The ability to control the minds of others is dangerous enough on its own. That ability in the hands of a girl who isn’t entirely stable will mean danger on a completely different level, as Diana learns in vivid detail in Wonder Woman #763. Writer Mariko Tamaki wraps-up the debut of a whole new villain with the sudden jolt of climactic encounter that is brought to the page by artist Carlo Barberi and inker Matt Santorelli. As compelling a character as the new villain is, her history is a lot more compelling than the conflict she enters with Wonder Woman. It’s a deeply pensive issue, which feels ever-so-slightly off-center for a major show-down. 

Emma’s mother died on the outskirts of Metropolis many years ago. The last thing Emma’s mother did was lie to her daughter. Years later, Emma is manifesting the powers of a man she claims is her father: Maxwell Lord. She’s in control of a few soldiers. Emma commands them to attack Wonder Woman creating a dangerous moment for everyone involved. Wonder Woman doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but she doesn’t want to hurt any of them either. THAT could prove to be a challenge with them under the control of a girl who feels a deep hatred for a world that has largely abandoned her. 

Tamaki gives Diana’s neighbor a hell of a lot of time to go into her origins with a lengthy, introspective flashback. It’s gripping, emotionally engaging stuff. The fact that it’s happening in the middle of a stand-off with Wonder Woman and Maxwell Lord is kind of disorienting. Typically a villain isn’t getting their full origin right at the moment of a climactic conflict. The resulting story draws the conflict to a very solid resolution that maintains a restless uneasiness for every element that’s been involved in the story, including Diana, Maxwell Lord, and Emma. Tamaki’s conclusion this chapter draws a slightly haunting shadow over the opening arc of her work on the series.  

Barberi and Santorelli maintain an impressive tension throughout much of the issue. There’s an impressive amount of action going on for an installment in which the title character is doing little more than standing at a fixed point. Emma’s backstory engages on a profound level as a very young Emma sits in the back seat of a car driven by her mother. It’s strikingly still tension even as mother and daughter end up in an auto wreck. Wonder Woman strikes a few powerful moments in the issue as well. They render some deep, unspoken emotion into Diana’s visage that serves as an emotional center for the story that contrasts against Emma’s anger. 

Children and young adults can be some of the most complicated villains in any genre. It’s easy enough to pass along the villainy of an adult to the murkiness of a complicated past. Kids are different, though. It’s tricky to make the villainy of the very young feel authentic without a prolonged sense of corruption. Tamaki strikes a powerful balance between youth and malice in the full reveal of a compelling, new villain.

Grade: A