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in: Dick Giordano/Executive Editor, George Pérez/Cover Artist, George Pérez/Writer,
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Wonder Woman Annual Vol 2 1

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"Amazons": With all preparations finished, Diana flies Vanessa and Julia to Themyscira, receiving warm welcomes from the Amazon nation. Over the next several days, countless photographs are taken, and many stories exchanged.

Quote1 All the happiness I've clawed and fought for, you were simply born into. On that wonderful Paradise Island. What I wouldn't give to know that kind of feeling. Quote2
— Myndi Mayer

Wonder Woman Annual (Volume 2) #1 is an issue of the series Wonder Woman Annual (Volume 2) with a cover date of November, 1988.

Synopsis for "Amazons"

With all preparations finished, Diana flies Vanessa and Julia to Themyscira, receiving warm welcomes from the Amazon nation. Over the next several days, countless photographs are taken, and many stories exchanged.

Appearing in "Amazons"

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Other Characters:


Locations:

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Synopsis for "The Diving Bird"

Julia and Vanessa witness the Dive of the Nereids, an Amazon ceremony meant to honor the deities of the sea. Under the supervision of diving expert Euboea, dozens of Amazons plunge from a sheer cliff, one after another into the ocean below. At Diana's invitation, Vanessa follows their lead.

As Vanessa climbs back onto the cliff, Euboea and Diana reminisce over Diana's first dive - a difficult undertaking, as the young princess preferred flying and would always break off in mid-dive to do so. Eventually, Euboea resolved this by pretending to drown; a panicked Diana dove into the water to help her mentor, only to find herself among a company of Nereids. These spirits captivated the young princess, praising her valor and instilling in her a deep respect for the sea.

Since then, Diana recalls, that respect has only grown - for it was the sea that healed her from Ares' attacks. As these reminiscences end, the Amazon Princess makes her latest dive.

Appearing in "The Diving Bird"

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Locations:

  • Themyscira (Flashback and main story)
    • Cliffs of Poseidon

Items:

Vehicles:



Synopsis for "Dust"

While the Kapatelises amuse themselves with Themyscira's horses, Queen Hippolyte recounts to Diana the story of Hypsipyle, a queen who ruled the Grecian isle of Lemnos during the age of Old Themyscira.

Under Hypsipyle, Lemnos had violently purged its male population, and swore to live free of men and violence - until Jason and his famed Argonauts arrived. Charmed despite themselves, the Lemnosians bore many children with these men, Hypsipyle bearing both a son and a daughter with Jason himself. Unfortunately, the Argonauts soon abandoned their new families to continue the quest for the Golden Fleece, spurring the Lemnosians to kill every male child on the island, Hypsipyle's own son included.

Following this second purge, Hypsipyle had been blamed for the Argonauts' sins, cursed with painful leprosy, and banished with her daughter Phthia. The two exiles had resigned themselves to begging, until found by the oracle (and repentant ex-Argonaut) Calchas, who delivered a decree from Olympus: to return to Lemnos alongside a warrior queen, so a great truth may be learned. Thus had they sought out the Amazons, then still co-ruled by Hippolyte and Antiope.

Moved by Hypsipyle's pleas, Antiope readily escorted the trio to Lemnos - only to find the isle a harpy's feeding-ground, its people long dead from civil war. This discovery proved too much for the already-infirm Hypsipyle, who died of grief. A disturbed Antiope had then buried the former queen, adopted Phthia, and returned to Themyscira, still uncertain of what "truth" the Gods had meant; only months after the fact would she share the experience with Hippolyte.

Hippolyte finishes the story with her own verdict: the Gods had meant Lemnos as a warning, an example where prejudice and hate would lead any society. Antiope, ever disdainful of men, had failed to grasp this before her untimely end; Themyscira can only try to ensure the lesson will never be forgotten.

Appearing in "Dust"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Harpy (Dies in flashback)

Other Characters:

  • Calchas (Flashback only)
  • Argonauts (Flashback only)

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:



Synopsis for "The First Statue"

Vanessa tours the Temple of Hades, where stand statues of every Amazon that Themyscira has lost. With Diana as translator, Philippus tells Vanessa the story of the first Amazon to be so enshrined.

Millennia ago, Themyscira's Captain of the Guard had been an Amazon named Egeria, to whom Philippus was lieutenant. Though the island was still untamed wilderness then, the Amazons had thought themselves without enemies; the Gods had promised divine protections from outsiders, and the sole opening to the underground demon lairs had been blocked with a stone slab. Thus, Egeria and her company had focused their energies on gathering lumber - and were ill-prepared when the demons began penetrating the slab.

One such demon managed to possess Philippus' steed, twisting it into a bloodthirsty monster. Egeria had slain the creature before it could trample Philippus, but by then the slab was threatening to break completely. In desperation, Egeria had blocked the cracking stone with her own body, while ordering her company to discharge the contents of their lumber wagons. Though horrified, her company obeyed, burying the slab - and Egeria - beneath an avalanche of tree trunks.

