Graphic Novel Review: Wonder Woman: Outlaw by Tom King, Daniel Sampere, and Tomeu Morey

 Exploding onto the DC universe's reset in 2023 after the Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths, King's Wonder Woman is a strange beast, picking up one of the oldest superheroes in the world and using her to weave a shockingly contemporary narrative that relies on talking about the real world and modern America. Which, of course, means he's annoyed much of the fanbase who don't think politics shouldn't be part of comics. It's well written, as you might expect from King, though his obsession with PTSD seems to be mercifully off the table for this book. It's also extremely brave, tackling patriarchy head on and leaning into the ideas that constitute a revolt against that. The book is obviously actually about the rise of the Right in America, and the lack of value placed on women's lives and freedoms as a consequence of that, and King is relentless is his pursuit of it.

The story opens with the introduction of a new character, Trinity, who appears to be Wonder Woman's daughter and operates as part of a new trinity (because we know DC loves those), with Damian Wayne as Batman and Jon Ken as Superman. The banter between the three is well written and we get a strong sense of who the characters are. This scene leads the introduction of a new villain, the Sovereign, who's the focus of this book and is pretty much an embodiment of patriarchy. This leads to the actual story, which is set in the present, and plays on the 9/11 trope beginning with an Amazon killing 19 men in a bar when one of them touches her inappropriately without her consent. This sounds like an overreaction - we don't get many of the details as the fight isn't detailed blow by blow and most of it is left to mystery.

The rest of the book focuses on the fallout of this, with the United States government overreacting and declaring war on the Amazons within its borders. Naturally, while the other Amazons do get out of Dodge, Diana remains behind to fight the US Army and we're treated to a series of increasingly ridiculous fights where she demolishes tanks and the like. Don't get me wrong, it's cool to read, but there's a point where it stretches credibility (as all superheroes must). It also undermines the idea that the DCU is even used to superheroes - because honestly if you or I were running things as soon as we saw something like this, we'd be calling in another person who wears fetish wear to fight crime. By the time the government does that - constructing a new "Wonder Woman Revenge Squad" it feels a little late. Admittedly, it's only issue 5 (at the same time that various Wonder Girls insist on helping Diana), but it feels like in a world of superheroes you'd know that sending in the army is a bit pointless. That's just my issues with superheroes as a genre though and my irritation with the way that companies don't explore how much the world would change if there were people who fly, shoot laser beams from their eyes, and all those other things. 

The writing is tight and King's dialogue is good - though his decision to attempt to make Diana sound more exotic through some of the things she says feels questionable. It fits with his story, because it emphasises how she isn't from the USA but its also strange to read because nobody else has had her saying things like "Mr Sergeant Steel". 

Steel himself is written in a fashion that leaves nobody in any doubt that he's a bad guy, a sexist - possibly even a misogynist - and in a genre not known for its subtlety he's somehow even less subtle than anything else. Tell me that Steel's a bad guy without telling me he's a bad guy... tell me his cybernetic hand is being presented in opposition to a magical woman made of clay without telling me you're dragging the "technology male and bad, magic female and good" cliché into this. I fully expect the character to dip to Alan Moore style acts of villainy soon, and probably kick a puppy for good measure. Though, at least Diana gets to respond when Steel calls her a slur, which is usually more than can be said for Moore's use of terms like "smelly little lesbian". To be honest, the depiction of the villains is the weakest part of this book, and somehow also entirely in keeping with the genre of story being told. 

But this is a timely book and King leaves us no doubt that he's writing specifically against the rightwing and the "anti-woke". We're left under no illusions about which side of the political divide King occupies - and I assume the same is true of Sampere and Morey as well - who's art and colours make the book a delight to read. The colour pops on every panel, the characters look right - more than that actually, they're as close to perfect as you can get. Despite the feeling that we've probably seen this before if only because of the character's long history, this feels like a story for 2024 and ties nicely into current politics. It's worth reading for the way it makes Wonder Woman feel startling relevant without needing to reach for experiences that lie beyond the American sphere of knowledge and imagination (by which I mean that that nation is famously myopic and struggles to perceive issues in the rest of the world). In that alone, King is to be applauded.