The new Absolute Universe was built on change and despair. Specifically, the question of whether dark changes to the history of a hero might also change their essential nature. In the case of Absolute Wonder Woman, this yielded a hero who was denied an Amazon upbringing and became more witch than warrior. However, her history may not have changed as much as previously indicated.
The current story arc of Absolute Wonder Woman finds Diana seeking a mystic labyrinth under the control of the American government. She did this after being informed one of the prisoners was an Amazon. Diana knew she was one of the lost tribe of legendary warriors, yet had never met any of her sisters. This was due to her being imprisoned in the underworld as an infant and raised by the witch Circe. Reportedly Diana’s exile was a punishment Zeus inflicted on the Amazons for betraying the gods.
Diana was able to free the Amazon Io and many other prisoners in the maze. However, Io vanished in a flash of lightning just as she set foot outside the portal Diana had made between the maze and her home. The only indication that Io was not struck dead was a sign from the Goddess Hecate.
Amazons not as dead as suggested in Absolute Universe
The final pages of Absolute Wonder Woman #12 revealed Io’s fate. She was teleported into a temple, where she met Hippolyta. The Amazon queen was overjoyed to see her old friend, who was presumed lost. However, Hippolyta was even more overjoyed by the news Io delivered regarding her daughter Diana being alive and on Earth.
The comic concluded with an image of Themyscira, the Amazon homeland. Bells were rung and the inhabitants cheered in the streets at the news that their last daughter was alive. However, this joyous moment does raise questions regarding the existence of he Amazons in the Absolute Universe.
Previous issues of Absolute Wonder Woman implied that the Amazon people had been wiped out and forgotten by history. What little Diana knew of her people came from books held by Circe and archeologist Barbara Minerva. As far as Diana knew, her people were dead and she was the last Amazon.
However, a careful reexamination of Absolute #1 Wonder Woman reveals the hidden truth. When delivering the infant Diana to Circe, Apollo said that the Amazons would be imprisoned for eternity once their service to Zeus ended. This suggests that Themyscira, rather than being a paradise island for the Amazons, has become a prison hidden away from the world. Beyond changing the Amazon homeland, it also changes the role of Diana in Absolute Wonder Woman. Before, she sought to protect Earth in the absence of her sisters. Now she seems poised to become their liberator.
Absolute Wonder Woman #12 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
