Scan barcode
A review by fifteenthjessica
Bombshells: United Vol. 1: American Soil by Marguerite Bennett
3.0
Another thoroughly okay volume in the DC Comics Bombshell comics. While the war rages in Europe, Wonder Woman is called to America to help some young women stop the Japanese internment.
Wonder Women ends up with a Gotham Batgirl-esque squad consisting of the two main Wonder Girls (Donna Troy/Toroya and Cassie Sandmark), and some relatively new supporting characters Emily Sung (Elementwoman in the main DC Comics) and Yuki and Yuri Katsura (who are apparently BatGirl villains in the main DC Comics). If you've read my previous reviews, you know I've ranted about how big the cast of Bombshells is, and Cassie, Yuki, Yuri, and Emily feel like padding characters most of whom were thrown into the mix because they're East Asian. I do not think I would be saying this if Bennett had taken the time to establish distinct personalities for the girls, but like the Batgirls, they kind of blur together. Wonder Woman has two more allies, Dawnstar a winged heroine who descended from the Tewa people of America, and another who I will get to later.
The main villain for many of the issues is Clayface, a Batman villain, who is actually used well to force the characters to experience (and rise above) the paranoia that was used to justify the Japanese Internment. His driving force is basically a nationalism so blind that he considers Diana of Themyscrira the embodiment of America.
There are a couple problems I have, but they are linked to some big spoilers.
Also the equipment. Early on, there was a big fuss about Diana's equipment being the treasures of the Amazon, but the Wonder Girls, with help from the now silver Clayface, are able to duplicate the ones Diana left behind (I'd like to add that the reasoning for this is not well established, so I assume Diana read the script to know this was necessary).
The last issue in this trade paperback is a bit of a rollcall. It opens with several cameos going over major characters from the original run (Batwoman, Supergirl, Lois Lane, Mera, Arthur Curry, Vixen, Hawkgirl, and the Suicide Squad) as well as new characters Black Canary, Katana, Bumblebee, Starfire, The Flash, Black Cat, and Platinum (no idea who the last two, as well as the version of the Flash chosen, are by the way). Sandwiched in between all these cameos are the origins of Star Sapphire Carol Ferris and Green Lantern Jessica Cruz. It ends on Wonder Woman watching a mysterious space ship land.
Wonder Women ends up with a Gotham Batgirl-esque squad consisting of the two main Wonder Girls (Donna Troy/Toroya and Cassie Sandmark), and some relatively new supporting characters Emily Sung (Elementwoman in the main DC Comics) and Yuki and Yuri Katsura (who are apparently BatGirl villains in the main DC Comics). If you've read my previous reviews, you know I've ranted about how big the cast of Bombshells is, and Cassie, Yuki, Yuri, and Emily feel like padding characters most of whom were thrown into the mix because they're East Asian. I do not think I would be saying this if Bennett had taken the time to establish distinct personalities for the girls, but like the Batgirls, they kind of blur together. Wonder Woman has two more allies, Dawnstar a winged heroine who descended from the Tewa people of America, and another who I will get to later.
The main villain for many of the issues is Clayface, a Batman villain, who is actually used well to force the characters to experience (and rise above) the paranoia that was used to justify the Japanese Internment. His driving force is basically a nationalism so blind that he considers Diana of Themyscrira the embodiment of America.
There are a couple problems I have, but they are linked to some big spoilers.
Spoiler
So Wonder Woman ends up sacrificing herself, but not before abandoning her equipment. The heroines mentioned earlier end up taking it and becoming the Wonder Girls. They then succeed in redeeming Clayface. It's a cool scene, but it loses its punch because the Wonder Girls end up redeeming everyone but the General who Clayface used to take orders from. The redemption through love by a group of teen heroines was already done (mostly off page) by the Batgirls and Harvey Dent in the original Bombshells run. The Baroness Paula von Gunther was also redeemed off page by Wonder Woman dragging her around the battlefield.Also the equipment. Early on, there was a big fuss about Diana's equipment being the treasures of the Amazon, but the Wonder Girls, with help from the now silver Clayface, are able to duplicate the ones Diana left behind (I'd like to add that the reasoning for this is not well established, so I assume Diana read the script to know this was necessary).
The last issue in this trade paperback is a bit of a rollcall. It opens with several cameos going over major characters from the original run (Batwoman, Supergirl, Lois Lane, Mera, Arthur Curry, Vixen, Hawkgirl, and the Suicide Squad) as well as new characters Black Canary, Katana, Bumblebee, Starfire, The Flash, Black Cat, and Platinum (no idea who the last two, as well as the version of the Flash chosen, are by the way). Sandwiched in between all these cameos are the origins of Star Sapphire Carol Ferris and Green Lantern Jessica Cruz. It ends on Wonder Woman watching a mysterious space ship land.