Wonder Woman: Earth One

Wonder Woman: Earth One #1-3

by Grant Morrison, Yanick Paquette (illustrator)

Wonder Woman’s origin has been retold numerous times…but never before like this! From the mind of author Grant Morrison (Animal Man) and the brush of artist Yanick Paquette (Swamp Thing) comes this familiar but unique take on Wonder Woman’s origin. Torn between upholding her duty to the Amazons and her desire to help those in need, Diana must learn to be not only a warrior, but a leader if the Amazons are to survive the conflicts of Man’s World. Collects Wonder Earth One Vols. 1-3.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Wonder Woman, Fiction, Fantasy, Comic Book

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Grant Morrison has been working with DC Comics for twenty five years, after beginning their American comics career with acclaimed runs on ANIMAL MAN and DOOM PATROL. Since then they have written such best-selling series as JLA, BATMAN and New X-Men, as well as such creator-owned works as THE INVISIBLES, SEAGUY, THE FILTH, WE3 and JOE THE BARBARIAN. In addition to expanding the DC Universe through titles ranging from the Eisner Award-winning SEVEN SOLDIERS and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN to the reality-shattering epic of FINAL CRISIS, they have also reinvented the worlds of the Dark Knight Detective in BATMAN AND ROBIN and BATMAN, INCORPORATED and the Man of Steel in The New 52 ACTION COMICS.

In their secret identity, Morrison is a "counterculture" spokesperson, a musician, an award-winning playwright and a chaos magician. They are also the author of the New York Times bestseller Supergods, a groundbreaking psycho-historic mapping of the superhero as a cultural organism. They divide their time between their homes in Los Angeles and Scotland.

Reviews

[Carmela Berkhouse · Rating 2 out of 5]

while i enjoy the art for the most part, the core themes of feminist revolution in a male run society, and its general progressivism with being a mainstream mega popular character, i just cannot ignore how god damn fascist this book is. grant morrison clearly did not know how to comment on how the amazonians way of “love by force” is no different than a violent society, men still have no agency in their book, it really is just childish reverse sexism. instead what we get is basically akin to a nerd incapable of removing his fantasies from his politics, sexy sci-fi/mythological fascist women who use lesbian BDSM to cure naziism. truly genius ideals, who needs to arrive at conclusions by intellectualism? i do understand showing love and compassion is the way to help people understand your cause, but we do all understand the difference between that & ‘The Authors Barely Disguised Fetish’, right? it’s frustrating because i want to enjoy this book for its progressive ideas, but it feels more like moral luck than actual spine, no real commitment to ideals or rational conclusions based on values, just vibes.

beyond this though, Diana is a very wishy washy character, while i do like that she faces conflict, something that bugged me is that it feels like it all just rolled off her back. to some degree Diana should be an all powerful being, but i didn’t really pick up even a scent of long term remorse over the death of her mom. she doesn’t really grow, she turns from a curious rebel to a feminist icon party girl. riveting, truly riveting. and look, i earnestly don’t mind stories about vapid girls who do drugs and drink to soil their brains, lord knows i love reading about myself, but i don’t really feel like we committed to any angle here, she existed as the story needed her to, not as a real woman.

ultimately the kicker here is this is feminist literature that does not respect women or view them as beings with true agency, they are plot devices or they are comedic fetish material, that is the purpose they serve here, and it’s embarrassing the message it tries to force down your throat while not understanding what it preaches in the slightest. big let down, as someone who’s never read wonder woman before, this feels like it was certainly a bad start, even if i did enjoy it a little mindlessly at times. entertaining if you can just shut your brain off entirely, but it does not hold up under the merits of even a little ideological scrutiny. the ‘i’m a male feminist’ of comics.

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhhh.

This was okay, and it was nice to read a fresh take on Wonder Woman's origins, but wasn't a huge fan of the writing.

Some of it was really good, and had me hanging on. Other parts were really confusing and hard to follow.

I also have a lot of problems with these male writers of WW that seem to think WW standing up for women means 'bringing the world of man to its knees.' Feminism is not wanting to dominate men, and for some reason male writers of WW just don't seem to get that? They're very gung-ho about destroying the patriarchy but I don't think they really understand what that means for women.

It was an interesting portrayal of some of the characters, but ironically the men are more fleshed out than WW herself. Instead, she's barely here.

Not my favourite WW comic by any means, I'm afraid. All up, kind of disappointing.

[Aidan]

Broke: Wonder Woman is the Greek mythology superhero

Woke: Wonder Woman is the feminist superhero

Bespoke: Wonder Woman is the dominatrix BDSM superhero

[Isaac Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm confused. I enjoyed this story but it felt a little off. I felt as though a critique of Themmiscara was coming and then it never materialized. The society felt non-violently authoritarian. Maybe I'm just not getting it. Still was enjoyable.

[Jos Trinidad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this in today's current climate was really interesting. Despite being published over 10 years ago, the themes of gender equality and support for movements that help everyone is so contemporary. Unsurprisingly political and unabashedly feminist, this was a great comic to truly embody the cyclical nature of motherhood and daughterhood. Coincidentally reading this around Mother's Day, it triggered so many memories and quotes about how much mothers stunt themselves to let their daughters grow. I think that it's truly apparent in the beginning and end of this collection that there is a heavy focus on the symbolic meanings of motherhood and how daughters continue the stories their mothers stopped to raise them.

