Absolute Wonder Woman #11

My personal choice for the most exciting series in the Absolute universe is back for its eleventh issue, which means it’s time for our Absolute Wonder Woman #11 review! While I’ve made it no secret that the current labyrinth storyline is far from my favourite arc of Absolute Wonder Woman, this issue shed new light on what felt like an otherwise bland plotline, and even better yet, gave readers a climax to look forward to in the near future.

Today, we’re reviewing the eleventh issue of Absolute Wonder Woman, with spoilers included! So, let’s get into it! It’s time to dive into our Absolute Wonder Woman #11 review!

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Absolute Wonder Woman #11 Review

Image by DC Comics

While Absolute Wonder Woman has slowed down a little in recent issues when it comes to its action, that doesn’t pose too much of a problem for me as a reader – I often find the dialogue of Absolute Wonder Woman to be its most compelling aspect, and Absolute Wonder Woman #11 continues this trend in glorious fashion. I always enjoy the flashbacks to Diana’s time as a child in Hell, but her encounter with the Hydra in this issue was one of my new personal favourites. The use of these flashbacks to give context on Diana’s methodology and values is near perfect, and Absolute Wonder Woman #11 uses this technique to introduce Diana’s belief in bargaining as a viable weapon. This true desire for peace where possible is what separates this version of Wonder Woman from not only her Absolute counterparts, but also, many of the other portrayals of Wonder Woman, where she’s far less gracious to her enemies.

With that being said, it’s a good thing I enjoy the slower, more dialogue-heavy aspects of Absolute Wonder Woman, because Absolute Wonder Woman #11 delivers this in bucketloads. For the most part, this is a very slow issue of the series, with the issue actually cutting off as soon as it feels like any action is about to happen. While this is not a downside to the issue for me, I can see some readers being frustrated by the increasingly measured approach to Absolute Wonder Woman‘s storytelling. Luckily for those fans, it seems we’ll be getting back to our regularly scheduled fisticuffs in the next issue, but I do see the lack of flashiness working against Absolute Wonder Woman #11 in the long run, when it comes to fans looking back on the series as a whole.

One of the highlights of Absolute Wonder Woman #11 is Diana’s meeting with Io, and Amazonian who has been trapped in Clea’s labyrinth for decades. The best part about this meeting, which takes up most of Absolute Wonder Woman #11, is the connection between Diana and Io, despite the two never meeting before. This connections translates very well to the reader, which is surprising considering there has been objectively no relationship building between these two characters. Absolute Wonder Woman #11 does an excellent job at conveying how these Amazons feel their familial bond regardless of the extent of their interactions in the physical world – it’s a beautiful commentary not only on the fictional Amazon tribe, but also the instantaneous connections that women can often feel with each other in certain spaces.

Image by DC Comics

Absolute Wonder Woman #11 also really stepped up the visuals when it came to the labyrinth. Whilst the stony interiors that readers were faced with in previous issues served to enhance the claustrophobic and somewhat medieval feeling of Clea’s labyrinth, Absolute Wonder Woman #11 aligns the labyrinth more with the colourful, mythological labyrinths found in many a folklore story. As a side note, I found this depiction particularly enjoyable, because I feel like it’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a good mythological labyrinth depicted in fiction. For the first time in the series, I’ve enjoyed this environment – that is no small feat.

I do have to call out Absolute Wonder Woman #11 a little for its portrayal of Diana’s ‘escape’ however. This issue crossed my mind in previous entries of Absolute Wonder Woman, but it was particularly obvious this time. It’s starting to feel like Diana can do absolutely anything with a degree of relative ease – how quickly she manages to find an escape from the labyrinth not only undermines Clea as a villain, and the labyrinth as a threatening environment, but also Io, who looks quite foolish in the face of Diana’s instant escape, after struggling to find an exit for decades. Wonder Woman feels so far ahead of everyone else, and while it’s sometimes empowering, I think a struggle is going to be necessary in the near future to stop Diana from feeling like a complete bulldozer, particularly when so many of her Absolute peers are currently struggling in their respective storylines.

Back to the good though, I am continuously impressed by how well Absolute Wonder Woman employs flashbacks and cutaways in its storytelling. The timing of them often feels cinematic, equipped in a way that the very best of superhero movies would use them. For example, when Diana is stabbed by Clea, we see a cutaway to Diana’s human allies, and while this moment may not seem instantly relevant to the conflict between Diana and Clea, this cutaway actually brings back memories of the flashback we saw earlier in Absolute Wonder Woman #11, where Diana used bargaining as a weapon. This moment quickly becomes relevant to her current struggle, in what is buttery-smooth storytelling.

Image by DC Comics

Ultimately, Absolute Wonder Woman #11 teaches us, and Diana, that despite her best efforts, bargaining is not always an acceptable weapon when it comes to certain foes. Personally, I loved seeing Diana make this mistake. Trying to bargain with Clea was the wrong choice, and we rarely see Wonder Woman make those. As much as her struggle to understand humans is central to the Absolute Wonder Woman, this was easily Diana’s most human, and therefore vulnerable, moment – and ultimately, this only served to make her character more relatable.

Absolute Wonder Woman #11 ends shortly after with an absolutely stunning final panel, one that not only sets up an action-packed next issue, but also solidifies one of my more controversial Absolute opinions – I think that though Batman has been catching up in recent issues, Wonder Woman is easily the coolest hero in the Absolute universe. Whereas many of the other protagonists feel like young adults trying to figure it all out, Diana feels fully realised, and ready to take on truly high-level enemies. I cannot wait to see the fight with Clea unfold in the next issue. It’s had its ups and downs, but Absolute Wonder Woman #11 proves why this series is my favourite in the universe.

What are your thoughts on Absolute Wonder Woman #11, and the entire Absolute universe so far? Be sure to share them with us in the comment section of this article, and thank you for reading!

See also: Absolute Green Lantern #6 Review

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