Wonder Woman, Vol. 4: Destiny Calling

Wonder Woman (1987) (Single Issues) #20-24, a1

by George Pérez, Arthur Adams (Illustrator), Brian Bolland (Illustrator)

The fourth and final volume collecting the incredible run by comics master George Pérez (CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS)! Wonder Woman must face a god among men! This volume collects WONDER WOMAN #20-24, plus ANNUAL #1, featuring a host of comics' greatest artists

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Wonder Woman, Superheroes, Fiction, Fantasy

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1988

About the author

George Pérez (June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic books artist and writer, known for his work on various titles, including Avengers, Teen Titans and Wonder Woman.

Reviews

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good ending of a good classic run.
George Pérez really loved the character, the Greek Mythology references were well integrated with the storytelling, the artworks were just over the top, just some parts/dialogues not aged much well.

And the Wonder Woman Annual #1 (1988) illustrated by Arthur dams, Ross Andru, John Bolton, Brian Bolland and José Luis García-López is just a masterwork.

[Sesana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last of the George Perez piloted Wonder Woman, or at least the last that's been collected in trades. I really enjoyed his perspective on the character, and the heavily mythological backing she had here. And the art is beautiful, of course.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume marks the last collected edition of George Pérez's work on Wonder Woman (#1-24) in which he does writing and art duties. After issue #24, Pérez moved away from the artwork and it suffers a notable decline. He would continue writing the comic until issue #62, but from what I can see the comic's superiority was not there any more. So we are better to have the end of the collected edition here where we can see the consequence of the Amazons' decision to rejoin the rest of the international community and a key decision that the Pantheon took that persuaded the Amazons to act. While this volume does not stand on its own like the previous volumes, it still stands and it is definitive proof for me why I think George Pérez may be the best writer of this character I have so far read. He understood that this character was not Superman with breast, but a reaction against the "conventional wisdom" of what a standard superhero is suppose to be in look and philosophy.

[Kaleigh Norkum-Mathieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Pérez' Wonder Woman is a recommendation I have been receiving since I became a Wonder Woman fan. Now I certainly see why.

Perez writes Wonder Woman in a completely different way than superhero's are typically portrayed. She is devoted to love and peace, upholds the utmost faith in her Patreon's, and is a badass warrior. It is hard to find a character that just has this love for almost everyone she meets, but it is what makes her such an interesting hero.

And I wish the current comics had Julia and her daughter! I love that Diana has a mentor in Julia, they are both fantastic representations of strong women making their way through patriarch's world.

Another bonus is the heavy tie-in to her Greek mythology routes. The traditions from the Amazon's that relate to mythology and their intense relationship to the Greek gods made for such interesting storytelling. I could have done without Hermes falling in love with her though.

I also could have done without every single page having to talk about how beautiful Diana is. While reading the book it sometimes felt as if her beauty outshined the rest of her wonderful characteristics, I want Diana to shine without needing to remind the audience how pretty she is every minute of reading.

[Maythavee · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. This is probably my favourite volume so far! I really enjoyed it and I would've given it a full 5 stars if not for a frustrating moment between Diana and Julia that I will elaborate on later.

"Who Killed Myndi Mayer?"
I'll admit that I really didn't like Myndi Mayer when she was first introduced but now that we got to know more of her backstory, she grew on me and her death was shocking. I liked that this issue was told from Inspector Ed Indelicato's POV. This made it feel more like an investigative episode of TV which I thought was effective for this particular story. I admire Diana for her determination to find out the truth about Myndi's death. My heart broke for Diana when she found out that Myndi overdosed at the end of the story.

"The Cosmic Migration"
I really liked that the aftermath of Myndi's death was not brushed aside. The revelation about her cause of death made Diana question her purpose and faith once again but before she could dwell on it, she's called back to Themyscira. I loved that we got to see more of the Gods and learn about the inner conflict within their ranks. Hermes's discontent with the Gods has been hinted at for quite a few issues so it was nice that it was finally addressed. The relationship between the Gods and the Amazons are explored further and it was good to know that the Gods need the Amazons as much as the Amazons willingly gave their faith to them.

