Review: Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4- Dark Truth

Quick Summary

Pros: The beginning and end of the book are filled with well written action and suspense. The middle of the book is a fantastic complement to everything going on in Superman’s life. Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship is highlighted in a very unique fashion. The artwork looks great throughout.

Cons: Readers unfamiliar with Superman’s recent struggles will miss out on some of this book’s biggest positives.

Overall: This is an incredible comic that might end up being one of the best entries in this series. It starts and ends with hard-hitting action to hook you in and leave you wanting more. Meanwhile, it presents an emotional and tense narrative that enhances the overall feel of the book. This is a good book for anyone who likes Superman and Wonder Woman but an even better book for those who are up to date with Superman’s recent trials.

Story

In Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Dark Truth, writer Peter J. Tomasi takes an already great series and makes it even better. This volume shows how Superman’s recent trials and current lack of powers affects his relationship with Wonder Woman and the world as a whole. This is a fresh and interesting lens to view the characters through and is more than welcome in this series. It also serves as a wonderful accompaniment to the rest of the drama taking place in Superman’s life by providing more context and explanation for his action. Alongside all of this are emotions and action that rival any prior moment and make this a truly epic collection.

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The story starts out with a mystery. Strange events in Smallville have caught Superman and Wonder Woman’s attention and have forced them to take action. This all leads to a number of moments with plenty of action and suspense. Readers see the heroes face off against the Suicide Squad but are constantly wondering who is pulling the strings. This mix of action and mystery works well and definitely managed to pull in my attention.

From here, the book gets into the heavy stuff: Steve Trevor gives a harsh explanation as to why the world is now afraid of Superman, the heroes are almost destroyed by mysterious villains, and the collection’s villain is revealed to be part of an even larger conspiracy. Most of these occurrences tie in to the other events happening in Superman’s life, which may not be ideal for readers unfamiliar with everything else that is going on. However, it gives additional weight to the story as a whole and makes it feel like an important part of an even larger picture.

The other portion of the heavy stuff revolves around the evolution/destruction of Superman and Wonder Woman’s relationship. While previous volumes mostly ignored some of the more fundamental differences between the two, this volume digs into them. These differences lead to some distrust and even to Superman proclaiming that he no longer loves Wonder Woman. Though this seems incredibly harsh, it is well structured and logical enough that even hardcore fans of the relationship should be able to appreciate it. It leaves the duo in a place where they understand each other even more than before and leaves their relationship in a tense position.

Finally, the book ends with just as much action and suspense as it began with. Superman, Wonder Woman, and Parasite storm the villain’s compound and are able to defeat him in the end. Superman’s vulnerable state and the team-up with Parasite make this a pretty unique adventure and prevent it from being just another random bout of action. All in all, the collection concludes on a satisfactory note and gives readers a reason to return for more.

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Art

The artwork, in this volume, retains the consistently good quality found in Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 3 (Review). This is primarily because artist Doug Mahnke provides the artwork for both. Mahnke’s work is filled with detail and looks fantastic on pages showing epic fight scenes. This works particularly well in this volume, where fights break out at any moment and often occur between characters that looks better with detail. Though the last chapter has a few hiccups, mostly regarding a shift in artists, Dark Truth is overall a great looking book.

Continuity

Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 4: Dark Truth continues the story from Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 3: Casualties of War (Review).

The story here continues in Superman/Wonder Woman Vol. 5: A Savage End (Review).

This volume also references and continues the stories from other comic books, detailed below:

• Superman is depowered because of the events of Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review).
• The first page depicts a number of specific events in Superman and Wonder Woman’s lives.
  • “A friendship forged” shows them meeting each other in Justice League Vol. 1: Origin (Review).
  • “New power realized and others taken away” shows the Justice League examining Superman’s new power in Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review).
  • “His secret revealed” shows the world discovering Superman’s identity in Superman Vol. 1: Before Truth (Review).
• Superman’s costume change comes from Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth (Review) while Wonder Woman’s costume change comes from Wonder Woman Vol. 8: A Twist of Fate.
• Lana Lang lost her parents and started dating John Henry Irons in Superman: Doomed (Review).
• Superman’s fight against Doomsday and Brainiac is mentioned. This happened in Superman: Doomed (Review).
• Ultra-Humanite’s attack on Smallville is mentioned. This happened in Action Comics Vol. 7: Under the Skin (Review).
• The Crime Syndicate’s invasion is brought up. This happened in Forever Evil (Review).
• Jimmy Olson mentions being told about Superman’s secret identity first. This happened in Superman: The Men of Tomorrow (Review).
• The death of Lana Lang’s parents occurred in Superman: Doomed (Review).
• When this collection’s main villain goes to meet with his boss, there is another villain present. This character is the main villain from Action Comics Vol. 8: Truth (Review).