Justice League Dark and Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour – 1

Synopsis

As magical beings across the globe begin to feel their powers fade as Hecate and her minions continue to destroy magic in it current form, Swamp Thing finds that Black Orchid who he now holds in his vines has returned to normal. But the damage is already done and the Parliament of Trees is now more, replaced by a wilder Parliament of Flowers.

In the Oblivion Bar Manitou Dawn too has returned to her normal self and tells the others that having freed them, all of Hecate’s power is now burning through Wonder Woman.

Back in Nanda Parbat, Zatanna and John Constantine see that their plan has not quite worked out as they had hoped. A victorious Hecate instructs her all powerful minion, Diana, to accompany her elsewhere and leaves the two magicians to watch as the great city of the dead is turning into The Great Necropolis.

Meanwhile in the Netherworld, Wonder Woman and Witchfire watch as Hecate successfully takes control of two of the Earth’s three great magical power sources. A powerless Diana says that she must try and do something. She says to Witchfire that if this place is a metaphor for Hecate’s subconscious, then perhaps she can dive deeper into it, in order to reason with the Witch Goddess.

As she dives deeper into and deeper into the gloom she wonders if she will ever reach the bottom but finally finds herself face to face with the other two faces of Hecate – the Maiden and the Mother.

Back on earth the Justice League Dark members spread across the world suddenly find doorways opening up and stepping through, find themselves back in Circe’s lair. She tells them that they have failed and that they have no choice but to kill Diana. At first they are reluctant but she reminds them that it is either the Amazon Princess or the entire world of magic. Now that Hecate has control over nature and the dead, only the sphere of the Gods remains – Olympus.

As she speaks the possessed Wonder Woman enters the long abandoned home of the Gods intent on destroying it. But back in the netherworld the Maiden and the Mother forms of Hecate explain to Diana the origin of Hecate. At the beginning, she had been a kind create of light who had become aware of the Otherworld, where the Upside Down man and the Otherkind lived. She had blocked herself off from them and worked to spread her wisdom and teaching across the world. But over the centuries had become bitter and corrupted by the machination and green of mankind, so that the Crone aspect of her become dominant.

They tell Diana that they have one chance to stop Hecate. Back on Olympus the possessed Wonder Woman finds herself confronted by the Justice League Dark who have finally been convinced by Circe that they have to destroy the Amazon Princess for the good of mankind.

But with the support of the Maiden and Mother aspects of Hecate, Diana pushes through and takes back control of her earthly body. She tries to reason with the Crone version of Hecate but the Witch Goddess is unrepentant. And so, reluctantly, Wonder Woman instructs Zatanna to use her magic and open the Otherworld so that the Upside Down Man can return. He gleefully tears into Hecate and as Wonder Woman and the others leave Olympus, sealing the Otherkind inside with the dying Hecate. The witching Hour is over.

A few days later at the Hall of Justice Wonder Woman shares her sorrow and guilt at having thought she could control magic. In turn, the magician says that while things have changed the world of magic is still alive. With Hecate gone, even the Parliament of Flowers and The Great Necropolis know they have to tow the line.

She then adds that something is still bothering her. They know that Hecate had witch-marked five women but there is still one unaccounted for. With the others now free, all the remaining power will have flowed into that final individual.

Elsewhere Circe revels in how well her plan had worked and that now she had all of Hecate’s power at her fingertips. The old goddess of magic was dead. And a new one had been born!