The Circle (comics)
Encyclopedia
"The Circle" is a four-issue comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

 story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...

 written by Gail Simone
Gail Simone
Gail Simone is an American writer of comic books. Best known for penning DC's Birds of Prey, her other notable works include Secret Six, Welcome to Tranquility, The All-New Atom, and Deadpool. In 2007, she took over Wonder Woman...

 with art by Terry Dodson
Terry Dodson
Terrence "Terry" Dodson is an American comic book artist and penciller. He is best known for his work on titles such as Harley Quinn, Trouble, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Wonder Woman and Uncanny X-Men...

 and Rachel Dodson
Rachel Dodson
Rachel Dodson is an American comic book inker and colorist, who often works with her husband, Terry Dodson. Her work includes Marvel Knights Spider-Man and Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do for Marvel Comics and Wonder Woman for DC Comics.-External links:* on Wizard...

. Published in issues #14-17 of Wonder Woman (Vol. 3), it marked the first arc by Gail Simone on her run of the book.

Publication history

Gail Simone, after much success with female characters such as from her run on Birds of Prey, was felt by fans to be the perfect writer for Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....

 as she would know how to handle such an iconic female role model. Diana had appeared in an issue of Birds of Prey during Simone's run, and in a two-issue story of The All-New Atom also by Simone. Simone had gone on record, expressing her admiration and affection for the character, and many readers felt she was needed for the book due to the relaunch having many problems that was costing the book readers (mostly from Amazons Attack!
Amazons Attack!
Amazons Attack! is a six-issue comic book limited series that was published by DC Comics. Written by Will Pfeifer and pencilled by Pete Woods, the first issue was released April 25, 2007.-Development:...

).

Following her debut issue, and the issues that followed on this arc, the story arc beginning Simone's arc was a resounding success. Many fans consider Simone's run to be a new "golden era" for Wonder Woman, not experienced since just a few years ago when Greg Rucka's run ended.

Simone's next major storyline on Wonder Woman would be Ends of the Earth.

Prologue (Past)

In a prologue backstory, told before the main story in each issue; some time before Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....

's birth, Queen Hippolyta
Queen Hippolyta (comics)
Queen Hippolyta is a fictional character and DC Comics superhero, based on Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons in Greek mythology. She is also the mother of Wonder Woman and Donna Troy.-Golden and Silver Age versions:...

 knights four Amazons as her personal guards: Myrto, Charis, Philomela, and Alkyone. One night, they all agree to guard their queen with their lives, but later on, they learn that Hippolyta had pleaded to the Gods for a child. Alkyone believes having a child would destroy them, and when they hear that one of their Amazon sisters has made a convincing baby doll, pretending it was real, she orders her dead.

Alkyone pleads with Hippolyta not to bring a child to their home, calling it evil. But Hippolyta leaves, saying that this event will be their salvation. Alkyone crushes the small baby doll and leads the other three to the city. At the same time, Hippolyta makes a baby girl out of clay. When it comes to life, she shows the baby to the rest of the Amazons, claiming she is their daughter, and names her Diana. Elsewhere, the four women watch from a distance, waiting.

Nightfall; the Circle head to where Hippolyta sleeps with her baby. Wounding Philippus
Philippus
Philippus is a fictional character owned by DC Comics. She made her first appearance in February 1987 as an Amazon character in the Wonder Woman comic book...

 the Captain of the Guard, they enter Hippolyta's chambers but the three women, except for Alkyone, start to admire the baby. When an eagle screams outside, Hippolyta is woken up and fights her traitor sisters as baby Diana watches. The fight is short as the other Amazons, with the wounded Philippus, surround the Circle.

Present

On Themyscira
Themyscira
Themyscira is a fictional island nation in the DC Comics universe that is the place of origin of Wonder Woman and her sister Amazons. Known as Paradise Island since Wonder Woman and the island's first appearance in All Star Comics #8 , it was renamed "Themyscira" with the character's February...

; Hippolyta is the only Amazon
Amazons (comics)
The Amazons of DC Comics are a fictional all-female society of superhumans, based on the Amazons of Greek mythology. There have been three major incarnations of these Amazons, one before the Crisis, and two after. What two of these groups have in common is that they are the race which produced...

 (see Amazons Attack!
Amazons Attack!
Amazons Attack! is a six-issue comic book limited series that was published by DC Comics. Written by Will Pfeifer and pencilled by Pete Woods, the first issue was released April 25, 2007.-Development:...

