The Absolute Universe of DC Comics started with a bang last year, with all three starting titles jumping into the monthly top ten best-sellers charts. One surprising standout has been Absolute Wonder Woman, a swords & sorcery approach to the princess of Themiscyra that has completely shocked fans by how wonderful it is. The book’s premise was simple: What if Wonder Woman had no Amazons to lean on, no sisters, and no Paradise Island? What if she were raised in Hell by a single witch? What has ensued has been, in the eyes of many, one of the best modern runs on the character of Diana. A notable departure from the main universe is the extreme emphasis on magics, with Diana being a witch with all kinds of sorcery, spells, and hexes at her disposal. For that matter, Diana doesn’t worship Hera as she usually does, instead turning to Hecate, goddess of magic.
In issue #4, Diana cast a spell on all of Gateway City, rendering them deaf, while in issue #3, it was revealed that she had used a spell to create an artificial left arm after chopping hers off. Diana’s proficiency with magic is not necessarily unfounded, but the emphasis is surely new, having only ever been a footnote. However, one run years ago took a strong turn in this direction. Albeit not a stint on Wonder Woman, Justice League Dark from DC’s Rebirth era stood out not only as one of the best titles from that time, but an interesting change of course for Wonder Woman. The JLD does not typically run or partner with the mainline Justice League, so Diana’s inclusion was initially seen as out of left field—but she never felt out of place. Now that Absolute Wonder Woman has been going strong, maintaining its magical aspects, some fans have looked back on Justice League Dark as being ahead of its time in portraying Wonder Woman as it did.
Wonder Woman Has A Magical Past
Looking at Wonder Woman's mythos, it's a world chock-full of magical mysticism
Every one of DC’s major characters occupies their own unique niche, and it makes sense. How else could they stand alone as icons of their own respective universe? Every hero needs some kind of angle to set them apart so that they don’t end up as a generic “superhero” type of character whose main story is contained within a forgotten, single-digit title.
The Trinity in particular have their own distinct niches, part of what’s helped them stand the test of time for so many decades, as well as why they became so popular to start with—Batman falls into a gothic noir, street level type of setting and Superman is very much representative of sci-fi grandeur. Now, where does that leave Wonder Woman?
The very clear answer to this is that Wondy is a representative for stories that veer into magic and mythology.
She’s perfectly able to synthesize these subjects in her stories, and it’s a load-bearing component of her world—originating from a mythos built on modern spins of ancient Greek tales, Wonder Woman is a magical character through and through. Even if the heroine herself doesn’t cast spells or summon spirits at every turn, many of her foes are in tune with magic, as are her sisters on Paradise Island. Even Wonder Woman’s birth is magical, at least if one only looks at origins where she’s born from clay and not a tryst between Hippolyta and Zeus.
She’s a perfect gateway character into this world, and considering her status as an icon of DC Comics, writers doing more with her magical history was long overdue. With this in mind, it only makes sense that Wonder Woman eventually found her way onto the Justice League Dark team. When the Justice League Dark title was relaunched for the Rebirth line in 2018, Wonder Woman was established as a core member of the team.
What Even Was The Justice League Dark?
Now a fan-favorite team, the Justice League Dark is a rather modern creation
The Justice League Dark is, unlike the main Justice League, a rather new team. Their debut has been disputed for years, as while the actual first appearance of their team name was in Justice League Dark #1 from 2011, the concept of a team of occult magic users or supernatural beings teaming up—with the specific inclusions of John Constantine, Swamp Thing, and Zatanna—first appeared in 1986’s Swamp Thing #49. This vague concept of a magical hero team kept popping in and out of DC for years to follow, until 2011.
The debut of Justice League Dark #1 brought with it a cemented lineup: Madame Xanadu, Zatanna Zatara, John Constantine, Deadman, Shade the Changing Man, and Etrigan, facing off against a villainous, out-of-control Enchantress.
It would take quite some time for Black Orchid, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Swamp Thing to join the team, but their association with the JLD is rather iconic nowadays. Swamp Thing, in particular, finds himself on the team practically every other time they join forces. Following Peter Milligan’s departure from the book, the JLD title would bounce around between writers, eventually closing out at issue #40 under J.M. DeMatteis’s pen.
