Rise of the Olympian
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"Rise of the Olympian" is a
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
written by
Gail Simone Gail Simone (aka Gladys Simonetti) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC's ''Birds of Prey'', ''Batgirl'', Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female writer on Wonder Woman to date. Other ...
with art by
Aaron Lopresti Aaron Lopresti (born January 7, 1964) is an American comic book artist who has worked for Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, CrossGen Comics and Image Comics. Early life Aaron Lopresti was born January 7, 1964''Comics Buyer's Guide'' # ...
.


Publication history

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
and
Gail Simone Gail Simone (aka Gladys Simonetti) is an American writer best known for her work in comics on DC's ''Birds of Prey'', ''Batgirl'', Dynamite Entertainment's Red Sonja, and for being the longest running female writer on Wonder Woman to date. Other ...
felt that the
Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
events, even event-styled stories, were always "shotgun" (for example, the bashed '' Amazons Attack!'' event). Where Diana was a changing character in vision, Gail wanted to keep Diana as a consistent, cohesive vision for readers who they can rally behind. One of them that she had been doing since her debut arc, " The Circle", was re-establishing Diana from her grace, her power, and as she says, her role as "the DCU's best asskicker". But other than that, it was also the re-establishing of her supporting cast, such as
Queen Hippolyta In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Gre ...
and the rest of the
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
. In her interview with
Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History N ...
, Gail gave out her plans for the event storyline, the first major epic of her run. She promised new characters, new villains, new threats, ending it with "new everything". Some of the characters are going to have a planned big impact on the DCU, a "one much-loved, much-feared character" will return from the dead, and the story itself is to be "a huge new chapter in the Wonder Woman mythology". She also pointed out that Themyscira plays a role, and from after what happened in ''Amazons Attack!'', the Amazons themselves are going to return. She even went as to explain that because they are "artists, hunters, warriors, poets, and lovers", the Amazons are a "cool concept in the DCU". She also confirmed Hippolyta plays a role, and the story point from '' The Circle'' where Diana asked the help of Kane Milohai will show the consequences from swearing loyalty to another god. She has even compared this storyline akin to
Knightfall "Knightfall" is a 1993–1994 Batman story arc published by DC Comics. It consists of a trilogy of storylines that ran from 1993 to 1994, consisting of "Knightfall", "Knightquest", and "KnightsEnd".On the comic book covers, only the third part ...
. In the discussion of ''the Olympian'', as a joke, she had said that it's about a "Wonder Woman who is a man". By
Dan DiDio Dan DiDio (; born October 13, 1959) is an American writer, editor, and publisher who has worked in the television and comic book industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of DC Comics, along with Jim Lee. '' Wizar ...
, he made a joke title that he said he wanted to become the actual title of "Manazons". Gail explains that it's about a well-intentioned god who seeks to keep the promise of the Amazons by re-creating their entire ideal in his own image. An insight on this was seen in ''DC Universe'' #0 where two gods make mention on how Diana has "failed" on bringing peace, and in showing a race of male warriors, one of them says "changing the world is not a job for women, it's a job for men".


