By Alex Batts — We’re back with another entry in The Wicked + The Divine Re-Read Project and this issue, like the ones before it in this arc, is a major one. We’re hitting the big #20 for the series, and the story arc titled “Rising Action” continues to, well, rise. With that said, let’s hop into the issue!

The Wicked + The Divine #20

Here’s the solicitation text for The Wicked + The Divine #20, released on June 8, 2016:

“RISING ACTION,” Part Three So… why is Laura still alive anyway?

This solicit is short and sweet. It also succinctly sums up the backbone of this issue as we get a clear understanding of just how Laura is alive after all. The “recontextualization issues” as I’m going to dub them are some of the biggest in the series, and this one is no different. Kieron Gillen and co. work to completely change your perspective on what’s happened so far by revealing more information from different points of view about things we’ve already seen.

The Cover: Our third fashion-portrait cover features Urdr and her Norns. Urdr has a distinct visual flair, the lack of bright colors being her staple. Her muted color palette is eye-catching and helps the strands of glowing yellow/gold across the image stand out even more. Unlike most of the gods, her outfit is super straightforward, just black on black, but it fits her perfectly. She’s also in contrast to her Norns as they dance around her while she remains motionless. The difference may be subtle but it speaks to her character.

The First Page: This is a pretty powerful first page, with the opening panel showing us Laura’s destroyed home as Urdr and her Norns stand in front of the wreckage. It’s been sort of easy to forget that Ananke destroyed Laura’s home, given all the other chaos that’s been happening, but seeing the destruction in such an abrupt manner forces you back to the reality of the situation.

The Wicked + The Divine #20 First Page.jpg

We then see that Urdr had received a text from Laura, whose name in her phone is “Laura Wilson (Fangirl)”, which is a perfect detail that further emphasizes how far Laura has come since we met her. Urdr grumbles to herself that if Laura isn’t texting from beyond the grave she’s going to put them there as she climbs through the rubble of Laura’s home.

On-Page Action: As I said in the intro, this issue is a major recontextualization point for the series and could mostly be considered a flashback issue. After Urdr finds Persephone waiting for her with Owly, Persephone says they need to talk. Persephone starts singing and while Godly performances don’t typically work on Urdr, this does, and it shows her (and us) the events that really transpired the night of Laura’s almost murder.

We’re sent back to the church where Baphomet supposedly killed Inanna. We see Inanna tell Baphomet that just because he might live longer, doesn’t mean he’s any more, alive and then we see Baphomet blow up the church in rage. Everything about the event is playing out as we previously saw so far, but then we turn the page, and Baphomet and Inanna are both left alive in the ashes. Baphomet realized that Inanna knew he was trying to steal Inanna’s life, and the only way he could’ve known that is if Ananke told him about the gambit. It’s this revelation that leads to Baphomet understanding that Ananke is playing them, and thus the seeds of doubt are seeing harvest.

The Wicked + The Divine #20 Church Explosion.jpg

After the pair realize they need to take some form of action, they try to find Ananke. Inanna can divine people’s locations and sees Ananke with someone new, and it looks like they’re at Laura’s. The duo quickly makes their way to Laura’s house and from the air they see that Laura has just become Persephone. They also see that tragic moment when Ananke lifts her hand to the back of Persephone’s head for the killing blow.

It’s here that they take action, diving from the sky and slamming Persephone to the ground, saving her from certain death. The pair stand to face Ananke, but she’s read. After little deliberation about who to prioritize, Ananke clicks her fingers and blasts Inanna’s head right off his body. Before she can hurt Baphomet and Persephone, he teleports them safely to the Underground. We then see that the burning body left on the ground, who we previously thought was Persephone, is actually Inanna.

The following page picks up where we remember the events ending, as Laura’s family walks into the backyard to see the burning corpse. “Some murders are necessary. Others are not,” Ananke says as she decimates the home, killing Laura’s family.

After this point, the issue follows Persephone’s time in the Underground after her family's demise. We see various dates go by from August to September as Persephone lays unmoving, almost completely devoid of emotion except for apathy. We’re able to key in when certain events happen as Baphomet returns and mentions Morrigan’s capture and Tara’s death. We eventually start getting some quality bonding time between Persephone and Baphomet. The pair’s despair feels genuine and the characters bounce off each other well.

