Wonder Woman (1987) #3-7

Wonder Woman #3-7

Originally written in 1987

Written by George Perez

Art by George Perez

These issues conclude the first arc of George Perez's run on Wonder Woman, which involves Ares trying to escalate the Cold War into an all-out nuclear war.  His sons, Phobos and Deimos, seek to earn his approval by killing Wonder Woman before she can carry out her mission from the rest of the Greek Pantheon to stop Ares.

One aspect of this that I didn't expect was that there would be a language barrier involved - instead of speaking English, Wonder Woman speaks in a language that resembles ancient Greek, forcing her to rely on a university professor, Julia Kapatelis, that Hermes brings her to in order to serve as an interpreter.  She learns some English over the course of these issues, but there's still a different between her thoughts and her words - when she speaks English, she's hesitant, pausing more often and clearly still learning.  It's not something that's been dealt with in other adaptations, but it makes sense as an issue that she'd have to deal with.

An encounter with a creature sent by Phobos, known as Decay, results in Diana becoming known to the public, which is where she gets her superhero pseudonym of Wonder Woman. (She generally goes by Princess Diana - in issue 7, the alter ego of Diana Prince is suggested, but she rejects it)  Meanwhile, Steve Trevor is on the run, accused of murder by a general who's being manipulated by Ares, and Etta Candy, a lieutenant and Steve's aide, is out to prove his innocence.

It culminates in a confrontation to prevent nuclear missiles from being launched by both the US and Russia, while Diana has been poisoned from snake bites thanks to the sons of Ares.  The Lasso of Truth is used well here, and we get some good insight into the mind of Ares; I was concerned that having the gods involved so heavily in Diana's backstory would undermine her in some way, with them stepping in to save the day, but ultimately, it's up to Diana and the materials that she already has to put an end to Ares's mad plans.

Julia is a nice addition to Wonder Woman's supporting cast, and I like how her bond with Wonder Woman develops, with her serving as Diana's mentor in navigating the outside world.  Steve Trevor hasn't really hooked me, though.  I get that he's supposed to be Wonder Woman's main love interest, but he isn't especially interesting here.  There's some build-up to future storylines, with the end of issue seven blatantly hinting at Cheetah, and Zeus developing an interest in the Amazons. (Zeus has a habit of lusting after women, appearing before them in various forms, including a swan on at least one occasion, to have his way with them)

I'm wondering how Cheetah is going to be handled here.  By my understanding, she has had many different interpretations over the years, from an almost feral animalistic woman to a woman with a split personality who dresses up in a costume.  I'm guessing it will be somewhere between the two (animalistic, but with her mind mostly intact, at least enough to speak like a person), but I'll have to wait and see.  Out of DC's Trinity, Wonder Woman's rogues gallery is the one that I'm least familiar with (I know about Ares, Circe, Cheetah, Giganta, and Dr. Psycho, but that's about it), so this will serve as an opportunity to learn more about her villains.