I really loved the story this book told about relationships and societal dynamics that women face in their day-to-day, sometimes without even realizing it. The commentary it makes about then-contemporary events showed me how little progress we have made in the past decade and how much work we still have to do.

[s o p h g u i c h a r d a n · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a lot of opinions and thoughts on this that I am unsure if I can articulate in a clear way.

To preface— I am a huge fan of Wonder Woman's character and I have generally loved Grant Morrison's writing for characters like Superman and Batman. I have no issue with Diana not being written by a woman (though it is not preferred) as long they know how to write her well and how to write important elements of her story (Themyscira, Steve Trevor, etc).

In this story, I do feel like Grant wrote Diana generally well but every other element of the story really missed the mark for me.

I understand the choice to lean into the bondage/BDSM roots of the character's original author through this version of the Amazons but I honestly just really hated the sexual depiction we got and struggled to push through that. It permeated into other issues I had with the story and I personally found that the "feminist" narrative the story was attempting to be a bit unrealized.

I also found the race-swapping element of Steve Trevor to be a bit problematic at best in this regard, as I am not sure GM successfully executed what he was trying to achieve by the end of the novel with the Amazon's unchanged authoritarianism.

Sigh... I guess I may need to go re-read All-Star Superman or Arkham Asylum again to give GM another chance.

[Fil · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a word: wow!

I admit to being a bit concerned after seeing reviews online referencing woke ideology in this story, but as I had already ordered the book, I just crossed my fingers and waited.

My worry was for naught, as I really got into the story after just a few pages. Whether I am too dim to pick up on those references or the reviews I had seen were overly sensitive, I can't say. Hercules as presented in the opening scene was pretty much a douche, but it set the stage for why Paradise Island is as it is. The story pulled me in and I sat up way too late reading to see what happened next. The mark of a truly good tale.

The art: beautiful! Page after page of large double page spreads and well laid out panels.

I was a bit sad when it ended and there isn't another volume to continue the story. But I will be reading this one again.

[kel · Rating 1 out of 5]

this has to be satire. please say sike... (art was pretty tho, but weird motifs kept appearing)

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

“Men, renounce the violence that has kept you in chains, the roles that confine you, the fears that haunt you. And join us in a better world.”

The feminist in me glowed a thousand-fold upon completing this book. The first part of the story follows our icon Diana, navigating her complicated lore and relationship with iconic mother Hippolyta and their complex mother-daughter relationship. The exploration of this dichotomy was well written with gorgeous queer themes and art of Paradise Island (easily one of my fave parts of the book).

Now onto the 2nd and 3rd part of the book, where Diana ventures into “mens world” which she finds to be a hot mess and is disgusted at the sight of how misogyny has left its women and she comes in trying to enact change and provide women with the Amazonian way of life - which honestly seems ideal and at its core the bare minimum of what women deserve.

Diana’s intentions are good but at some point the writing eventually strays to become - “angry feminist becomes violent and only wants to kill and destroy men” and the tone starts to grey. That’s where you can see how this book was written from the POV of a man and how shallow they perceive a modern day feminist to be. Sooo a lil bit of an oof there.

The antagonist being Max Lord didn’t really make that much of an impact and neither did leading men, Steve Trevor. To be honest, they didn’t add too much to the story but I’m not too mad at that because Diana and the Amazons gave what needed to be given.

The side story of having a Nazi Barbie was certainly a CHOICE. And her being the one to cause Hippolyta’s demise was a wild choice. Baffled me really~!

But overall, a pretty fun read with alot of amazing quotes that every woman should memorise by heart when talking down to a man 😌 I hope Paradise Island eventually becomes a reality for women one day, for I would be more than happy to submit to loving submission to the Amazonian women. I hope to see a place where all women can feel safe and happy away from the darkness of misogyny~😉

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonder Woman: Earth One: Complete Collection

For millennia, the Amazons of Paradise Island have lived in hidden isolation from the world of men. Hippolyta, the Queen of the Amazons, is raising her daughter Diana to be a healer and to learn from her fellow Amazons. When Steve Trevor crashes on Paradise Island, Diana makes a choice which will not only change her, but also her home and the world of men.

Morrison's plot is expansive and covers a new origin story, as well as an intriguing plot where the US Government is determined to end the threat of the Amazons. The artwork is not just amazing, but genuinely beautiful. Wonder Woman is drawn to stun in this book, but the emphasis is on power and control and the message of equality and female empowerment makes this an important addition to DC's line.

[Federico Kereki · Rating 2 out of 5]

I cannot avoid thinking that WW sounded a bit fascistic and dictatorial at times...

[Brent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Grant honey this really ain't it.

[Alena Xuan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it for the art.

The rest of it sucks.

Honestly, I could do without the woke agenda and with more Greek mythology.

[Rian Bolger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure if this was the best first read for Grant Morrison, but I saw people mention it all goes back to the odd origins of Wonder Woman with all the bondage and chains and so on, and I was interested.

I'll get it out of the way now. This is missing a star because the pacing is insane. It was really quite hard to follow what was happening, where the perspective had moved to, and at times what period we were in. But the art is gorgeous and the story and themes were quite fun to parse and settle into an opinion on.

