Absolute Wonder Woman (2024-) #9

Absolute Wonder Woman (2024) #9

by Kelly Thompson, Hayden Sherman (Artist)

The temptation of everything Diana has ever wanted lies just inside, butalso, untold horrors and no known escape. Diana has entered the maze,and nothing will ever be the same again.

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

Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2025

About the author

KELLY THOMPSON has a degree in Sequential Art from The Savannah College of Art & Design. Her love of comics and superheroes have compelled her since she first discovered them as a teenager. Currently living in Portland, Oregon with her boyfriend and the two brilliant cats that run their lives, you can find Kelly all over the Internet where she is generally well liked, except where she's detested.

Kelly has published two novels - THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE KING (2012) and STORYKILLER (2014) and the graphic novel HEART IN A BOX from Dark Horse Comics (2015). She's currently writing ROGUE & GAMBIT, HAWKEYE, and PHASMA for Marvel Comics and GHOSTBUSTERS for IDW. Other major credits include: A-Force, Captain Marvel & The Carol Corps, Jem and The Holograms, Misfits, Power Rangers Pink, and the creator-owned mini-series Mega Princess.

Kelly's ambitions are eclipsed only by her desire to exist entirely in pajamas. Fortunately pajamas and writers go hand in hand (most of the time). Please buy all her stuff so that she can buy (and wear) more pajamas.

Reviews

[Machiavelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Absolute Wonder Woman #9 is visually stunning—Sherman’s art and Bellaire’s colors are phenomenal and bring Diana’s mythic showdown with the Minotaur to life in such a striking way. The atmosphere drips with dark, labyrinthine tension.

That said, the story still feels slow to me. The pacing drags even with the big, bold visuals and brutal stakes. It’s gorgeous to look at but I wish the plot matched the energy of the art. 3.5 stars

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this issue. Wonder Woman just comes off such a badass, but also so kind all at the same time. To protect those who need it, but also going into a maze to MAYBE save a sister. It's all so compelling, what a excellent showcase of WW.

[Jadyn❀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series because Diana is always selfless, optimistic, hopeful, and generous. And none of that stops her from kicking ass.

[Viktor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah yes, ΆΝΘΡΩΠΟΦΆΥΟV. How hard is it to translate a single word?

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic issue

[Craig Schorling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great blend of story, action, character building, and nice art and colors. I really enjoyed this one.

[dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every single issue of this series is paced incredibly well. It makes the time fly by because it completely pulls you in and blocks out everything else around you. The art and the storytelling work hand in hand to create that effect, and it’s honestly very impressive to me.

I really love Wonder Woman’s anger toward the government for using dangerous technology and magic against its own citizens. That kind of stance feels right for any hero, but it hits even harder with Diana. Given her experience surviving literal hell and facing monsters that are wicked and larger than life, her reaction carries so much weight and conviction.

I’m also very interested in learning more about Doctor Poison’s origin. There’s a lot of mystery there, and it feels like something big could be built there.

The maze prison in Area 41 is genuinely unsettling. The idea of the government discovering it, realizing living beings already exist within it, and then deciding to use it as a prison is terrifying. That fear only grows when you remember that an Amazon could be trapped inside.

Diana’s grit and perseverance truly shine in this issue as she pushes forward into the unknown. One of my favorite moments is when Wonder Woman confronts the group of Men-Fish and threatens them with the Nemesis Lasso, sending them fleeing in fear. That moment perfectly captures her presence and power in this series! You do NOT want to stand in her way.

[John Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like last issue promised, this begins Diana's discovery of Themyscira, albeit in a very unexpected way. Yet again, Kelly Thompson makes great use of Greek mythology, and how it's meaning could of been skewed over the years. Her entering the Labyrinth is a brilliant way to start her journey of discovery, given how Themyscira has a portal to said Labyrinth. One character I was expecting to show up was Ferdinand, given he was shown on the cover. Wonder Woman's battle, and subsequent teaming up with him was handled really well. I look forward to how he's used later in the book, as he's one of my favorite side characters in the Wonder Woman books. Although, one character I wasn't expecting was Queen Clea, a character that has been absent in DC Comics for a while. A classic Golden Age villain, whose basic premise is that she is the queen of an offset tribe of Atlanteans. I'm really curious if that's going to be her premise in the Absolute Universe, or will it be different? Guess we'll see next issue!

