Absolute Wonder Woman #14

Absolute Wonder Woman has long been one of my favourites of the DC Comics’ Absolute initiative, a truly unique take on a long-standing character, with just enough heart and mysticism about it to separate itself from its contemporaries. However, to say it’s been smooth sailing for this series as of late would be a lie – the last few issues of Absolute Wonder Woman have been a little tumultuous for me, particularly the thirteenth issue. Absolute Wonder Woman #13 introduced ‘The Price’ arc, a mini-story that is quickly concluded in this fourteenth issue. So, was this brief, artistic detour worth it?

Today, we’re reviewing the Absolute Wonder Woman #14, with spoilers included! Make sure you read the issue for yourself if you’ve been keeping up to date with the series! So, let’s get into it! It’s time to dive into our Absolute Wonder Woman #14 review!

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Absolute Wonder Woman #14 Review

Image by DC Comics

Absolute Wonder Woman #14 is the concluding issue of yet another mini-arc from the series. Of all of the Absolute comics, only Absolute Wonder Woman seems to love diving into these things as much as it does, and while the variety can sometimes be fun, the constant bouncing between antagonists, motivations, and even artwork, is starting to get a little distracting. Again, I’m not quite sure why Absolute Wonder Woman is subject to so much creative inconsistency, but the heart of the series has always remained with Kelly Thompson, who continues to put her best foot forward with her hellish version of Diana.

Absolute Wonder Woman #13 was pretty rough for me, an issue that ultimately left me feeling near completely thoughtless. Much of the issue was centred on what felt like a pointless pursuit on Diana’s part, but if the issue had one thing going for it, it was an extremely interesting ending. ‘The Price’ arc had the potential to be one of Absolute Wonder Woman‘s most interesting, a compelling exploration of Diana’s confrontation with the imbalance she’s caused the world by using, and somewhat abusing, her powers. Absolute Wonder Woman #14 was tasked with wrapping up this concept within a single issue, which didn’t leave it a lot of wiggle room when it came to really diving into the meat of this idea. However, while Absolute Wonder Woman #14 didn’t deliver me the extraordinary conclusion I was hoping for, it did a pretty solid job of wrapping things up in a satisfactory way.

The highlight of Absolute Wonder Woman #14 is easily its action, which makes a mark from the very first page of the comic. Matías Bergara’s artwork leaps off of the page in this issue, as the electrifying confrontation between Diana and her opponent is brought to life. If I’m being completely honest, Bergara’s take on Absolute Wonder Woman was my least favourite of all of the artists who have taken it on, but this issue may have me rethinking things. Absolute Wonder Woman #14 presents thrilling combat, which manages to feel like it has high-stakes behind it, even if we know everything is going to work out fine because this arc only lasts two issues.

Image by DC Comics

I’m happy to report, though, that it doesn’t seem like Absolute Wonder Woman #14, and as a result, ‘The Price’, will be an entirely self-contained arc in the grand scheme of this series. During her battle, Diana makes contact with a mysterious witch figure, who speaks in backwards text – a real headache for me as I tried to figure out what she was saying at nearly 1 in the morning. It’s implied that this mysterious being will be addressed in future issues of Absolute Wonder Woman, which is what I like to hear! Speaking of things I like to hear, I really enjoyed the dialogue in this comic, and though Diana’s problems were somewhat neatly wrapped-up with a tiny bow, as per usual, watching her try to convince Gaia of her purpose felt like less of a, for lack of better word, ass-pull than previous story conclusions.

Gaia’s realm also provided some pretty beautiful imagery, not only when it came to Gaia herself, but also when it came to Diana’s experience en route to her meeting with her. One thing I can never take away from Absolute Wonder Woman is its sheer sense of scale – everything in this series feels so much bigger, so much grander, than the other Absolute comics, and it’s great to see Wonder Woman be awarded such a sense of grandeur. It does beg the question as to how this series’ monumental style is going to merge with one of the Absolute universe’s most street-level heroes in this series’ next issue, but only time will tell, and I have trust in Thompson to not mess this up.

Absolute Wonder Woman also has a way of making some pretty poignant points on the status of the world, and Absolute Wonder Woman #14 continues this trend well. I enjoyed the idea that though Diana’s power does bring imbalance to the world, her imbalance is at least a source of hope when compared to the cruel injustices that Earth already goes through, even without her involvement. It’s really a question of ‘which injustice is more beneficial for the world?’. Diana’s powers aren’t fair, but neither are the powers of the world’s strongest bureaucrats. At least Wonder Woman is looking to use her strength for good.

Image by DC Comics

With that being said, it was a little funny to see how quickly Gaia was convinced of the true nature of Earth, considering, you know, she herself kind of is the Earth. Diana went down there and exposed all of Gaia’s flaws, and Gaia just took it on the chin, and called off the attack on Diana. I have a lot more questions about Gaia, questions that likely went unanswered due to the time constraints put on the creators of Absolute Wonder Woman #14. Did Gaia seriously think that Wonder Woman was the greatest cause of natural disharmony in the world? What does she think of everything going on in Absolute Green Lantern? So many questions, so little time. Still, a pretty solid effort all round.

The ending of Absolute Wonder Woman #14, though, was a really exciting moment. Wonder Woman speaks with Steve about not only Superman, but also Batman, as the crossover between Diana and Bruce Wayne draws nearer. Not only is this crossover a huge deal for both Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Batman, it’s also a huge moment for the Absolute universe in general – our first major crossover event (well, unless you count Absolute Evil, but I personally think they jumped the gun on that comic). Exciting times lie ahead, and I can’t wait to see what comes next!

So, for the most part, Absolute Wonder Woman #14 did its job when it comes to succinctly concluding an arc that had a lot more potential than the time it was given, but that ending is enough to make the comic very worthwhile! What did you think of Absolute Wonder Woman #14? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comment section, and thank you for reading!

See also: The Best Comic Books for Adults

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