Review: Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity

Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity by Matt Wagner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Rating: 3 out of 5 | Grade: C; Holy, Sexual Harassment Batman!

What the Hell did I just read? Matt Wagner's Trinity comic, which appropriately is 3 issues, seems like a story which would be more comfortable in 60s & 70s era of more chauvinistic comics.

The story is campy but enjoyable, surrounding around a plot where Ras al Ghul gets his hands on some ballistic missiles and is going to use them to cripple the global communication network and oil fields. Thus, sowing the seeds to civilizational collapse.



Joining him in this evil endeavor are the ever-gullible Bizarro & Artemis of the Bana-Mighdall amazons. The Holy Trinity of DC, Batman/ Superman/ Wonder woman, still new to this team business, have to stop them. As usual.



The part that really grates me is how OOC the characters are acting. It almost feels like Wagner doesn't understand their nature. Even for an elseworlds type story it's pretty jarring.

I mean, there is one scene where (view spoiler)[ Batman walks in on a Diana bathing in a stream, with all the associated gratuitous imagery; and then proceeds to kiss her for no reason.



Which is then never addressed by either party. I know that some wonder woman comics have her be bewitching to men, but this is the freaking Dark knight, whose made of sterner stuff. Him succumbing to such a superficial charm effect seems really disingenuous (hide spoiler)]

Then there is the big baddy, Ras al Ghul. He may be many things, a shadow cult leader, ecological terrorist, megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur, but he's not a leering Weinstein like misogynistic molester of women. He's the freaking demon's head, yet half the scenes between him and Diana involve cringe leering dialogue, which makes you get vibes of Leah & Jabba. It's clear that the writer doesn't really get this character.

Other than that, the art is a mixed bag. There are some breakout panels, when it comes to the environment & the full spread superhero poses, but otherwise it comes across stocky and jarring.




Particularly for the environment, the illustrators have made good use of light, shadows, constrast and coloring to set the different locales apart in terms of themes and feel.





Basically, it's read once and then forget. Pick it up at your own behest. Ciao.


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