We are losing because I have failed to embrace my nature. If I am war, let Nemesis see what that truly means. 
- — Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman: Futures End #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of November, 2014. It was published on September 17, 2014.
Synopsis for "Old Soldiers"
For ages, war has raged on the fields of Korondor, and two soldiers in the thick of it are saved just in time by Wonder Woman, the God of War. She warns them, though, not to call her by that title. Despite the rescue, their trench is quite surrounded, though Diana promises that it won't be for long. She leaps up to face the enemy's general and warns that her troops must be allowed to withdraw, or she will kill him. Instead, the general orders his men to tear her apart. Diana responds by slicing off the general's head, warning that their master, Nemesis only wants her because she is better. To her soldiers' surprise, Wonder Woman takes on the entire opposing army alone, allowing her men to escape. In their absence, though, she is overwhelmed, until blasts from a bazooka clear the last of her attackers out. She is surprised to see her own soldiers have returned to rescue her with reinforcements - only to face further enemies.
Later, Diana receives medical care from her friend Hessia, who scolds her for going out into battle, despite the importance of her role. Diana comments that her wounds allow her to focus on the battle she received them in, rather than on every war at once. Hessia remarks that no one should be glad of pain. Even gods can die. Diana encourages her friend to follow her wile she walks the wall of the fortress, so she can help Hessia understand her position.
Diana explains that she is always seeking hope in the soldiers who man her fortress of Polemos' ramparts. Despite that, the first man she sees has only bad news. The enemy has found its way to them through the Swan Gate, and Diana is forced to call a council to plan. Unfortunately, her allies are distinctly lacking in hope, and Hades in particular warns that they must retreat if they wish to survive Nemesis' attacks.
Diana calls for silence and recaps just how they arrived at this pass. Nemesis uses the fear of the other as the source for her power. As God of War, Wonder Woman tried to diminish the world's sense of Other, and she hoped someday there would be no more war. She reached out to Nemesis and asked for help, but she had misjudged. Nemesis believed that if Diana ended war, she would cease to exist. Diana became an obstacle for her to destroy. Diana asked Hades for an army of the dead because the dead do not fear as living men do. They cannot be turned as easily.
However, since the enemy has come in to Korondor through the Swan Gate, she knows that Napoleon allowed them through. Before their eyes, Napoleon transforms into one of Nemesis' creatures, and Diana kills him. She explains that she has been betrayed several times since war began, and it may have been a mistake to trust any of her allies. However, the real reason she is losing this war is because she failed to accept that the nature of war is that it is eternal. She shirked her role as God of War, and now it is time to embrace it. She leaves with sword drawn, and her allies worry that they have lost Wonder Woman. Hessia hopes, though, that there is another way to help.
Diana faces her own men and demands to know why they fight for her. They had earned their afterlives, and they had no cause to choose to suffer so. They respond that they are fighting for life. They know what they lost when they died. If their sacrifices can help the living hang on to the gift of life, then their sacrifices are worth it.
Stepping out onto her ramparts, Diana embraces her role as the God of War, and sends a divine blast of energy to destroy Nemesis' oncoming army. She feels every war and conflict within her at once, and channels it into her fighting until she hears the voice of Superman, and realizes that he, too, has been consumed by Nemesis' darkness.
Appearing in "Old Soldiers"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Hessia (As an illusion only)
- Alexander the Great (As an illusion only)
- Napoleon Bonaparte (As an illusion only)
- Boudicca (As an illusion only)
- Hades (As an illusion only)
- Orion (As an illusion only)
- Subothai (As an illusion only)
Villains:
- Nemesis
Other Characters:
- Harval (As an illusion only)
- Shipton (As an illusion only)
- Pierrot (As an illusion only)
Locations:
- Futures End
- Polemos (As an illusion only)
- The Fields of Korondor (As an illusion only)
Items:
Vehicles:
Notes
- Story continues in Superman/Wonder Woman: Futures End #1.
- The continuation of this story reveals that this issue takes place in a fantasy.
- This issue is reprinted in Futures End: Five Years Later Omnibus.
See Also