For Fans Who Hate Tom King’s Wonder Woman, This Story Fixes (Almost) All Its Problems

Wonder Woman is one of DC’s most important and well-known characters. The Amazonian Princess has been DC’s champion of truth ever since her debut in All Star Comics #8. The most recent writer to take up the torch of penning Diana’s incredible exploits has been Tom King. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more polarizing writer working right now. King is the type of writer that you either love or hate, remembering him by his award-winning work like Mister Miracle (2017) and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, or by his very controversial run on Batman (2016). He has a very strong storytelling style that has rubbed many fans the wrong way, especially with his work on Wonder Woman (2023).

So far, King’s run has come under scrutiny by Wonder Woman fans for all kinds of reasons, but people who haven’t enjoyed this run have something new to look forward to. Following the conclusion of “The Island of Mice and Men” arc, the guest team of Stephanie Williams and Jeffrey Spokes will take over for a two-part story titled “The Village.” The first part dropped in Wonder Woman (2023) #29, and it immediately fixes almost all of the biggest problems that people have had with King’s run. 

The Trouble With King

Tom King’s Wonder Woman has been very contentious so far. King’s style is very distinct from every other writer on the market, and he’s been known to overwrite when he heads ongoings. His introductory storyline for this run alone was nineteen issues, which just goes to show the scale of how he works. King is the type to slowly, some would say painstakingly, build up to a single confrontation or moment over the course of endlessly repeating themes and lines. I personally enjoy the majority of King’s work, but I could not fault someone for finding his style grating or glacial. 

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Of course, the real trouble comes from King’s portrayal of Wonder Woman herself. One of the biggest stated issues with the run so far is that it has been dominated by a male voice. The Sovereign narrated the first nineteen issues, and the following arcs have focused on Diana mostly through the perspective of those around her, which has been men more often than not. Between the repeated dialogue and the lack of her own narration, Diana’s voice isn’t present most of the time. She’s also operated nearly entirely on her own. Sisterhood has always been one of her biggest themes, so seeing Diana refuse to work with her sisters leaves a bad taste in many fans’ mouths. 

A Pause To Rest and Recover

Enter Williams’s two-parter, which immediately addresses the lack of sisterhood. Diana returned to Themyscira feeling lost, to which the rest of the Amazons offered to look after Lizzie while Wonder Woman found herself again. For King’s entire run so far, even when Diana did work with her allies, it always felt like they were next to her, but not emotionally close. Here, the Amazons immediately personally insert themselves. Even though this comic started with the premise of Amazons being kicked out of America or dying, there has been a surprising lack of Amazons in the main story. Here, they are front and center, showing the exact kind of sisterhood that their society is built on.

The entire story is specifically about how Diana does not have to do everything on her own. The Amazons have thrived because they’ve had each other to rely on, not because they are individually powerful. Wonder Woman is taught this again, and in turn, she is given the time and space she needs to process the constant losses she’s been suffering since the start of this run. Wonder Woman is given the chance to mourn and recover, and in turn, her sisters take care of Lizzie and demonstrate what makes them sisters. This captures the theme of motherhood and ties it perfectly with the sisterhood that this series has been lacking. 

However, as great as this start is, it still has the fatal flaw of not focusing on Diana. Much like the rest of King’s run, Diana’s voice and narration are not present. That’s to be expected given the nature of this story, but still, it is something that fans who have been begging for it won’t get beyond the first four pages. Still, this story is a whole lot of heartwarming fun with some nice tension to boot. I highly recommend it to every Wonder Woman fan, whether you’ve enjoyed King’s run or not.

Wonder Woman #29 is on sale now!

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