Wonder Woman #774 Brings Diana to a Fallen Olympus

Olympus has fallen and Wonder Woman has arrived with Ratatosk to find out how and why. Wonder Woman #774 continues written by Becky Cloonan and Michael Conrad, art by Andy MacDonald, colors by Nick Filardi and letters by Pat Brousseau.

Cat Purcell: I’m very sad to see Diana leave Asgard, especially as we know she’s going right into the destruction of her home. That cover alone blew me away. I’m eager to see what Cloonan, Conrad, and our new creative team will bring us.

Andrea Ayres: I’m kind of excited for a fresh(ish) start? The cliffhanger of Wonder Woman #773 piqued my interest, so I was eager to see what the Hell happened to Olympus.

The Trickster

Cat: Ahh! This opening page of Wonder Woman on the steps overlooking the ruins broke my heart. I love her new outfit, though. I wonder if the outfit change is just for fun to fit the setting as it did in Asgard or if this is a sign of this being a false reality too?

Andrea: Oo, there is a thought I did not have. Dang, Cat, it’s almost like you have an encyclopedic knowledge of Wonder Woman?! Diana’s outfit highlights the tonal shift to colors by Nick Filardi and art by Andy MacDonald. We are in a different landscape and mindscape. Filardi certainly stands his own, even though I will miss Tamra Bonvillain’s colors.

Okay, since we are talking about the trickster here, what did you make of our furry friend? Or shall I say frienemy?

Cat: I expected Diana to be much angrier with him! I would be livid if I found out he’d essentially caused my death to bring me to his world to fix his problems. But this is why I’m not superhero material. I was happy to have been wrong in my disappointment concerning the last issue, though! I love a trickster character. I hope he sticks around. I also hope Diana stays on her toes in regards to what she can believe from Ratatosk. I am also a fan of the riddles, which will become apparent here very shortly. What was your take on Ratatosk’s revelation?

Andrea: That is what I felt too! Like, I’m sorry, you DID WHAT? Diana was in the wrong afterlife while Olympus was under horrific attack because of Ratatosk “pulling some strings.” While she is upset, there’s not enough anger there for my liking. Who knows, maybe I have some rage issues.

Issue #774 is setting up the architecture of a good deal of players pulling at strings, and it’s going to be up to Diana to disentangle them. If we can’t trust Ratatosk, we must question each interaction he has with other characters and Diana. What is his motivation? He routinely calls himself a messenger (page six), and now we know for who. I want to know what agenda Hermes and the other gods may have here. We know from Norse myth that the squirrel Rataoskr is a messenger of the gods, but he’s not above putting his spin on things. A most unreliable rodent, cute though he may be. What do you think?

Cat: Absolutely. I’d assumed we were sticking to the myth, that he just carried messages from Asgard, but here it’s revealed that he hears from Hermes as well. Who else could he be talking to? If he’s been fine withholding Diana’s identity from her, her reason for being in Asgard, and that someone took her place in Olympus, what other secrets does he have? He’s a cute and crafty little bugger and I want to know more. Especially after the way he treats the nearly dead man they come across. I didn’t miss that when Diana asked him to keep his eye on him AND not keep any more messages to himself, he only agreed to the first.

Andrea: What a sneaky little guy. Speaking of the nearly dead man they come across…

Dark Diana/Janus — Art by Andy MacDonald

The Other Half

Andrea: Janus. The Roman god of beginnings and endings. His name comes from the Latin Ianus (ianua), meaning door. According to some quick research, he’s most often associated with the transition between war and peace. The concept of being caught between two worlds seems to be a significant theme. It’s worth mentioning that Janus has been depicted by some as having four faces, so the possibilities for duplicity are coming at Diana from all sides.

I have to make a quick mention of how creepy his back is. We’re not in Bonvillan’s color scape anymore! One minor quibble I have about the Janus reveal is his backstory was a little confusing. I wonder if this is due to panel layout or the narration, it could be a bit of both. What are your thoughts on Janus and his introduction?

Cat: I was confused at first, too. I found myself doubling back to confirm that Diana’s voice uses a red bubble. I think it’s a bit of both narration and panel layout as well as one other factor. Janus tells us his other half, also called Janus, is the same figure we took to be a version of Wonder Woman who gives into her dark desires in #773. I’ll be honest, and unlike Diana, I had not heard of Janus. I wonder if his deformed back half wasn’t the result of the accident, but of other Janus separating from his body?

If this is the case, I’ve gotta give Cloonan and Conrad major props for all of the ways that weaves things together and apart!