The Wicked + The Divine #20 The Underground.jpg

Baphomet tells Persephone the story of him becoming a God, the real story, and we learn that he isn’t actually Baphomet at all, but Nergal. However, afraid of being made fun of, he refuses to go by Nergal. There’s a great dialogue exchange between him and Persephone that involves why Batman isn’t in the Avengers and how the entire medium has a ridiculously complicated history. It’s a wonderfully fun nod at the comics industry.

By the end of the conversation, we see Persephone smiling before she kisses Baphomet. This cuts to where we previously saw them in the Underground, naked beside each other with Persephone saying “This was a mistake.” We get a bit more dialogue here than we saw before, though, as Persephone says with conviction that they are going to save everyone. And with that, her performance panels fade away and we’re brought back to the present.

Urdr has an incredibly physical reaction to the performance and information, as she isn’t used to Godly powers working on her. She asks Persephone why she shared everything with her, to which Persephone responds that she’s the only one who was there with her since the beginning, which feels like a lifetime ago, and she needed someone to understand. She then says they’re going to storm Valhalla and save everyone.

Naturally, Urdr implodes in anger. If they have actual evidence against Ananke she says they should take it to the authorities. “We are little better than children overdosing on divinity.” Say says. But Persephone isn’t hearing it. Urdr can join them or she can’t, her call. Urdr reaches out to stop her saying she won’t let her do this, but finds that Persephone isn’t really there, just a projection by Owly, “I wouldn’t have told you if you could stop us. We’re starting now.” Says Persephone as Owly flies into the night.

Deeper Meaning: This issue again works to show how many different perspectives there can be of a singular event. It also shows that the truth can be a lot more complicated than it seems. By omitting a couple of lines of dialogue, a couple of seconds of action, or someone else’s perspective, events take on a completely different truth. This recontextualization is perhaps my favorite thing that the series does throughout its run, because it ensures that the many plot twists are inherently baked into the narrative.

The twists aren’t thought of after the fact for shock value, they are intrinsically linked with the story because the twists have always been there, we just didn’t have the information to see them the first time through. This issue also explores what loss and solitude can do to a person. We see Persephone go from as happy as she’s ever been to drowning in anguish and apathy. This also turns to looking for comfort in whoever you can find, a natural human response.

Loss, trauma, and betrayal are all touched upon in this issue, as well as what the “right” thing to do may be. Urdr urges Persephone to go through proper channels to bring down Ananke, which may be the “right” thing, but as a reader, it’s not exactly what I want to see, and it certainly isn’t what Persephone feels is “right.”

The Art: This issue is a tour de force in a vividly Persephone color palette. Since most of the issue is a flashback seen through her performance all the scenes have an almost “Persephone filter” overlay to their coloring. Pinks, blues, and blacks are all brighter and stand out more than normal. It gives every scene an almost unreal and otherworldly quality to them that just looks visually appealing and also fits Persephone as a character.

The art in general, as always, is knocked out of the park by Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson. The nuanced emotion in character faces is always given the utmost attention, while paneling and action keep things engaging the whole way through. The little action we do see in this issue is exciting and a visual treat, but the character work is the real standout of the issue. McKelvie and Wilson flawlessly bring out emotion through color, body language, and facial expressions and it carries this issue as we get emotional revelation after another. The high contrast colors for the Persephone palette give the book such a unique look thanks to Wilson. As always the art is a solid 10/10 and a major piece that makes the series what it is.

The Wicked + The Divine #20
Writer: Kieron Gillen
Artist: Jamie McKelvie
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: Image Comics
"RISING ACTION," Part Two. Gods of the Underworld, in the Underworld. Perfectly safe now. Definitely. Stuff definitely doesn't explode. That doesn't happen.
Released: May 4, 2016
Buy It Digitally: The Wicked + The Divine #20

Click here to read past installments of the Wic + Div Re-Read.

Alex Batts is from Texas. A lifelong comic book enthusiast and movie lover, if he’s not talking about comics, he’s probably not talking. You can find him on Twitter by following @BatmanFiles