Wonder Woman 2026 Annual: Wonder War—The Matriarch Special #1 Review
Writers: Stephanie Williams & Leah Williams
Artists: Eduardo Pansica, Júlio Ferreira & Belén Ortega
Colorists: Romulo Fajardo Jr & Triona Farrell
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Daniel Sampere & Tomeu Morey
Variant Cover Artists: Kyuyong Eom, Guillem March & Leirix
Editors: Marquis Draper & Brittaney Holzherr
Publisher: DC Comics
Price: $5.99 US/Variant $6.99 US (Card Stock)
Release Date: September 30, 2026
Her mother, Emilie, battled Diana for the right to represent Themyscira on the world stage. Her father, the Sovereign, quietly ruled the United States behind the façade of democratic institutions. Lyssa succeeded her father as the Matriarch of the United States. And then she killed everyone who opposed her.
How did the girl Diana raised become such a brutal killer? And what happened after Diana defeated the Matriarch in the Temple of the Moirae? Let’s leap into Wonder Woman 2026 Annual: Wonder War—The Matriarch Special #1 and see!
Story
After Diana’s fist hurled her through a stone pillar, Lyssa awakens in a boat. Unlike Steve Trevor and Elizabeth, no Ferryman steers her course. And instead of gliding along the River Styx, her wooden vessel floats on the bloody currents of the Phlegethon.
While no one travels with her, Lyssa is far from alone in Wonder Woman 2026 Annual: Wonder War—The Matriarch Special #1. As the boat carries her toward Tartarus, shades of the heroes he killed rise to meet her. And as in life, Lyssa must decide how to confront them.
Stephanie Williams and Leah Williams intersperse Lyssa’s journey through the Underworld with key events from her past. These scenes chart Lyssa’s journey from her childhood on Themyscira to grasping for something that Hippolyta warned Diana she must avoid. But by the time she reaches adulthood, deviating from her Amazons’ code of conduct has become the rule of Lyssa’s life.
She may have lost her power ring. Still, Lyssa has someone who travels with her. It’s someone she has not listened to as much as she should have. Instead, this person has become a stranger to her. But after crashing through the barrier of death, this still small voice regains its strength. And unlike in life, Lyssa can no longer repress her conscience in Wonder Woman 2026 Annual: Wonder War—The Matriarch Special #1.
Art
When she awakens in the boat, no ring adorns her gloved hand. As she rises, Lyssa stands in the middle of the boat between two lamps to light her way. Like Diana in the Colosseum, Lyssa dodges projectiles. When her journey grows rough, Lyssa clings to the boat instead of a Kanga. As dark figures arise, red streams down their heads and backs. Yet when Lyssa meets this test of her strength and skills, no red trickles from her palm when she clenches her fist. Yet as Lyssa remembers how her path diverged from the Amazons, one person reaches out to help another when she falls.
As Eduardo Pansica, Júlio Ferreira, and Belén Ortega show Lyssa in black and white on a red river, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Triona Farrell adorn the Matriarch’s past with a vibrant palette. Red mixes with violet and lavender when Lyssa and Elizabeth's paths diverged. The colors return later to convey how far apart they have grown. Blotchy red borders frame gray, brown, and green panels of love and loss. Yet, orange tinges more tragic memories of how Lyssa demonstrated her worth in Wonder Woman 2026 Annual: Wonder War—The Matriarch Special #1.
While Lyssa sees the Underworld as she viewed the Earth, her uppercase white thoughts appear in black narrative boxes. She cannot vanquish small, lowercase white letters in black boxes. Black uppercase dialogue in white balloons grows bold to convey inflection and shrinks when voices lower. While Clayton Cowles’ sound effects may be few, Lyssa’s dialogue grows progressively larger as the trials grow more difficult. Still, beige uppercase letters in blue boxes force Lyssa to remember the needless pain she has caused. Thanks to DC Comics for sharing this story with us.
Final Thoughts
Every decision we make empowers us. Yet no matter how much they help us accomplish, our decisions also limit us. As Lyssa looks back on her life choices, she measures the narrative she has spun. But if she wishes to act "so that all that will be might not be again," Lyssa must cut the threads binding her to her former life in Wonder Woman 2026 Annual: Wonder War—The Matriarch Special #1.
Rating 9.4/10
To look inside see Wonder Woman 2026 Annual: Wonder War –The Matriarch Special#1 Preview.
For Steve Trevor and Elizabeth's return to Themyscira, see Wonder Woman #37 Review.
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 how Diana, Steve, and Elizabeth enter the Underworld, see my preview of Wonder Woman #33.
For Tammy's interview with the Matriarch, see my review of Wonder Woman #32.
For how The Wonder War began, see my preview of Wonder Woman #31.