I think it's interesting that, no matter how utopian or idealised Amazonian (or Harmonian) society gets, it still indebts itself to a ruling power. I suppose that's what will happen when the Greek Gods exist in no uncertain terms. It's hard to critique the theologic roots of their government when Aphrodite and Athena literally exist. But I'm sure if you viewed our devotions to nebulous ideas like "democracy" or "truth" as an outsider we'd look much the same.

There is obviously a gender-essentialist issue that arrises from narratives like this, but I don't believe it's nearly as guilty as something like Gerwig's Barbie, wherein matriarchy has simply created a virtually identical oppressed class in men. The problem is not solved, but simply inverted. And Wonder Woman: Earth One flirts with this repeatedly throughout. Diana obviously opposes it for the most part, believing a middle ground of true equality is achievable, and it certainly seems like Harmonia has achieved something like that by the end. The council of presidents or something at the end has one man on it, the rest women. Either it was a particularly good run for the girls that year, or this inverted matriarchy is starting to settle into the degree of equality we've seen emerge in the last 100 years. If the latter is the case, I'm largely of the opinion that like, sure. It's probably our turn on the bottom, as white men. We've been on top long enough.

But you'll notice that Harmonia doesn't actually seem to have any explicit, clear cut prejudices against men. And in the "Manly Party" we see just how silly men's rights movements are. We do not see anything about Harmonia to suggest men are second class citizens. They do not live a lesser life. No one at all seems to want for anything. But they're still crying out that they have been oppressed, because they believe equality must be transactional. For women to gain something, men must lose it. For minorities to gain something, the majority must lose it. We live in a world of abundance. Harmonia exists even more so in one. There is more than enough to go around. Everyone could live the same, comfortable life with no strain on resources. But these idiots are convinced when someone is franchised, or given political asylum, or is allowed to marry, that something material, that they didn't even know they had, has been snatched from their hands. The Manly Party is lashing out at a world that loves it because they are not the sole focus of that love. They have to share an infinite resource with someone else, God forbid.

I do appreciate that a trans woman appears at one point to ask if she's welcome in Amazonia and Diana is just like "Yeah, of course. All women are." But Betty's later comment about a cringe nickname being like a deadname was strange. It felt like Morrison wanted to acknowledge that they know deadnaming is a thing and that it is bad, but they couldn't find room for it anywhere else. A ham-fisted but well-meaning thumbs-up of support. I love hyphens! But I'm not trans of course, maybe it's fine and I'm barking up the wrong tree there.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, what was with the Nazi super soldier? I guess it's meant to reflect this all-forgiving nature Diana espouses where anyone can be reformed. But, I don't know. She's a Nazi! I guess I understand that she's been brainwashed into those beliefs, as many Nazis probably were. I liked that they just reverse brainwash her into being a kind lesbian. Brainwashing someone to believe an objectively kinder, benevolent philosophy is an odd question. I guess because comics brainwashing and real brainwashing are like totally different phenomena. But like, I don't know! I think brainwashing is the only thing that's going to fix an awful lot of right wing freaks out there. Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

Analysing a world with an island of superpowered lesbians with real world gender politics is probably a vain effort, but it was fun! And I really want to read more Wonder Woman comics, so it won in that regard. Just not that horrible Tom King run going at the moment. Please.

[Tom Selley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grant Morrison clearly had two big things coming into this that sum up my feelings on the book; 40 years of ideas for Wonder Woman and three volumes to fit it in. Because there are interesting concepts being thrown around in this book constantly, but nothing gets enough presence to be developed in a meaningful way.

As it's a Morrison book, a lot of these ideas are drawn from Wonder Woman's Golden Age stories, particularly Marston's bondage-heavy writing. And the general themes of bondage, both in the visuals and in the ideology of loving submission are things I generally enjoyed. They were certainly the most consistent motifs throughout the book, and though it became gratuitously lecherous at times it usually felt like a meaningful inclusion.

Unfortunately, I found Morrisons visions of Amazonian-styled feminism pretty incoherent, it's probably the most dominant case of underdevelopement. To start with, the facist implications of a genetically superior and isolationist nation who follow a single, unchanging ruler are touched on near the start with the suggestion that it is wrong, but nothing much more is said about it. We are shown a vision of a future earth that is completely ruled by women, and what's clearly intended to be a matriarchal paradise comes across as uncanny and almost totalitarian. The conclusion seems to double down on the facist undertones, with the apparent justification that it created a paradise.

On the one hand, this series began in 2016, the starting point for what has become a rapid erosion of women's rights in America and globally, so I can sympathise with the desire to write a female power fantasy in response. But where it falls down is in giving Princess Diana both immense physical and structural power, and pitting her against incredibly underpowered villains. The imbalance that it's responding to is never depicted in a satisfying way.

Overall it's a lot of fun if you don't think too deeply into the traditions of Amazonian culture as they are presented, or the somewhat misguided attempts at a form of feminism that is just as extreme as it is vague.

[Terry Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A subversive and challenging read that refuses to coddle the reader or give in to standard tropes.

Morrison's take on Wonder Woman's origins reads like a feminist manifesto, but without anger or caustic name-calling.

