DC Comics, writer
Greg Rucka and artist Nicola Scott have managed to do something no other
Wonder Woman creative team has ever done: chronicle how Wonder Woman (Diana)
made the transition to the modern world.
Having spent all of her life on Paradise Island (Themyscita) Diana knows
nothing of the world, save that told to her by her immortal sisters.
‘The Wonder Woman Vol. 2, Year One’ trade
paperback is comprised of several of the early issues of the new Rebirth
Wonder Woman comic book series for DC Comics.
In this collection readers learn about Diana’s
early life, her education, training as a warrior and life as a princess of
the Amazons.
Although steeped in the knowledge of the Amazons
and their history, Diana is naïve when it comes to the ways of the world.
Her life changes dramatically when the aircraft
carrying Steve Trevor crash lands on her island.
Having never seen a man before, especially one
from the outside world, Diana is both fascinated and afraid.
Having been taught about the abuses her sisters
suffered at the hands of men, Diana has preconceived notions about the nature
of men.
That all changes when she realizes that Steve is
near death and yet is still concerned about the other passengers on the
aircraft-unfortunately all the others have died.
Taking Steve back to their city, the Amazons nurse
him back to health and discover to their horror the condition of the outside
world.
Kudos to the writer who parallels the life of
Steve and Diana in an opening sequence.
It’s easy to see why they are so drawn to each other, considering
their similarities.
Once healthy enough to get about Steve is treated
as an honored guest. While on the
island he witnesses the Amazons society and their peaceful existence.
Still, the outside world beckons and Steve insists
upon returning home. Dismayed by the
events in the outside world and the discovery of their island it is decided
by the queen 0t send a representative of the Amazons to the outside world.
That task falls to Diana. She is granted great physical powers by
the gods along with special Amazonian warrior artifacts to aid her including
her famous wrist bands and rope.
She, along with Steve, return to Steve’s military
base aboard her invisible jet.
Once arrived Wonder Woman is taken back by her
reception. Suspicious and cautious of
her motives she is placed under guard until her story checks out.
The story does an excellent job of showing how
young, naïve and courageous Diana is.
She is truly a ‘stranger in a strange land.’
Customs, laws, and protocol –everything is new and
strange to her.
What will she do?
Where will she live? What shall she do for a living? How will she fit
in? All of these challenges and more
face her.
But, her time of adjustment is short-lived when
Ares The God of War appears. It is up
to her, with the help of Steve, to stop his evil plans and become the true
heroine she is meant to be.