[Zoey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this interpretation of the Labryinth so far where it’s been exploited by the government and locked away in Area 41 to imprison the unmentionables. I also like that the Minotaur is an ally rather than an enemy. This new spin is refreshing.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

cool issue

not much happened but the reveal of clea is kinda cool, I have no clue who that is but their connection to Atlantis in the main line comics is cool

hopefully that means she'll introduce or set up Absolute Aquaman

Ferdinand was a cool guy, hopefully nothing happens to him

[Luca Mendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still my favorite out of the three.

[Estefanía Rivera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los diálogos es que también son una cosa pero barbara

[sam banach · Rating 4 out of 5]

i have no words for how beautiful this wonder woman is both inside and out oh my god.

[Noah LeFevre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes sirrrrrrrrrr

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

my independent diva Diana I love her sm

[Colin Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

Labyrinths! Minotaurs! Thompson’s bringing in really cool mythology stuff in this arc.

[Cybernex007 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I don’t have to say much other than this series is amazing, the artwork continues to be astronomically amazing and Diana’s heart even more so. As we pick up from the last issue, Diana has now come face to face with doctor poison and is now holding them over a building to help “convince” them to turn off the tetra spiders they created. Doctor poison obliges as the controls are inside and I love how this interaction can really by summed up in this dialogue:

Doctor Poison: “It’s strange. You seem angrier now than when you were fighting a skyscraper-sized monster on the beach.”

Wonder Woman: “That was an ancient monster from another world doing only what it knew how to do. It was not a clever human harnessing dangerous weapons it doesn’t understand, only to use them to purposely hurt fellow citizens.”

Doctor Poison: “You understand the monster better than you understand humans. That’s going to be interesting.”

As doctor poison disables the robots, and frustratingly follows Diana’s orders to call them back so she can destroy them…Poison gets to the real root of why she wanted to talk to Diana…the Amazon she has met. As it turns out Area 41 has a maze underneath of it. They discovered it there and some of the monsters that currently reside were already there, others they put in. Humans and creatures they don’t understand alike. The Amazon was already there. As doctor poison works to give Diana the coordinates for the maze, Diana works to open a small portal to hell which she then orders all of the robot spiders into. Per the terms of their agreement she will let Poison go, but Diana will be watching.

As Diana meets back with the others at the Hieron, I feel like these scenes are the perfect example of just how well Thompson understands Diana and her dynamic with the rest of the team. Steve is quick to worry and point how it’s clearly a trap, and Diana does not disagree. But she got the since Poison was not lying and there is nowhere she wouldn’t go to save one of her sisters. As Diana prepares a way to get into the maze, the next scene consists of the other characters talking about another completely different mystical thing. Diana mounted the head of the manticore like creature she killed. She did this due to tradition as it is said the head must be mounted in the home of the killer to honor it and then at one point it will re-form twice more and must be killed again. Is this true or just a story? Who knows? But when it comes to everything Diana has dealt with…it’s never just a story.

But Diana is not wasting any time and while talking has worked to form and open her own portal directly into the maze! As she walks in we get a quick interjection back to the past as we see a time when Diana woke up Circe in the middle of the night after she was visited by Artemis in a dream. Circe works quickly and calmly to get Diana prepared with as many weapons as she can reasonably hold for meeting the goddess, but as Diana skips away Circe also believes it is way too soon and worries for Diana. I wonder how this will impact the rest of this storyline, what did Diana learn? Nevertheless we jump back to Diana’s time in the maze. Immediately upon entering and closing the portal to leave her friends behind, she places a distinctive mark on where she entered. It probably won’t help but it will be there just in case. Using a magical torch from her pouch she begins to explore the halls, not taking a lot of time before she came across a fight between a Minotaur and a group of fish men. It is not clear who the aggressor is but she knows the fish men dj not stand a chance. Suing the nemesis lasso she jumps in, separating the fighters and wrapping it around the minotaur. It only takes a moment to look into his eyes to realize she should be fighting on his side against the fish men, and soon enough she is helping to drive them back! Through their blows the Minotaur explains the fish men are trying to go for Petra, who is evidently a young siren girl cowering in the corner. Diana is able to push them back and then join the Minotaur and the weak siren on their journey. The Minotaur introduces himself as Ferdinand! That’s what I’m talking about, Ferdinand! Yes!!! Love to see such a friendly face! She asks him about the Amazon she is there to fight and Ferdinand is unsure, the only woman who fits the description is known as Clea, but he has no evidence other than her strength as she is currently the only who controls the maze, fish creatures, and wants Petra. But as the round the corner they get a first hand introduction to “QUEEN CLEA” who Diana can immediately see is not an Amazon. I actually didn’t know about this character until googling her after this issue. Turns out she is Atlantean, that makes sense for the fish creatures. But it does not seem like she will be fun to deal with.