The three volumes collected here play out like a morality tale about gender roles, and Morrison's deft storytelling elevates the portions that might have felt labored or didactic.

Paquette's pencils are absolutely stunning, and the manner in which he frames panels with thematic borders is pleasing and smile inducing.

Enter into this prepared to have a tough conversation with the author about submission, warfare, gender ideologies, sexual norms and quite a bit more.

And a wee bit of punching.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

ngl war kurz davor den Comic ausm Fenster zu schmeißen aber der Artwork war zu schön

[Paulasta Das · Rating 3 out of 5]

Need a drink or a smoke to digest this!
Ambitious story, unique concept, but the plot is not tight.
New feminist take on Battle of sexes.
Will rate 3.5.

[Piotr Rzeźnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

myślałem że będzie gorzej ale było git

[cauldronofevil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t typically like ‘Elseworlds’ stories. Most of the time they amount to nothing more than ‘wouldn’t it be cool if Batman had this costume?’

Or ‘hey, let’s change the sex around of these characters and see what happens!’ Meh.

And of course, the few times I do like the ideas, it doesn’t go anywhere! Power Girl/Huntress.

But I got a deal on this book and I like the art. Sue me.


“Issue #1” tells the story of Hippolyta killing Hercules and freeing her fellow women asking Aphrodite for a place free of men.

The artwork is amazingly good!

3000 years later Paradise Island is a high-tech society crossed with the traditional view of Themyscira.

Wonder Woman comes home in the coolest interpretation of her invisible robot plane I’ve ever seen.

As she comes out of the plane she is immediately arrested and shacked ‘by order of the Queen Hippolyta’. The Fates are called in to adjudicate her trial.

First they wrap Diana in the lasso of truth. First Diana tells the story of healing a wounded deer with the Purple Ray.

This story services no purpose except to bring back some archaic technology that few Wonder Woman fans would even remember. And I’m all for it!

Diana’s friend Dindra asks Diana if she is going to participate in the ‘games’. Diana says that her royal strength and endurance would give her an unfair advantage so her mother forbids her.

Diana later catches her mother watching the Twin Towers explode on a magic mirror (Magic Sphere).

”Men never change yet continuous change they demand.”

They talk about Diana being made of clay as a wish from her mother. Diana asks what she has been trained for?

On the day of the festival there is lots of dancing, Amazons dressed up as deer and tied up, giant kangaroo jousting and blasters and bracelets games.

Diana shakes things up by wearing a lion head (presumably from Herakles pet) and calling out to the Amazons to chase her. They chase her. They don’t catch her.

An interesting retelling. Nothing much is new, but still well told. 3 stars

“Issue #2” The amazons continue the trial of Diana. She finds a paratrooper washed up on the beach. She steals the Purple Ray to heal him with. But it has no effect on men!

So Diana challenges the contestants in the ongoing games and wins. Her part was supposed to be submissive.

In a very weird and unsatisfying sequence, but beautifully drawn.

Diana takes the plane and leave, but they smell man on her and Hippolyta order the amazons to find the man and kill him!

Diana goes to Steve Trevor and loads him on the Wonder Plane. The Amazons find her and ask her to surrender. Diana says goodbye and takes off. The try to shoot down the Wonder Plane on Sky-cycles. But the Wonder Plane can outrun any pursuit.

This was good. The contest was short and vague, but it’s a story mostly everyone knows and we really only get the different bits.

3 stars

“Issue #3” starts with Wonder Woman bringing Steve to a hospital.

I don’t really know if these were released in separate ‘issues’ but I’m going to treat this review as if they were.

On Paradise island Hippolyta decides to visit the Medusa the Gordon to get punishment for Diana.

The hospital doesn’t have time for Wonder Woman’s nonsense and blow her off and take Steve away. She wanders the hospital. She thinks the hospital must have Purple Rays somewhere. When she finds out that women actually die her she is shocked and runs out of the hospital.

Right into army jeeps and machine guns and soldiers who command her to stop. She lifts a jeep. She gets in the invisible robot jet and leaves.

At Diana’s trial they call Beth Candy to the stand. She tells the story of how her sorority girls were on a bus when it struck by lightning. It goes flying off a bridge. Diana catches the bus and puts it gently down. Diana meets the sisters.

At the hospital, Steve is interviewed by senior officers. He (says) he remembers nothing but that the swimsuit model saved his life. Then Diana and the Holliday girls come in. She tells all the men to surrender to the Wonder Women of Amazonia then all will be well.

Let’s at least just keep an open mind…

The officers book him a hotel room and tell him to get the location of Paradise island.

At the hotel, Steve tries to tell her to shut it. She gives him a dog collar.

”Kneel, for we are bound.”

Later she asks Beth what went wrong.

”You’re from a paradise island of science fiction lesbians?”

Beth and the Holliday girls give Diana a makeover. As they are finished Diana senses the Gorgon and runs out to fight her.

Several Amazon warriors tell Diana she is coming with them. The Holliday girls come to Diana’s aid but are dismissed by the Amazons.

”Amazonia has class bitches too? That’s a bummer. Kinda spoiled my fantasy.”

Then soldiers come in and tell them all to surrender.

But then Diana surrenders to Mala and the Amazons. Diana and Mala bring the Steve Trevor statue to Paradise island. Diana has recalibrated it to work on men and un-stones him.

