Diana continues her journey of self awareness in the final part of "ODYSSEY: Diana's Army."
The Good
When she awakens in a hospital bed
Diana is taken by surprise at her surroundings and questions them instantly in a furvor. She suits up pretty quickly, and rushes to see an elderly woman (
Myra Clotho) who happens to also be a patient in the hospital and had desperately requested to see her. She even made Diana a cape. The interesting thing is that the concepts in this scene are so odd, that they should feel out of place- but don't. In fact, the weird sequence of events somehow fits together really well. Somehow the magic that
Straczynski and
Hester brinng to the scene just work. Had the dialogue in the scene between Myra and Diana been any different, it may not have made sense, but it was really beautifully written and it didn't matter that there was a spinning wheel in a hospital room.
Two things that really stood out to me in this issue:
- Diana is not only realizing her purpose and destiny, but also her identity. For so long she had no idea who she was, until now. During the conversation with Myra, Diana receives a detailed explanation of who she is, where she's come from, and as a result gains an understanding of what it means to be a hero. It's a beautiful scene (between Myra and Diana).
- Her adversary in this story (The Morrigan) are formidable and threatening enough to empower Diana. The villain is not simply using brute force to attack Diana, but also manipulating her entire existence. It is this type of adversary that Diana needs in order to challenge her and make her a more interesting character. After all, a hero is only as interesting as his adversaries; so if a villain does not present a true challenge, then the hero looks bad and the plot fails. This does not happen here.
Suddenly, a lot of the plot holes that have existed throughout the story have been filled in and things are finally beginning to make sense.
The Bad
So much happened in this issue that the ending felt rushed; and while the series came full circle in the end with the reunion of Diana and The Oracle following Diana's embrace of her own identity, the scene felt really awkward. If more time was spent on cultivating the story we saw in this issue and spreading it out, and less time on the issues where Diana is simply walking around looking at Wonder Woman dolls and not knowing who she is, this arc would have been infinitely better.
The Verdict
I think the arc achieved what Straczynski had initially set out to do in that it gave Diana a new identity. Whether this really will be a "second life" or not will remain to be seen, but one thing is for sure- I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Phil Hester has in store for one of the greatest female characters in comics.
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