Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 is published by DC Comics, written by Becky Cloonan, Michael W. Conrad, L.L. McKinney, with art by Jen Bartel and Alitha Martinez, inks by Mark Morales, colors by Emilio Lopez, and letters by Becca Carey and Pat Brosseau. Since her final battle on earth, Wonder Woman has searched the infinite void as she struggles to continue hoping that she is not the only survivor left in her universe. Meanwhile, eons before, Nubia awakens to find herself a prisoner. But what does her captor want with her?
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It is a good time to be a Wonder Woman fan. When I reviewed the final issue of Dark Nights: Death Metal I figured that Diana had peaked with that story. That there was no way someone could elevate the character to an even greater height. Well, the creative team on Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 sure proved me wrong.
As the issue opens we see Diana alone within the infinite void of space. She is alone and has been for centuries. How did this come to pass? We are whisked back to where issue one left Diana with Darkseid attacking Earth. We see the finale to this battle, and while I won’t spoil its end, it is the first of several moments that may bring a tear to the reader’s eye.
Returning to Diana post Earth, we are given more details about what has brought the universe to this point of lifelessness. A cosmic event that Diana is calling the Undoing seems to be stripping the universe clean. Only her eternal hope keeps her pushing onwards. Even after centuries of searching, she cannot lie down and let the end take her. And perhaps, her stubbornness will be rewarded.
In Diana’s final act of Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 she does come across another survivor. I won’t spoil who, but the individual’s ability to survive when all else hasn’t made sense. Once again, the story delivers a poignant moment, as writers Cloonan and Conrad deliver a truly heartfelt scene.
The final pages of Diana’s journey through this story are nothing short of magnificent. Both her internal dialogue, as well as the visual presentation of her, is everything a fan could ask for. Bartel’s art captures the full spectrum of Diana’s character within these pages. Her hope, her love, and her undying strength of will.
Helping to deliver the emotion-filled journey of Diana’s is Brosseau’s letter work. The placement of the text allows for easy following and the choice of colors used helps much of the text meld in seamlessly with Bartel’s art.
The back half of Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 returns to a near-future Earth, as Nubia awakens to find herself in chains, the prisoner of Grail. It seems Grail needs the tiara that Nubia wears. And since she cannot remove it herself, she is going to use some magic-infused Apokolyptian technology to conjure up someone who can. But it may turn out that there is more to this particular headpiece than either of them know.
It’s hard to talk too much about this story without going into key spoilers, but it brings some interesting elements into its tale, before ending with an impressive bang.
The only thing that really hurts this tale is its placement after Diana’s. While I understand why DC would keep Diana in the front of this book, this story simply gets lost after the emotional finale the reader experiences in the preceding pages. I would honestly recommend reading the first story and then putting the book down for a bit before continuing. This may help Nubia’s tale from getting lost.
The art in Nubia’s story does an excellent job of capturing all the elements of its tale well. Front the magical effects to the characters everything comes through clearly. When Nubia is allowed to strike back at her enemies, the art captures both her prowess, as well as her sheer power with skillful precision.
There are some significantly wordy moments in this story as well, but happily, the letter work by Carey is more than up to the task of keeping it all clear for the reader to follow.
When all is said and done, Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 delivers an emotional gut-punch in its opening story and follows it up with a piece that virtually anywhere else would be a strong tale in its own right. This book is a must-own for fans of Wonder Woman.
Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 is available on February 16th wherever comics are sold.
‘Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman,’ Issue #2
TL;DR
When all is said and done, Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 delivers an emotional gut-punch in its opening story and follows it up with a piece that virtually anywhere else would be a strong tale in its own right. This book is a must-own for fans of Wonder Woman.
