The Amazon Princess..... "Facing Off" "Gang War, Part 1"
Wonder Woman #1 - January, Year One	by Des Davies

"I'm telling you my friends, it's time to take them down. Haven't we put up with them for too long?"

The speaker was a short youth, probably in his late teens. He had the black hair that was common to his race, although most of it was covered by a black bandana. His strong, athletic body was clothed in tight fitting black jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Just like everyone else in the room, he wore black leather gloves. He paused to listen to the low rumble of assent coming from the group he was talking to.

"Isidoro, aren't you fed up of the abuse you take just to get to your grandmothers?"

The reply takes the form of a vigorous nod and a course affirmation.

"Spiro, didn't you have to make a break for home when you were driving with your girl recently?"

Once again, the response was positive, and the speaker knew that he now had the crowd firmly in the palm of his hand.

"Each of you has similar experiences that I could speak of. But I would rather talk about what we can do about it. In the past we have always been limited to hit and run attacks as there are many less of us. I say that enough is enough. Now we have an edge. We have a way of striking back that will stop them from ever walking on our turf."

There were several calls from the crowd that the speaker allowed to swell around him. The basic question was the same, "What are we going to do Rueben?"

Rueben waited for the silence to fall before he explained his plan and watched as the excitement grew on the faces of every member of the Uso Solo^* street gang.
^* Spanish for Black Hand
NOTE: All above speech is translated from Spanish

Standing at the back of the group a young man in his early teens stood watching the lecturer. If anyone had asked him what she was talking about he would have had to shrug his shoulders and admit he had no clue.

The object of his attention, and if truth be told, the attention of most of the boys in the group not to mention the teacher, was oblivious to the reaction she was causing. Diana was dressed in the long white robes that were the common form of dress on Themyscira. While not form hugging, the effect enhanced the already formidable beauty of its wearer.

Turning around to face the group, Diana continued, "Behind me is a statue of the Greek Goddess of Love. Can anyone tell me her name?"

Diana waited and a confident voice said, "Venus."

Diana looked at the speaker who was a young girl with dark black hair. She smiled and replied, "That is a good guess, but you are mixing up the Greek and Roman names. The Romans called her Venus, while the Greeks knew that her name was really Aphrodite."

Cassie Sandsmark listened attentively and didn't even take the time to be embarrassed by her mistake. Standing in front of her was one of her heroes. She had several posters on the wall of her room of Wonder Woman, so being here to listen to her lecture on Greek history was amazing.

She had spent the last two weeks trying to convince her mother and Mr.Vendrae, her history teacher, that a school trip for her class to the museum would be a great idea. Of course her mother had seen the real reason for the request, but had eventually conceded that it might not be such a bad idea. Cassie grinned broadly as she returned her attention to her idol and that grin grew even broader as she noticed the looks on several of the boys faces.

Nudging the girl next to her with her elbow, Cassie spread the word to the rest of the girls.

Diana finished her talk about Aphrodite, and the significance of this particular statue of her. With a respectful nod to the statue of the Goddess, she led the group into another hall.

As she turned before a large model of the Temple and arena of Delphi she paused momentarily at the sight of a large, powerfully built man who was looking at one of the displays.

"Why does he look familiar?" she thought.

His face was turned away from her, and her attention was brought back to the group of school children as they became restless due to her inattention.

"Excuse me," she said with a smile, "I thought I recognized someone."

Cassie nudged her companion once more and whispered, "Looked like she was checking that guy out."

The two girls grinned at each other as they looked from the man, who was now exiting the room, back to their guide.

Diana watched the exchange between the girls and smiled back at them. "They are having fun learning," she thought.

Turning back to the display she began, "This is a model of the Temple at Delphi. It was here that the ancient Greeks came to consult with the Oracle of Apollo. Can anyone tell me who the sister of Apollo is?"

"Holliday you better this yahoo to get out of my way before I put him and you in jail for obstructing a police officer in the course of his duty."

Detective Mike Schorr had stepped back from the face-to-face confrontation he had started with one of Stefan Holliday's bodyguards, but only to allow himself room to address the man himself.

If it hadn't been for the force of personality that he was emanating, Mike Schorr would have looked to have been in big trouble. The bruiser he has facing off against was almost a head taller than him, and he had a friend.

