Absolute Wonder Woman completely reinvented the world’s greatest superheroine with a brand new origin, but the same loveable princess. Despite the fact that she grew up in hell, Diana is still the bastion of truth, love, and protection that she’s always been, but that’s not to say that she’s exactly the same. One of the most major changes made to her mythos is the removal of the rest of the Amazons, with Diana’s sisters being taken away by the gods for some as of yet unknown reason. Wonder Woman is the last of the Amazons, but it is her mission to find them, just as it is to protect the Earth from the horrors beyond. Issue #8 teased the introduction of another Amazon, but when Diana went to find her lost sister in issue #9, she actually found a new version of a classic villain instead.
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Wonder Woman Must Brave the Labyrinth of Area 41
Having decidedly restrained Doctor Poison, Diana demanded the government-funded villain shut down all of her Tetra-Spiders that were wreaking havoc across Gateway City. Under threat of being launched out of a window, the bad doctor agreed, and explained to Wonder Woman that the Amazon she knew of was in the ancient maze hidden beneath Area 41. It was far older than the government complex, and held all manner of supernatural and imprisoned beings and supposedly an Amazon has resided within it since the government found it. After Wonder Woman literally sent all of the Tetra-Spiders to hell, she warned Doctor Poison to never try something like this again, or she would find her. After, she went back to her base, where Steve tried to convince her not to walk into the obvious trap. She still did, because even knowing that this is definitely a trap, she’s Wonder Woman, and there’s an Amazon that needs her help.
While Diana began casting a spell, there was a flashback to when she was still a kid on the Wild Isle. She woke up her mother to tell her she had a dream about the pretty woman with antlers and blood on her face, who Circe realized was Artemis. She told Diana to put on her best clothes and wear as many weapons as she can, all the while lamenting that this happened way too soon. Back in the present, Diana opened a portal to the Labyrinth and found it to look exactly like an ancient maze would like. Almost immediately, she stumbled upon a minotaur fighting against a hoard of walking Men-Fish. Clearly, one side was being unjustly assaulted, but she had to make sure which side was which before she committed to helping either. She wrapped the minotaur in her Nemesis Lasso, which revealed to her that he was the innocent one in the situation. Saying that he had her axe, the two of them repelled the wave of walking fish.
The minotaur, named Ferdinand, revealed that the Men-Fish were seeking to murder Petra, an injured siren in Ferdinand’s care. The trio set off to find safety before the Men-Fish return with reinforcements, and Diana questions how long Ferdinand has been trapped in the maze. He says all his life, to which Diana apologizes, and asks if he’s seen any Amazons. Ferdinand replies that the ruler of the maze, Clea, claims to be an Amazon, although the only evidence he’s seen for that claim is her strength. As if hearing the slight, Clea appears with an army of Men-Fish around the corner, saying that Ferdinand should refer to her as Queen Clea. Wonder Woman readies herself for a fight, stating that Clea is no Amazon.
Queen Clea is One of Wonder Woman’s Oldest Enemies
Queen Clea first appeared in Wonder Woman volume one #8, which is funnily enough the issue she was teased in Absolute Wonder Woman. While not an Amazon in either universe, Clea is an Atlantean, and self-titled queen of a small Atlantean city. She would often enslave the men in her home kingdom and put them to death in gladiatorial combat, which obviously Wonder Woman took issue to. They clashed plenty of times over the years, with Clea founding and leading Villainy Inc. to stand against the Amazonian princess. She’s one of Wonder Woman’s oldest enemies, and her presence here has a lot of implications for the mythos of the Absolute Universe.
For one, Clea is the first evidence we’ve had for the existence of Atlantis. Given that she is controlling Men-Fish while inside the maze and has strength comparable to Amazons, it’s very likely that she retains her Atlantian heritage. This could easily lead into more lore about the major cities of Atlantis, and especially information about the Absolute Universe of Aquaman. Beyond that, Clea being here and claiming she’s an Amazon could mean that the sister Diana came looking for doesn’t really exist, and that the rest of the Amazons really are fully hidden by the gods. Of course, the fact that Ferdinand and Clea both know of the Amazons so intimately means that they have not been gone so long they are forgotten, and there’s always the slim possibility that another Amazon really is trapped by Clea somewhere deep inside the maze. Absolute Wonder Woman is turning up the heat by digging into the greater mythos of Wonder Woman, and I am more than excited to see what they bring out next.
Absolute Wonder Woman #9 is on sale now!
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