Review: Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Casualties of War

Quick Summary

Pros: There are a few great moments in the main storyline. The relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman is written very well. The majority of the book looks beautiful.

Cons: The main storyline is a bit unoriginal. Wonder Woman is written rather poorly, especially near the beginning of the book.

Overall: Superman and Wonder Woman, once again, prove how entertaining they can be in a book together. The couple is charming and entertaining, providing a focus for the collection that easily distracts from the somewhat generic storyline. The only downside is that Wonder Woman is not written well, so her fans might be disappointed. This is a book for those who enjoyed Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship and want to see them take on more challenges together.

Story

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Casualties of War is another example of how great Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship can be when written well. Writer Peter J. Tomasi imbues the couple with a level of charm and chemistry that completely dominates the book, making up for the somewhat generic storyline. The only problem is that Wonder Woman is written rather poorly and displays character traits that seem completely at odds with her personality in the past two volumes. Overall though, this is a slightly above average book that fans of the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship will be happy with.

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The main storyline in this book is, admittedly, a little generic. It follows a young man who’s parents were killed back in Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (Review). Because of their deaths, he now blames superheroes for drawing all of the evil to the world and not caring about the consequences. The villain’s story is so generic that it makes the book feel incredibly predictable, at points, which makes it even less fun to read. This is a storyline many comic fans are familiar with and is not something most will consider memorable.

However, a number of small moments save this story from complete obscurity and make it more entertaining than it could have been. Introducing Circe and her vendetta against Wonder Woman diversifies the story and makes it feel a bit more unique. In addition, the ending, where Wonder Woman uses her lasso to secretly break the spell over Superman, was completely unexpected and stood out as a fantastic moment in this story. This is still not a great story overall, but it also is nowhere close to being a bad one.

What will stand out about this book, is the same thing that has made this series great so far, the relationship between Superman and Wonder Woman. While the past two volumes saw the couple’s growing pains on the battlefield, this volume shows how them at peak battling efficiency. Wonder Woman is able to flex her strength without worry because she knows Superman is there to save the innocent bystanders. Meanwhile, Superman actually has time to save the bystanders because Wonder Woman is taking care of the main threat. Tomasi has the couple using the phrase “trust and faith” to describe their battle style, something that has the opportunity to resonate with many other couples out there.

The book’s only major flaw is how Wonder Woman is written, especially near the book’s beginning. She is cold and uncaring, ready to chastise survivors of disaster and not happy when Clark lets old people have her taxi. She is also written with little understanding of basic English terminology, like what it means when someone is “lost” in a tragedy. This is not the same Wonder Woman we have seen anywhere else in this continuity, which is not a good thing. This will be a big negative for fans of Wonder Woman’s character or readers who are entering this book after reading the first two volumes.

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Art

Doug Mahnke is a great artist who has an opportunity to show off his abilities throughout this collection. His drawings are detailed and realistic in a way that brings a lot of life into the book. This can especially be seen in the backgrounds of every page, which all look beautiful. The only problem is that characters’ faces look a little odd in more than a few places, especially regarding Superman and Wonder Woman. Overall though, this is a good looking book that fans will not be disappointed in.

Continuity

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Casualties of War continues the story from Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 2: War and Peace (Review).

The story here continues in Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Dark Truth (Review).

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• The book starts with a flashback to the Justice League’s fight against Darkseid in his first invasion of Earth, which happened in Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (Review). This event is referenced a number of times throughout this book.
• Superman mentions the recent invasion of the Crime Syndicate. This happened in Forever Evil (Review).
• Wonder Woman’s role as God of War was established back in Wonder Woman Vol. 4: War.
• Circe mentions what the Amazons did with their male children. This was first brought up back in Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Guts (Review).
• Wonder Woman’s updated origin is briefly referenced. This origin is detailed in Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood (Review).