Egeria's sacrifice had not been in vain; the demons were driven back, and all Themyscira harshly reminded of their most important duty. Shortly after, Philippus had succeeded her captain by right of tournament, and immediately ordered the construction of a larger, stronger barrier against the demons - an intricate metal door that would last for millennia, until the demonplague was finally, permanently purged.

Appearing in "The First Statue"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Corrupted Aella (Dies in flashback)

Other Characters:

Locations:

  • Themyscira (Flashback and main story)
    • Doom's Doorway (Flashback only) (Origin)
    • Forest of Dryope (Flashback only)
    • Temple of Hades

Items:

Vehicles:



Synopsis for "Into the World Go Forth"

Julia befriends Themyscira's chief scholar and librarian Mnemosyne, sharing stories of both her family and her career. These stories interest Mnemosyne, but completely delight another Amazon named Pythia, whom Julia admits a vague familiarity with.

With the Amazons' help, Julia begins to retrieve memories from her infancy - memories of an accident at sea, of being rescued and taken to Themyscira, of being nurtured by Pythia. This rescue, Pythia explains, was part of an ancient pact to protect children at sea from Zeus' storms; any child so endangered would be rescued by the Nereids, and any girl so rescued would be brought to Themyscira. There, a guardian of inspiration - in Julia's case Pythia - would instill Amazon ideals within the girl before returning her to Man's World.

Thus, for centuries, have the Amazons pursued their original duty of enlightening men - and thus did the Gods choose Julia, above any other scholar, to help Diana through Man's World.

Appearing in "Into the World Go Forth"

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Locations:

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Vehicles:

  • Deneiros fishing boat

Synopsis for "Flight of the Icarus"

The Kapatelises' last night on Themyscira sees a campfire soiree with seven other Amazons, including Diana and Queen Hippolyte. When the latter notes Steve's absence, Diana explains Steve's new responsibilities as a civilian aircraft inspector, and recalls one particular inspection that nearly cost him his life.

With Diana and Etta as observers, Steve had been assigned to investigate Palmer Aircraft, an Air Force contractor left near-bankrupt by inexplicable crashes. In truth, these crashes were the work of professional saboteurs, whom Steve drew out by personally flying the plant's latest jet, the Icarus. The saboteurs electronically jammed the Icarus' controls in mid-flight, but in doing so exposed their signal to Diana and Etta, who quickly found and subdued them.

Under the Lasso of Truth, the saboteurs had confessed everything, including their own inability to restore the Icarus' controls. Fortunately, Steve had planned for this contingency; at his cue, Diana flew to the plunging jet and used her own strength to keep it aloft until Etta managed to reverse the saboteurs' work. Subsequently, Steve had flown the Icarus to a safe landing, mending Palmer Aircraft's reputation.

With the story done and the soiree drawing to a close, Vanessa takes one last photograph, encompassing all the Amazons she and her mother have befriended.

Appearing in "Flight of the Icarus"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

  • Gordon Hall (Flashback only)
    • Corbin (Flashback only)

Other Characters:

  • Icarus (Flashback only)
  • P.J. Palmer (Flashback only)
  • Daedalus (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Items:

Vehicles:

  • Icarus Jet (Flashback only)

Synopsis for "Testament"

With the rising sun her only witness, Diana introduces one final guest to Themyscira's shores - Myndi Mayer, or the ashes thereof.

The Amazon Princess recalls how these ashes had been bequeathed her at the reading of Myndi's will - a reading that had also revealed Myndi's many hidden facets. Though pushy and immodest since childhood, Myndi had also struggled against a conservative Jewish upbringing; considered her secretary Christine both friend and conscience; steadfastly supported her brother's homosexuality; desperately tried to make peace with her father as he lay dying with Alzheimer's; and slipped into drugs upon realizing such peace was impossible.

Above all, Myndi had admired Diana, admired the society that could produce a woman of such unwavering integrity. Thus had she finished her will with a request for her ashes to be scattered around the waters of Themyscira - a request that Diana now grants, knowing she must soon return to Man's World.

Appearing in "Testament"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:


Other Characters:

  • Irwin (Flashback only)
  • Julia Kapatelis (Cameo) (Flashback only)
  • Vanessa Kapatelis (Cameo) (Flashback only)
  • Lili Mayer (Flashback only)
    • Leo (Flashback only)
  • "Momma" Mayer (Deceased) (Flashback only)
  • "Poppa" Mayer (Deceased) (Flashback only)

Locations:

Items:

  • Myndi's ashes

Vehicles:


Notes

Trivia

  • George Pérez later deemed "Testament" his favorite Wonder Woman work, citing Alan Moore as its chief influence.[1]


See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

  1. ↑ Modern Masters, Vol 2: George Pérez
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