The New 52 title’s legacy would be felt strongly, seemingly being the base inspiration for the original Suicide Squad film, returning various Vertigo characters to DC after Flashpoint, and introducing the world to the proper formation of a new iconic team. Though, due to being a New 52 title, it’s debatable whether or not the title was all that great—thankfully, only 3 years after it ended, Rebirth’s “New Justice” initiative would introduce us to a new Justice League Dark title, with a brand-new lineup.
Wonder Woman Was A Standout
Wonder Woman was a key member of the Justice League Dark during Rebirth, cementing her status as a magical character in DC
The 2018 Justice League Dark relaunch came with a new team, featuring Wonder Woman front and center. Allying herself with Detective Chimp, Swamp Thing, and a sentient Man-Bat, the James Tynion IV-led book would launch with great reception immediately, quickly putting the JLD into the good graces of readers.
Diana’s importance in the story would immediately ramp up with the “Witching Hour” storyline, a cross-title arc pairing JLD with the Wonder Woman solo. In this, Diana is revealed to be “Witchmarked”, more or less an avatar of the goddess Hecate’s magicks that could be activated as an agent of chaos at any moment—and that moment was then.
Circe, in a strange act of kindness, gave Diana control over her Witchmarked form briefly before Hecate regained control.
To those currently reading Absolute Wonder Woman, the idea of Circe helping Wonder Woman tap into a Hecate-fueled magic might sound quite familiar. It’s no surprise that readers have been discussing this book’s similarities to the Absolute Universe, as the alternate timeline’s title certainly feels reminiscent of the Witching Hour event. Following this starting arc, Wonder Woman and her band of magical heroes would go on to face a variety of supernatural threats; The Floronic Man, a rogue Doctor Fate, and Eclipso graced the pages of JLD from time to time, but one major innovation this book introduced was that of Circe, as she became the Goddess of Magic during this title’s tie-ins to “Year of the Villain.”
The series would end on issue #29, having helped introduce Ram V to DC, serving as a secondary Wonder Woman title, and giving many mystical characters their needed time to shine—all traits leading to Justice League Dark becoming one of the most beloved titles from the Rebirth era and one of Diana’s best runs in recent memory. The book also gave Diana a perfect way to become a more magically-focused character, something writer Kelly Thompson would capitalize on years later.
Absolute Wonder Woman Excellently Utilized Magic
The Absolute Universe is putting Wonder Woman's magical abilities to good use
When Absolute Wonder Woman was first announced at 2024’s San Diego Comic Con, fans were a little confused upon seeing this new, alternate iteration of the heroine. Everyone knew that the Absolute Universe was going to be far different than usual—especially as a tanky version of Batman drawn by Nick Dragotta had leaked a couple weeks before the convention—but the specifics were foreign to readers until the creative team for Absolute Wonder Woman got a chance to explain their take on the Ambassador of Peace.
In this new title, Wonder Woman looked darker, grungier, like a Kratos-esque warrior, and readers were very hesitant about this version of Diana until the details were elaborated on.
This bold new look for the character came from Wonder Woman being raised in Hell rather than Paradise Island, as this universe had Diana as the last of the Amazons. Her sisters were mysteriously gone—yet, Diana was not alone. She did have a mother figure in her corner, but it was not Hippolyta as readers would guess; it was the witch Circe, one of the heroine’s most wicked enemies in the main DC continuity. However, in the Absolute Universe? She raised Diana with not just love, but also a power the heroine has yet to 100% tap into with the main continuity.
The Absolute Universe doesn’t just have Wonder Woman lugging around a giant sword, but fully embraces mysticism and magic. This version of the character casts spells small and large, can transform into a gorgon-esque beast, and utilizes a sort of glamour to create a new arm for herself, having cut the real one off to pull off a rather daunting spell. The Absolute Universe taps into a bold new direction for Wonder Woman’s magical abilities as it builds on a rather compelling foundation, one that was already enhanced by the heroine’s prominence on the mainline Justice League Dark team.
