Why DC’s Absolute Wonder Woman Only Has One Arm

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

DC Comics’ “Absolute” universe is the latest attempt to create a new beginning, a new on-ramp for the world’s greatest superheroes. Since its launch in 2024, “Absolute” DC has been a success, attracting these new readers with bold reinventions.

“Absolute” Superman is a globe-trotting fugitive fighting against the tyrannical Lazarus Corp, while “Absolute” Batman has far fewer material resources (and only one deceased parent as part of its origin story). But how do you turn Wonder Woman on her head? The classic Diana was bred Heaven Island, surrounded by its Amazonian sisters. So, “absolute” Wonder Woman grew up in hell without them. The Amazons were punished by the gods for some unknown reason, and Diana went to the Underworld with the witch Circe as her jailer. Circe, enchanted by Diana’s brilliant kindness, became her mother.

Preparing for “Absolute Wonder Woman” convinced me that this would be a bolder and more cynical book than it is. This Wonder Woman dresses like a barbarian, flies on an undead skeletal Pegasus, and carries a huge sword. But writer Kelly Thompson understands that Wonder Woman’s strength is not her activism, but her kindness.

I expected “Wonder Woman meets ‘Berserk'” but Diana’s similarities to Guts the Black Swordsman are only physical, including a missing arm. “Absolute Wonder Woman” #3 reveals that Diana’s right arm, tattooed with red runes, is a magical creation to replace the lost original. This Diana was, as always, drawn into the world of men when an Air Force man named Steve Trevor washed up on the shores of her home island. Steve later died and went to Hell, so Diana cast a spell to send him home. The price of the spell was Diana’s own arm.

DC Comics

Absolute DC’s three flagship books tend to incorporate flashbacks, paralleling the hero’s early years with their current adventures. “Last Dust of Krypton” showed the collapse and destruction of Krypton alongside Kal-El’s adventures on Earth. “The Zoo” depicts Bruce Wayne’s childhood, revealing to us how different it (and his defining tragedy) is from the familiar Batman story. And “The Last Amazon” jumps between Diana’s childhood in Hell and her debut in the modern world, where she defends the coast of Gateway City from invading monsters.

Casting Circe, the famous witch from “The Odyssey” who turns men into pigs, as Diana’s mother is meant to bring laughter to longtime “Wonder Woman” fans – Circe is usually portrayed as one of Diana’s enemies. However, this is not a decision made out of irony. Since Diana was raised by a witch, she herself is one too. (What is a witch if not a woman of power?) And while Diana “Absolute” can brawling and possessing an enchanted lasso weapon, she also employs spells and incantations, which Wonder Woman has never traditionally relied on. Diana also worships Hecate, the often-demonized Greek goddess of witchcraft, alongside more classical Greek goddesses like Hera and Athena.

The main antagonist of “The Last Amazon” is Tetracide, a huge Kraken-like monster and personification of death. While Diana fights the monster to save Gateway City, the Tetracid grabs her right arm; to save herself from his touch, Diana cancels the spell and starts wearing a thin robotic prosthesis.

DC Comics

In issue #4, Diana re-performs the blood magic ritual in homage to Hecate, and thus restores her arm. Diana collecting the herbs for her spell introduces her to two new friends: the shopkeepers Etta and Gia Candy.

“Absolute Wonder Woman” #15 brings Diana to Gotham City, in a crossover with “Absolute Batman,” and separates her from her right hand once again. Diana and Bruce investigate a series of murders linked to the Mark of Hecate – but it’s all a ploy by National Security Advisor Veronica Cale, who views Diana and the heroism she might inspire as a threat. The people of Cale cast a spell to control a golem; since Diana was made of clay, she qualifies. Diana again abandons her right arm in an attempt to undermine the spell, but it does not work. When the issue ends, Diana still only has one arm; Presumably, she will do the ritual again off-panel to restore it.

Diana having to sacrifice her arm established a key theme of “Absolute Wonder Woman”: magic comes at a price. Consider another fantasy series about a one-armed hero, “Fullmetal Alchemist”, where alchemy is governed by the law of equivalent exchange: “If we want to obtain something, we must give something of equal value. » Under Diana’s spell, the dominant arm of a great warrior was the price to pay to send Steve home.

The third arc of “Absolute Wonder Woman” (issues 13 and 14, drawn by guest artist Matías Bergara) is even called “The Price”. Diana attempts to track down a being with destructive energy, only to discover that it is her own double. According to the principle of magical balance, Diana concludes that the copy was created to balance the good she did. However, Diana’s friends free her from doubt; the world was mired in despair before Diana’s arrival, so Diana is only rebalancing a pendulum titled toward evil. The world needs heroes willing to (literally) give an arm and a leg for others.

“Absolute Wonder Woman” #1-15 are now available.