Gail Simone’s epic Wonder Woman story, Rise of the Olympian, has reached its penultimate issue. And it’s had so little of a focus on the Gargareans and Achilles that I’m not sure if the title of the arc is very apt. I refer to my previous opinion, that I believe that this would have been much better if it was spread across to arcs. This issue is a massive fight sequence between Wonder Woman and Genocide in the streets of Washington D.C. Dr. T.O. Morrow and Nemesis attempt to help Wonder Woman in the fight, but they just end up getting in the way. Using the powers of the Lasso of Truth, Genocide forces Wonder Woman to admit her true feelings about Nemesis: that she never truly loved him and simply wanted a “mate.” Wonder Woman ends up beating the crap out of Genocide and tosses her into the Atlantic Ocean, and Ares and Euphemus, son of Poseidon and member of the Gargareans, plan for their final revenge on Zeus.
Again, the two plots of Genocide and the Gargareans/Ares’ plan should have been sequential and separate arcs. Even so, with the constraints of eight issues, Gail Simone manages to do a lot. Her interpretation of Wonder Woman as a character is excellent, right down to her relationship with both Etta Candy and Nemesis. Speaking of Etta, I really hope she’s alive. I also really like Gail’s interpretation of the power of the Lasso of Truth. The way she uses it in relation to both Wonder Woman and Genocide hearkens back to the Joe Kelly storyline of the JLA that saw it as an archetypal manifestation of truth itself. While I think that may be going a bit far, I certainly like how it dives so deep into your soul. It fits so well with Genocide’s psychic powers. I’m also glad to see Aaron Lopresti back on this title, as his art really fits it quite perfectly. I don’t know where Wonder Woman will be after this arc. All I know is that it disrupts everything that’s happened since Infinite Crisis. I can’t wait to see what happens next, though I hope that Gail doesn’t try to shove everything in so short a time period next time.
Plot: 9.2 Art: 9.2 Dialogue: 9.2 Overall: 9.2
