Oh man, fasting during Ramadan has been seriously messing with my sleep pattern and I find myself awake at the weirdest times. The good news about that is that when everyone else is asleep I have nothing else to do but read my comics. I thought I would return to a series that initially intrigued me quite a bit; Superman/Wonder Woman. A lot of fans were annoyed at DC for making these two a couple but I personally wasn’t completely aggrieved.
‘War and Peace’ is a novel that consists of many different stories which have clearly been interconnected from other novels. It starts with Superman starting to change into Doomsday after defeating him but breathing in his spores. For the most part, Clark can control the monster inside him and we see many scenes of internal monologue between the two. However, the more time that goes on, the stronger “Superdoom” as he is known, begins to get. Diana, clearly upset, attempts to do her best to help Clark gain control of himself again, but when Lexcorp unleashes a cloud of Kryptonite in the atmosphere, Superman finds that he is getting weaker whilst Superdoom is getting stronger and for the sake of the planet, he leaves Earth. However, we all know how those things go, and in his absence, Brainiac who has taken over Lois Lane attempts to start his plan to capture the planet. Led by his general, Cyborg Superman, Brainiac’s forces begin to overwhelm the defensive capabilities of the Justice League. Without Superman, they begin to struggle. Not being able to watch anymore, Clark flies back to Earth aware of the consequences. The novel then finishes with the ‘Future’s End’ issues which sees Diana face off against an enemy named Nemesis. Enlisting the help of warriors long gone she acts as the God of War to take down this new threat. Can she succeed alone? And just where is Superman?
So I remember reading ‘Power Couple’ and thinking to myself that this was a series that probably had its place in the New 52, however ‘War and Peace’ made me wonder if that was still true. Although there were interesting aspects to the story and it contained quite a bit of character development for Diana, it didn’t really feel like it was a novel about the two characters being together. They were both doing their own thing, which is fine, but I guess having a novel specifically about the relationship between the two of them meant that perhaps there should have been more joint story work. I did find the ‘Future’s End’ issues pretty intriguing although once again they felt more like a Wonder Woman solo story.
The artwork in this novel was so very variable. I thought some issues were drawn incredibly, but there were also some issues that I did not like at all. The covers on the other hand were quite good; I think Tony Daniel is an excellent cover artist. Overall, this novel seemed like it was a step in the wrong direction for this series, I can only hope that it gets better from here on out.
Favourite Panel:
Do you have a plan? Ahahaha (laughs in prep time)
Favourite Character:
Tough in a novel that centres around two characters, but I think I’d have to say Wonder Woman. She remains so calm and kept together whilst her man is becoming a monster.
Rating:
Story Arc: ★★★
Character Development: ★★★½
Artwork: ★★★
Enjoyability: ★★★
Re-readability: ★★
Level: Advanced