The origin of a lasso revealed in Absolute Wonder Woman #6

Diana defied the will of the gods in leaving Hell, and Hades, lord of the underworld, takes that personally. But when he interrogates her, her tales surprise him. Will they change her fate? Absolute Wonder Woman #6 is written by Kelly Thomspon, drawn by Mattia De Iulis and lettered by Becca Carey, with a Li’l Diana backup by Thompson, artist Dustin Nguyen and Carey.

Cat Purcell: And thus begins a new arc with this new version of Wonder Woman raised in Hell with Circe. I credit my childhood obsession with this mythology book and appreciation for the good ol’ newspaper strips for sparking my interest in cape comics, and this issue is certainly scratching that mythology itch.

Hades — God of the dead, lord of the underworld, husband of the goddess of spring and grains. Hades traditionally cares not for the happenings of the world of the living; he is primarily concerned with keeping the souls who live in his domain confined within it.

With a blue glow reminiscent of the Disney Hades we all know and love, we find Diana immediately sexualized and trapped in his room. He questions her weapons and perhaps fears them. What his motives are for trapping Diana and questioning her weapon’s origins are yet unclear. His focus is drawn to her red lasso, the Nemesis.

Prometheus — A Titan, punished by the Gods for giving humanity the gift of fire and metalwork. Prometheus is doomed to spend eternity having his liver eaten by an eagle while chained to a mountain.

Diana frees Prometheus in exchange for his blood. It doesn’t take much convincing for him to readily supply it and provide an extra gift for the minuscule Diana. Prometheus has long been known to lend a helping hand to humans, bestowing upon them gifts to thwart the gods. Perhaps because of his inclination or to repay Diana, we discover his bonus gift to her is the undead Pegasus.

Circe and Diana use the Titan’s blood in the creation of the Nemesis, to protect them from the horrors of Hell and the gods alike.

The Basilisk — First known use of this term comes from the 13th century. This creature causes death with its stare or breath.

At the expense of her eyesight and sense of smell and by roiling the basilisk into a frenzy, Diana kills the beast sent to kill her.

This two-part arc delivers some much needed explanation for this version of Diana’s extra tools. I love that Thompson draws upon traditional Greek lore for their origins. I’m curious where she’s going to go with her choice to tell a story where Hades is so incredibly interested in Diana and Circe and their magic, especially with the reveal at the end of how he chooses to manipulate Diana. It will be an effective tactic and interesting to see how Diana does or doesn’t let it work on her, in connection to the other weapons’ origins.

Thompson gives Diana credit for several male heroes’ work, and I’m not complaining. Instead of Hercules killing Prometheus’ eagle, Diana befriends it and asks it nicely to please stop eating Prometheus’ liver. Instead of Poseidon’s son Bellerophon, Diana rides Pegasus into battle. Though many would declare it outrageous to rewrite a mythic hero’s actions performed by a woman, I appreciate the careful choice to yet again show how one can prevent violence by simply asking nicely or offering friendship first. Despite Hades’ assertion, we don’t all have to be soaked in the blood of the innocent.

De Iulis pulls the reader in with his deep shadows and bright light pools. I really like his vibrant blues and the depth he brings to each panel, which pairs nicely with the looks of Absolute Batman and Absolute Superman. It’s a departure from the style of series regular Hayden Sherman that captures the feeling of an ancient myth being told over a campfire.

I’m curious to see what other origins are revealed with next month’s issue!

Wonderful Whims

Love the little crimson crown De Iulis gives Hades.
The “Li’l Diana” twofer at the end with artist Dustin Nguyen is cute and an authentic and adorable take on what a child with superpowers might do.
May we all be as radicalized by injustice as Pegasus.

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