'Casualties of War' Tallies a Victory for Best Comic Book Storyline
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The Superman/Wonder Woman 'status quo' was a point of contention since it's inception back in 2012. Whether you were shipping the "power couple" or "Clois", the line was clearly drawn among fans as to which love story would prove to be the greatest of all.
And while recent events have put a damper on the future of the "power couple", in 2015 one thing was very clear: Their story was well received by fans of Superman/Wonder Woman. Taking in a whopping 45% of the vote, with the runner-up coming from the pages of Zenescope's Robyn Hood, the winner of Critical Blast's 'Best of 2015' award for best comic book story is:
Superman/Wonder Woman: Casualties of War
2015 brought about many trials for the super-powered pair. The new creative team, Peter Tomasi and Doug Mahnke, had a tall order ahead of them to fill the shoes of the two who launched the title: Charles Soule and Tony Daniel. Readers of the title enjoyed Soule's ability to balance conflict and love while Daniel's pencils were a beautiful compliment to this romance of Gods.
Collected within the pages of Superman/Wonder Woman #13-#18, here is the official DC Solicit:
It’s no surprise that after recent events, Superman and Wonder Woman are cautious about the appearance of the new hero who calls himself Wonderstar. But this mysterious hero seems to be asking for nothing more than their guidance in dealing with his strange, erratic powers—and for their help in protecting his loved ones. The only problem is that his past is a blank slate. He doesn’t know who he is, where he comes from, or why is feels a strange connection to the Man of Steel and the Amazon Warrior!
In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Tomasi discussed his thoughts on telling the story of two super-powered beings saying, "Anything with two hearts in mind, if they're not put at odds or built through hardships and tough times, I don't think they're real relationships."
His goal for the first storyline was to test the bond of their love for one another. He wanted to, "stare hard into the heart of both of these characters and their true love and see what that love means to us, the DC Universe and the people of Earth..." This idea brought about a great deal of concern for fans of the power couple. Fearing that his primary goal was to tug and pull at the heart strings to test their breaking point, leaving behind a weakened connection.
In reality, the end result produced a story that only strengthened their bond and showed their love was true and not just a fabrication meant to fill DC's coffers. 'Casualties of War' begins by exploring their first meeting. It gave readers a behind the scenes look at their interactions off-panel, during the Justice League storyline that launched the New 52.
Featuring villains such as Atomic Skull, Major Disaster, Debutante, Mammoth, Circe, Ani-Men and the return of Magog, this debut story for Tomasi and Mahnke was an epic tale. It brought about changes in how Superman and Wonder Woman view each other and evolved the relationship to a new frame of understanding.
Many will view 'Casualties of War' the last great tale of DC's power couple as it was followed up by the much maligned 'TRUTH' arc. 'TRUTH' seemed to muddle the story and frustrate readers, through crossovers and poor direction.
