Superman/Wonder Woman #6

Last issue ended in a “strategic retreat” between Superman-Wonder Woman and the rampaging Zod and Faora. It was a nice prelude to the actual Big O’ll Fight that is Superman/Wonder Woman #6 “Until the End”. Of course we can’t have this final climatic battle until Superman and Wonder Woman get their house in order. It’s been simmering below the surface since the beginning, this disconnect between Superman and Wonder Woman that now with the presence of Zod and Faora appears even wider. These are two very self reliant individuals and now here they are in some kind of relationship, attempting to form if not a greater whole at least something bigger than their individual selves. It requires both a level of emotional intimacy and trust that is friggin scary as shit, it dosen’t matter if you’re a modern or old god. Side note, that whole idea is what makes The Americans such an interesting show is; the exploration of the platonic idea of marriage and family when on the surface they can be viewed as contract and business.

For Superman this is messing with his mental focus, instead of thinking about trying to beat them he’s thinking about how to protect Wonder Woman. You could view that line of thinking as a bit misguided, Wonder Woman clearly can take care of herself, it is typical Superman thinking, “How do I protect everyone” honed down. For Diana this whole relationship and the layered nature of their identities is causing her to doubt where and what she is in Superman’s hierarchy of needs. I read this as a very stereotypical female trope, the woman worried about herself in relation to her man, but the treatment of this doubt as new to for Diana makes it a little novel and not too bad. Surprisingly Soule has Diana, the god much removed from typical human culture; answer the question to the apparent divide between them. “I’ve been asking myself many of these same questions recently. I came to one conclusion; we are each other’s shelter from the storm. Question that and it all falls apart.” Relationships are the ultimate trust fall, you have to believe that person is going to be there to catch you and if you don’t time to get out. Or course there are a variety of other factors that reinforce and turn that belief into something more real but still comes down to a matter of faith.

2 pages (a splah), 5 panels, and 17 word balloons, is all Soule needs to bring some emotional healing. Good because now it’s time to get to the big o’ll fight.

Picking up the armor from Hephaestus, thus giving each other matching outfits is a nice visual and narrative way to reinforce a more united but still individual Superman-Wonder Woman. The action paneling in this fight sequence wasn’t as good as past ones. Some of the frames and paneling lacked the necessary moment to create a sense of impact. The silhouette page set in a 3x4 grid however was fantastic. By taking away the color the little droplets of blood being smashed out of Superman become more impactful despite their lack of size. With what comes next, that page becomes more impactful as it represents the 100 blows Superman and Wonder woman have taken. Turns out Superman and Wonder Woman were given them the o’ll rope-a-dope before turning those 100 blows against them.

The inclusion of Apollo and Eris is a nice call back to issue #2. The fact that Eris and Apollo are commenting on the fight like a post-modern Greek Chorus makes the melodrama of this moment even better. Greek Gods, really can hold grudges. If having a costume change mid fight wasn’t anime enough, giving Zod and Faora another form makes this even more anime. Soule however doesn’t go down the Dragon Ball Z route of constantly extended fight sequences. Superman and Wonder Woman are taken out between the flip of a page and quickly thrown in to the reactor. We’ve already gotten our mostly good fight sequence.

Beaten down, it’s time for desperate measures. Like splitting atoms to create a nuclear explosion desperate. Chekhov's gun is a narrative efficiency maxim, Anton Chekhov states “Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there.” Yes Wonder Woman had used the sword in the past but the splitting atoms bit from issue #1 come back in play giving us Chekhov’s Sword!

Tony Daniel’s doses a real good job with Wonder Woman’s facial expressions this issue. The not smug but Han Solo esque “Of Course You Do” from Wonder Woman is perfect.

Placing these two at the heart of a nuclear explosion also ties them into the meta DC universe of fiction. They become the Hiroshima Lover’s also known as the Shadow Lovers from Watchmen. They are also visually referenced during Nite Owl’s dream sequence. It’s a strong way to go to show these characters as being in love or at the very east committed to one another. The final page just Superman looking like he did in The Dark Knight Returns #3 and Wonder Woman wrapped in his cape. They’re not dead, we still have another issue left. They can die then.

Bits At The End

So, Zod and Faora were trying to bring War World through the Phantom Zone. I didn't realize Mongul was in the Phantom Zone.

Was that supposed to be the Invisibile Jet?

I am Michael Mazzacane and you can find on Twitter @MaZZM and at weekntv.com and comicweek.com