Wonder Woman Vol 2 6

"Powerplay"

Cover
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Powerplay

Editors

Karen Berger

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Wonder Woman Vol 2 # 5	Wonder Woman Vol 2 # 7

Tell the ferry-man to wait. We shall see this through - to the bitter end!.

— Artemis

Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #6 is an issue of the series Wonder Woman (Volume 2) with a cover date of July, 1987.

Synopsis for "Powerplay"

Ares stands on the cusp of victory: Olympus, Themyscira, and all of Earth are moments away from total destruction, and his would-be challengers are helpless under General Tolliver's guns. After mocking his helpless foes, the War-God leaves, and Tolliver prepares to launch the missiles.

Seconds after Ares' exit, Wonder Woman and her comrades launch a desperate counterattack. Michaelis, Etta, Steve, and Julia distract Tolliver's men with gas-grenades and bullets, while Wonder Woman attacks Tolliver and tries to keep him away from the missiles' launch-key. However, despite her best efforts, Tolliver secures the key and barricades himself in the control center. As Wonder Woman pries open the barricades, she curses Ares's cowardice; Ares, stung by this insult, transports Wonder Woman into his domain and challenges her to personal combat.

With Wonder Woman gone, stopping Tolliver falls to Steve, who manages to shoot the general before the launch-key can be turned. To Steve's horror, however, Ares' magic immediately reanimates Tolliver's corpse. This same magic unfailingly reanimates any soldier that Julia, Etta, or Michaelis manage to kill; eventually, Michaelis falls to the self-replenishing army.

A gloating Ares displays Michaelis' death - as well as the decaying Themyscira - to Wonder Woman, all while beating the young Amazon senseless. Wonder Woman grimly acknowledges she cannot match an Olympian's might, but she possesses one power even he cannot defy: truth, embodied by her golden lasso. With her last bit of strength, she catches Ares in the lasso and forces him to realize the consequences of nuclear war: a lifeless Earth, containing none to worship the great war-god. Without worshipers, even the most powerful God alive amounts to nothing.

The vision horrifies Ares, who personally stops the missiles from launching and disintegrates both his American and Soviet followers. Having averted world war and his own destruction, the War-God tasks Wonder Woman with educating Man's World on the follies of war, and departs. An instant later, Wonder Woman is returned to the missile base, battered and barely alive.

Appearing in "Powerplay"

Featured Characters:

Wonder Woman

Supporting Characters:

Amazons of Themyscira
- Queen Hippolyte
- Philippus
Gods of Olympus
Julia Kapatelis
Col. Matthew Michaelis (Final appearance; dies)
Col. Steve Trevor
- Lt. Etta Candy

Antagonists:

Ares
- Gen. Sam Tolliver (Final appearance; dies)

Other Characters:

United States Air Force
- Gen. John Hillary
Connie Conley (reporter)
President Ronald Reagan (Mentioned only)

Locations:

Items:

Amulet of Harmonia
Wonder Woman's Armaments

Vehicles:

Charon's ark

Notes

This issue is reprinted in the following collections:

Trivia

While unnamed, the White House press secretary is a fairly accurate caricature of Larry Speakes, then acting press secretary to Ronald Reagan.

Links and References

Post-Crisis Reboot

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 1985–1986 maxiseries which completely reset the continuity of the entire DC Universe, all of DC's major characters and franchises needed to be updated to reflect the changes in the events of their lives. Multiple story arcs were put out to explain these rebooted versions of popular characters.

The Man of Steel (Volume 1)

The Man of Steel #1 • The Man of Steel #2 • The Man of Steel #3 • The Man of Steel #4 • The Man of Steel #5 • The Man of Steel #6

Batman: Year One

Batman #404 • Batman #405 • Batman #406 • Batman #407

Justice League: A New Beginning