Using the lasso of truth, Steve testifies before Queen Hippolyta.

The lasso determines that Steve actually covered for the Amazons only telling them he saw Diana.

Diana then asks Queen Hippolyta to be submitted to the lasso for questioning.

The three fates pop in from time to time and comment on the proceedings. I’ve been waiting for this to make literary, foreshadowing or character sense and so far its done nothing to help the story.

Diana says that the signal that lead Steve to the island was her magic mirror.

Diana asks if that whole ‘made from clay’ story is true. It’s not. Diana was created to destroy man’s world. But Queen Hippolyta changed her mind later.

This is actually pretty good. A re-telling of her origin that actually adds some new twists. There are some weaknesses but too few to mention.

4 stars

The next story starts with a flashback as a battle-dressed Queen Hippolyta meeting an Aryan Nazi-Woman with a keen fashion sense. She is claiming Paradise island in the name of Adolph Hitler.

It was all too brief, but in case you doubted, the German army lost.

Honestly I want to try wearing the Venus Girdle.

In the present day while bad men review the fate of the Uberfaulein in 1942, Wonder Woman had made the cover of every magazine.

Giving a Ted Talk she is asked about Trans women and other challenging questions.

”… so why can’t you put a lasso ‘round the whole world?”

Diana finds there are no easy answers for the world in the short time that people live.

On Paradise island, Queen Hippolyta worries that Diana is succumbing to the anxieties of man’s world.

On Earth Wonder Woman is racing a state of the art jet plane against her invisible jet. Steven’s plane blows up.

Steve (after being rescued) tells Wonder Woman to be careful when working with the authorities. They’re very frightened of the power they see in her.

”It wouldn’t be the first time these a-holes started something they didn’t know how to finish.”

Ripped from the headlines much?

The military is already plotting to destroy Wonder Woman because of her potential threat.

Wonder Woman rescues a group of women from middle-eastern kidnappers.

After she finishes the rescue she has a whiskey with the (male) hostage negotiator. Dr. Zeiko. They talk politics. He thinks she is naïve.

”If men submit to the loving authority of women, bound by the Amazon code, war will end!”

He wonders if she has thought about submitting the loving authority of a male? She thinks he’s making a pass. He’s not.

Elsewhere Steve is asked by his General what is going on. Maxwell Lord just showed him a huge battlesuit built to attack Paradise Island.

Steve and Etta both try to warn Wonder Woman that Dr. Zeiko is planning military psy-ops actions, but she doesn’t believe it. Dr. Zeiko would do that.

Later with Dr. Zeiko she practices bullets and bracelets and tells him about her upbringing. They also kiss. Zeiko asks her to ask him one question while he is tied up with the lasso of truth. He tells her that the government believes she is an advance scout for an invasion force. She is very upset by this. Mission accomplished for Dr. Psycho.

She comes back to his house to apologize. But he won’t believe her unless she proves that is not her mission by letting him tie her with the lasso of truth.

Once tied up, he gives her a post-hypnotic suggestion and commands her to forget everything he tells her.

Steve comes to Dr. Psycho’s house looking for Diana. He is pissed. Dr. Psycho asks Wonder Woman to help. She attacks Steve and knocks him out. Dr. Psycho tells her to remember everything he told her and sends her on her way.

One home Diana gets a call from her mother on the ‘mental radio’ in her apartment. Queen Hippolyta says she will speak to all the women of the world tomorrow.

On Paradise Island the Uberfaulein who Queen Hippolyta took in as a fellow woman has been triggered and kills Queen Hippolyta. She takes the Girdle of Invulnerability from the queen’s body. Uberfaulein runs.

Wonder Woman is giving a speech in front of the White House. She says the rule of man is over, even if that means bringing them to their knees.

In some government basement, Maxwell Lord says its his turn to take over. He activates Uberfaulein with a remote control.

Beth comes to Diana’s apartment to warn her about Dr. Psycho. But Dr. Psycho comes in and tells her that her mother has been killed by white supremacists. Then Uberfaulein busts in holding her mother’s heart.

Beth smacks Psycho with his own cane. Beth calls the Holliday girls to help.

Wonder Woman attacks Uberfaulein. They fight. Diana can’t hurt Uberfaulein because of the girdle. But she can lasso her.

Steve wakes up, flies the invisible robot plane and Diana, Uberfaulein and Dr. Psycho’s leave Washington with an Amazon escort.

I can’t really tell if these were published as separate ‘issues’ or what so I’m going to review them as one big book. Sorry.

Wonder Woman takes Psycho back to Paradise Island. Diana asks him why he is so afraid of them. He doesn’t answer.

Diana tells the Amazons they are at war. They crown her the Eternal Queen.

The next story starts with the news 1,000 years from now. It thinks back to when Queen Hippolyta died. Diana and Aunt Desira talk about how they pamper the men on Paradise island and how content they are with their lot.

Where did the Amazons get butterfly wings?

”Our way of life is a perfect example of submission to loving authority, as I shall prove to you…”

Desire shows that even Dr. Psycho is now tame and docile by the Pax Ray (another purple ray beam). She offers her Venus girls for when war comes to Paradise island.

