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.
