Absolute Wonder Woman 2026 Annual #1 is DC’s Compassionate Hero at Her Best (Review)

If you’ve been loving Absolute Wonder Woman, then you’re going to positively love her newest, one-off adventure. Ever since it debuted last year, the Absolute line has become a crown jewel in the DC Comics empire. And while every comic featured so far has something great going for it, Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman’s Absolute Wonder Woman has stood out as a beloved title among critics and fans everywhere. In the Absolute Universe, Diana was raised in Hell by the witch Circe. And yet, without the Amazons, Wonder Woman has grown to become a guiding light in this dark world.

Now, while Absolute Wonder Woman showcases Diana’s battle against Zatanna and the Absolute Suicide Squad, we’re getting a new story in a standalone, oversized issue. Absolute Wonder Woman 2026 Annual #1 reunites series writer Kelly Thompson with artist Mattia De Iulis, while Becca Carey provides lettering. This story follows up on a plot element from Absolute Wonder Woman #5, when Diana used her Sacrifice lasso to temporarily change her into a Medusa-like form. Now, Wonder Woman is embarking on a crusade to right a historical wrong in a powerful story about myth, empathy, and understanding.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Absolute Wonder Woman 2026 Annual #1 is an Incredibly Captivating Modern-Day Myth

Ever since becoming a gorgon, Wonder Woman has been agonizing over the treatment of Medusa. She prays night and day to the goddess Athena, making sacrifices and requesting an audience with her. Athena relents and hears out Diana, who wants to help Medusa and undo her transformation. Wonder Woman makes a bargain with the goddess, trading all of Wonder Woman’s powers for the ability to withstand Medusa’s gaze. With that, Diana heads out on an arduous quest to find Medusa. It’s a long and perilous journey, but the real danger is when Wonder Woman finds Medusa (and her sisters).

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Wonder Woman gets her chance to speak with Medusa and connects with her. Diana explains that during her brief experience as a gorgon, she felt the pain of never being able to look at or connect with another person. Diana offers up her lasso, Sacrifice, telling Medusa it can undo her transformation. Medusa is skeptical, not even remembering which legend is the truth anymore. But she believes in Diana and the truth she fights for. So Wonder Woman uses the Sacrifice lasso, successfully transforming Medusa and allowing her to connect with her sisters for the first time in several millennia.

Absolute Wonder Woman 2026 Annual #1 Shows Off Everything Great about Diana

Just as the Absolute Batman annual from last year highlighted the elements that make that series work, Thompson and De Iluis’ annual is an amazing character study for this particular incarnation of Wonder Woman. It’s not that she’s just a kind and helpful person; it’s that she possesses an empathy for all living things. She admits that even from a young age, she was questioning legends about gods and monsters. And as she says numerous times here, her brief experience as a gorgon was so painful, she couldn’t help but want to find a way to end Medusa’s torment.

The Absolute Universe is all about stripping away more familiar elements of these characters and analyzing their core. Thompson understands that Diana’s true power isn’t her lasso or the ability to fly. It’s Wonder Woman’s capacity to see the worth in everything. This annual could have been anything, but Thompson explicitly chose to revisit Diana’s experience as a gorgon because Thompson knows that Wonder Woman, especially this version of her, would not leave anyone she believes is suffering behind. And everything Diana does here, including giving up her powers, works because we know she’d move Heaven and Earth for everyone.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight De Iluis’ work. If you loved Absolute Wonder Woman’s two-part story, “The Lady or the Tiger”, you’re going to love this story. De Iulis brings an amazing sense of scale to Diana’s journey here. Whether talking to Athena or confronting Medusa and her sisters, you really feel the grand world she’s stepping into. It really elevates Thompson’s writing and helps build up the epic, mythical vibe this annual is going for. While I love Sherman’s art in the main series, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of De Iulis’ work down the line.

As someone who’s not huge into annuals, I never doubted this story for a moment. This book is yet another example of how amazing Absolute Wonder Woman is, and, more importantly, how amazing its title character is. In a world that feels like it’s getting darker, I can’t tell you how nice it is to read a story about a hero who goes above and beyond, not to save the day necessarily, but to do simply what’s right on a more human level. Anyone needing more Absolute Wonder Woman is certainly going to want to check this annual out.

What did you think about Absolute Wonder Woman 2026 Annual #1? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!