Convergence: Wonder Woman #2 Review

Convergence has been a neat idea that turned out incredibly horrendous. After a first month of nothing but weak main issues, and tie-ins that repeated about 90% of the same plot beats, we’re finally well into the second month. One of the few to catch my eye was the Wonder Woman tie-in, which had a thoroughly well-rounded first issue. With only one issue to wrap things up, how did Convergence: Wonder Woman #2 shape out to be?  

  First things first, part of the reason why the first half was one of my favorite picks of that month had mainly to do with how Larry Hama played around with the supporting cast. Ever since Crisis on Infinite Earths, Wonder Woman has always had a supporting cast issue. While beforehand there was always Steve Trevor and Etta Candy, they’ve been cast away. Hama provides readers with enough character beats to realize what those two have to offer to begin with.   So, while last month’s installment was able to really showcase that, #2 suffers from having to give that the back seat. Steve and Etta are now thrust into the background, fodder for the villains and for dramatic monologues. While the monologues themselves aren’t that bad at all, it feels a bit like a wasted opportunity to not have the trio stick together through this all. Another consequence of this decision makes the issue feel a lot more drawn out.  

  The advantage of that, however, is that we follow just one perspective - Diana’s. Hama writes a very serviceable Wonder Woman, all of the right attitudes and voices are in alignment, and it’s just something that comes off as a breath of fresh air given the awful Finch run. I think we can all agree that any break from that is something to be treasured. So, while this issue dragged heavily in the middle, it never felt entirely trite at all.   On the art side of the equation, we say farewell to Joshua Middleton and hello to Aaron Lopresti. This is actually a bit of a shame, since Middleton was able to strike such a great mood with the first. He evoked a classier, loving, menacing, and tough nature with his artwork last month and it is sad to see that go. Lopresti doesn’t do a terrible job, but it’s hard to argue that it’s anything but more ordinary. It doesn’t pack the same punch and more or less is like anything else.  

Overall, this is one of the better Convergence tie-ins. It tells a personal story without delving into any sort of unnecessary minutiae. It’s a nice, brisk, recapitulation of Wonder Woman’s character and cast, and I enjoyed it under that lens. Could it have done more, said more? Of course, most of these tie-ins could have, but we judge across the board and this was one of the better ones. Only one week left anyway. Comments and thoughts appreciated below.