Ricky Church continues his countdown to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with Trinity…
Despite the movie being called Batman v Superman, one factor that is just as heavily anticipated, if not more so, than the two heroes going head-to-head in a physical match is the introduction of Wonder Woman. This will be the first time the Amazonian princess will have appeared in live-action after the 70s show starring Lynda Carter. Between the glimpses of her in Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot looks like she’ll knock the role out of the park.
It seems only appropriate, then, to recommend a Wonder Woman centric story. Trinity is writer and artist Matt Wagner’s depiction of Batman and Superman’s first meeting with Wonder Woman as she leaves Themyscira to uncover Ra’s al Ghul’s latest plot to rule the world with help from Bizarro and a mysterious Amazon outcast. Her respect and admiration for Superman is immediately apparent, but her first impression of Batman is far from positive.
Throughout the story Wonder Woman and Batman clash over each of their own methods. Wonder Woman believes Batman is too brutal and arrogant with his tactics and Batman thinks she’s too naïve and headstrong to fight crime. Superman often has to step in and act as the voice of reason between the two, preventing them from fighting each other. Saying their relationship is rocky is an understatement.
At one point Wonder Woman even asks Superman why he of all people puts up with Batman. He replies that they’re both orphans, but whereas Superman got a great foster family with the Kents, Batman had to struggle alone for much of his life. Despite that, he tells her, Batman’s been able to utilize his trauma for good, putting his life on the line countless times to save people, even admitting that he wonders if he’d have the conviction to do the same if he didn’t have powers. It’s a moment that shows Superman’s own respect for Batman and the start of Wonder Woman seeing past Batman’s arrogance hard personality.
Rather than putting emphasis on the plot or the action, Trinity focuses much more on the characterization of DC’s big three and their relationships with one another. Wagner spent a lot of time delving into each hero’s quirks, making their interactions seem fresh and real. Batman and Wonder Woman’s rivalry also felt new since we had seen we have seen that same kind of relationship play out between Batman and Superman many times before. Wagner played on this new angle to great effect here. His art is also quite good to look at, acting as a modern throwback to comic’s Golden Age from the 40s and 50s. Trinity is definitely a book you should read if you want to learn a bit more about Wonder Woman in the next few weeks.
Ricky Church
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Originally published February 25, 2016. Updated April 14, 2018.