Plot

Returning to
Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...
after being held captive by the
New Gods The New Gods are a fictional extraterrestrial race appearing in the eponymous comic book series published by DC Comics, as well as selected other DC titles. Created and designed by Jack Kirby, they first appeared in February 1971 in ''New Gods'' ...
of
Apokolips Apokolips is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The planet is ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series, and is integral to many stories in the DC Universe. Apokolips is co ...
, the
Olympian Gods upright=1.8, Fragment of a relief (1st century BC1st century AD) depicting the twelve Olympians carrying their attributes in procession; from left to right: Hestia (scepter), Hermes (winged cap and staff), Aphrodite (veiled), Ares (helmet and s ...
discover their home defiled and memories tarnished. Realizing their place in the modern world, the goddess
Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
wills her godhood to end. Seeking to reignite her passion to rule,
Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
uses the remaining power of the gods to bring about a few changes in the world. After sensing the
Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...
have had their memories altered as well and scattered across the globe with false personas, Zeus restores their memories and provides them access back to their homeland of Themyscira.''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 3) #27 (February 2009) Finding
Queen Hippolyta In Classical Greek mythology, Hippolyta, or Hippolyte (; grc-gre, Ἱππολύτη ''Hippolytē'') was a daughter of Ares and Otrera, queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore her father Ares' ''zoster'', the Gre ...
on the island, Zeus appears before her and tells her the Amazons will soon return. He also tells her that the Amazons have no more need to be warriors of peace and deserve a rest for all time. He explains that he will create a new island of warriors who will take the Amazon's place in the world. They will be responsible for creating peace among the world's countries and the Amazons will then be able to rest in death. Keeping his word, Zeus creates the island of Thalarion from Themyscira. There he also creates a kingdom city made of crystal and a river of gold. He then re-animates the corpses of long dead Greek warriors. Among them are
Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He w ...
(the former leader of the
Argonauts The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, '' Argo'', ...
) and
Euphemus In Greek mythology, Euphemus ( grc, Εὔφημος, ''Eὔphēmos'', "reputable") was counted among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts, and was connected with the legend of the foundation of Cyrene. Family Euphemus was a son of Pos ...
, the son of the sea god
Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
. Zeus calls this new race of men
Gargareans In Greek mythology, the Gargareans, or Gargarenses, ( el, Γαργαρείς ''Gargareis'') were an all-male tribe. They copulated with the Amazons annually in order to keep both tribes reproductive. Varying accounts suggest that they may have b ...
and ranks them to be honorable enough to be considered Olympians. The god then informs them that their city is created out of clear crystal so that there can never be secrets among them, the golden river will provide them with wealth enough to deal with the outside world and not cause jealousy among each other, anyone who enters their island without permission will die instantly, no women will be allowed to set foot on the island, and their new favored god would be the goddess Athena. To provide the Gargareans air transport, Zeus also creates mountable winged lions and winged horses. Zeus then instructs them to slaughter dictators and dismember warmongers as a way of bringing harmony to the world. Zeus explains that after this has been done that the Olympians will then join the new race in death at the bottom of the sea. Zeus then informs Jason that he will create a new son for him in his honor.''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 3) #28 (March 2009) On their first mission the Gargareans board the re-created ship
Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...
and travel to the
Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
. There they battle the U.S.
battleship A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type of ...
''New England''. Due to the magical enchantments tied to the Argo and Euphemus' control of large sea creatures, the battleship New England is unable to defeat the Gargareans.''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 3) #29 (April 2009) While they battle, Zeus kills the
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
an god
Kāne Milohai In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne is considered the highest of the three major Hawaiian deities, along with Kū and Lono. He represented the god of procreation and was worshipped as ancestor of chiefs and commoners. Kāne is the creator and gives ...
and tears out his heart. Upon their return to Thalarion, the Gargareans discover Zeus waiting for them. He tells them that the time has come and magically causes a fire to burn brightly. Within the fire a skeletal being reaches out and takes Kāne Milohai's heart from Zeus' hand. The heart's substance then engulfs the fiery skeleton and forms a body. Zeus then presents the new being,
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...
, as the Gargarean's new leader. To serve as Achilles' personal transport, Zeus also created a massive and powerful elephant named Mysia who has two trunks, two mouths, three glowing eyes, an impenetrable hide, and the ability to walk on air. After attacking several countries and disrupting a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
assembly, Wonder Woman is informed of their existence and confronts them during an attack in Russia. Wonder Woman informs Achilles during battle that they are being used by outside forces and demonstrates their naivete by safely detonating a warhead they mistakenly launched in the sky above them. After this Diana battles
Genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...
, an agent of the war god
Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...
and leaves her to drown in the ocean. However, Diana is unable to leave the creature to her fate and attempts to save her, only to find that Genocide has vanished. Angered, Ares commanded Euphemus to cause a swarm of deadly sea creatures to attack Themysciria and Thalarion.''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 3) #32 (July 2009) The Gargareans joined forces with the Amazons in defending their nations. During this battle Diana deduced that Ares was the grand manipulator and confronted him. Not allowing Ares much time to gloat in his latest masterpiece of war, Diana took a battle axe and used it to strike Ares' head, splitting his helmet in two. The then dead Ares falls to his knees uttering in his last breath, "Amazon...what have you done?" Achilles wishes to kill Euphemus as well for his treachery, but is convinced by Jason to simply exile him instead. Euphemus then enters the ocean, leaving with his fellow sea creatures.''Wonder Woman'' (vol. 3) #33 (August 2009) After Ares' death Zeus thanks Diana by informing her that he killed her newfound god Kāne Milohai, used the dead god's heart to create Achilles, and urges Diana to return to the Olympian faith. This causes a reverse reaction and Diana physically strikes Zeus and denounces her Amazon heritage. Zeus then decrees that the Gargareans and the Amazons are to become one people. To head the new nation Hippolyta is to step down from her royal station and be replaced by Achilles. Achilles then takes the rogue Amazon Alkyone as his bride. But unbeknownst to everyone else, Alkyone has the totem of Genocide in her possession, claiming herself to be the creature's new mother.


Notes


References

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External links


Review of ''Wonder Woman'' #26
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