Mike's partner, Detective Orin Scrivello, stood back and watched. He'd seen his partner do this numerous times, but it never failed to amaze him. If that was me up there, he thought, I'd be wetting my pants by now.

The subject of Mike Schorr's words turned from the car he had been about to get into with a slick smile on his face. Anyone looking closely would have noticed that the smile never got anywhere near his eyes.

"Let the detective through Eric," he told his bodyguard.

"Yeah Eric, get out of my way," Schorr reiterated to the big man in front of him with a savage look of success on his face.

Not waiting for Eric to move, Schorr strode forward and literally pushed past him. He grinned as he could almost hear the wince of pain from his partner.

Mike Schorr stood about six inches shorter than the man he now faced, and their clothes were obviously not from the same store.

Stefan Holliday stood a little over six feet tall and kept himself in good physical condition for a forty eight year old. His clothes came from the top designers and he carried them stylishly. He was clean-shaven and his blonde hair was elegantly cut in the latest fashion.

Mike Schorr would have despised him on sight, even if he didn't the rest of the details. Stefan Holliday was the head of a criminal organization that operated out of Gateway City. One of three, and currently the one that was on the top of the pile.

"Holliday, I want to know what you know about Magda Ellena Kurkov," Schorr asked with an edge of anger in his voice.

"Who?" queried Holliday politely.

"So you're saying you don't knew her?" Schorr asked with a shark-like grin.

"No, I was asking who you were asking about. I didn't catch the name when you asked."

"Listen you two-bit hood, don't play games with me. Unless you'd rather discuss this down at the station. Do you know Magda Ellena Kurkov?"

Holliday stepped back to give himself some breathing space as the detective was now almost standing on top of him.

"Yes, I believe I remember I girl with that name. Wasn't she working as a waitress at the Paradise Club Eric?"

"I think you might be right boss. You know me, I only keep track of the pretty ones."

The comment produced a laugh from the two bodyguards and a shrug from Holliday.

"Does that help you Detective?"

"That's the limit of your knowledge on this woman?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"You could say that," Schorr spat. "Last night she was found dead. The skin on her face had been peeled off. I suppose you don't know anything about that either?"

"Certainly not. I prefer to know nothing about dead people, especially how they became that way," he smiled thinly back at the detective.

"Holliday you're a piece of trash. I've seen too many people hurt by you and your people. I'm looking at you, and I'm going to laugh long and hard when I put you away."

"Are you threatening me Detective?" he replied with a strand of anger running through his voice. "I'm sure your superiors would love to hear about this."

"Go ahead and tell them, see where it gets you," Schorr replied calmly. "I'm watching you."

Mike Schorr turned around and walked past the two bodyguards to rejoin his partner. He grinned and indicated they should get into the car.

Holliday watched the two detectives get into the car and the anger was plain on his face. "Get us out of here Eric. Now."

"Sure thing boss," Eric replied as he and his partner ushered Stefan Holliday into the vehicle and then drove away.

Diana stood on the balcony looking out at Gateway City. "It is a shame," she thought, "that there are too many tall buildings here to be able to see the ocean."

Her musings were cut short as a tall, balding black man joined her at the railing. Diana looked over at the newcomer and smiled.

"I hope you don't mind the interruption Your Highness, but I needed to get some air."

His voice held the distinctive rhythms of the Deep South.

Diana smiled and replied, "It would be unjust of me to claim this spot simply for myself."

"My name is Diana," she added.

"Daryn Philips," he offered in return with a small bow.

"What brings you here this evening Daryn?"

Leaning back against the balcony railing he replied, "I'm one of the supporters of the Museum, so I get an invite to all of these parties. It gives the trustees a chance to extract more money from me."

Diana saw the humor in his eyes and replied, "Then why would you not stay away?"

"Ah, now that is the question is it not? To be honest, history is my passion, so I just cannot stay away." He shrugged his shoulders and a broad smile spread across his face at his misfortune.

"So what period of history does a poor soul such as yourself study?"

"I dabble in the most ancient cultures such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Atlantis and even Greece."

Diana mentally raised her eyebrow at his response and then said, "So did you really come out here for the air, or to discuss Greek history?"

