Diana and Hermes faces off with Apollo, Artemis and Hera for Zola and her unborn child. Apollo is adamant.The throne is his and he is not going to let Diana have her way. Strife, as usual, stands around enjoying the drama.
While Diana takes on Moon, Hermes takes on Sun. Hera grabs up Zola intending to inflict upon her one of those horrible eternal punishments she is legendary for. She tosses her off the cliffs of Olympus, even while Zola is going into labor.
Here, we have one of the best moments of the book where Diana appears to have gotten the power of flight. She manages to save Zola. When Apollo sits on the throne, Hera expects the return of Zeus. But Apollo takes complete control and he exiles Hera. Strife, in her usual sly manner,reminds Apollo of the prophesy of the one who will take the throne by murdering one of the Gods. She points out it could be the child that Zola carries. Diana asks Hermes to take Zola to safety while she faces Artemis. She takes off her bracelets.
Diana, the daughter of the King of the Gods, defeats Artemis. Apollo wants to strike a deal with her. Diana declares if he comes after the baby, she will personally see through the prophesy. Apollo also declares that if the child turns out to be the one to slay a god,then Diana herself would have to kill it. Diana returns to Zola's town. Hera is there with Lennox.
Hermes has taken Zola to deliver the child, but by the time Diana reaches Zola, we find out that the child has been taken away. Diana swears to Zola she will hunt Hermes down. Hera tries to mock a distraught Zola but she, herself,gets a shock. She is no longer immortal.
Hermes takes the baby to Demeter. It seems he might have betrayed Diana for a good reason.
Well, another really tight issue. Action, drama, suspense, humor...and some important stuff for our heroine's development. The one thing I am a little unsure about is her dropping of the bracelets and the clear amping up of her power. Is it the berseker rage? She clearly seems in control here so it probably is a homage. But why would Diana wait to use her powers now when she could have avoided all this before? Is there some limitation on it? Is it that she did not use it on earth for concern of consequence to her surroundings? We need some explanation here. The power of flight made got me excited but the question is, was it just a temporary boost or can she actually fly now?
This is twelve issues in. We have not revisted what happened to the Amazons, the male Amazons and I am not sure if Azzarello is going to go there or just brush it aside. I think we need to deal with it and I, for one, while I have no problems with Zeus as her father, would like to see Diana's mother and sisters back at some point. The mother/daughter relationship is a very important aspect of the Wonder Woman myth. Azzarello has Diana strong and focused but I think it a little odd we have not seen Diana grieve for her lost family. I am also waiting for some explanation of her life in the real world. She is in London doing what? Why? How? Does she have friends? Her story so far has been Gods. She just met Zola. She comes across as very isolated and Wonder Woman's story is also about her adjustment to our world. She was born on Earth and raised on earth. She is not a Goddess like them, even if she has the powers of one. I would like to see a little less God chasing and some more normal moments that show her just living life. If this is a reboot, the writer should at least give the readers something more.
I give this issue 4.5 stars out of 5.
Best Panel: I love Diana's expression and this moment. It's a very human moment.
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