Wonder Woman is in a very good place. Absolute Wonder Woman has been a smash hit, and Tom King’s divisive Wonder Woman run has been selling well and getting attention. Last issue saw readers learn the shocking fate of Wonder Woman in the future Wonder War, and many fans probably expected that story to continue. However, Wonder Woman #20 goes in a different direction. King and fill-in artist Guillem March give readers a detective story set in Olympus, one that teams Batman and Wonder Woman together to investigate Wonder Woman’s greatest ally’s role in the death of her greatest enemy. The issue kicks off with Wonder Woman being visited by her mother Hippolyta, telling her daughter that she woke up next to Ares after one of Dionysus’s bacchanals. Ares didn’t wake up; he was dead with the magic dagger Wonder Woman used on the Sovereign last issue in his back.
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Wonder Woman is best known to the general public more for her relationship with Superman and Batman than her own actions. However, even the most casual Wonder Woman fans, DCEU fans for example, would know who Hippolyta and Ares are in Wonder Woman’s world. Kicking off a story line with the death of Ares at Hippolyta’s hands is enough to get anyone invested, as Wonder Woman’s relationship with the two characters has helped define Wonder Woman in the present day.
Hippolyta and Ares Are the Two Most Important Wonder Woman Characters
Hippolyta is of course important to Wonder Woman, because she’s her mom. Wonder Woman: Historia: The Amazons gave readers the origin story of Hippolyta in the DC Universe. She was a slave in Greek times and she escaped, begging the gods for help. The female Greek gods had mercy on her and other escaped female slaves, and created the Amazons. Hippolyta led them with divine blessing, transforming the Amazons into one of the most powerful forces on Earth, even able to fit back against Zeus after he tried to destroy them. Eventually, the gods blessed Hippolyta with Diana, who Hippolyta made out of clay. Hippolyta would be responsible for the training of Diana, all while protecting the first child born to the Amazons. Hippolyta’s origins have changed depending on DC continuity — for example, in post-Crisis ’90s DC, Hippolyta was the Wonder Woman of the Golden Age and the New 52 had her be one of the women that Zeus impregnated. Hippolyta has recently become a goddess, which is how she found herself in Olympus in the first place. However, one thing that never changed was Hippolyta’s love of her daughter.
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Ares has been Wonder Woman’s greatest enemies since DC decided to bring Diana closer to Greek mythology. Writer/artist George Perez basically made Ares post-Crisis Wonder Woman’s greatest villain, and their battles against each other have been legendary. This is Ares’s first appearance in King’s run, as the writer has seemingly wanted to show off Wonder Woman’s other villains. Hippolyta certainly has every reason to kill Ares, which the comic establishes. Ares has decided over the years that Wonder Woman’s mission of peace is enough for her death and Hippolyta will always try to protect her daughter. Usually, in comics like this, it’s easy to guess which way they’ll go, but it’s actually quite hard to figure out with this one. mostly because it’s Tom King. There’s definitely a good chance that Hippolyta did kill Ares, but did it in such a way that it would look like other parties did it, all to protect her daughter.
Who’s the Murderer?
This story represents a great jumping on point for new readers. It’s a break from the long overarching Sovereign story that just ended, and a nice little window into Wonder Woman’s current world. It even has Batman there (unfortunately, Batman being there means I had to read Zeus saying the line, “There’s heroes, there’s gods, and then there’s Batman.”). Drawing readers in with a mystery involving two of the most important Wonder Woman characters of them all is a great hook.
However, the big question is whether Hippolyta actually killed Ares. The answer to that question is a bit more complicated. The issue points towards Hephaestus possibly being the killer because Ares and Aphrodite were having an affair, but that’s a little too easy for Tom King. There is definitely a good chance that it is Hippolyta, but an attack on Batman — with a lightning bolt stolen from Zeus puts that into doubt. It may even be Ares himself, trying to find a way to hurt Wonder Woman, and faking his death. There’s more to this story than meets the eye.
Wonder Woman #20 is on sale now.