Diana, Mala and Troia go to the woods to visit the Wild Girls. Uberfaulein (who killed Queen Hippolyta) is there. Artemis their leader is questioning the relevancy of the monarchy itself. They are reading to end all men.

”This rhetoric of genercide is bracing, I’ll admit, ….but all these men are not one man.”

Artemis challenges Diana for the throne of Amazonia. They fight. Wonder Woman wins. But it’s all good to Artemis.

Wonder Woman talks to the Fates.

”Man’s world must fall.”

Air Force General Darnell talks to Steve Trevor who is still incarcerated.

I have no idea how much time has passed or what that whole Etta Candy scene was about with her brother.

Darnell is trying to get Steve out of prison. Etta thinks she can do it legally but Darnell is sure that with Maxwell Lord pulling the presidents strings it’ll be tough. Darnell slips Steve a contact lens. This lets Steve escape prison.

Maxwell Lord isn’t worried about Steve escaping. He’s planning a war with the Amazons.

”….the fact that they’re all women doesn’t make this a war against all women. Only the uncooperative ponees. ”

Maxwell Lord activates an army of battlesuit-drones. Maxwell says he knows how to find the island.

Police are also violently rounding up female protesters.

On Paradise island Wonder Woman is watching Max Lord through her mother’s mirror.

Maxwell Lord is Ares


One thousand years from that day a woman (who looks suspiciously like Wonder Woman) is giving a speech in a large filled auditorium, when a man with a bomb vest walks in. He says his name is Garret Manly.

Then we see some other guy speaking to a bunch of incels ranting about bringing back the good old days with Operation Hercules.

Unfortunately this book kind of makes no linear sense. It’s doing too much and none of it is being done all tha well.

The battlesuit-drones attack the island.

The Amazons realize that their pacifying rays are having no effect because there are no men inside the suits. They are drones.

They fight the drones. A combined force of giant female cyclops, harpies, female centaurs, amazons and Wonder Woman beat the drones.

Diana tells Areas (Max Lord) he has lost.

Uberfaulein helps out. Wonder Woman releases her from her Venus girdle.

Steve also helps out in the invisible robot plane.

Wonder Woman finds the heart organ of Queen Hippolyta that did not burn when they cremated her and announces (to who? How?) that all women are welcome in Amazonia and men too if they can renounce violence. And that she hears women will have a sex strike until things improve.

Then Wonder Woman goes to the Underworld and tells everyone not to follow her. They hint to Steve that this probably doesn’t apply to him.

Wonder Woman takes the river styx being driven by Charon. She meets an pets Cerberus the three headed dog. She passes through Erebus (a kind of limbo for ghosts). She then meets three giant Judges of the Underworld. They ask who she is. They give her directions to find her mother.

She continues until she finds her mother, who seems to be repeating the same phrases over and over. Then the Endless One captures her and wraps her in bandages. Then a bird flies out of the Endless one’s mouth and Steve comes and unties Wonder Woman from her mummy wraps. Steve comes and rescues her.

They thank each other. They kiss. Steve dies.

Maxwell Lord or Ares (it could go either way) attacks Themyscira with a drone/giant robot.

The bomb-vest guy Shuri is overwheled and unarmed by Amazon kisses. He swears that even if he goes down there are hundreds more - and they have Arda Moore.

Wonder Woman attacks the giant robot and lassos it which will even compel the code so the robot will follow her commands. Which means it won’t self-destruct when Max/Ares wants it to.

Really?

Wonder Woman announces victory to the world and also tells the world that the scientists of Amazonia have made contact with dozens of parallel universes.

I have no idea what the point of saying this was or how it affects anything that’s going on.

And then the world sees Themyscira flying on an island.

On Earth, Etta is instructing college women on getting the best ideas for the fairer, cleaner world to come.
Redestribution of wealth prior to the abolition of money as a concept.

This idea has always ticked me off. Money is simply a measure of value. How are you going to have a society or world where there is no concept of VALUE?!? It’s just stupidly unnecessary. If you get rid of money, you have to replace it with EXACTLY THE SAME THING! Money isn’t the root of all evil, it’s the love of money that’s the root of all evil.

Then it just gets two weird and non-linear to follow till it ends with Diana apparently having a daughter which may mean she is reincarnated as Queen Hippolyta or may mean nothing.

I’m going with nothing. I like a lot of this from the start. I liked the art. I liked the idea that the Amazons have a kind of Wakanda technology which hasn’t really been done before but makes more sense than anything else. I liked the nod towards a ‘submission to loving authority’ because it makes more sense for Amazons than wanting any kind of ‘democratic’ ideas. Though this story made it seem scarily authoritarian.

I liked Diana being naïve about the way the real world works and having to adjust to American life.

But throughout the book there are all sorts of things that are never explained or ideas that are just skipped over without explanation.

And while I love Etta and the Holiday girls they actually had no real purpose in this story whatsoever.

And the three Fates? Never meant anything or amounted to anything.

Diane sort of ‘disguised’ as this robed woman. What for? How did she switch places with Arda Moore? Why did she switch places with Arda Moore? Who the hell is Arda Moore and why do we care?

In some ways I wish they would make this the real Wonder Woman because the difference in ideals would make for some good storytelling over the long term. But so much of this book was deus ex machina that all rang rather hollow.

