TRANS-SCRIBE: Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #3

Saturday, 15 April 2023

Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #3 - Comic Review

Diana has been tricked and betrayed by the gods, and Billy Batson has had his powers corrupted by the cruel Wizard Shazam. All hope seems lost as the gods wreak vengance and fury across an Earth that has forgotten them. But it's when things look their darkest that hope returns, as the fight against the Gods gains some allies in Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods issue three.

This issue begins with Diana returning to Earth after escaping the gods, only to arrive in a Washington DC that's in flames thanks to the mythological creatures that have been tearing through the city. Reduced to tears at what has happened, and blaming herself to the destruction, she's met by Cheetah, who's the person to pick her back up and comfort her, spurring her on to get back into the fight. I have to be honest, I absolutely love seeing Cheetah not only as Diana's ally, but as a friend. The two of them work really, really well together, and the image of goddess Diana on her knees in the ruins of the city, barely stopping herself from crying, whilst Barbara wraps her arms around her and tries to make her feel better is fantastic, and I absolutely love it. I really, really hope that Cheetah gets to continue being an ally to Wonder Woman going forward, and that this is a relationship that continues to grow and evolve; rather than having her revert to being a villain again.

Back on Olympus, Billy is locked in a cell, and every time he calls upon the power of Shazam his transformed body becomes a withered, weak man. Hecete arrives to help him, however, and along with the help of Yara Flor, they're able to get Billy out of his cell. Using magic to disguise him as a priestess, they're able to meet up with Hippolyta, who grants Billy her power. This part of the book is interesting as it gives Billy the chance to see a bit more of what the Gods are like. His powers have come from the Gods, but he doesn't interact with them as much as a character like Wonder Woman, and doesn't really see them as the dicks that they are. This is an experience that gives him that perspective, that shows him that they're as petty, power hungry, and vindictive as humans. It's also fun to see Billy pretend to be a woman, and getting a bit weirded out by it (here's hoping it cracks an egg and we get a trans Shazam).

Back on Earth, an army of gods and monsters come after Diana, but she gets joined by her allies, Sigfried, Steve, and Etta, and Yara and a newly powered up Billy come along to help hold back Olympus' forces. As the battle rages, the mysterious hooded figure that's been skirting events the last few issues arrives on the scene, and reveals himself to be Ares, the god of war. And he seems ready to fight with the heroes against the other other gods. Ares has a pretty cool design here, and I'm sure that he's helping out for his own nefarious purposes, but it's cool to see him being an ally to Diana for this story, rather than an antagonist once again. It would have been an easy choice to put his with the other gods, but having him side with Diana is much more interesting.

The back-up feature takes us back to Theymscira, where we check in with Queen Nubia and her forces, fighting the armies of the underworld. Some of the key players, such as Nubia and Faruka have grabbed some magical artefacts to help hold back the undead, but things aren't going well for the Amazons, and they're losing troops. Whilst the fight is going on Phillipus has ran off to Hippolyta's statue, and is begging the Amazon Goddess for aid. Ready to take her life in order to pay the gods for help, she's stopped by her lover arriving from Olympus. Hippolyta isn't alone though, as she's been building a resistance amongst the gods, and is joined by Artemis, Hestia, Aphrodite, Demeter, and Athena. Now having six gods on their side, the Amazons mount a counter attack against Hades and his army.

The back-up is one of those stories that I wish had it's own book. The story we're getting here is so cool, and it has some fantastic character moments like Faruka slicing through the undead, or Nubia threatening to kill a god. I want more of stuff like this, and whilst what we get here is great, it's a shame it has so move at such a fast pace in order to fit into the back of the book.

Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods is proving to be a really fun, interesting little event. It's taking Wonder Woman and the characters from her books to some interesting places, and seems to be willing to change the status quo. Billy is getting a new experience with the gods, and I can't help but wonder if this is going to be a big part of his set-up for his new series, and a possible new outlook for him. Fans of Wonder Woman are really missing out if they're not picking this series up.