Review - Wonder Woman: Earth One Volume 1

Forbidden to leave the island paradise of Amazonia, Wonder Woman disobeys her mother’s wishes and travels to Man’s World. Upon her return, the Amazon Princess is placed on trial for her transgressions and must rely upon the testimony of those she met in Man’s World to act as her champions.

Wonder Woman: Earth One Volume 1 is a 2016 graphic novel written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Yanick Paquette.

As with the rest of DC Comics’ Earth One line of graphic novels, Wonder Woman: Earth One serves as a retelling of the titular character’s origins. From the onset, Morrison remained adamant about returning the character to her Golden Age roots and focusing on the elements of bondage that permeated those early stories. Here’s the problem – Morrison is so concerned with ramming the idea of “loving submission” down the throat of his readers that he actually forgets to tell a decent story. He’s so obsessed with the sexual politics of the character that he seems to abandon any kind of driving conflict or tension. The entire book is told in flashbacks through the storytelling device of Wonder Woman giving her testimony while on trial for abandoning her home island. She recounts bringing an injured Steve Trevor back to Man’s World and then we get Etta Candy’s (she’s renamed “Elizabeth”/”Beth” for some reason – but let’s refer to her by her proper name) account of their first meeting. There’s really no conflict, barely any action, and there’s not a villain to speak of (unless we count Medusa who shows up for a little bit). If anything, the real villains of Wonder Woman: Earth One are the Amazons.

Morrison depicts the Amazons as a group of ignorant, selfish, and hyper-aggressive women who are quick to judge anyone who is remotely different than they are. Something that is especially difficult to swallow is the rhetoric surrounding ’s weight, which amounts to fat shaming. The worst of them all is Queen Hippolyta. There’s no warmth or heart to her character, instead she comes across as a despotic autocrat who seeks to control her daughter and will do everything possible to ensure that Diana remains under her thumb. She’s also a liar and the reveal during the climax (if you can even say there’s a climax to something that’s flat throughout) of the graphic novel is entirely unimpressive since it poorly imitates the work that Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang did on the New 52 Wonder Woman title. The Amazons are crucial to the mythos of Wonder Woman and turning them into shrewish caricatures is a massive disappointment. There’s also something off about the fact that Morrison chose to use Nubia in place of Phillippus. 1) Because Black women should not be treated as if they’re interchangeable and 2) Nubia was canonically Hippolyta’s daughter Pre-Crisis so the mild homoerotic subtext I get from their dynamic feels icky.

There is a sense like the intention behind this graphic novel was meant to be positive. The desire to explore elements of Wonder Woman’s character that are often ignored by others is admirable. A truly modern approach to telling her story in a sex positive way is a great idea, I’m just not convinced that it should be done singularly by two white men. I will say that I love that Diana and Mala seemed to have had a relationship (and that Diana is romantically disinterested in Steve Trevor). The characterization of Etta (again, “Beth” in this version) is superb and she ends up being the standout. I’ll also admit that Yanick Paquette’s art is gorgeous throughout. His Wonder Woman is really elegant, his Hippolyta is majestic, and the approach to Amazonia is really fun with its unique blend of classical architecture with sci fi elements. That said, there are some panels where the characters are positioned 100% in cheesecake poses that seem to contradict what the narrative is going for.

Point blank, Wonder Woman: Earth One is not going to go down as one of the best Wonder Woman stories. With so much great work out there, Morrison and Paquette’s graphic novel falls short of the excellence that others have achieved while revising the Amazon Princess’ iconic origin. Whether it intends to or not, Wonder Woman: Earth One seems like it’s trying so hard to be feminist but falls short at every turn because it is done from the very flawed perspective of two white guys. Had more women been involved, it’s likely that some of the themes wouldn’t have been undermined by cheesecake-y art and they would have been like “Oh hey, how about we have the Amazons be more than just a bunch of man-hating harpies?” If you’re looking for a great origin story for Wonder Woman, then you really can’t do better than George Perez’s opening epic from the 1987 reboot of Wonder Woman. The 2009 animated film is also a very satisfying take as well. Wonder Woman: Earth One is mildly entertaining and is worth a read for hardcore Wonder Woman fans if only for the sake of completionism. However, with its lack of villains, shallow characterization, and obsession with loving submission, this reads more like a first draft of a script for a Wonder Woman pilot than a premiere hardcover graphic novel.

RATING: C-