There was no real ‘conquering’ of man’s world except that it was just an automatic done deal. Maxwell was Ares all along? So what? He folded like a cheap suit anyway. Might as well have just been some dude.

While I enjoyed some parts of it, the whole thing left me with a WTF just happened and why.

I can give this 2 stars for the art, but I can’t honestly recommend it even to Wonder Woman fans (of which I am one).

[Knightdotcom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascism and patriarchy defeated by the powers of feminism, lesbianism(?), and love.
I have a deep appreciation and respect for Grant Morrison, but oh if it wasn’t incredibly obvious that this was written by someone who is not a woman… Some of this made it painfully obvious that men were involved in the writing and the art because there are so many insane looking panels of Diana in this. Overall, it wasn’t actually bad and I did get really invested during some sections, but I really would’ve loved if some of the themes of feminism on Themyscira were actually fitting into the definition of feminism. Understandably, this is an Earth One comic, so I get that it’s a reimagining, and it didn’t do a terrible job of that, —in fact if you’re not overly dissecting this, it’s quite enjoyable— but the aspects of peace and feminism could’ve been written a little better.
Not bad, not my favorite, but I would still recommend it!

[Sotiris Kosmas · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star allotted only for the art, which is fine although nothing to write home about. The plot, promising to start with, falls off a cliff and becomes non - sensical. The worst offense however is that the story is told without any subtlety or nuisance and the identity politics will make this a very dated comic

[Paul Jr. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This genuinely made ZERO sense. They want to make the world peaceful by brainwashing? What the f*ck Morrison? Confusing time line and weird ass plot, so disappointed.

[Jipi Perreault · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deep look at Wonder Woman but even more the Amazon society which envision a post patriarchy world.

[StephY · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a kid, I used to think girls were the best ever. While most boys my age at school watched WWE or Dragon Ball, I was watching Winx Club or the Disney princesses. All of them wanted to be the red Power Ranger, I thought the girls were cooler. Superheroes were the small niche where male-led stories captured me. Spider-Man and Batman were all the rage thanks to Raimi and Nolan, but when I caught a glimpse of Diana in Justice League Unlimited, I was enamored by the idea of such a powerful woman. Over 15 years later, much of this dissonance between me and the other boys at school started to make sense.

So, what does this have to do with Wonder Woman: Earth One?

Well, I think Grant Morrison might share some of those views I had when I was a kid. And his openness about his queer identity also informs much of what he writes here. This is a story that puts women on the highest pedestal ever, perhaps even to a fault at times. Everything about Diana, the Amazons and the world's reaction to Wonder Woman feels incredibly idealistic, some might even say it's fetishistic throughout. The art depicts these women as goddesses in every page, with the highest reverence to their bodies in a way that caught me off guard at first but I ended liking by the end (though I feel like the colors might pop more on glossy paper).

Volume One is by far the strongest, as a direct reimagining of Diana's origin we're mostly treading familiar waters. It's on Volume Two and Three where things get really weird. I was told that this story was odd, but the directions they take are sometimes insane. I was on board for some, but others had me scratching my head. It seems like Morrison views the women of this story as beings that can do no wrong, and the ones that do are doing so because of men's influence, which takes away from the nuance a story like this could benefit from. For a story that has its main character preach about "submitting to loving authority", there must he more to it than just blindly accepting change. Morrison hints at this at the beginning but never dwells on it, assuming that just because the Amazons on his story thrived on this idea, the next step on evolution is to simply move from the patriarchy to the matriarchy. But as a simplistic concept? As a fantasy, it's also interesting to just let the imagination go, and wonder about how different things would be if the men in power weren't so hellbent on making life hard for anyone who doesn't look like them.

We've seen superhero stories over the years being used to preach all types of ideas. From the rejection of nazism in the 40s to the fearmongering of communism in the 80s. From heroes that preach leftist ideals to characters that might as well be on the ballot of the republican party. And during all of this, female characters never seemed to catch a breath. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the author.

And perhaps a story where women are unapologetically on top isn't the worst one out there.

[Dudley Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ended up reading this way quicker than I expected to.

This was my first book by Grant Morrison, and I think they do a really strong job of presenting Wonder Woman as both a leader and a genuinely powerful female character. Diana feels like what she’s supposed to be; not just a hero, but a symbol. A feminist icon in the truest sense.

That being said, I did feel a bit uncomfortable at times with how sexual the book is. I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about that. Part of me wonders if it’s just me reacting to it, and part of me feels like it is pushed quite far in places. It doesn’t ruin the story, but it’s definitely something I noticed while reading.

I liked a lot of the supporting cast too. The Holliday Girls are genuinely fun, and they bring a lighter energy to the story. The way the Amazons talk about Beth at the beginning, calling her grotesque and blaming “Man’s World” was actually really interesting. It kind of exposes cracks in what’s supposed to be a perfect society. Even the Amazons aren’t completely free of flawed thinking, which adds more depth than I expected.

I also think this book can be easily misread. I’ve seen people come away from it thinking the Amazons just hate men, but that feels way too shallow. Diana herself completely contradicts that idea. She represents love, compassion, and understanding for everyone. That’s what makes her important not just to the Amazons, but to the wider world as well. She’s not just about strength, she’s about balance, love, and authority at the same time.

