Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #13 is an issue of the series Wonder Woman (Volume 2) with a cover date of February, 1988.
Synopsis for "Demonplague"
Though she pities the petrified Heracles - whose helpless body the harpies relentlessly claw - Hippolyte remains determined to find her daughter first. Her search eventually carries her to the lair of the blind cyclops Polyphemus, where - to her shock - she finds the remains of Pan. This discovery spreads to Olympus, where the Gods realize Pan had been killed and impersonated by a Manhunter long ago. This impostor Pan had manipulated Zeus against the Amazons for his own ends.
On Hera's command, Hermes flies to the Green Lantern Citadel, tells Wonder Woman of these discoveries, and returns her to the Themysciran caves. Wonder Woman arrives just in time to save her mother from the hungry Polyphemus, whom she then binds with the Lasso of Truth. To the Amazons' surprise, the cyclops begs for death; his blindness hampers his hunting ability, and a curse on his lair prevents him from starving to death or committing suicide, forcing him to endure centuries of hunger.
As the Amazons commiserate over Polyphemus and Heracles, Echidna strikes with a pair of new minions: the Minotaur and the Chimera. The monstrous trio find stiff resistance, and the Chimera is soon driven off, while Echidna is beheaded by Hippolyte. Meanwhile, the Minotaur is attacked by a mysteriously-freed Polyphemus, who grapples the bull-man - and himself - into a nearby chasm.
Wonder Woman and Hippolyte next encounter Ares' daughter Harmonia, now cleansed of her father's corruption. Harmonia explains it was she who'd been Hippolyte's vulture guide, and she who'd freed Polyphemus, all in service to the true aim of the Challenge of the Gods - to remove the demonplague beneath Themyscira and host it within her father. Her own role fulfilled, Harmonia presents the two Amazons with the Lasso of Truth and her amulet and vanishes.
As Wonder Woman ponders these items, she sees the Chimera driving away Heracles' harpy tormentors, and realizes the petrified demigod - the "greatest treasure" mentioned by Zeus - is the demonplague's current host. For the Challenge to be satisfied, Heracles must be freed - and for Heracles to be freed, he must know forgiveness for his prior sins. To this end, Wonder Woman binds her mother to Heracles with the Lasso of Truth, using its magic to link their spirits.
The gamble pays off, restoring Heracles to flesh and releasing the demonplague. Wonder Woman absorbs the impact of these demons with Harmonia's amulet - an impact that sends earthquakes through Themyscira and Man's World alike, but an impact she manages to resist. The amulet and Wonder Woman are then transported to Areopagus, where Ares - with the heroine's reluctant leave - absorbs the demonplague into himself.
Moments later, Hermes reappears and presents Wonder Woman with one last task: journey back into Man's World, and avenge the murder of his son Pan.
Appearing in "Demonplague"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Chimera (First appearance)
- Echidna (Dies)
- Harpies
- Minotaur (First appearance; dies)
- Pan Impostor (Behind the scenes)
- Polyphemus, the Cyclops (First appearance; dies)
Other Characters:
- Doug Aanonson
- Edna Aanonson
- Firestorm (Cameo)
- Flash (Cameo)
- Green Lantern Corps of Earth (Cameo)
- Herakles
- Infinity, Inc. (Cameo)
- Justice League International (Cameo)
- Superman (Cameo)
- Pan (Appears only as a corpse)
- Antiope (Mentioned only)
- Theseus (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Areopagus
- Mount Olympus
- Home of Everett & Edna Aanonson
- Themyscira
- United States of America
Items:
- Amulet of Harmonia
- Caduceus
- Pandora's Box (Mentioned only)
- Wonder Woman's Armaments
Vehicles:
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in the following:
- This issue is a tie-in to Week Five of Millennium, and thus takes place after Millennium #3 and #4. Wonder Woman's departure from the Green Lantern Citadel roughly corresponds with events in Millennium #5, while her return and slaying of the impostor Pan occur in #6 and #7, respectively.
- The origins of the demonplague will be revealed in Wonder Woman #45.
See Also
Recommended Reading
- Wonder Woman Recommended Reading
- All-Star Comics (Volume 1)
- Comic Cavalcade (Volume 1)
- JLA (Volume 1)
- Sensation Comics (Volume 1)
- Sensation Comics Featuring Wonder Woman (Volume 1)
- Superman/Wonder Woman (Volume 1)
- The Legend of Wonder Woman (Volume 1)
- The Legend of Wonder Woman (Volume 2)
- Wonder Woman (Volume 1)
- Wonder Woman (Volume 2)
- Wonder Woman (Volume 3)
- Wonder Woman (Volume 4)
- Wonder Woman (Volume 5)
- Wonder Woman (Volume 6)
Links and References
  The events from this issue are related to Millennium, a 1988 crossover event spanning through all DC Titles, in which the Guardians of the Universe left and Earth was put in danger by the robotic Manhunter Cult. Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Millennium #5 · Firestorm (Volume 2) #68 · The Flash (Volume 2) #9 · Justice League International #10 · Outsiders #28 · Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #13 Week Six
Week Seven
Week Eight
|