The Dark Amazon strikes again!

Welcome to another fun-filled week of Wonder Woman Wednesday. This week’s column could qualify as a Dark Knight III: The Master Race review, but since our beloved Wonder Woman plays such a major role, I think we can get away with it. That said, spoilers to follow.

I believe I read that Wonder Woman would indeed play a major part in the third installment of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight opus. The thought thrilled and scared me at the same time. I’m always happy to see Wonder Woman make an appearance, as she’s the comic equivalent of pizza – any Wonder Woman is good Wonder Woman.

I can say that while I’m a fan of Frank Miller’s, that doesn’t necessarily parlay into the way he handles Wonder Woman. As you may recall, he had her refer to a man as a “sperm bank” in All-Star Batman and Robin. While hilarious, it seems to paint an incorrect portrait of Wonder Woman.

Her appearance in DK2 left me a little cold. The outfit was atrocious with star-spangled bicycle shorts, an eagle-shaped coconut bra, and a spartan headband to hold an unruly Ghericurl in place. (Not to mention enough eyeliner to put Cleopatra to shame.)

There was hope as Brian Azzarello would be the main writer. And, contrary to mixed reviews, I quite enjoyed his New 52 revamp of Wonder Woman.

Also, Andy Kubert would be handling art chores and could hopefully make the most of Wonder Woman’s “Flashdance reject” costume. He’s already cemented his place in Batman history as the artist on Grant Morrison’s run.

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t mind Frank Miller’s art. I quite like it. His style seems to have evolved into an even more primitive aesthetic as evidenced by his recently released Wonder Woman image for a Master Race variant cover. “If only Wonder Woman had fishnets!” said no one ever!

So, Wonder Woman is Queen of the Amazons. She goes for a stroll outside of what appears to be an Amazon compound and saves an ancient Mayan civilization from a giant Minotaur by slaying it, after which she pulls her infant son off of her back and whips out her boob and breast feeds him.

I think this is the best display of a woman balancing being a superhero and mother I’ve ever seen in a comic book. And, people get so freaked out over breast feeding, I think it’s awesome that one of the biggest female characters in comics shows everyone how natural it is.

Diana’s son’s name is Jonathan, obviously named after Superman’s adoptive father Jonathan Kent and presumably the product of Clark and Diana’s mid-air, earth-shattering super screw in DK2. I would normally think fisticuffs with baby on board would be child endangerment if the parent in question weren’t Wonder Woman. What the hell? The baby’s likely bulletproof anyway.

They also have a grown daughter named Lara, presumably after Superman’s birth mother Lara. (What? No love for Hippolyta?)

Wonder Woman is portrayed as somewhat hardened and a little cranky. She nearly beheads a sister Amazon that offers to look after little Jonathan. Maybe it’s because Superman is giving her the cold shoulder. Literally. He’s frozen in a solid block of ice after all.

The narrative makes it seem as if Wonder Woman has grown weary of her role as a hero. But, I suppose we will see which direction the Dark Knight creative team takes her in. I’m intrigued enough thus far to stick around for the ride. That damn nose guard drives me up the wall though.

All in all, a strong start to one of the most anticipated series of the year. Check out more Wonder Woman in Dark Knight: The Master Race and come back next week for another thrilling Wonder Woman Wednesday.  (Plus, be sure to visit us on Facebook!) Same Amazon time. Same Amazon channel.