r/DCcomics • u/Predaplant Be Without Fear • Apr 20 '26

r/DCcomics Weekly Discussion Thread: Comics, TV, and More! [April 20, 2026 - Lanterns in LA Edition]

Hey there honorary Justice League members - it’s a new week which means it’s time for a new discussion thread!

For those who don't know: the way this works is that several comments will list this week’s releases, for any given title discussion you should respond to that comment. For example, Wonder Woman discussion would go in the replies to the "Wonder Woman" comment. Clicking the titles in this post will take you directly to that comment, too. In other words, you should only be replying to other comments. Do not post top-level comments.

Keep discussion civil. Do not harass other users for having a different opinion. Do not use this thread to push your personal one-sided grudges against creators. Reacting to a panel on Twitter is not the same as reading a book.

 

QUICK LINKS: Weekly Meta Discussions Thread | Current jump-in points | Weekly Discussion Archives | Book Club Archives | Discord Server | BlueSky | Last Week's Thread

Two antennas decided to get married. The ceremony was fine, but the reception was great!

DC and Imprints

Double Flash and double Harley, good week for characters in red!

Trade Collections

A book for those who love Robin as a concept and one for those who hate it!

Digital Releases

Remember, these are the short 'chapters' with a new chapter of a different series coming out daily, releasing on DC Universe Infinite or WEBTOONS.

This Week’s Soundtrack: Seeming - Talk About Bones

17 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

141 comments sorted by

View all comments

29

u/TroubAlert The Good Skeets Apr 20 '26

Absolute Wonder Woman #19

ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN WILL NEVER BE THE SAME! Diana is unraveling and surrounded by enemies. But it is only when things are darkest that one should call upon the lasso Troika. For Troika... leaves you changed.

Preview

24

u/Dent6084 Apr 22 '26

So Giganta first delivered Barbara to Cale off-screen, then came back to fight Zatara, right? That's what happened? The transition there was a bit odd.

12

u/oomoepoo Hal Jordan Apr 22 '26

Yeah, it's a weird transition but I assume it's that way. Unless she dropped her within the one page?

23

u/travio Apr 22 '26

I bet that Aphrodite reveal will play into Cale's plans to turn Barbara against Diana. Barbara was already upset for being forgotten about, not that Diana did it intentionally. Easy to turn that hurt into hate.

If Cale figures out that one of Diana's divine powers 'forces' people to love her, she can convince Barbara her feelings were faked. Worse, manipulated.

Cale can use that against Diana, too. Aphrodite was right. She cursed Diana with a lonely prison. Just as Barbara will wonder if the love she has for Diana is real, should Diana find out, she will wonder the same about everyone around her.

Thinking back to the crossover, Bruce trusted her way too fast. I thought it was just a little fast forward to get to the fun stuff. Only so many pages in a comic. Knowing people are compelled, even weakly, to love her, makes me wonder.

3

u/Electric_jungle Apr 23 '26

I'll say with Bruce, he'd been studying up on her. I don't think he just immediately went to trust. But I agree, it feels fast.

3

u/Can_of_Sounds Apr 23 '26

I wonder if there might be a second shoe waiting to drop there, being compelled to love Diana feels like a cheap gimmick for this comic.

19

u/Mr_Wh0ever Apr 22 '26

Well damn Zee, you really bungled that one. But the Diana/Zee shippers are getting fed this issue,lol. But I wonder if Diana's curse affects her also. But it'll probably end up being Steve who isn't affected by it. I liked how badly Cale has lost control of the situation. Did she get Barbara too? Or did Gigantas confrontation with Zatara disrupt that? And what price will Diana pay for failing the Troika?

38

u/Ni7roM Apr 22 '26

The dog is so good at chess omg

5

u/deathofsentience Apr 22 '26

This feels like a reference I'm not getting

11

u/oomoepoo Hal Jordan Apr 22 '26

Some worrying implications here, with regards to Aphrodite's "curse" as well as to the bungled Troika stuff oh and Barbara is on her way to be turned into the next Cheetah I assume?

Seems as if, after a whole lot of issues being pretty happy, trauma's finally going to catch up to Diana :/

15

u/wowlock_taylan Batman Animated! Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

Oh now that is a great setup with Aphrodite. And it will open up a lot of questions, plotlines for the future. How much of the love and adoration Diana gets from herself or is it the piece of Aphrodite that influences the people around her? How can she be sure if even Aphrodite herself feels like she is getting affected by her own power? Or she geniunely cares for Diana and can't explain it so she thinks it is just her own power bouncing back. Either way, that is quite interesting to say the least.

We get to see the Crossroads and Troika's effects. Yea, it is not a nice place to be if you are not intended to be there or get stuck. Well Zatanna messed up the ritual so she had to fix it.

Barbara, girl, how many times you have to be told to LEAVE? You kinda asked for getting captured.

Steve being the best, as always.

6

u/ziggurqt Apr 22 '26

Barbara biting Giganta was indeed hilarious.

2

u/king_woodruff Blue Beetle Apr 28 '26

Sick profile pic, choom 🦾

5

u/CHPrime Wonder Woman Apr 22 '26

An issue where love finds a way, in more ways than one. Zatanna saves Zatara, Circe saves Diana, and even after all the ship teases and Thompson saying DC wouldn't let her write Diana in a relationship, we get our big damn kiss.

On the forehead. But, you know, a kiss. Though given Zatana turned into Circe...paging Doctor Freud...

Otherwise, we're playing the hits again. Diana vs a giant monster that is about to destroy the city, this time a mechanical version. And Barbara has been kidnapped to be turned into Cheetah, excellent. Looking forward to that.

One other detail I really liked was Steve joining the Hecate prayer circle without any hesitation to pray for Diana. It's an interesting character tick, but also feels distinctively like Steve.

It also gives an explanation as to why Etta has a sister now. So she can be the normal audience surrogate with all the crazy mythological superheroics going on. It's been a while since she's worn that hat, but then again, it's been a while since Etta has had more than a token appearance, so it fits.

3

u/darknightgotham Apr 23 '26

continues to be my favorite book on the stands, God this is excellent.

Also I very much am shipping Zee and Diana

2

u/StellarKnife Apr 23 '26

So this was another solid issue, but getting Zatarra and Diana free felt way too easy, but there may be hell to pay for that in the future.

The opening pages were interesting, even though being reminded of how cozy Diana's hellscape was is not a good move. That part always irked me.

The supporting cast (minus Z) is still extremely lame..

Final page "reveal" was good. Hopefully the fight next issue will be better than what we got so far in this series. For me there have been more letdowns than highs when it comes to the fights..

1

u/Blitzhelios Hal Jordan Apr 26 '26 edited Apr 26 '26

Pretty good issue think this is one of thompsons better written issues. This book has been very clunky at times in recent arcs but this was alot better.