If you miss that, you’ve kind of missed the point of the character.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. It’s not perfect, but it’s a bold and interesting take on Wonder Woman that actually made me think while reading it.

Another thing I just wanna add, yes this book is “woke” but all superhero’s should be. Especially someone like Wonder Woman. If you read this and all you can take away from it is “blah blah blah Wonder Woman is woke feminist” gtfo your mum’s basement. Same kinda people say Diana doesn’t belong on a superhero mt Rushmore. If you’re gonna be bigoted? find a different hobby.

[Who Watches · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really didn't want to do this, but I just can't justify giving this comic run any more than a single star. At first drawn in by the character and the artwork -- which is stellar, mind you, and makes frequent use of very creative paneling -- Wonder Woman: Earth One gets worse and worse the longer you read, and while I had forgiven some of its hiccups in the first issue, by the end of the third I was rolling my eyes every. single. time. a character opened their mouth.

It's one thing to write a political story, to borrow from and reference modern discourse for commentary, to have something to say. It's another to throw everything in a pot and shit it all back up into a narrative that accomplishes literally nothing, and has little to say other than... fuckin', I don't even know what, something about the patriarchy? Power imbalance between men and women? How a society made entirely of women would be perfect? Okay.

It's all so incredibly shallow. I know Morrison has always been kooky, but recently he's gone off the deep end and I think this is a reflection of that. He's so much more intelligent and creative than to rip modern-speak and paint it all over the page with no deeper meaning at all. Wonder Woman was such a boring character in this, each conflict was pointless and easily resolved, and all the peripheral characters were inane and boring. Mouthpieces for an agenda that doesn't even bother to be more than the sum of its parts. Diana has always been a feminist character, but just pandering to modern feminism isn't enough to make a statement about womanhood and "submission," or whatever the fuck bondage fetish he was inserting here.

Crapola. Pass on this. You can write a progressive story without being CRINGE and this is not it.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't confirm it was the intention of Morrison, since in this editions of Compact Comics there are no forewords, afterwords or creator commentary, but after finishing this trilogy (originally published as three graphic novels) I feel this was a kind of manifesto as to what he as a writer understood was Moulton Marston original idea of feminism with the character. Greek mytjology is window dressing in this book, only as introduction and when magic is kind of needed, this is fool feminist propaganda, and in a silly kind of way. It feels like the amazonian society is as fascist as they portray the evil man's world, only in amazon aisland everyone is beautiful and female. I kid you not, I was chuckling with the way some concepts were handled.

Not my favorite wonder woman origin, but as an earth one book, it was a way to explore a kind of estremist feminist view of Wonder Woman, sugar coated by the incledible art of Yannick Paquette, who structures beautiful page compositions, but lacks the "punch" to do secuential action, at least in this book, that uses the mayority of its page real estate with conversations about hoy the world is better run by amazonians, or trying to take seriously invisible jets and bondage.

The thing about this compact comic is that you get a full story, contrary to the WW Blood and Guts Compact Comic that is part of a bigger arc, still I would have prefer a something more on the Perez, Byrne or Rucka runs in thi collections, but since the target for this are new readers, this modern retelling can open the door to other formats.

[Adam Fowler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the DC Compact Comics version of this. Just want to clarify that up top. Weirdly, the compact comics version doesn’t seem to be an option on Goodreads at the time of writing.

It was great fun. Wonder Woman: Earth One (Compact Comics) collects all three volumes of the story in one edition. I’ve never read a Wonder Woman solo story before and I’m glad I did. It’s such a rich world that revels in its Greek mythology origins and mind-bending flights of fantasy.

Volume one was released in 2016 - a year before the Patty Jenkins movie. That’s interesting because there are a lot of similarities between volume one and the movie - Steve Trevor crash landing on Paradise Island, for instance. After that initial opening the story in WW: Earth One is very different to the movie and all the better for it.

The themes of patriarchy/matriarchy are much more prevalent here than in movie versions and to be honest it raises some very interesting questions. I can’t discuss them here without spoiling the ending, really. But it’s, shall we say, thought-provoking.

There’s also a lot of talk about “submitting to the loving authority” which pretty much requires men to get on their knees and be tied up, submitting to being ruled by the Amazonians. I’d like to see them give that a shot in the movies!

Anyway, loved it. Probably on to The Authority: Relentless next.

[Can Şarman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of the book is genuinely captivating — a story rooted in the tension between genders, with the potential to offer deep social commentary. On paper, it promises a strong critique and compelling conflict.

The atmosphere and initial narrative setup are intriguing, and I was drawn in quickly. I won’t go into spoilers, but the direction the story takes has real potential for emotional and philosophical depth.

However, the characters felt underwritten — flat and simplistic. Their development never really kept up with the gravity of the themes. The central conflict between war and peace, man and woman, feels more symbolic than substantial. It’s stated rather than explored.

By the end, I was left wanting more nuance, more background, and more insight into what these dualities truly meant beyond just being opposites.

As a reader who usually enjoys characters like Wonder Woman, I found them disappointingly hollow in this one. There was emotional disconnect where there could have been richness.

Overall: an ambitious concept with moments of promise, but falls short of delivering on its thematic weight.