Written by: Tom King
Art by: Tony S. Daniel
Colors by: Leonardo Paciarotti
Letters by: Clayton Cowles
Cover art by: Tony S. Daniel, Marcelo Maiolo (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: September 18, 2024
Wonder Woman #13, by DC Comics on 9/18/24, pairs Steve Trevor with Diana and Damian Wayne to free the captives of Amanda Waller’s Gamorra Island prison.
Is Wonder Woman #13 Good?
Writer Tom King completes Wonder Woman’s meager contribution to the Absolute Power event with an issue chock full of prisonbreak hijinks, odd dialog, silly plot developments, and lots of smooching. There is one big development that comes out of this issue, so that’s something at least.
Side Note: Read Superman #18 before reading Wonder Woman #13. The outcome of Superman’s journey with Zatanna directly ties into the outcome of this comic.
When last we left the Woman of Wonder in Wonder Woman #12, Diana teamed up with Damian Wayne to play good cop/bad cop with a captured Captain Boomerang to figure out who had the better method of extracting information – Diana’s words of reason or Damian’s penchant for dangling their captive from a rope. In the end, Boomerang gave up Amanda Waller’s secret location of Gamorra Island.
In Wonder Woman #13, the Absolute Power tie-in continues. Steve Trevor, after running smack dab into Diana and Damian Wayne at the end of Absolute Power: Task Force VII #6, engages in serious lip-locking and possibly heavy petting with Diana, much to Damian’s dismay. Impromptu make-out sessions are peppered throughout the entire issue.
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of Tom King’s work on this title, but I’ll give him credit for not shying away from the romantic relationship between Diana and Steve.
After the trio stealthily winds their way over the prison’s roof, they decide to crash through a skylight into the security control center. After a brief fight to subdue the guards, Damian concocts a plan to free all the prisoners. Steve will activate alarms to draw attention, Damian will unlock the prison cells while everyone is distracted, and Diana will hold the line against the onrush of armed guards. The plan works. The prisoners are freed, and Damian activates a magical portal into the Dark Roads for everyone to escape.
Right, do you see what I mean? There’s not much to this issue other than the prisoners have escaped Gamorra Island Prison. The rest is fluff and one bit of foolishness that’s quintessential Tom King.
What’s great about Wonder Woman #13? Despite oddly-toned dialog, Damian is the star of the show. He’s witty, smart, and able to work out every plan to effect the escape. If there was any doubt Damian could take over for Batman, this issue helps put those doubts to rest.
What’s not great about Wonder Woman #13? The issue stumbles in a few areas.
First, the impromptu make-out sessions, while sweet, undercut the urgency and seriousness of the situation. A military man and an Amazonian warrior are the last people on Earth to not have their priorities straight in a dangerous situation.
Second, Damian steals the show in this issue, but his dialog is oddly formal in several spots. King doesn’t have Damian’s voice dialed in, and it shows.
Third, Gamorra Island must be one of the worst-run prisons on the planet if three unarmed civilians can hold off an entire army of stormtroopers and free every prisoner by opening one cell at a time manually. How could Amanda Waller effect a planetary takeover and have such a poorly secured prison? That’s just lazy writing.
Last but not least, Tom King engages in the worst example of making something happen because the script says so. A group of stormtroopers opens fire on Diana, who blocks every single bullet with her bracer. Mind you, Diana has been robbed of all her powers, so she has
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