Review: Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor #1

Quick Summary

Pros: The action, adventure, and fun characters make this story good enough to be enjoyable on its own. It also introduces some interesting concepts which it promises to develop even more as the series progresses. The synergy with this issue and the new Wonder Woman movie is done very well.

Cons: The villain in this issue isn’t very developed yet.

Overall: This is a nice start to what is shaping up to be an interesting new comic book series. It focuses on Steve Trevor going on missions with a new cast of characters, while also dealing with some personal issues in his own head. All signs point to this being a surprisingly great series that has potential to become even better. Anyone who has seen the recent Wonder Woman movie will be thrilled with this issue, and anyone who hasn’t will still be able to find plenty to enjoy.

Story

Typically, synergy between comic books and comic book movies usually means bad things for the comic books. The parent company demands that the comics reflect the movies somehow in order to make it easier for people who have just seen the movie to jump into the comics. This shift in focus is usually not good for the comics though, as it forces them to inorganically introduce new events, stories, or characters into already ongoing stories (the recent Civil War II is the perfect example of this).

However, every now and then, comic books get this synergy right. Wonder Woman: Steve Trevor is a comic book that could have been introduced completely separate from the Wonder Woman movie and still have been fun. It is a different take on the traditional Wonder Woman stories in that the focus is on Steve Trevor rather than the Princess of Themiscyra. In doing so, it provides a new perspective and tone to the classic approach of Wonder Woman stories while also telling an enjoyable story of its own. If the following issues continue like this, then this is going to make for a great story.

(spoilers start here)

This issue starts out with a quick introduction to Steve Trevor and Wonder Woman, given to us while they take on a giant monster and a couple of terrorists. This serves to introduce new readers to the pair while also giving some fun banter between the two. It is a nice start to the story which has everything necessary to snare readers into reading more.

From here, Steve goes out on a mission to save a few special agent friends of his. This mission is a somewhat generic action sequence for the most part. However, Steve’s old friends add a certain charm to the scene which is very reminiscent of the Wonder Woman movie. This mission also helps to introduce each of these characters and the villain they are going up against.

As the issue winds down, the villain is defeated and Steve is able to enjoy a nice date with Wonder Woman. This wraps up the plot for this issue nicely while also introducing a theme which the series seems to be teasing: Steve Trevor feeling guilty for landing on Themiscyra in the first place. He thinks that, in doing so, he polluted paradise with the poison of “man’s world” while also stealing one of its greatest treasures. It is an interesting concept with plenty of possible directions to head in. Hopefully the next few issues continue to develop this plot point as it has the potential to provide a great deal of depth to both Steve and the series as a whole.

The only flaw of this issue is the villain. She clearly has some sort of motivation for doing what she is doing, yet they are so superficial that they almost don’t matter. It is as if Steve is facing off against any other generic villain who’s only real contribution to the story is that they pose a threat to the hero. The ending of this story reveals that she is still alive though. Hopefully, this means she will return in the future with a more rounded sense of character development.

Aside from the actual plot of this issue, there is a decent amount of draw here for any non-comic book fan who just got introduced to comics through the new Wonder Woman movie. Without spoiling the movie, this book takes a lot of inspiration from it while not feeling like a forced tie-in. It has the Steve Trevor/Wonder Woman charisma which made the movie so great and even introduces the new minor characters from the movie. Movie goers will be happy to see their story continued, especially since their story seems to be pretty interesting. Overall, this issue is a great example of movie synergy done right as it provides extra fun for people who have seen the movie while still being enjoyable for those who have not.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in this issue, simply put, looks very nice from beginning to end. Christian Duce does a great job in drawing detailed and realistic human beings while also being able to draw fantastic and otherworldly monsters and landscapes as well. Overall, the attention to detail and realistic approach work very well in this issue and provide some great visuals on every page.

Continuity

This is a brand new series that does not have any specific book which it flows out of. Readers should have a brief understanding of Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor’s relationship (This can be seen most recently in Wonder Woman Vol. 1: The Lies and Wonder Woman Vol. 2: Year One) but do not need to know much more than this.

The only continuity connection in this issue is that some of the characters in it make their first appearances in the recently released Wonder Woman movie.