His rich, deep laughter filled the air at her comment. "To be honest," he finally replied, "I needed the air and when I saw you out here I thought it would be a good time to get some."

Now it was Diana's turn to laugh. "Your honesty Mr.Philips is refreshing. How can I..."

Before she could complete her thought the door to the balcony opened once more and a small, rotund woman poked her head out. "Wonder Woman, we have several guests asking to speak to you, if you wouldn't mind?"

While phrased as a question, Diana had no doubt that the woman expected her to comply.

Turning regally, which caused her white robe to flow with her, Diana replied, "Mrs.Artenxis I would appreciate it if you used my title."

There was no hostility in Diana's comment, but at the same time it was said in a voice that was used to being obeyed.

"My apologies Princess," stuttered the other woman, "would you grace us with your presence."

"I will join you in a moment," Diana replied and then dismissed the woman by turning back to her companion.

"Mr.Philips it would appear that duty calls me, so I am afraid that we will have to find some other time to talk. I am sorry."

"No need to apologize Diana," he replied, "but if you don't start calling me Daryl I'll have to resort to calling you Princess."

Diana laughed softly once more at his comment and then nodded.

"Perhaps we could have lunch," she offered.

"Only if it is at my expense. After all it could end up being a working lunch for you."

She smiled once more and reached out to shake his hand. "Daryl you can find me several days a week lecturing or conducting guided tours here."

Talking her hand, Daryl Philips felt more honored than he had in all his previous sixty five years of life. "I'll be sure to call on you."

With that Daryl Philips walked towards the door and held it open while Diana glided majestically back into the room.

Diana soared through the night sky above Gateway City and reveled in the sense of freedom she felt. To some that might have seemed strange considering the obligations she held, but here, where the winds and the birds were her only company she could escape. It wasn't that she chafed under the pressure of her position and responsiblities, but sometimes she just felt the need to be free for a few moments.

Before leaving the museum she had removed her robe and stored it in a locker. The outfit that set her apart in Man's World as the hero called Wonder Woman now adorned her athletic body and everything felt right once more. She hadn't realized how much she had missed wearing it while Artemis had taken her responsibilities.

The thought of her departed sister brought with it a brief flash of pain, and Diana took a moment to send a prayer winging it's way towards the heavens.

Angling her flight path, she headed towards her new home on the north side of city. She had no need to rush home as no emergency was awaiting her. She felt a pang of loneliness hit her as she contemplated the empty house she was returning to. She knew that she had needed to move from Boston, but that meant leaving behind the people she had considered friends. Diana resolved to make some phone calls when she awoke the following morning.

Looking down she saw the city spread out before her. The bright lights lit up the land below her all the way to the waterfront. From here, it was easy to tell the differences between the various sections of the city. The business section, with it's tall buildings was lit up brightly, even at this time, whereas the poorer sections showed very little illumination.

"Why is it that wealth is not spread amongst the people evenly," she pondered. "How can people leave others to live with so little?"

Her thoughts were interrupted as her eagle sharp vision caught sight of two groups of youths facing off against each other. Sighing with frustration she changed direction to get a closer view of what was going on.

"We've had enough of you thinking you can rule our streets, hombre. As of now, the Uso Solo are in charge of the neighborhood. You understand me chico?"

A tall, red haired youth stepped forward and replied, "I'm not sure, I'm having trouble understanding your spic accent. Could you say it again?"

The reply brought raucous laughter from the youths behind the red-haired leader.

"You're funny Sean. You tell him where to get off. This is Blazing Skull territory now," someone shouted.

The face of the shorter boy who had first spoken had tightened as his opposite number had ridiculed him. Now it changed once more and a nasty smile appeared.

"Well, if I'm so hard to understand, maybe I should let my actions speak for me."

"You're out numbered 'chico', and out smarted, do yourself a favor and run before we make you," the leader of the Blazing Skulls responded with considerably less patience.

<"Spiro.">

<"Right here, Rueben. You want me to?">

<"Sure, lets see what Mr.Smart-Mouth has to say when he sees what he's really up against.">^*
* Speech inside the <>'s is translated from Spanish

The youth that had been addressed turned and loped back into an alleyway.

