'Wonder Woman: Warbringer' Spoiler Free Review

I have mixed feelings about this book. I'm debating giving it a three, but I think I'm going to give it a four because overall I did enjoy it, just know that it rests on the border. As a fan of the DC comics, having read many collections from many characters over recent years, I was excited when I heard a series was starting showcasing YA authors writing for established superheroes in this format. I was also nervous, however, and I think it's fair to say my anxiety was justified. To start with some of the things I did like about it, I felt like the beginning of the book was much better than the end. Leigh Bardugo did a great job at humanizing Diana (AKA 'Wonder Woman') from the beginning which can be difficult to do with immortal and god-like characters, just look at the Superman movies. Straight from the first chapter Diana was relatable and a brilliantly constructed character which the author has undoubtedly done justice too. There is also no knowledge needed of any of the source material to read this book. Even if you've never read a comic in your life, I feel like you could still pick up this book and enjoy it, which is a credit to Bardugo. This book also features a lot of interesting facts about Greek mythology, which the author has apparently put a lot of research into, which I appreciated. I really enjoyed the story, even more so than the most recent film adaptation. It focuses a lot on family and responsibility as well as themes of war, as we see in the movie. While on the subject of the film, this book steals lines and moments directly from it, most notably when Diana comes up with her alias Diana Prince. Although I liked the story, it did get quite predictable by the end as well. Nothing really took me by surprise, and I felt that the plot twists were obvious. I also thought this book was quite heavy on its feminist angle. Wonder Woman has always been a symbol of female empowerment, and I appreciate and encourage that, but it seemed that this book rather than promoting equality was attacking men. This is something that the film did really well and showed Diana and Steve adapting to work with one another as part of a team, but I never really felt that moment in this. There are also a lot of moments when Diana and the other female character have to 'teach men' things like how not to be violent, which this book portrays as an absolutely masculine thing. The female characters are also constantly comparing their modern-day problems to problems of women in ancient Greece and other periods in history, which in my opinion is less empowering as it is pitying. Once again I just want to say that I am all for Diana being a symbol of feminism, but I felt that it was poorly handled in this adaptation. A final point to make about this book, not something which really put me off but it could definitely turn other away, was the lack of representation. Not regarding POC, this book does brilliantly at that, but I'm talking about the little to no LGBT representation. There is only one character on that spectrum, and her relationships are sidelined until a brief mention at the end. She was a side character, so I am willing to let it slide more, and as I say, lack of representation, just like an abundance of representation does not change my opinion on books. Overall I did enjoy this book, but I felt that there was a lot to be improved upon. I will be reading the next installment in the DC Icons series: 'Batman: Nightwalker' and if Bardugo wrote another Wonder Woman story I would read it too.