Absolute Wonder Woman #1 Review

In a universe built upon the whims of absolute evil, how does a hero, separated from her heritage, her people, and the foundations of her story find herself? Darkseid’s handcrafted world echoes the formula of his long yearned for Anti-Life Equation, with its shards of isolation, fear, despair, and so much more forming the bedrock of this new universe we are peering into. In a world born from the seeds of evil, the debate of nature vs nurture is still prevalent in humanity. Despite the malicious nature of the world itself, love is still being nurtured to push back the darkness. Absolute Wonder Woman #1 is a testament to the power of love in a world of malignancy.

Absolute Wonder Woman by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Jordie Bellaire, and Becca Carey is our introduction to the Absolute version of Diana of Themyscira. This version of Wonder Woman is far from the hero we know. She was raised in Hell by Circe, the sorceress from Greek mythology. While typically known as Diana’s nemesis in the mainline DCU, she becomes her adopted mother in this universe. This issue shows Diana’s origins, from newborn baby, to the hero we will be following throughout the series. This is told by inter-cutting between Wonder Woman’s first encounter with Man’s World, and flashbacks to her infancy in Hell.

Even with the dense layers of agony and suffering present in Absolute Wonder Woman, the issue revolves around the love of a mother. Even if the mother is at first begrudging, the issue’s structure relies heavily on how to love. Love is something that is innate in all things. Love comes in so many different forms that it is easy to forget that it isn’t just familial or romantic love. In the face of all the horrors of the world, love can exist in its many forms even if there is no light to foster it. Circe is the perfect example of just that in this issue. Apollo shows up to the Wild Isle of Hell, Circe’s prison, to deliver the baby Diana into her care. Circe never asked to raise a child but through time, she learns to love Diana by raising her.

The formula for the Anti-Life equation has many parts to it, and many are on full display in Circe prior to raising Diana. Circe has been condemned to live an isolated life in hell with a constant loneliness up until this point, all things that feed into the formula. But we see how their relationship breaks this.

There is a repeated sequence crafted spectacularly by Hayden Sherman that charts Diana and Circe’s relationship as Diana grows up. It takes place over 12 panels broken up into 4 panels per 2 page spreads. Through these pages, we see how Circe is changed by motherhood and how she raises Diana into the Wonder Woman we see in the present day. Circe says “How you fall in love with a child is by raising it” because she is seeing how there is this quality to her that softens even the most treacherous beasts. While Hayden does show some of the island’s monstrous inhabitants, it’s more of a reflection of Circe herself as she goes on to say she also means the lost souls who drifted to her. We see Circe taking care of Diana almost always with a smile on her face because she is changed forever. In the face of darkness, they have brought light to each other’s lives.

Another moment in these beautiful spreads is a reference to Shel Silverstein’s The Giving Tree. Diana says to Circe that the boy is hurting the tree and she doesn’t like it but Circe explains that it is part of the lesson. One of the story’s classic interpretations is that of the unconditional nature of parental love but I think it has larger implications for the series at large. There is a give and take relationship between child and parent that we see in her upbringing here, but it’s a lesson that Diana may also learn as Wonder Woman. Despite everything she may give to protect the world, they are always going to want more of her. There is a love on each side being exchanged but often there is not even give and take. If it is a lesson learned and taught from a young age, it is something she is ready to accept. Sometimes the love we give isn’t requited but it still persists in the face of that.

This is put on full display when Wonder Woman arrives in Gateway City to fight the monsters descending upon its populace. She doesn’t owe these people anything, she was raised on an island far from the world of humanity. But there is something inside her that drives her to give everything to do what is right. Apollo forbade Circe from ever using the word Amazon with Diana, denying her a truth about herself. But Diana felt this word in her heart and Circe helped her to discover it in herself. This is the turning point between Diana and Wonder Woman, adolescence and adulthood- or more importantly, her moment of self actualization.

Diana chooses to be an Amazon after being told that they were the protectors of the world above from the oldest of monsters. Without the Amazons, the world may be at its very end. In this moment, Diana could have chosen to stay as she was. Circe presented her with the opportunity to become what she was always meant to be. Through her years of love, Circe gave Diana the tools she needed to be an Amazon in the absence of her own people. Even in Hell, the power of love and connection created a hero.

There are no gimmicks in Absolute Wonder Woman #1, just as there were none in Absolute Batman #1. Even if the tone and setting of these books are a lot grittier and edgier than the mainline DC Universe, it’s an important thematic throughline to both of the stories that helps bolster them. Both present very different ends to the spectrum of humanity in their depictions of the human condition. This Wonder Woman was nurtured into a hero through the love of a mother in Hell, not her own, but that matters not. Turning her greatest enemy into her mother figure is never treated as something silly or a “what if” style narrative but as a truly fleshed out and lived-in idea that is essential to who this character is.

Coming to this issue after DC All-In: Omega, that broke down how the building blocks of this universe were in the hands of an absolute evil who believes that strength comes through pain, Absolute Wonder Woman is an antithesis to that, which stands in the face of Darkseid’s will. While Absolute Batman was still molded by his suffering and loss, Wonder Woman was not. Everything is rooted in Circe’s love and care for Diana to push her to become what she is meant to be. Love and strength in a world hand crafted by a cruel being cannot be struck down even by the likes of Apollo. Circe’s “how you fall in love” speech and the repeating motifs of that idea build a first issue that demonstrates how even in the bleakest worlds, there is always love to get you through.

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