), but she isn't alone, for the four Amazon women are still imprisoned on the island. The same night every year, she asks all four of them in their prisons if they wish to repent, but all of them say no. But the last one, Alkyone, gives Hippolyta a crown and says that it is Hippolyta herself who had betrayed them by giving birth to the dragon (referring to Wonder Woman). Hippolyta says no and walks away when the woman tells her she must kill her daughter, or reveal the truth to her. Elsewhere, Wonder Woman is attacked by gorillas loyal to Gorilla Grodd
Gorilla Grodd
Gorilla Grodd is a supervillain appearing in DC Comics, primarily as an enemy of The Flash. He debuted in Flash v.1 #106 , and was created by writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino....

. She does subdue them to talk to their leader named Tolifhar, who reveals they want to attack humans for what they do to their kind. She promises, under the word as an Amazon, that she will help it. Convinced, the gorillas and Diana are now allies, and she has them stay as houseguests to her apartment. Picking her up, Nemesis
Nemesis (DC Comics)
Nemesis is the name of two fictional characters in the DC Comics universe. Thomas Andrew Tresser first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #166, , and was created by Cary Burkett and Dan Spiegle. Soseh Myrkos first appeared in JSA Annual #1, , and was created by David S...

 takes her (as Agent Diana Prince) to Department of Metahuman Affairs, where after they celebrate her birthday, Sarge Steel
Sarge Steel
Sarge Steel is a detective/spy character published by Charlton Comics during the 1960s. As he was published during the time of Charlton's Action Heroes line of superheroes, and had loose ties to some, he is sometimes included with that group...

 recruits her and Nemesis for a cooperative strike. Later, Sarge meets a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Etta Candy
Etta Candy
Etta Candy is a fictional character from the DC Comics Wonder Woman series.-Golden Age:In her 1940s introduction, Etta Candy is a sickly malnurished woman Wonder Woman discovers at a local hospital. When next she is seen Etta is transformed into a spirited, rotund young woman who has a great love...

, who he reveals that he believes Diana Prince has some connection to Wonder Woman, and Etta agrees to help. During the mission, Diana and Nemesis arrive at their target: a site reported to house members of the Secret Society of Super Villains
Secret Society of Super Villains
The Secret Society of Super Villains is a group of comic book supervillains that exist in the DC Universe...

. Inside, they are attacked by Captain Nazi
Captain Nazi
Captain Nazi is a Fawcett Comics and DC Comics supervillain, a rival of Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel Jr. He was created by William Woolfolk and Mac Raboy.-Fawcett Comics:...

, who reveals he and many of his followers want a nation of their own. At the same time, those followers reach and plan to take over Themyscira.

Diana struggles against Captain Nazi. Because she has no powers in her secret identity, she uses other tactics and blind grenades to give her time to transform. Now as Wonder Woman, she wraps her lasso around Nazi to learn what is going on, and in process his sorrowful life to which she gives empathy
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...

. On Themyscira, as the Nazis land and prepare to take over the island, Hippolyta sees them, trims her hair, dons in her armor and fights them, all in hopes as forgiveness toward Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...

. In various places, Wonder Woman asks for help to get to Themyscira: among them are Wōdanaz
Wodanaz
or is the reconstructed Proto-Germanic name of a god of Germanic paganism, known as in Norse mythology, in Old English, or in Old High German and in Lombardic...

, Raijin
Raijin
is a god of lightning, thunder and storms in the Shinto religion and in Japanese mythology.His name is derived from the Japanese words rai and shin . He is typically depicted as a demon beating drums to create thunder, usually with the symbol tomoe drawn on the drums...

, and Bast, who all decline to help. But it's Kāne Milohai
Kane Milohai
In Hawaiian mythology, Kāne-milo-hai is the brother of Kamohoalii, Pele, Kapo, Nāmaka and Hiiaka by Haumea. He is a minor figure in Hawaiian mythology, figuring most prominently in the story of Pele's journey along the island chain to Hawaii, and may be seen as a terrestrial counterpart to his...

 who agrees to help, and back on Themyscira, Alkyone tells the Nazis that if they free her and the other three Amazons, they'll help them find and kill Hippolyta.

The Nazis destroy all pieces of statues, poetry, and art in favor of their new fatherland. The squad leader prepares to kill the four Amazon women, released from their prisons, until news about Hippolyta stops him. The survivor of the attack repeats what Hippolyta said to him "My daughter will come for me". Just then, the Squad Leader orders all that they have on the shores, just as Diana arrives. She orders all fo them to surrender, but when they decline, she (saying to herself, the words of her faith), with help from the Gorillas, attack them all. Learning that she left due to a flu bug, Etta Candy heads to take a closer look from Diana Prince's apartment. Only to be confronted by another intruder. The tactics change as Diana goes to find her mother, just as a soldier informs the Squad Leader that they found Hippolyta's body. Diana hears the news and threatens one of the soldiers over where her mother is, as the four women attack the Nazis surrounding them. Diana finds her mother; she is hurt badly.