"Through Destiny's Door"
It was pretty cool to see the majority of the Amazons vote to reestablish official ties with Man's World. Previously, I had a problem with the Amazons forgiving Hercules for his crimes against them so I was pleasantly surprised when this issue was brought up again. Diana's conversation with Hellene (one of the Amazons supporting the isolationist stance) was so good. I was also very happy that Julia and Vanessa were the first mortals to formally visit Themyscira. The Kapatelis's relationship with Diana still remain one of my favourite things about Perez's run.

"A God Among Men"
Hermes's appearance in Man's World caused a rift between Diana and Julia because Diana chose to obey Hermes's will even though she felt uneasy about Hermes's attitude. I was frustrated with Diana for always choosing to follow the Gods. She was hurt by their actions before so I felt like she could've been more wary of them. I just hated it when Diana and Julia fight. Of course, Hermes's ignorance led to his downfall and Diana had to save his sorry ass.

"Combat Zone"
The best part of this story was Diana and Julia's reconciliation as well as seeing Diana standing up to Hermes. I did feel bad for Hermes but hopefully, he'll learn his lesson. The one thing that irked me was Julia blaming her outburst from the previous chapter on menopause. WTF? I thought that her argument about Hermes using his Godly powers to bribe people for their faith was a good one. Why was this excuse necessary?

"Annual 1"
I loved everything about this Annual. We got to experience the Kapatelis's visit to Themyscira while learning more about the Amazons through the stories they tell Julia and Vanessa. The last story in the Annual was particularly emotional.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonder Woman is one of those many characters whom I can't say that I ever disliked, but I never gave much thought to or had much interest in for most of my life. Then, one day, I pulled a few Perez issues out of a cheap comics bin and promptly went out and hunted down George's entire 62-issue run.

Finally, DC has done me the courtesy of collecting the first two years of the series - the issues that George drew (plus the Byrne-illustrated lead from Action #600 and the non-Perez all-star jam on Wonder Woman Annual #1) - into four nice trades.

Thankfully, the stories age very well (thankfully, because I actually bought all four before I sat down to start re-reading them). Forgoing traditional super-heroism (for the most part), Perez sells me by focusing intently on the mythology behind Diana - the Olympian gods are huge players in the series, Diana frequently battles minotaurs, hydras, gorgons and more, and the traditional, Greek society of Themyscira has NEVER been better developed than it was in these pages.

Major kudos to scripters Greg Potter and Len Wein for establishing the formal lilt of the series' prose - heavy captions and flowery language re-inforce the ancient, formal and traditional backdrop of the series.

Diana battles Ares the War God, is sent on a classis hero quest, bonds with some extremely well written Bostonians, discovers joy, elation and tragedy (poor Myndi Mayer's final story was a real tearjerker), finds that her gods are fallible and establishes that, yes, Diana will kill when her hand is forced (so why was it such a big deal in Sacrifice? ).

Great art, great writing (Perez doesn't miss a beat when taking over scripting from Wein) and terrific, fun, engaging stories.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's so refreshing to read a creator's labor of love. Once I finished it, I felt I could have read four more volumes.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

One thing that I really appreciated about this volume was how well it handled the topic of death. In all cases--from Myndi Myer to all the victims of Ixion's rampage--death is treated as a serious, horrifying occurrence that has a powerful effect on survivors. It's all too common for stories to kill off characters (central or background) on a whim, with no one feeling sorrow or pain. But Perez recognized the inherent drama that comes with death and put it to good use within his writing.

Generally, it was jarring to see different artists working on these pages. Some were loosely similar in style, but for the most part I was only missing Perez's pencil work when it was absent. The only exception was in the sub-chapter 'The First Statue,' illustrated by my favorite comic artist ever: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. He makes any story look epic, and I wish I had a fraction of the talent he has for composition, figure work, and camera placement. His work is so dynamic and I've never seen anyone so successful with drawing figures in perspective. It was sad to see the work of an artist still in his prime, immediately followed by Curt Swan, an artist well past his.

