Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals review

DC Comics has ventured into a new project of pairing graphic novels with Blu-ray/DVD movies. One of these graphic novels is Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals by George Perez. Gods and Mortals establish the origin of Wonder Woman due to Infinite Crisis resetting the DC Comics universe. This graphic novel is accompanied by a movie under the same title that tells the story in a slightly different way than the graphic novel.

The Graphic Novel:

Wonder Woman is considered to be one of the three pillars in the DC Comics universe. Her origin story, Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals, tends to focus on how the Amazon Warriors came to be and their interactions with Ares. The story starts out interesting as it is establishing Amazon history from 30,000 BC. It focuses on how the Amazons were formed and the betrayal by Hercules and how they were saved by Athena who has allowed them to have their current life style. As a result they have no interaction with the outside world, yet from ancient times they have always dealt with Ares indirectly as he sets out to destroy the Amazons. Ares, in this comic, has failed to destroy Themyscira through the use of the U.S., as Steve Trevor has crash-landed on the island. Diana, Wonder Woman, accompanies Steve back to the U.S. to track down Ares. As Steve and Diana separate both are subjected to Ares’ manipulations, either by military personal, by demon based creatures, or Ares’ children. These manipulations are leading up to Ares’s master plan, which is to target nuclear bases in the world and use them to spread his killings. The graphic novel tends to focus on how Wonder Woman deals with an enemy and overcomes challenges as she tracks him down to restore peace to the world.

The Movie:

Conversely the movie takes a direct approach to telling the origin of Wonder Woman. Ares and the Amazons are always dealing with one another in some capacity. The first scene of the movie captures this scenario as Ares is commanding his army against Queen Hippolyta’s army. Ultimately this confrontation leads to Ares losing his son and being imprisoned on the island of Themyscira. Eventually Ares escapes with the help of an Amazon warrior. As a result of his escape, along with Steve, Diana goes to the United States to track down Ares. They track him down to a Military base where he forces them to retreat, due to a combination of magic and skill, as he opens up the door to see Hades. In Hades he is freed from his imprisonment and has the ability to use his magic. With his magic restored he is able to raise an army, which leads him to a showdown with Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman eventually kills him as he is caught in a powerful magic blast, thus ending their conflict. The movie tends to utilize a direct confrontation, as it is the simplest way to tell the story of how Wonder Woman became Wonder Woman.

Both the graphic novel and the movie tell the story of the origins of Wonder Woman. They take different approaches that have two different sets of choices that are made and two different consequences occur. The two different stories compliment each other as the graphic novel provides detailed information about the Amazons and the gods and their skills, while the movie provides action, a modern day setting, and humor. The graphic novel and movie are meant to be watched together as they provide a balanced story of Wonder Woman’s origin. Wonder Woman: Gods and Mortals, which can be purchased here, is a perfect introductory to Wonder Woman.

Great Wonder Women graphic novel set can be purchased here.