[AviChaim Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now this issue is what I am talking about! I love a good labyrinth story, and the inclusion of a minotaur is just awesome. I am still unsure how I feel about the labyrinth being part of the government and how it is being used, but I am willing to go along with it for now. I cannot wait to see how this story evolves and where it goes from here. I love all of the weird creatures, and I am fully invested at this point.
The art continues to amaze me, and I especially love the coloring, particularly the newer blue undertones within the maze. Earlier issues leaned heavily into warm tones and reds, so the blues feel stark and refreshing by comparison. I cannot wait to read more, and I am completely on board with where this series is headed.
Grade: A

[Jerry Aguirre · Rating 4 out of 5]

What more is there to say other than: another banger. Here, we learn than Diana does what she wants and it’s not because she thinks she’s a god or something. It’s because she’s always guided by her gods to do right. Here, she saw a fight between the Minotaur and fish men. She first stopped the fight and sought to see who was “the good guys” so to say. Once again showing she’s a smart hero ready to jump into action.

[Siegfried · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh well... Liked that Dr Poison isn't an evil bastard like usual. Barely, but better.
LOVED the minotaur be called Ferdinand.
But Queen Clea? Really?
I love that Circe (a main villain usually) is her mother here.
Was expecting a few changes.
So far, none. Even the 'evil' Hades is there.
So... high hopes for a new Egg-Fu? Sans-yellow peril, please

[K.J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

such an exciting issue. the introduction of ferdinand is awesome, and that cliffhanger ending with queen clea will leave me on the edge of my seat until i can get my hands on the next issue! the maze is a crazy new setting, with a lot of promising prospects, and diana continues to be a lovable and noble character. 5/5 stars.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Combinar el mundo mitológico de Diana con su incursión en la sociedad "humana"? Siempre es un gran camino a seguir. Y la verdad es que Kelly Thompson sabe pillarle el punto a esta versión Absolute de la Amazona que aunque se estila más fiera por su pasado en el inframundo y la necesidad de adquirir habilidades de brujería, queda claro el querer ser tan empática como debe ser Wonder Woman.

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Wonder Woman finds a labyrinth and it has a minotaur in it.

I really like how Thompson hews closely to the Ancient Greek motif. Along with Sherman's line art and Bellaire's colors, those three elements gives the series a feeling of myth and wonder. Kind of what the great George Pérez did for his own acclaimed run on Wonder Woman.

[Alexis Moreno · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t crazy about this issue either. I think the world building or the more move forward aspects of the writing struggle for me and not as rich as the characterization heavy stories. I’m not even sure it’s the right word for it but these issues do feel like a marked decrease in quality for me in terms of writing richness and meaning.

[Tyler Leto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still good

Everything old is new again. Wonder Woman allies and enemies from different eras are brought together in a clash of titans! A must-read for anyone who likes Hellboy or the BPRD.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic continues to kick ass. I love all the mythology that's been created foor this comic, really makes you feel like you're following a larger than life hero on her journey. I like where the labyrinth is going so so so much.

[Jason Holtzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure I have many new words to say! The art is still great and the story continues to be fun. I like that we continue to see a lot of mythology and witchcraft, and am interested in where this arc is going. It seems much more action focused than the previous.

[Annemarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

this issue really picked up when Diana entered the labyrinth. loved the fight with the minotaur. I wish the scenes with her friends were more impactful, they feel a bit... filler-y right now.

[Arch Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ferdinand is already a favorite of mine. Such a good guy!

But Diana is now in the maze and realizing that the trick has worked thus far. Area 41 is already looking to be a crazy adventure.

Loved this issue.

[Raymond Paquette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Going head first into a trap to rescue a woman who might be an Amazon. You prove yourself to be more a hero every day.