As a whole, I will always recommend the Perez WW books to comic readers. It's some of the best superhero comic work. It's filled with characters that you really get to know a lot about, maintains the perfect blend of formula and breaking new ground, and is wonderfully immersive.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Good: Modern comics can be fun, but, old-school ones tend to be a blast. The art style of these comics made them more enjoyable, and Wonder Woman finds herself in some insane situations in these comics. This volume has some fun moments, but...

The Bad: It also can be downright dull at times. One long comic in particular is especially boring. Fans of DC Comics' top superheroine might be disappointed by this, even if it is a "classic" volume. Plus, some profanity, sexual references, and sultry artwork were thrown in, all of which were unnecessary.

Conclusion: This is a mixed bag; it's got its great points and its low points. It's not a total loss, but, I'm sure Wonder Woman fans can do better than this.

Score: 3/5

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice finish to the relaunched Wonder Woman by George Pérez. There's plenty of places to take it, but it has a nice finality to it at the same time.

It's funny how different Wonder Woman is here than she has become in more modern takes. She's a little more willing to be the Warrior Princess recently. Her she fights very hard to not kill her enemies. Later on she will comment on her lack of Rogues by stating that she takes care of them.

These are great comics and I love the fact that not every issue is about punching.

Also: At one point Wondy stops herself from going through a building to save lives. Take note, Supes!!

[Nicolas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess I just don't get this George Perez run. I know it's classic and all that, but I just don't like it. It's split between Diana hanging out with a mother/daughter duo and melodramatic Amazon stuff. On top of that they are so narration heavy. Just not what I'm looking for. I want to see Wonder Woman being Wonder Woman, not just a naive goddess. I want her to fight bad guys and be cool. This is not for me.

We discussed this series more on an episode of the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pandering, Simplistic, Inconsistent crap.

[Rizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice semi-conclusion to the first part of the run. This is NOT the end of Perez's run, but it is where he stopped drawing the series. If you'd prefer to keep things short, this is a perfectly good place to stop. But personally I think some of the later stuff is worth reading as well, notably the Silver Swan story and War of the Gods (come at me).

[Zach Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent depiction of the Themysciran Princess, a real page turner. A perfect balance between Themyscira and Earth, with Diana as the bridge between two worlds. Also an amazing repackaging of Norse mythology and theology, something that DC does so well. I really enjoyed it, love Wonder Woman, great job!

[Luiz Santiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5

[Kuzorgsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

unfocused, but the best writing so far. oh mindy...
funny how 80's ww universe is so focused ou public image and political relations and faith. lovely ending between the core trio.

[Ang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Destiny Calling is the fourth volume of George Perez' Wonder Woman series.

It begins with the investigation into Myndi Mayers' death. Sadly, it was the form of a white powder that killed her and not the nefarious Skeeter LaRue, but he did end up getting what he deserved. It's just a sad ending to Myndi's story. In the following chapter, the Gods of Olympus reveal their plans to Wonder Woman, Hippolyte, and Menalippe about their plan for 'cosmic migration' and how they need Wonder Woman to help them start their journey by destroying Mount Olympus. Crazy stuff.

In chapter 3, we finally see that the Amazons of Themiscyra, Paradise Island, finally came to a decision about culturally exchanging with Man's World. The vote was in, and the Amazon majorite voted aye! The first humans to celebrate this vote was Julia and Vanessa. Meanwhile, a mystical being has arrived in Boston, in search of a particular person. It's still unknown in what their reason is for coming to Boston, or the identity of the person they're looking for. Maybe that will be explained in Wonder Woman: War of the Gods.

It's on Paradise Island that Julia and Vanessa get to see the world that Wonder Woman comes from, and a past in Julia's life finally reveals itself to her and helps her to understand why she was chosen as Wonder Woman's mentor in Man's World. Meanwhile, it appears that Wonder Woman was finally able to get in touch with Steve and Etta and that they even worked together on a very important investigation.

