By Taylor Pechter — Diana of Themyscira (a.k.a. Wonder Woman) is many things: A hero, a warrior, an icon, but most of all, she’s an ambassador...coming to Man’s World to bring love and peace to a society that is often embroiled in violence and war. This side of Diana is explored heavily in what many say is one of — if not the — defining runs on the character, the run of issues that was written by Greg Rucka. 

Following the success of the Rucka-penned original graphic novel Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia (which I have covered previously), Rucka was brought on to the ongoing series in 2003 with Wonder Woman #195. His first run on the ongoing spanned 32 issues and five volumes, and Rucka was joined by artists Drew Johnson (with inker Ray Snyder), Rags Morales, Cliff Richards, and many others, along with colorists Richard and Tanya Horie and legendary letterer Todd Klien. Rucka and his collaborators crafted a politically-charged story with Diana at the center, wrestling with the trials and tribulations of being the Themysciran ambassador while also facing ideological, physical, and mythological challenges. 

Throughout each story, Rucka evaluates different aspects of Diana’s character and also certain aspects of human nature, to create both a deep contrast and also deep connection with her compatriots. Today I’d like to look at each of the five volumes that make up this run, with an emphasis on the themes that drive them.

Greg Rucka’s Wonder Woman Volume 1: Down to Earth
Theme: Honesty

Diana’s mission is one of bringing peace and love. Her nature as an Amazon, however, can contradict those values since she comes from an island of warrior woman. These contradictions are brought to light by the character of Veronica Cale. As Diana publishes her book Reflections, a collection of essays and speeches detailing her personal and world views, Cale and her team jump at the opportunity to discredit her views. 

Cale herself, along with her business partner, Leslie Anderson, is a self-made millionaire and runs Cale-Anderson Pharmaceuticals. She sees Wonder Woman’s views as vapid and self-aggrandizing. What did Diana have to work for to be loved and praised by the masses? In her mind, nothing. As Cale scours the book to find excerpts she can twist, we see Diana building relationships at her embassy. Jonah McCarthy is brought on to be her new handler. His role will become important later on and ties back to the theme of the volume. Overall, Down to Earth is a fantastic start to the run, one that sets up a great dichotomy between Cale and Diana that serves as the main conflict of the entire run.

Volume 2: Bitter Rivals
Theme Loyalty

How far would you go to save a friend? To the ends of the Earth? This question is at the center of the story of Vanessa Kapatelis. Vanessa was a character created by George Perez as Diana’s first true friend in Man’s World. Now, she is twisted and corrupted by the machinery that turned her into the mechanical villain, the Silver Swan. As Vanessa sits on death’s door, Diana enlists the help of her Amazon sisters and Themysciran technology to save her old friend, but to no avail. 

Desperate, Diana seeks help from an unlikely source, Doctor Leslie Anderson, who is the previously mentioned business partner of Veronica Cale. As this second volume closes, we see friendships rekindled and also dissolved, with Vanessa entering surgery to remove the machinery and Leslie joining ranks with Wonder Woman, disassociating herself with Veronica.

Volume 3: Eyes of the Gorgon
Theme: Sacrifice

A parent should never have to bury their child. Yet, this is the tragedy that befalls Peter Gaibaldi, Diana’s legal counsel, as his son Martin is forever etched in stone. This moment is also what spurs Diana to action as she comes face to face with the mythological Gorgon Medousa, and her sisters Stheno and Euryale. As Medousa invokes Ares, the battle begins: A fight centuries in the making, Medousa versus Wonder Woman. Two enter, one leaves. One fighting for the honor of beloved Poseidon, the other the death of a close friend’s fallen son. As the battle rages, the world watches. As Medousa goes in for the final strike, Diana makes the ultimate sacrifice. She reaches for one of the snakes she cut from Medousa’s head and proceeds to squeeze the venom into her eyes, blinding herself and exclaiming, “One mortal life… is worth more.” She then proceeds to behead Medousa, much like Perseus before her. 

Meanwhile on Olympus, a coup is brewing. Athena, fed up with the inaction and dishonesty of her father, Zeus, issues a challenge for the throne. An obstacle, however, stands in her way — Briarios, the last of the Hecatonchires, a hundred-handed giant that sits behind the throne. To combat Zeus’ champion, Athena calls upon hers, Diana. Now blinded, Diana is at a disadvantage. After a hard-fought battle, using her wits, Diana utilizes Medusa’s decapitated head to turn the monster to stone. Athena now ascends to the throne. Diana, however, has one last inquiry to the wise Pallas; was the death of young Martin Garibaldi a necessary price to pay? Athena answers yes. It is this atonement that drives the theme of the next volume.

