This issue formed part of the five part mini event “The Witching Hour”.
The story started in Wonder Woman – Justice League Dark: The Witching Hour #1 continued in this issue, then in Justice League Dark #4, then in Wonder Woman #57 and concluded in Justice League Dark – Wonder Woman: The Witching Hour #1.
Having regained herself again, Wonder Woman decides their best course of action is to seek the help of her arch foe Circe, who is the patron of Hecate. The others are wary of this plan and wonder if they can trust the witch. Nevertheless they help Diana capture a rare Unicorn, which is the standard payment Circe demands of clients who seek her magic skills.
With their cargo on board, Bobo steers their boat towards Aeaea, the enchanted island home of Circe. Zatanna cautions them to be wary but Wonder Woman dives into the waters and wades ashore. As the others join her there is a crack of thunder and the men are all turn-into were-beasts.
As Circe herself appears, warning Wonder Woman that she has made a grave mistake coming her and will pay with her life, the Amazon Princess tells her she has come for her help and removes her tiara to reveal the branding on her forehead. The witch immediately recognises it as the mark of Hectate and changes her tone, hugging Diana and adding that she is sorry and that things will only get worse from here if Hectate has returned.
With the men transformed back into their normal selves, the group discuss the situation over a meal in Circe’s palace.
Meanwhile in new Mexico, Manitou Dawn, who has also been branded and is now under order the control of Hecate, charges off to Nanda Parbat to attack it, with Deadman hot on her trail.
Back on Aeaea, Circe explains that she was never a patron as such and that her relationship with Hecate was always much darker. Before all the Gods walked the Earth there was Hecate. Her symbol was the half moon and she represented the potential of nature. In the early days of man, when the goddess still consorted with an open heart and mind, the first human magicians attempted to steal the unlimited powers within her. But they failed, caging something far darker – something that would slowly infect the entire world.
To protect her power from the growing darkness, she split it into five pieces and hid it among five young women until the hour that she would need to take it back.
The power is corrosive and too much for the human soul to bear. Should she activate it she would be capable of controlling her witch-marked like puppets until she burned through them and took back the magic within. As each mark is activated Hecate grows more powerful. For centuries she has hated what magic has become and she has always known she has enough power to supplant it if necessary. If what Wonder Woman has told her about the Otherkind and the Upside Down Man is true, Hecate will see the time has come to burn out the heart of magic and replace it with her own.
Although Hecate once represented light she has become a twisted force of hatred. And even with all the power Circe worlds, it is still nothing when compared to Hecate. She is unstoppable.
Wonder Woman asks whether her own power could be turned against her? When Diana’s own witch-mark had been activated by the Upside Down Man, she had had some control over it. Circe agrees that this could be possible but Zatanna warns Wonder Woman that this is a crazy idea and that perhaps Batman’s concerns about the Amazon princess’ judgement in this mater was valid.
But wonder Woman is undeterred and instruct Circe to activate the witch-mark. As she does so suddenly Deadman materialises and says he has been desperately trying to find them and that Manitou Dawn is attacking Nanda Parbat and nothing seems to be able to stop her.
But they all hear Wonder Woman says “Don’t worry Boston” and turn to see that the witch-mark is active again but Wonder Woman stands there in control of herself and ready for action.
