Wonder Woman #37 Review
Writer: Tom King
Artist: Daniel Sampere
Colorist: Adriano Lucas
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artists: Daniel Sampere & Tomeu Morey
Variant Cover Artists: David Nakayama; Kyuyoung Eom; Mahmud
Asrar & Mike Spicer
Editors: Marquis Draper & Brittany Holzherr
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $4.99/$5.99 Card Stock
Release Date: September 16, 2026
You always know it can happen. Society will always try to
prepare you for it. Yet the death of a loved one always leaves you bereft. So,
as the Ferryman poles them back along the River Styx, Steve Trevor tells
Elizabeth Marston Prince a story. Sharing how he met Diana and why he fell in
love with her brings Steve a small measure of comfort.
Steve hopes that his tale of how and why Diana left
Themyscira can help his daughter embrace her future. Most of all, Steve wants
his daughter to realize that her mother didn't become Wonder Woman because of
her strength or skills. Instead, it was her inner qualities that helped her
become Themyscira's representative in a tumultuous world.
Where will the Ferryman deliver Steve and Elizabeth? And
what challenges will the broken family face upon their arrival? Let’s leap into
Wonder Woman #37 and see!
Story
As the boat nears Themyscira, the Ferryman tells Steve and
Elizabeth how to renew what has grown old. After delivering them to the shore,
he reminds them that death cannot diminish the glow they bring to other
people’s lives. But the Ferryman doesn’t stick around to explain to the Amazons
guarding the island that he has brought his passengers back in time. So, after
he departs, the island’s guardians do what Steve feared Hippolyta would when
Diana won the right to depart Themyscira with him.
While Wonder Woman #37 follows Steve and Elizabeth's return
to Themyscira, it also follows Diana's hunt. After Steve died, Diana poured all
her love for him into Elizabeth. With Steve gone, she keeps her daughter close.
Yet she also guards Lyssa like a daughter. And in her role as a mother and an
Amazon warrior, Diana instructs them on how to battle the monsters they will
confront. Perhaps the infants are too young to understand her words. Or perhaps
her instructions are not solely intended for the children.
In Tom King's story, Diana, Steve, and Elizabeth are all
grieving. While Diana intends to remain strong for her children, Elizabeth
yearns to live up to her mother's expectations. Yet while her Human father mourns,
Elizabeth won't let him start retreating from life. They may be traveling back
in time to meet a younger version of her mother. Still, Elizabeth feels
responsible for ensuring that Diana’s example inspires future generations in
Wonder Woman #37.
Art
As Diana stands on a rocky promontory, greenery rises around
her, partially obscuring the distant sea. Ensconced in the dual baby sling,
Lizzie and Lyssa look at each other, pressing their lips shut. Then Diana dives
toward the frothing waters of the plunge pool. As he directs his craft,
darkness obscures the Ferryman’s features as he interacts with his passengers.
When he grounds the craft on the beach, Elizabeth helps her father off the boat
using two hands. After he leaves, Steve regards the Amazons with a smile. Yet
the emptiness in Elizabeth’s eyes suggests that, right now, nothing can be “wonderful.”
As Daniel Sampere chronicles Steve and Elizabeth’s return to
Themyscira, Adriano Lucas adorns Wonder Woman #37 with a vibrant palette. The
irrepressible foliage links with Steve and the monster who also refuses to let
others dictate its fate. The blue cave and Elizabeth’s blue uniform signal the
hope that lingers even in the darkest times. Diana and Elizabeth's yellow
lassos show how to battle those who attack others out of fear. Diana's costume
shines brightly in the dim cave. Yet it links with an act outside, sadly not
driven by righteous fury.
Clayton Cowles fills white dialogue balloons with black
uppercase letters. Words shrink for lowered voices and grow bold for intonation.
Large, colored words in deformed balloons accompany raised voices. Yet while
the Amazon’s shout fills a spiky balloon, the monster’s growls are gently
rounded around each letter. Sound effects presage the fighting and eventually
overtake panels as the violence grows increasingly injurious and deadly. Thanks
to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Her mother didn’t want her to leave. The Fates also declared
that Diana should remain on Themyscira. But Diana didn't just leave her island
home. Her actions inspired people to change their world. Eventually, Diana's
sisters followed her lead. As Diana altered their vision of the world, the
Fates punished the Amazons by imprisoning or killing those who didn’t retreat
to their island home. Then, they punished Diana by decreeing that all the
heroes she had loved and fought alongside should also die.
Diana may have sacrificed herself in their temple in the
hopes of rewriting history and saving all her friends and loved ones. Yet the
Fates cling to their vision for the world in Wonder Woman #37.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see Wonder Woman #37 Preview.
For the second half of Steve's story about falling in love with Diana, see Wonder Woman #36 Review.
For the first part of Steve's tale, see Wonder Woman #35 Preview.
For Diana's battle with Lyssa in the Temple of the Moirai, see my review of Wonder Woman #34.
For what happened before that, see my preview of Wonder Woman #33.
For what happened before that, see my review of Wonder Woman #32.
For how The Wonder War began, see my preview of Wonder Woman #31.
