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When it was announced that Allan Heinberg would be the new writer for “Wonder Woman”, the decision in the main was well received by fans. Heinberg had proven himself on books such as Marvel’s “Young Avengers” and having admitted that he was a big fan of Diana, particularly the TV show incarnation, it seemed he would be the perfect choice to re-launch the new incarnation of the Amazing Amazon. However, at the time some fans did express a concern over his ability to meet publishing deadlines because in the past he had been known to let schedules slip, resulting in delays.
By the end of August 2006 these fears were proven to be valid as DC announced that the book was going to switch to a bi-monthly title. At the time Heinberg was also a script writer for the U.S. TV show “Grey’s Anatomy.” and this took priority over the comic scripts he was responsible for. The announcement caused much disquiet amongst Diana’s fans, especially as the first issue of the new book had made it into the number 4 position of Diamond Preview’s rankings. Wonder Woman had at last captured the imagination of a wider audience keen to find out more about this “new” version of the character, but it was feared DC might have blown an opportunity to capitalise on this surge in popularity by the irregular and drawn out publishing schedule.
In the meantime, as issue two finally hit the shelves, we see Heinberg taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane, invoking many of the elements from the past. While Donna, who has taken up the role as the new Wonder Woman, remains a captive of the villains Cheetah, Giganta and Dr. Psycho, we see Diana posing as an agent for the government’s Department of Meta Human Affairs under the guise of “Diana Prince”.
After the events of “Infinite Crisis” and her killing of Maxwell Lord in cold blood, Diana had decided to take time to find herself and had effectively “disappeared” from public life to live amongst humans, just as her pre crisis counterpart had suggested during Infinite Crisis.
In the meantime though she had been keeping a close eye on Donna and Cassie as they had continued the fight against evil as Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl respectively.
As we can see from the plot summary below, Heinberg continues to weave together many elements from both the pre-crisis incarnation of the Amazon Amazon and the Lynda Carter TV series version, in order to form his new “take” on “Wonder Woman” and to understand who she really is as a character.
The Dodsons meanwhile continue to draw a beautiful and sexy Diana.
Synopsis
In a flashback sequence we see that Diana has been watching Donna’s new career as Wonder Woman from the shadows. During one such reconnaissance she is joined on a rooftop by Batman, who states that he thought she had walked away from all this. She replies that she had stepped down as Wonder Woman but had not abandoned Donna or Cassie. She adds that it is best they do not know she has returned as avoid being tarred with the same brush as she has as a “killer”. She in turn wants to fulfil her mission here in Man’s World as herself – not as an icon.
Batman then hands her a security pass and says that he has an idea of how she can accomplish that without revealing her identity. He explains that he has arranged for her to become an agent working for the Department of Metahuman affairs under the alias “Diana Prince”. That way she can still keep close to her friends and her enemies while remaining under cover.
We then switch back to the present day as Diana is being briefed by Sarge Steel and Nemesis on the improved powers and abilities of the villains that have kidnapped Donna, and how they intend to use Donna as a bargaining chip to lure the real Wonder Woman out of hiding.
They also explain what they know already about Wonder Woman’s whereabouts – that she was last seen over Themyscira facing down an army of OMACs before seemingly disappearing along with the rest of the island. They also had had reports that she had teamed up temporarily with a Chinese Mystic code named I Ching (!).
Pretending to be naive, Diana responds that this woman could not possibly have been Wonder Woman or else the authorities would have simply arrested her for the murder of Maxwell Lord? She is informed that Wonder Woman has in fact been cleared of all charges relating to his death, because it was deemed to have been an act of self defence on her part. She is then instructed to keep an eye on Cassie Sandsmark, who the government believe will be the villains’ next target.
Diana takes this opportunity to reveal her true identity to Cassie who is furious for being kept in the dark and for Diana “running out on them”.
She flies off in anger leaving Diana to wonder if she has done the right thing. Giganta then appears in the street wearing Donna around her neck on a chain, demanding Wonder Woman shows herself.
A fight ensues as Wonder Girl takes on the villains. Dr. Psycho tricks Wonder Girl into believing Superboy has returned, but before the villains can strike, Robin rescues her. The watching Diana is then grabbed by Cheetah, who thinks she is holding an ordinary citizen hostage. She demands Wonder Girl reveals the whereabouts of Wonder Woman. A still angry Cassie almost implies that she is right under Cheetah’s nose!
Diana manages to shake off Cheetah and races down an alleyway, intending to transform into her Wonder Woman costume. She begins to spin round but is stopped from doing so by Hercules, who informs the amazed Amazon Princess that due to the fact so many women have failed in this mission to Man’s World, it is time for a Man to take up the fight!