Volume 4: Land of the Dead
Theme: Desire

There is a saying that if you really want something, you are willing to go to hell and back to retrieve it. As a mission from Athena, Diana must descend to the lowest depths of Tartarus to return the messenger god Hermes to Olympus. By her side is her protégé Cassandra Sandsmark, the current Wonder Girl, and the Kith-o-taur (yes, he is very specific about that) and embassy chef, Ferdinand. Much like Diana, her companions both come with their own desires. Cassie is on the quest to find her father, while Ferdinand is out to lift what he deems to be a “curse” that turned him into this man-beast. These quests are also not without obstacles. The recently deposed Zeus has joined up with his brother Hades and Poseidon to create a triumvirate that seeks to put Zeus back in his rightful place, upon the throne where his daughter now sits.

As Diana and her friends descend into the depths, beyond the Bronze doors, they encounter the Empousai, which are demons that feed off their desires. They have an ace up their sleeve, however, whether or not they like it. Ares has been sent to Tartarus at the behest of Athena. As always, Ares has his own plans, and he plays both sides. As the story winds down, Ares kills Hades, thus ascending (or maybe descending is a better word) to become King of the Underworld, thus fulfilling his desire to rule his own kingdom. Our heroes return to Olympus, with Hermes in tow, Athena hears their pleas. 

Cassie asks about her father, and Athena points to Zeus. Shocked, she accosts Diana for keeping this knowledge secret. Sadly, when it comes Ferdinand his desire could not be met. A curse is not what made him who he is, but rather, this is always how he was meant to be. Finally, when it comes to Diana, her view remains true. She desires to have Martin restored. She, however, is still blind. Surprised, Cassie asks about her eyes. Diana responds, “It was never about the eyes.” As they return to Man’s World, Athena imparts one final gift, a portion of her vision. With this, Diana is able to look on as Martin returns to the loving embrace of his father.

Volume 5: Mission’s End
Theme: Hope

This final volume finds Diana in a difficult place. Her name is tarnished. Her home is under siege. She has been betrayed by one of her closest allies. As the run comes to a close, we see Diana’s life at a crossroads. Now wanted after killing Maxwell Lord (which happens outside of these volumes in Wonder Woman #219, the conclusion of the Sacrifice storyline from the Superman titles), Wonder Woman has to deal with the ramifications. 

All the while, Themyscria, under the lead of Artemis and Phillipus, is preparing as both the United States Navy encroaches on the island and OMAC’s start raining from the sky. Diana must choose: Does she stay in Man’s World and pay the price for her crime or does she return home to protect her sisters? She picks the latter. Doing so, she becomes an international fugitive. The battle of Themyscira is tumultuous as Diana implores her fellow Amazons to not kill the OMAC, as the people inside the shells are victims of Brother Eye’s programming. 

As the battle ends, and the OMACs disperse, the Amazons must make a fateful decision. They must retreat and the island must be hidden from the eyes of man once again. As Diana returns to the embassy, she delivers the news to her compatriots. Not only does this news shock, but also the fact that Jonah McCarthy was a spy, under the employ of Checkmate, leaves them rattled. With no country left to stand for, Diana decides to discontinue the embassy. As she walks outside to a crowd of supporters from the world over, she asks why some of them have come. They answer, “because we still have hope”. As she interacts with the crowd, a monologue from Athena rings, “How do you measure the success of a mission that seeks to change the cast of humanity’s heart? Incrementally. Heart by heart… Mind by mind… Person by person…And in so doing, reaching just one person is a victory”.

In conclusion, Greg Rucka and his collaborators crafted a definitive run for DC Comics’ Amazing Amazon. Equal parts deep introspection and exciting action, with great character interactions and sleek art, these volumes tell a story that totally encapsulates who Diana is and why her mission matters. This run was so successful, that years later in 2016, Rucka was brought back to relaunch the book under the Rebirth banner. In the end, it doesn’t matter how difficult the challenge is or how many hurdles she has to jump over. Diana’s mission is still about spreading peace and love, no matter the cost. Through it all, she endures.    

Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.