'Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed' is a rich, relevant, endearing and even a little funny contemporary retelling of Wondy's origin.
This DC young adult graphic novel, written by Laurie Halse Anderson, is less about superheroics (Diana is never actually called Wonder Woman here, nor does she sport a secret hero identity, though she hides her Amazonian background from everyone in mortal Man's World) and flashy comic book action, and more about tackling all kinds of social and political issues. Its primary focus is on what's ordinary and normalized today - an eyeopener on what's happening in real life that's controlled by men. It's about the ways in which the patriarchy hurts us all and makes no sense; it ignores basic humans rights and the legal justice system, and it is run through incompetence, ignorance, violence, and brutal cruelty, in keeping with the centuries-long status quo.
It's about exposing a corrupt, broken system.
It holds a mirror to bigotry; examples include racism, xenophobia, classism, sexism, and misogyny.
It reveals, in no small estimate, the suffering of children in this system. And make no mistake.
Poverty and homelessness are major points of discussion.
And Princess Diana - changeling (another word for a mood-swinging teenager), accidental refugee, and newcomer to the horrors of Man's World - is truly going to tell it as it is...
Of course it won't be easy. Despite the fact that seeing and knowing what is right and wrong is simple and not complicated at all, change is never easy. Change on a large scale in a corrupt world system that favours men is next to impossible, and it can take forever to achieve even a chink in the glass ceiling. But at least in Man's Messed Up World, Diana will have female friends to aid her in her day-to-day living as a "normal" human activist girl.
An activist with a voice, and language, listening, and understanding skills. And super strength.
On top of everything else, Diana is a lost girl wanting to find her way home to the island of Themyscira, after she had disobeyed her mother, Queen Hippolyta, and left the magically-protected-but-weakened island to swim and save drowning refugees. She got swept away in the currents, along with the refugees. She was tempest tossed, hence the meaning of the title.
In the meantime, she'll help in any way she can to make a difference - to make a small hope - in the outside world. A world that is nowhere near the paradise that is her beloved Themyscira. The lost and confused but smart teenage Amazon can only do so much, but she'll never give up.
'Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed' is brimming with social justice and commentary, so naturally the diversity in its cast of characters is exquisite. Nearly every person that Diana, a white girl, interacts with is a POC. All sorts of people are represented. And Steve Trevor has been split into two separate characters, Steve and Trevor - who are married to each other. Now THAT is creative licencing, and a creative liberty. Diana has no love interest in this version of her origin. Brilliant. No romance to undermine the strong feminist agenda.
Mainstream superhero comic book readers, however, may be put off by the lack of action in this book. It is strictly about Diana as a civilian - a refugee, an exchange student, an activist, a prisoner of the patriarchal system - who isn't Wonder Woman as we know her yet. While she does possess super strength, speed and endurance (which, since she's still growing and learning, she hasn't perfected yet), and her Lasso of Truth, her bracelets, and her tiara, she rarely uses them, and not to their full effect. There is not much creativity put into the Wonder Woman identity, when it comes to saving the day, as it were.
Some elements are a little underdeveloped, such as Diana's homesickness; she doesn't really attribute anything specific about home. Like, does she miss her mother? Her fellow Amazon friends, teachers, and healers? Her new horse she got on her Born Day (birthday)? It's just the vague notion of her peaceful, feminist home that she misses.
The ending, which involves a child trafficking ring, is also lacking in full potential and feels rushed. Its climatic battle is rather short, and some important details - building towards this climax - are skimmed over or forgotten about. Certain teen trafficking victims' fates aren't resolved, for instance.
In the beginning of the graphic novel, it is mentioned by Diana in narration that there's some great evil that the Greek goddesses (including my gal Artemis!) prophesied, and they created the Amazons so they could one day fight against it once it's revealed in the outside world. But this so-called darkness isn't mentioned again after Diana leaves Themyscira. Is there a sequel planned?
Also, there's no Etta Candy. Boo.
But all in all, 'Wonder Woman: Tempest Tossed' is vital in its own right, and educational. It showcases how anyone can be a hero. No monikers or costumes are required. Heroes are ordinary people, who fight to make the world a better, fairer place for everyone to live in. Altruism is its own reward.
I've got to give Anderson extra credit for sticking to the born-from-clay origin story, as well. In 'Tempest Tossed', Diana was also created from Hippolyta's tears.
Even in the darkly prophetic abyss that is 2020, where any work published is made irrelevant and can instantly be considered "badly timed" and "dated", I still recommend this superhero YA comic that isn't really about superheroes. It's about people. Real people, in a story featuring a fantasy protagonist.
Final Score: 3.5/5
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