Andrea: Well, now that you’ve said that. That’s CLEARLY it. Damn Cat, I’m happy you are here. I mean, the issue clearly says that’s what happened. Sometimes, the old brain doesn’t fire on all cylinders. The God Scraper? Helluva name. I like the brewing battle between our dark desires and knowing our self. The concept is introduced on page 15, where Janus says, “without her, I hardly know my mind at all.” I feel like it’s common for us as people to want to avoid our dark desires and impulses but we all have them. We all have two-faces, probably many more, and pretending they don’t exist only gives the darkness more power. I’m excited to see where this leads.

Cat: I’m drawn to this idea as well. I also like it as a separate concept, where it can be difficult to separate your identity from someone else’s when you’ve been tied to them for so long. I’ve always been a very independent person. When I first got married, I struggled with purposefully forming an identity with someone else. Ten years and a kid later, now I work to make sure I still know who I am as an individual! I relate to both ways to look at Janus’ situation and am also looking forward to this journey for them.

Andrea: Absolutely, Cat. For people who find themselves in roles assigned to feminine identities, maintaining a distinct identity that is yours without guilt, suspicion or pushback is discouraged. People change. They are messy. Who we are and how we see ourselves are constantly changing. Anecdotally, I find masculine identities can have an easier time with this than feminine ones. If you are a caregiver, it is sometimes hard to negotiate an identity beyond that space. Diana is also a caregiver, but she (and we) are more complicated. I think this leads us nicely to the most haunting section of the issue. What do you think?

The Graveyard of the Gods

Cat: Diana leaves “The Rat” to watch the bound Janus again as she seeks help. I was glad to see her head to Athena’s reflecting pool. It’s one of the oldest tools in the Wonder Woman stories from the very beginning that the goddesses would check on Diana when she was in man’s world. Here, she uses it to get back in touch with Deadman. Though she interrupts his game of cards with Madame Xanadu (I would LOVE it if the next realm Diana visits is Arthurian related!), he’s eager to help her travel to the Graveyard of the Gods. What did you think of this exchange?

Andrea: I am all for an Arthurian realm romp. Well, even though it makes my previous musings about Deadman from our conversation about #773 seem NAIVE AND FOOLISH, I was happy to see that there was a reason for his appearance. Boston warns Diana what she will see will not be easy, but I wasn’t ready for how uneasy it would make me. The descent to the graveyard demonstrates the creative team flexing their muscles. There are stark shadows and linework. The edges are hard, bold. It reflects the emotionality of the moment and the horrors Diana will soon see.

Cat: The new creative team’s style shone in this sequence. The reds, purples, and blacks felt similar to Bonvillain’s use in the previous issues, but the tones and bold inks layered it with an unsettling vibe. It still puts me on edge as I scan the pages again. The bodies chained to the rock faces as they barrel down were more uncomfortable than when I saw William Blake’s Purgatory illustrations. Then, Diana is faced with Cronus, a god she put there, begging for her help. It definitely echos what you were talking about earlier, Andrea, about Wonder Woman’s desire to help and the guilt she takes on when her actions lead to darker consequences for those her path has crossed.

Andrea: I consider how infrequently we, as a comics readership, contemplate the idea of eternal punishment. Gods and superheroes dispense with evil villains, end of the story. Sometimes these characters are condemned to a lifetime of suffering, but Wonder Woman #774 captures the horror of that eternal torment. It’s clear even Diana has not dedicated enough contemplation to the long-term impact of her actions. This arc about the Afterlife explores how each version of ourselves and our actions impact beyond the immediate moment they occur.

Cat: I think Cloonan and Conrad are doing an excellent job, both in this issue and with the previous arc of what consequences one runs up against when there is eternity. One of my earliest memories as a child was running into my parents’ bedroom terrified of one of two things: I would contemplate where space ended and be horrified by the idea of it stretching on forever. OR I would dread the thought of dying and living forever in Heaven. This stressed my mother out and made my dad, a Methodist minister, laugh. But to this day, I would still prefer my existence to simply end than to live forever. So, I appreciate the moral implications these books bring up, especially for these gods and superheroes who have been around in some form or another for centuries. In our tales, we kill them and pit them against each other for our amusement. Sorry, that got rather dark; I hope you can forgive me as we continue to dive into the depths of the Graveyard!

Cat: Though these thoughts and images are far from the cheer and drinks of the hall in Asgard, I love the topics surfaced. I am thoroughly enjoying talking about them with you, Andrea! I’m even more excited we’ve shifted to a bi-monthly release because I don’t think I could bear to wait a month until the next issue!

Andrea: I think Cloonan and Conrad have laid the groundwork for so many avenues of discussion and exploration. I am excited to see where and how they develop the possibilities for confusion and obfuscation. One thing that seems for sure, we’re just getting started. I’m happy to have your insight as we march steadily forward.