High above, Diana floated watching the conflict with interest. So far nothing had gotten out of hand, but she had a feeling things were about to change. Her eyes opened wider as she discovered what the boy was bringing back into the street from the alley.

On the ground, the Blazing Skulls had also discovered the advantage that their adversaries thought they had. Walking on a lease that Spiro was holding was a fully grown Black Panther. The fact that it was there was strange enough, but the way it was calmly walking on a lease made the scene seem surreal.

"You think some overgrown tabby is going to save you?" growled the leader of the Skulls as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a hand gun.

The other members of the gang duplicated their leaders action and the members of the Uso Solo responded in kind. Soon, every youth in the street held a weapon of some kind.

"A bullet will stop that pussycat, just as well as it'll stop you," he added.

Rueben noted the seeds of fear and doubt in his opponents voice and was about to speak when a rush of wind entered the street. Several youth found themselves on the floor and very quickly every youth that had been holding a gun found themselves unarmed.

Standing between the two groups with the missing weapons in a pile at her feet was Wonder Woman.

"There will be no fighting here this night," she said simply.

"What right do you have to stick your nose in our business?" exploded Rueben.

"Simply the right to prevent this sort of foolishness," she responded calmly.

"These," she said gesturing to the guns, "are the weapons of cowards. If you had fought without them I would not have intervened. However, the presence of the Panther leads to other questions."

"I ain't taking to you," he cut in.

"That's OK babe," the leader of the Skulls put in, "I'll talk to you."

"What could you have to say? It would appear that it is your actions, and those of your friends, that have caused this?"

"You have it all wrong. Me and my buddies were just out for a late night walk, when we were accosted by this guy and his 'hombres'," he replied gesturing at Rueben and the Uso Solos.

Diana cut off the response from Rueben, "You speak the words but they come out as lies. I do not need my lasso to tell that."

"They've been messing with the people of this barrio," Rueben put in. "We were going to send them running, that's all this is about."

"And you are the police in this place?" Diana asked.

"Police don't come down here. We look after each other," Rueben replied with heat.

Diana considered the situation as she talked to the two boys. "If I send them on their way, they will resume this when I am not around. There needs to be another answer."

"You wish to fight?"

"We want them out of here," Rueben said simply.

"They ain't going to tell us where we can go," replied Sean with a glare at Rueben.

"Then this is what you will do. You will each select a champion. They will have a week to train, and then they will get to fight at a place I will find. During that time, you," she said looking at the Skulls, "will remain outside of this area."

The two boys exploded with protests, but Diana cut them off.

"You can either do this, or I will take you to the police now. What is your decision?"

Diana looked from the furious face of one boy to the other. Rueben turned to the others Uso Solos and discussed the options. Eventually, he turned back and agreed to the terms that Diana had delivered. Sean waited for Rueben to respond and then also agreed.

"I will let you know where the location will be," Diana said. "You may now leave."

Both groups eyed each other and Diana could see the frustration they all felt. Eventually they all turned to leave.

"You," Diana said, speaking to Rueben and Spiro who was still holding the Panther, "wait a moment."

The boy turned back to Wonder Woman.

"Where did you get the Panther?" she asked as she walked towards the big cat.

"Nothing to do with you," Rueben replied without much confidence.

"Child, you can answer me on your own, or I you can answer me because you are held by my lasso."

Diana didn't bother to look at the boy as she spoke. Instead she reached down and talking quietly rubbed the big cat behind it's ears. The cat pushed back against her hand and nuzzled in close to her.

Looking up at the boy holding the cat's leash she held out her hand.

"Rueben," he said, not knowing what to do.

"We paid good money for him," Rueben said.

"To who," Diana asked looking the boy directly in the eyes.

"That's none of your business," he replied with doubt in his voice.

"I'm sorry that you feel that way, but I must have the answer."

Standing Diana uncoiled her lasso and whipped it over Rueben's head before he could back away.

"Now you will have to answer my questions truthfully," Diana began.

"Are the rumors of Wonder Woman's arrival in Gateway City true?" asked Stefan Holliday of his lieutenants.

"Yep Stefan. She's living in a place out in North Shore."

"Why exactly would a member of the Justice League relocate to Gateway?"

