SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #4 REVIEW
Writer: Charles Soule
Artists: Tony S. Daniel and Paulo Siqueira
Inkers: Batt, Sandu Florea and HI-FI
Review by Suzanne Nagda
The genie is out of the bottle. Wonder Woman and Superman are (gasp) a couple! Okay, no one is really shocked by this announcement. They’ve been an item since Justice League #12, which happened ages ago. But for the sake of this book let’s pretend their relationship is brand new and happening in real-time. An unknown party leaks a picture of Superman and Wonder Woman to the press (specifically Clark’s blog) and all hell breaks loose.
Clark and Diana react to their relationship being a part of public discourse in opposite ways. Wonder Woman directly addresses the dilemma Superman faces with his secret identity as Clark Kent. Sometimes it involves hiding the best parts of his life–like his abilities or his relationships. Diana wisely gives Clark the space to sort out his problems with the blog and Zod. One of the best aspects of this issue is Diana’s exposition about being above it all and the power of myths. This contrasts perfectly with Zod’s plot to free a certain villain-who-shall-not-be-named from the Phantom Zone. There’s a predictable wrinkle to an otherwise solid issue: Superman makes an obvious miscalculation when he faces Zod. Isn’t he supposed to be super smart as well?
This book has two distinct parts. In the first, Clark and Diana react to the news and there’s some fun bits with an angry Zod. The second is essentially Clark partying with Cat Grant and hearing all of the gossip about himself first-hand. I would like to see more Diana in this issue and not just some insightful exposition. Yet Charles Soule highlights the point that Diana can only be part of Superman’s life and not Clark Kent’s. Two different artists are responsible for their own sections– Tony S. Daniel and Paulo Siqueira. Unfortunately, the transition is not as smooth as it could be between their styles. Daniel’s gritty cross-hatching and Siqueira’s softer lines don’t maintain the same tone for the book.
THE VERDICT: Buy. You get: Superman. Wonder Woman. A fierce, bloody Zod and a mystery in the Phantom Zone. Add in the underlying threat of Doomsday and a superhero romance under the scrutiny of by public opinion. Soule raises the stakes in the latest issue and it’s definitely worth giving a try.
