Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods is drawing closer to its conclusion, and the latest issue of Wonder Woman sees Diana and her allies clash with the forces of Olympus for the first time as the war kicks up a notch.
A lot of this issue deals with the fight between Diana and Hera, so there isn't a huge amount to talk about. There's some stuff before the combat kicks off where the assembled heroes have to decide if they want Ares on their side, but they're so out gunned that they kind of have to take him on. There's a fantastic image of them all standing together, ready to face the forces of Olympus that's a really cool moment that I think will be one of the more memorable moments from the event; but this issue also has a couple of other moments like that too a it manages to pack a lot in.
This is where things get a bit confusing for me if I'm being honest. The image of Diana with Shazam powers is pretty cool, but the other characters talk about it like it's never been seen before. Just a few months ago Black Adam gave everyone, including Diana, Shazam powers at the end of Dark Crisis on Infinite Earths so it kind of has been seen before. They also say that she's now become a god, but I thought that she'd already been made a god by Hera in the first issue of the event. Perhaps I've missed something, and that wasn't real, or she had her godhood taken back, but even so, why does the Shazam powers make her a god? Are Mary and Billy gods whenever they transform, or is this just a Diana thing, and if it is just a Diana thing, why? Either way, Diana is now powered up, has the Shazam abilities alongside her own powers, and is refreshed and healed enough to go into battle with Hera once again.
She also gives Mary a gift from her Amazon sisters who Mary helped out in previous issues, equipping her with some tools that will give her flight, speed, and enhanced strength, so that she can stay in the fight. It's here, fighting alongside Diana, that Mary decides to give up the name Champion of Shazam, giving it over to Billy, instead declaring herself to be Mary Marvel. So, this is one of those moments I was talking about earlier that I think is going to stand out in this story. I still think of Shazam as Captain Marvel, I think it was a better name for him, and hate that the alternative name was just his magic word. I'd be more than happy to see the return of the Marvel family. So, Mary choosing to go by Mary Marvel, and picking that name because of how Diana described her as a person, is absolutely awesome to me. Mary went through a whole mini-series proving to herself and the audience that she's worthy to be the champion, to wield the powers, and now it feels like she's also forging a new path under a name unique to her.
This issue does a lot to move the story forward, and I honestly don't know how people who'd be reading the main event but not Wonder Woman would keep up with things, because this is some game changing stuff here. It feels like we're ready for the final push now, and that the next issue will absolutely put this war to bed.
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