| ||||
 | ||||
| Wonder Woman v2 | ||||
| Issue # | 8 | |||
| Cover Date | September 1987 | |||
| * Release Date | June 2, 1987 | |||
| Previous Issue | Wonder Woman v2 #7 | |||
| Next Issue | Wonder Woman v2 #9 | |||
"Time Passages"
- Written by Len Wein, George Pérez
- Pencils: George Pérez
- Inks: Bruce D. Patterson
- Colors: Tatjana Wood
- Letters: John Costanza
Synopsis
This issue is mostly told through a series of letters, journal entries, and telegrams from the perspective of various characters.
Intercut between each story is the story of Barbara Ann Minerva arriving in Boston. When she and Chuma arrive in Boston with the mysterious plant, she meets up with an old criminal acquaintance, Tamsyn McConnell. That night, when Barbara refuses to tell him about why she's come to Boston, Tamsyn begins hammering on her door to know, only to be manhandled by Chuma. Chuma is then seen preparing the potion with the plant while Barbara discusses a letter they sent to Diana.
Journal
In Julia Kapatelis' journal entry for April 1987, she writes of Diana appearing before the United Nations General Assembly to deliver her message of peace, where Julia served as her interpreter. Diana is perplexed by the political complexity of Man's World, as she learns that the people of certain nations do not respect her on basis of her gender. She is also met with hostility from the Russian delegate, who singled out her "star spangled" outfit as a sign of American loyalty. Diana accepts an invitation from the military to prove her statements about the Ares Assault.
When Diana returned after a week, she had grown to recognise just how different Man's World was to Paradise Island, and dedicated herself to studying in order to understand the world better. Julia then discusses G. Gordon Godfrey and his anti-superhuman campaign, which whipped the public into a frenzy. Julia found her home under attack for harbouring a superhuman, and Diana flew off to fight for her rights.
Julia then writes of Diana's account of events — her crossing paths with Guy Gardner and the Justice League, as well as Godfrey's defeat when he put on the helmet of Doctor Fate, and Diana turning down an offer to join the League because she did not believe being a costumed crime fighter aligned with her mission of spreading peace and love.
Julia continues to write of when she and Diana visited Michaelis' widow, and Diana, who had never lost anyone before, truly recognising grief and the fear of losing a loved one for the first time. Some nights after, Julia noted that she would see Diana praying nude on the lawn behind the house to the Greek gods.
At last, Julia recognises that Diana's time in Man's World is running short and declares that she will miss Diana dearly.
Dispatch
Etta Candy sends a dispatch to Steve Trevor where she fills him in on what has been going on in his absence.
Diana is sent to a testing site in Arizona where a research team would examine her powers. In the first test, she is shot with gunfire, and Diana blocks every single bullet with her bracelets faster than even a frame-by-frame playback could properly capture. In the second test, she stops a fighter jet from taking off by holding onto it with her lasso. In the third test she lifts a tank. Etta recounts how Diana told her she would have destroyed the tank and jet, but stopped as they were manned by living humans. Her refusal to take a life impresses Etta but annoys Major Warren.
In the final test, Diana outmanoeuvres a fighter jet in flight. After this, Major Warren is convinced of Diana's claims of the Ares Assault, but added that the US military should be allowed to study and duplicate the materials used in her bracelets and lasso. Diana denied him, much to the Major's anger, but nonetheless he had no choice but to allow Diana to return to the Kapatelises.
Etta then adds that she hopes Steve's past issues will not cause him to resent the career he loves and signs off.
Dear Diary
In a diary entry by Vanessa Kapatelis, she writes of her conversations bonding with Diana and her amazement with all of Diana's accounts of Paradise Island. Diana picks Vanessa up in her arms and the two fly across the city. She expresses nervousness at the thought of having to give a speech at Vanessa's school.
In another diary entry, on the day that Diana is to give a speech, Vanessa is bragging to her friends about flying with Wonder Woman, when her crush, Barry Locatelli arrives and flirts with her, asking to sit next to her during Diana's speech.
Diana's speech goes off without a hitch. After she leaves however, a group of boys begin looking at a picture of Diana that they had drawn over to appear more vulgar. Vanessa and Barry, outraged, get into a fight with the boys. Julia ends up grounding Vanessa for a month, though Vanessa writes that she thinks it's worth it as it managed to get her closer to Barry.
Tour Update
Myndi Mayer writes a letter to Julia, covering all that has been going on during the "Wonder Woman Farewell Tour" she has organised in preparation for Diana leaving Man's World. She mentions Diana being granted the key to the city, as well as meeting the president, who honoured her for her role in stopping Godfrey's schemes. Myndi also mentions that profits will be channelled towards the "Wonder Woman Foundation", which will be dedicated to publicising, promoting and encouraging he contributions of various women over 40 years old.
Myndi notes that various religious groups have been demanding to question Diana on her religious beliefs. She also notes that it seems all the problems of Man's World have taken a toll on Diana over the course of the tour.
Finally, Myndi mentions a letter sent from Doctor Barbara Ann Minerva, which Myndi believes will help bring Diana some relief.
From The Desk of Barbara Ann Minerva
Barbara Minerva writes a letter to Diana, introducing herself as a doctor of archaeology and claiming that she possesses the girdle of Gaea, the artefact once granted to Hippolyta by the goddesses. Barbara claims that this will provide new insights to the whereabouts of Antiope and her splinter tribe of Amazons, as well as possibly Diana's own destiny in Man's World, and asks to meet with Diana.
On the same page, police investigate the corpse of Tamsyn McConnell, which has seemingly been ripped apart and partly eaten by a wild animal. The sillhouette of the Cheetah is shown running across a rooftop.