Diana faces a bunch of herselves on a commercial flight across the Atlantic. Thankfully, they’re not all her: “They’re cheap copies!” So they’re easy enough to defeat, but she has little idea who could have sent them out to get her in Wonder Woman #782. Writers Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan continue a satisfying run with Diana in an chapter drawn by Marcio Takara. There’s also a continuing look at the Amazons of the Bana-Migdhall in the second part of The Road to the Trial of the Amazons. Former Wonder Woman Artemis is suitably badass in a chapter written by Vita Ayala and drawn by Skylar Patridge.

Diana looks out of the window of the commercial airliner to see a whole bunch of her swarming around the plane. Luckily she doesn’t have to face herselves alone. She is aided in the battle by Deadman. Later on, she heads to Sweden to return a sword to the grave of an old friend as mysteries persist and Dr. Psycho infects the minds of the masses. Elsewhere Artemis leads defense against a vicious manticore. Defeating the beast is one thing...dealing with the implications of where it came from is going to be another matter altogether. 

Cloonan and Conrad keep the action moving on a few different levels. The writers do an impressive job of keeping together a single chapter that features many different moving parts. From a flight over the Atlantic to a hotel room to various places in Sweden, Wonder Woman and Deadman are found between the same covers as Dr. Psycho, another villain, Steve Trevor, Etta Candy, and a lot more besides. It all holds together remarkably well in a swift flow which leads into the second part of Ayala’s prelude to the big Wonder Woman crossover that will take place next year. Ayala mixes action with intrigue in intriguing revelations. 

Takara ushers the narrative through a variety of different moods and scenes. The speed and insanity of the battle on the airline is impressively jarring. Diana’s altruism always looks disturbing when forced through a twisted, sadistic lens. More casual moments over breakfast and in a hotel room carry their own dramatic weight. The chill of a snowy winter in Sweden feels particularly immersive when brought to the page by Takara. Patridge breathtakingly renders the perspective of a tiny, little warrior badass fighting the ferocious immensity of a manticore at issue’s end. 

Cloonan and Conrad have a really solid grasp of Diana’s life both in and out of costume. Idle moments at a cafe and in a hotel room further explore a casual friendship between Diana and Deadman, making for some of the more appealing social moments of Diana’s 80th anniversary year. Diana and Deadman make for an appealing pair. The contrast between the thoughtful nuance of Diana’s story and the rugged aggression of Artemis’ battle makes for a remarkably well-rounded issue. The many complicated facets of Wonder Woman’s world continue to expand in another well-crafted, heartfelt issue. 

Grade: A