Later on, Wonder Woman gets a call from Myndi's lawyer and tells her that she needs to be present for the reading of the will. This is when we get to learn more about Myndi and her family. It's so sad that her sister Lilli and her parents were so cruel. I'm glad that Myndi at least had her brother. It definitely gives Myndi another depth to her. I like her more now as a character, it's just sad that she met the ending that she did.

In the final chapters, we encounter Hermes, Ixion, Euryale and Phobos. Hermes came down to Man's World in an effort to show mortals a true Olympian God. While Julia thought he was simply trying to bribe worshipers Hermes felt that he was simply rewarding them. Their encounter became contentious and Wonder Woman was stuck between them. It's through Hermes' ego that he was tricked by Euryale and Phobos into releasing Ixion on the masses. Unfortunately, many died before Wonder Woman could prevent Ixion from hurting more people.

This volume ended with the news broadcasting on a bittersweet emotion of the disaster is over, but now reclamation of the dead and rebuilding begins. It also ends with Julia admitting that some of her rage towards Hermes came from her menopausal hot flash and that she suspects Hermes' feelings towards Wonder Woman are more than he lets on. Very curious indeed.

I hope this isn't the end of the series. Maybe everything will be tied together and the stories will have their endings in Wonder Woman: War of the Gods. There are so many questions left unanswered.

Overall, I've thoroughly enjoyed this series and recommend this series to others.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

George Perez can draw. His images of Wonder Woman are iconic interpretations of the character; sadly, this volume's only redeeming quality is his art. Dealing with the Grecian pantheon, Wonder Woman finds herself torn between personal responsibilities in Boston and familial duties on Paradise Island. As the she attempts to reconcile both, Hermes continues to show up and meddle in everything. The majority of this tome seems to deal with the fallout of a battle with Ares and the build-up of Vanessa Kapatelis as a supporting kid character. While my fiancee is determined to complete her Wonder Woman collection with every issue, even she admits this story's "destiny" is to be forgotten.

[Jeff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this volume of Wonder Woman, you start to wonder if this is around where Perez got removed from the project, and whether it was actually his choice. So bogged down in mythology that, having read ahead, has very little to do with the future of the series and so so dull until the very end, which almost feels thrown together in a "well, Wonder Woman has to do something heroic, right?" kind of way...

I'm a huge Wonder Woman booster, but it's no wonder people struggle with her as a character when it comes down to arcs like this. While I'm glad I read it from a completionist standpoint...

[Jena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can see why it's so beloved, but for me the Pérez run is a little too bogged down in the mythology aspect. Which is weird, because I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology. I guess it's just because I'm more interested in WW's character and her relationships than I am with her devotion to the gods. The art is nice, the writing is generally very good, and it can serve as a good introduction to WW. For me, though, the focus on Olympus made it a chore at times to get through.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've enjoyed most of George Perez's run, but this volume just left me bored. There's little that happens and even the Greek adventure fails to spark interest. The art is gorgeous as ever, but I think Perez was losing his direction of the plot.

[Variaciones Enrojo]

Quinto taco recopilatorio de Wonder Woman - La Mujer Maravilla. Contiene los números 16 a 20 de esta colección.
Es el último tomo español de esta etapa cuyo contenido se ve más o menos reflejado en un recopilatorio estadounidense.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last of the Perez run, and I was sad to see it go. Not the best of his work, and several small storylines rather than one arc, but still quite entertaining.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why it says I read it in 1987: I own the first 60 something first printing issues of the George Perez run and treasure them heart breakingly.

[Juan Jose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent run!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my least favorite of the Perez trades..

[Kathleen Loucks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this series by George Perez. He returned to the roots of WW and told some entertaining stories.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a great storyline about the difference between being Diana Prince and being Wonder Woman, and all that those persona entail. Not too much cosmic nonsense.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una portada sencillamente hermosa.
Tomo 4 de la colección española, que llegó a publicar medio centenar de números USA en las 38 revistas que reentaparon luego en ocho tacos.

[Desire Manara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taco 4 con los números 16 a 20 de esta colección.

[Ribrarian Not · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro de historietas con ISBN propio. Taco 4 de 8.