Absolute Wonder Woman #19

The last issue of Absolute Wonder Woman was a brief respite for our titular heroine in the aftermath of one of her fiercest battles yet. Now, with her sights set on Giovanni, I was expecting Absolute Wonder Woman #19 to predictably feature a blazing skirmish between the two. However, as has become a sort of tradition at this point, Absolute Wonder Woman subverted my expectations once again, and rather than an all-out brawl, delivered one of the series’ more thought-provoking issues in quite a while.

Today, we’re reviewing Absolute Wonder Woman #19, 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 #19 review!

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Absolute Wonder Woman #19 Review

Image by DC Comics

In my time with Absolute Wonder Woman, I’ve found that some of the series’ most interesting and thought-provoking conversations often come not from Diana’s present-day experiences, but from the flashbacks to her youth in Hell. In many ways, the current events of Absolute Wonder Woman are simply extensions of the lessons learned by Wonder Woman during her childhood. Absolute Wonder Woman #19 continues this trend in its very first pages, as Aphrodite discusses her departure with Circe. Learning about Diana’s ‘curse’ from Aphrodite was some of the most compelling content that this series has presented in quite a while – the idea that Diana will always be loved, but will never know if that love is natural or due to Aphrodite’s power, is an incredible premise. The only problem I’ve had with some of these story elements in Absolute Wonder Woman is that they don’t come up too often in relevant ways again. Here’s hoping that this compelling plot point gets to shine in near future issues, because this truly riveted me.

The commentary on love and family in the opening pages of Absolute Wonder Woman #19 is certainly appropriately placed, as this is an issue all about family and the loving connections that binds them. In particular, the bond between parents and their children plays a huge role in this issue, which is an unexpected turn of events. I continue to have expectations for this series that are always subverted, to the point that I’m beginning to feel that predictions are pointless. While not all of Absolute Wonder Woman‘s storytelling risks have always paid off, I really enjoyed the direction that the story went in this issue, even if it does leave the Zatara family feeling a little too protagonistic, when they could have made for compelling anti-heroes.

Absolute Wonder Woman #19 takes a very different approach to the battle with Giovanni than I expected. As opposed to taking on her fiery foe with fisticuffs, Diana chooses to draw on Giovanni’s remaining humanity to free him from Cale’s grasp. She does this by working hand-in-hand with Zatanna to appeal to her father. The showdown with Giovanni was practically free of any action, and was entirely focused on the idea of love and family triumphing over evil. Surprisingly, I’m not disappointed with this. I’ve criticised Absolute Wonder Woman before for having some underwhelming fights, but the climax of this battle was so emotionally poignant that it worked for me, leaving my desire for action not satisfied, but ultimately, replaced by my appreciation for the issue’s more emotional approach to conflict resolution.

Image by DC Comics

In a continuation of the prevalence of family in Absolute Wonder Woman #19, Zatanna and Giovanni are not the only ones to save one another and reunite in a magical dimension. When Diana falls into a coma after wielding the Troika, Zatanna decides that the only way to free her from her condition is to call on the one person who can pull her from any depths – her mother, Circe. In what is, once again, a beautiful series of panels, Circe pulls Diana from her catatonic state, and Wonder Woman is back in action. I have loved how consistent of a role Circe has played in Absolute Wonder Woman, even outside of the flashbacks to Diana’s childhood. Circe is a character that could have so easily been left in the first issue as a motivator, but instead, has formed into a fully-fledged character in her own right, a character whose influence on Diana is consistently highlighted.

So, ultimately, as the ‘Season of the Witch’ arc begins to draw to a close, it seems that this wasn’t the explosive, all-out battle royale that I was expecting. With that in mind, I do need to highlight how much of an asset to this story arc Giganta was. Initially, I had thought that Giganta would be one of the least of Wonder Woman’s worries, but no. Giganta was actually one of, if not the, most formidable foes that Diana has had to face in Absolute Wonder Woman so far. Even when Wonder Woman is occupied elsewhere, Giganta continues to be a problem, as she steals away Barbara under Cale’s command.

Now, I must admit, this part was a little silly. When Giganta is ordered to retrieve Barbara, Barbara just so happens to be standing right next to her, so close that Cale can see her on her monitors, and Giganta just has to sort of, pick her up. It’s sort of irritating that Barbara is even still here – Giganta was completely right when she tells her that she should evacuated when she had the chance. However, I’m not taking too much away from Absolute Wonder Woman #19 here, because sometimes, this is just how superhero stories go. Someone has to make an irritating mistake, especially in stories where the hero is as powerful as Wonder Woman is in this series. If people didn’t make mistakes, what would she even have to do?

Image by DC Comics

With that being all said and done, it seems that the next phase of Absolute Wonder Woman will be a ‘Minerva Retrieval Arc’ of sorts – shout out to any Naruto fans out there. I’m excited to see where this goes, but we’re not getting into that just yet. No, first, Diana must deal with the Iron Maiden, a giant robotic monstrosity that is set on retrieving Giovanni for Cale, who is furious with his dissent. Admittedly, I don’t really care all that much about this. I’ve said over and over again that Absolute Wonder Woman keeps defying my expectations, but I don’t see this going any way other than Diana beating this thing within one issue, and then swiftly moving on, so, to say I’m excited for Absolute Wonder Woman #20 would be dishonest.

I foresee a pretty predictable issue next month, but who knows? This series has always kept me on my toes, so maybe the story will swing in a completely different direction! As for this issue, Absolute Wonder Woman #19, I had a very good time with it. It was emotional, mature, set up a future arc very well, and touched on some of the most interesting themes in Absolute Wonder Woman in quite a while. With new discussions about love floating around in the mythos, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for Absolute Wonder Woman. Another very solid issue, in a series that is quickly becoming one of my favourites in the Absolute universe.

What did you think of Absolute Wonder Woman #19? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comment section, and thank you for reading!

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