"That's something we haven't been able to find out. All we know is that she's working part time in the Museum of Antiquities."

"I don't like it. Has she interfered in any of our businesses?"

"Not yet."

"Exactly. Not yet. I want insurance in place for the point where she does. Anyone have an idea?"

"I have contacts in New York Stefan, I'll ask around and find something out."

"Do that Kenneth, but I want something in place soon."

The man nodded his head and made a note in the Palm organizer he was holding.

"We have one more thing to discuss," Stefan Holliday said with anger evident in his voice.

"Mike Schorr has become a problem that needs to be eliminated."

Next Issue: It appears that Mike Schorr is not long for this title. Several villains will turn up next issue, as will Stefan Holliday's 'insurance'. Also, to break the monotony, Diana goes to school.

Sounding the Horns

I got one review from Les Chaon just prior to completing this issue. If this is #1, what did he review you ask... well #0 of course!

Here's what Les had to say...

The Mad Reader Review

Wonder Woman #0 by Des Davies
At JLU 2001

You gotta love zero issues. Perfect point for readers to jump on. (if only DC hadn’t screwed up and lumped so many zero issues into the Zero Hour event) Another good quality is that zero issues are a great tool for writers so showcase their writing style before getting into the regular story arcs.

Des does a good job of utilizing this tool. This issues sets the stage for Des’s run and it looks to be fantastic!

The thing to remember about Wonder Woman is that there are lots of different facets to her character. Three off hand that I can think of are : 1.) She’s a superhero and a member of the JLA, 2.) she’s on a mission to bring peace tot he world, 3.) she’s an amazon with deep, deep roots in Greek mythology. I’ve noticed that many writers have trouble juggling those different aspects and usually just focus on one...maybe two at a time.

So far, Des seems to be juggling quite well. The only thing that was lacking was very little super heroing, but this is moot because it’s a 0 issue. I figure the superheroics with show up later. Des even touched on a part of WW that I never think about: Diana as a person. Wonder Woman is all these things, but sometimes Diana’s human side gets lost or thrown away in the process. I really enjoyed seeing Diana’s thought process through the whole issue and I look forward to seeing more of that.

Finally we see an exploration of Diana’s responsibilities in Man’s World. First is the strengthening of her role as an Ambassador of Peace. This is something I’m excited to see. The second, and this really floored me, is that Diana is supposed to reintroduce the Olympian gods to the rest of Earth’s culture. That was very surprising and something I never imagined as her responsibility. It impresses me beyond belief to find new and revitalizing concepts given to classic characters. Way to go, Des!

Overall: Rarely to I appreciate reviews that have only good things to say. It’s not that I’m looking for bad things to review, but I dislike giving authors a load of sugary comments with nothing to improve upon. The truth is, I just couldn’t find anything that needs improvement in this 0 issue. The characterization was right on (especially the amazons dislike that Artemis was killed by a male). And then there are tons of interesting elements to make me anxious for the next issue.

Well, now that I think about it, one thing that bothered me was Artemis’ death. Wasn’t she alive enough for Morrison’s JLA #5? But I don’t care about the continuity in this case because I love how death can bring out deep characterization which Des capitalized on.

SCORE: 4 1/2 out of 5 Amazon war cries

I've already replied to Les' comments on the mailing list so I won't repeat those here. I will say that I am grateful for his comments and I hope I can keep the quality at the level he enjoyed in this issue. Now I can aim for that extra 1/2 a war cry!

Author's Notes

Here's the first issue of Wonder Woman, and I'm personally pretty pleased with it. I have plans for Diana and Gateway City that I hope you will join me for. Primarily, my aim here is to create a new environment for her and to give her a strong supporting cast.

As you can see there wasn't much superhero action in this issue, but that will begin to change. I'm starting with a pretty clean slate here, so things will be building slowly.

If you're looking for some of the classic Wonder Woman villains to appear, you may end up being disappointed, at least in the short term. I have nothing against her villainous cast, but I'm going to be examining some of the different aspects of Diana, so I'm heading in a different direction.

That also means I'm not going to be concentrating on the mythological aspects of Diana. They will be there, as you can't take them away without destroying the character. However, don't expect another battle with Ares during my run.

Hopefully, I'll still be able to keep you interested.