It looks like Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods, a spin-off of the recent Lazarus Planet event, is set to be bigger than the event it's a part of, both in number of issues and the length of time that it's going to be taking place over. Lazarus Planet ended up being two actual issues, with several one-shot tie-in's over a two month period that didn't effect the story, or really take much part in it, at all. The event didn't really feel like it did much, or even really mattered. However, this title seems to be doing some pretty big things, and could lead to some big shifts in the status quo; especially for the Amazons.
Our story begins when the gods start messing with humanity. It starts benignly enough, as Apollo fires magical arrow at people, giving them the gift of foresight. We see people coming to the realisation that their partners are about to have affairs, winning lottery numbers, and the time and method of their deaths. Elsewhere, other gods seem more focused on fear. In Egypt Sekhmet sends legions of cats after people, a giant god creates a massive wave to destroy Tokyo, and in Iceland the goddess Skaldi chases anything that moves, hunting them down with her bow.
Travelling to Mt Olympus, we see why this is happening, as the goddess Hera has allied herself with the wizard Shazam, and has deposed her husband; having killed Zeus in the process. Hera has told all of the gods that their time is coming to an end, that without the worship of the humans they're going to die; and as such the gods have decided to make humanity worship them the quickest way they know how, out of fear.
On Earth, Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, and Cheetah discuss options for tackling the rise in disasters around the world that the gods are causing. Whilst Cheetah proposes the idea of humanity fighting back against the gods, Diana volunteers to head to Olympus to talk to her mother, who recently ascended to godhood. Arriving there, Diana is confronted by Hera, who tells her that when the gods die the Amazons go with them, the two being so closely linked. Hera then gives Diana a powerful gift, transforming her into a god herself.
In the back-up feature a pair of video bloggers, both guys, travel to Themyscira, which has lost its magical protection thanks to the Lazarus rain. Queen Nubia discusses options with her council as the best course of action for dealing with the men, but when they arrive on the beach they find that they've already been killed by a mysterious hooded figure. The figure, who we saw stealing the severed hand of a god in the main story, tells the Amazons that they're in danger, and claims to be their ally.
Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods is actually already much better than the main Lazarus Planet title, and is much more interesting. It's clearly trying to do something a bit different, and it introduces a lot of cool concepts in this opening issue. There are elements that will have required readers to not only have read the Lazarus Planet: We Once Were Gods one-shot, but also several issues of Wonder Woman. This book is tied heavily to the Wonder Woman mythology, and it very much a continuation of what's been happening with the Amazons for the last couple of years. However, it doesn't feel like the book is written in a way that people are going to be lost if this is the first thing they've read in regards to Wonder Woman.
Those that picked this title up for Shazam stuff though, might be feeling a bit disappointed so far. The wizard in in a few scenes, but only has a couple of lines of dialogue, and Billy Batson is relegated to being background character in the opening pages. However, it's likely that the Sazam family will be making a larger appearance later on if the solicitations are to be believed (though DC can be pretty deceptive with their covers, featuring characters and situations that never appear in the book on occasion).
This really feels like the first issue of an event book, where there's a lot of set-up going on. Because of this G Willow Wilson keeps the story moving at a really brisk pace. There's just enough time to get quieter moments with some of the main characters, whilst also featuring some big scenes of the gods causing havoc, as well as moments of intrigue. Perhaps the biggest mystery so far is who the hooded figure is. In the main story they're pretty gender neutral for most of it, with their face covered or in shadows to keep the features out of sight, and baggy clothing that could hide any figure. The final panel of their face we see does look pretty masculine however. But in the back-up story they absolutely look feminine, plus the Amazons aren't immediately throwing them off the island, hinting that it's probably a woman. With even their gender being kept on the downlow, there's not really any indication of who this is going to be, and any guess right now is as good as another.
Overall, this was a great start to the new series, one that does some interesting things, and could take the Amazons in a bold new direction.
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