Two Nazi soldiers, along with others behind them, patrol when they hear something and come face to face with Diana, and Hippolyta behind her. Claiming that caution will not help them, Diana fights them all. When she gets to the last one, he screams to her that he surrenders and she stops, telling him to round up the others and tell them to drop their weapons. Moments later, Diana makes all the Nazis get back into their boats to leave the island and give them the coordinates to where they will be arrested. After the Nazis leave, hiding and armed with their bow and arrows, the Circle attacks Diana with god-made arrows. Seeing that it's an Amazon like her; Alkyone tells Diana that the Circle has Hippolyta, preparing for her funeral as she is dying. She tells her to go to the southern bridge, walking the statuary path, to get to her, and not alert the gorillas or cheat her way there, or the ceremony begins early. Diana tries to get there, but members of the Circle hit her with the arrows to stop her, knocking her unconscious. Waking up some time later, she realizes the Circle is using the old way of combat, so she takes her blood, uses it as war paint
War Paint
War Paint is the title of an album by American country music artist Lorrie Morgan. The album was released via BNA Records in 1994. It contains the singles "My Night to Howl" , "If You Came Back from Heaven" at #51 and "Heart Over Mind" at #39...

 to make a "W" on her face, and heads out again. Moment now before the funeral begins; Diana uses the same old ways the Circle is using against them. Soon, Diana makes it to the Funeral pyre, and shows Alkyone the weapons the Circle were carrying, symbolizing that the other three women were defeated. Raising her sword, Alkyone prepares to strike, but Diana subdues her. Hippolyta tells her that because the Circle was imprisoned, they did not know that the Amazons became Diana's mothers, and Diana herself gave all of them hope and saved them. Alkyone refuses to believe her, but pleas with Diana to kill her. Diana refuses and forgives her for what she had done, but then Alkyone says that Diana could have been hers, revealing that she herself had the desire for a child like everyone else, but wanted to ignore it. Alkyone runs off and falls into the ocean, to her death. As she leaves, the rest of the Circle have returned to their prisons, and the gorillas tell Diana that they will watch over Hippolyta.

In an epilogue, the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....

 holds Diana's birthday. Etta Candy is there too, revealing that she knew Diana was Diana Prince. Talking outside, Diana talks about Alkyone, how she died for no reason. Etta cheers her up, saying that if she searches, she'll find. Before going back inside, Etta comments on the moon, and Diana says "it's a perfect circle".

Reception

The four issues that make up "The Circle" were highly praised, which in turn garnered attention and praise for Gail Simone's future issues. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

 had bolded on its article that "the series finally gets going, and that it was the best Wonder Woman since Greg Rucka
Greg Rucka
Gregory "Greg" Rucka is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.-Career:Rucka's writing career...

's name was still in the credits." They also came up with the idea that Gail Simone and artists Terry Dodson
Terry Dodson
Terrence "Terry" Dodson is an American comic book artist and penciller. He is best known for his work on titles such as Harley Quinn, Trouble, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Wonder Woman and Uncanny X-Men...

 and his wife Rachel Dodson
Rachel Dodson
Rachel Dodson is an American comic book inker and colorist, who often works with her husband, Terry Dodson. Her work includes Marvel Knights Spider-Man and Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do for Marvel Comics and Wonder Woman for DC Comics.-External links:* on Wizard...

 were DC's versions of Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim for his self-published, Image Comics and Marvel Comics work, and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics, with his books selling consistently highly for over a...

 and Frank Cho
Frank Cho
Frank Cho, born Duk Hyun Cho, is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book writer and illustrator, known for his series Liberty Meadows, as well as for books such as Shanna the She-Devil, Mighty Avengers and Hulk for Marvel Comics, and Jungle Girl for Dynamite Entertainment...

 from Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

. Readers praised the retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...

in Diana's origin, as well as the characters that made up The Circle, wondering why no other writer came up with it before. The Circle was also seen as a breather to Diana's Rogues Gallery, which needed fresh new additions.

But the greatest acclaim came from how Gail Simone handled and wrote Diana, in comparison to previous writers. Before, writers wavered between depicting Wonder Woman as a warrior on one end (some even saying a bloodthirsty warrior), to a peaceful, compassionate Ambassador on the other end. All followed by an antiquated and naïve Goddess the very next end. Simone changed all that by breathing in a much-needed consistency into Diana's voice and modus operandi. Striking a perfect balance between the warrior and Ambassador sides, and removing the naïve side, Simone molded Diana into a very relatable and sympathetic character. Something every Wonder Woman fan knew the character needed for such a long time.

Collected editions

The storyline has been collected into a single volume:
  • The Circle (collects Wonder Woman #14-19, 144 pages, hardcover, November 2008, ISBN 1401219322)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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