displaying grief, anger, and agony between moments of serenity and smoldering tension.
Wonder Woman Historia #3 has a staggeringly large cast. The Amazons are numerous. Scott deserves a great deal of credit for making each Amazon diverse and distinct. But there are so many of them, that reading Wonder Woman Historia #3 can feel like a laborious endeavor. There are few physical differences between the gods and the seemingly-human Amazons. Scott uses scale and fantastical elements in the designs to differentiate them, especially with the goddesses, their animal motifs, and costumes. Each page has a lot going on, so the pages where the art and the narrative are given plenty of room to breathe are particularly refreshing.
Despite all of its strengths, Wonder Woman Historia #3 sometimes staggers under the weight of its own narrative. However, it’s a stunning visual tour-de-force in an epic style worthy of one of the greatest heroes of the DC Comics pantheon. DeConnick, Scott, and Kwok have crafted a triumphant and nuanced finale for the ambitious series.
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