REVIEW: ‘Wonder Woman,’ Issue #767

Wonder Woman #767 is published by DC Comics, written by Mariko Tamaki, art by Rafa Sandoval, inks by Jordi Tarragona, colors by Arif Prianto, and letters by Pat Brosseau. Having bested Count Vertigo, Diana turns her attention toward Maxwell Lord. Lord seeks to avenge himself against what he perceives as her past wrongs against him. Does Diana have the will to overcome Lord’s powers of suggestion?

They say holding onto a grudge is akin to drinking poison in the hopes that the person you hate will die. That in the end, the only one consumed by the bitterness and resentment one harbors is the one who fosters it. This isn’t to say that every wrong done to someone should just be forgiven and forgotten. But there is a place between the two. A place of learning from the past, while not becoming consumed by it. It is clearly a concept Maxwell Lord could stand to ponder about.

With Vertigo down for the count and Lord having shown his true colors, Diana moves to confront this latest challenge. Once she catches up with Lord their confrontation turns to a battle of wills. With Lord using every ounce of his mental powers to control Diana, while she struggles desperately to reject his manipulations. In the midst of this struggle, Lord launches into a full-on supervillain rant. About his past, his motivations, and why the “Gods” of their world can never understand what he is and what he has been through. Lord has a particular ax to grind with Diana of course. On account of the whole killing him thing. That this killing was in her own self-defense is, of course, omitted from his rant.

Wonder Woman #767 utilizes this confrontation excellently. Which is good, as it is basically the whole of the issue. Lord’s festering bitterness against the world, and Diana in particular, is delivered with the perfect amount over the top comic book melodrama. For her part, Diana is portrayed as the paragon of strength and determination we all know. Though happily, not at the expense of her humanity.

Once her confrontation with Lord is over, she knows she messed up in trusting him. She wanted to believe so much that he was trying to be good, that she overlooked the potential disaster he could become. When even Amazonian princesses can make mistakes and learn from it, perhaps there is yet hope for the rest of us.

The art in Wonder Woman #767 does a fantastic job delivering on its climactic confrontation. From Lord’s ravings to Diana’s strength, artist Sandoval delivers on every panel. As Diana struggles against Lord’s control the very stone beneath Diana’s feet cracks and explodes under the pressure of the clashing wills. It’s all just so dramatic, and epic, and awesome! For a showdown with only one punch thrown, it has all the power of the biggest city flattening clashes.

The vibrant color palette used by colorist Prianto further helps build the energy within the story. The surrounding colors always contrast great with the focal point of each panel, making that same focal point the natural destination for the readers’ eyes.

Lastly, we have the lettering. While I think Brosseau’s lettering is good, I wish it pushed just a little bit harder. With Lord launching into the classic megalomaniac villain rant here, I would’ve loved to see the fonts go a bit extra to really deliver that feeling. However, I will say that I did appreciate the decision to use a different color for the dialogue boxes when Lord exerts his will over Diana.

To bring it all together, I think Wonder Woman #767 delivers a great confrontational moment, filled with the over the top power, fortitude, and emotion the superhero genre is best known for.

Wonder Woman #767 is available on November 24th wherever comics are sold.