Wonder Woman’s Most Underrated Villain Finally Returns

It’s been a complicated time in Wonder Woman’s life, and unfortunately, things are only going to get more complicated. The last few years have been very much ‘go, go, go’ for Diana. Her people were outlawed from the United States, part of an insidious plot masterminded by the Sovereign. The aged, secret king of America pushed Wonder Woman to her limits, even taking the life of Wonder Woman’s greatest love, Steve Trevor. And though Diana was able to avenge Steve by imprisoning the Sovereign, Diana’s troubles were only beginning.

Mouse Man, a small-time villain from Diana’s past, re-emerged as a dictator of a small nation, and with no one else willing to remove him from power, Wonder Woman went behind enemy lines to stop him. It was a hard-fought battle, as the citizens of this nation lived under immense fear thanks to Mouse Man’s totalitarian regime. Thankfully, Wonder Woman was able to depose her old foe and liberate the nation. Now, with the Wonder War on the horizon, Diana’s returning to Themyscira, where trouble is already popping up before Diana even has a chance to rest.

Strife Returns to Sew Discord Among Wonder Woman and the Amazons

In Wonder Woman #29 by Stephanie Williams, Jeff Spokes, and Clayton Cowles, Diana returns to Paradise Island, where she meets with her sister Nubia. Nubia can see that Wonder Woman is troubled, fearing what is coming in the days ahead. But Nubia, as well as the Wonder Girls remind Diana that she does not have to bear her burdens alone. Wonder Woman requests that the Amazons take her daughter, Elizabeth, for just a bit so that Diana can meditate in private. Unfortunately, Lizzie is fussier than usual, and the Amazons are unsure of how to assist her.

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Yara Flor suggests a combat exhibition to soothe the infant and, despite Nubia’s misgivings, the Wonder Girls decide to put on a show for Elizabeth. It starts off friendly enough, but what’s intended to be a friendly exhibition starts becoming more serious, with Yara, Cassandra, and Donna hurling personal insults at one another. Worse, this is doing nothing to calm Elizabeth down, whose cries start to grow louder. Several Amazons pick up that something isn’t right, but the fight keeps going on and starts getting more and more chaotic and violent.

Several Amazons realize that something is using Elizabeth as a catalyst to feed into the Wonder Girls’ anger. Nubia puts an end to the exhibition, which thankfully gets Donna, Yara, and Cassie’s heads on straight. The Amazons deduce that the cries Elizabeth is emitting aren’t her own, but are being co-opted by someone who knows how to instigate conflict among the Amazons. Indeed, Strife, aka Eris, the goddess of discord, has come to Themyscira. The goddess steps out of the shadows, mocking how the Amazons’ pride and love of Elizabetha made them the perfect targets to generate chaos among them.

Strife is Attacking at the Perfect Time. Can the Amazons Survive?

While the goddess Eris had appeared a handful of times in Wonder Woman’s history, she became a bigger part of Diana’s mythos in her New 52 run. As one can guess, Strife loves to meddle in Wonder Woman’s affairs, using her divine powers to create chaos whenever the opportunity strikes. Strife loves messing with the Amazons, and there really are no limits to her manipulations. She’s gone after the Amazons several times before, tricking them into believing an intruder was among them, causing the Amazons to kill one another. However, Strife has only appeared sporadically since the New 52 days.

But if there ever was a good time for her to return, it’s now. Wonder Woman, arguably the greatest champion the Amazons have produced, is at her limit thanks to everything the Sovereign and his forces have put Diana through. And that’s on top of having a baby to take care of. With Wonder Woman needing extended private time and the Amazons focused on taking care of Elizabeth, Strife has the perfect opportunity to turn them all against one another and do what she does best: Destroying harmony and creating more chaos for her own sick pleasure.

It’s a bad situation, especially with Diana unaware of the villain who’s made her way to Themyscira. But they’ve survived Strife before. What’s important now is to stay unified because even the slightest crack in their unity provides an advantage for Eris to exploit. As long as the Amazons can stick together (and keep Elizabeth far from danger), they’ll likely survive this encounter. But Strife thrives in chaos, and now that she’s back, she might be more of a threat than we think. Hopefully, Wonder Woman and her sisters know how to dispatch Strife and bring peace back to Themyscira.

What do you think about Strife’s return to DC Comics? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!