Wonder Woman #153

Mad About the Boy

Written by Mark Millar
Pencilled by Georges Jeanty
Inked by Stull, Hillsman and Vines
Lettered by John Costanza
Colored by Rick Taylor
Edited by Maureen McTigue
Special thanks to Cully Hamner
Wonder Woman created by William Moulton Marston

This cover is very bright, happy and optimistic. I love the image of Wonder Girl gleefully soaring above Wonder Woman, signifying that this issue is all about Cassie. However, I do think Wonder Woman is showing a little too much cleavage.

Our story begins a month and a day ago, with a handy editor's note saying this tale takes place before current Young Justice events. (This means Arrowette hasn't left the team yet, Secret hasn't been kidnapped, and continuity stickler like myself can breathe a sigh of relief.) Cassie and her friends are playing a magazine dating quiz during lunch. According to the magazine, if you want to date Superboy, it means you're dangerous; Arsenal means you're a free spirit; Robin means you value intelligence; and if you want to date Impulse, like one girl does, it means it is time to stop reading the baby-sitter's magazine and go to bed. Oh ... poor Impulse! Of course, he's not really interested in dating anyone anyway.

Cassie has a hard time playing this game, though, since she is secretly Wonder Girl and is secretly in love with Superboy. And to make matters worse, all of Cassie's friends think Wonder Girl is pretty lame. When Cassie goes home that day, she reflects on her career — how she was granted powers from Zeus, became Wonder Woman's protégé, and joined Young Justice. (Just in case any readers don't know who Wonder Girl is.)

And that's really all the Impulse we get here. Just a sad reference in a girls magazine and a couple of flashback cameos. But there is still some fun stuff that's marginally relevant to this blog. One of Cassie's friends gets a Flash tattoo, which everybody thinks is awesome, but it makes poor Cassie feel even more lame and immature. There's also a lot of speculation that Jesse Quick is actually Cameron Diaz in disguise.

Anyway, since Cassie's feeling pretty down on herself, she reaches out to Arrowette to help give her a makeover. The end result isn't that much different — just a shorter black wig with the goggles pushed up, heavier makeup, and a miniskirt replacing her usual shorts. Wonder Girl's next step is to find an excuse for a team-up mission with Superboy. She says the next Young Justice meeting isn't for another two weeks, which surprises me, since I figured they met at least once a week. But then again, Wonder Girl does live all the way in California, so getting to their headquarters in Rhode Island has to be pretty tricky.

Luckily for Wonder Girl, she doesn't have to wait too long for an excuse to call in Superboy. Somebody at her mom's museum accidentally unleashes a giant minotaur on the city. Cassie is thrilled when Superboy answers her call, but she quickly gets worried when the monster begins beating the Kid to a pulp. In another bit of blind luck, Wonder Girl instantly defeats the minotaur by hitting it with the box it came from.

With the monster defeated, Cassie now has the perfect opportunity to ask out Superboy. But she suddenly feels like a fraud in her makeup and new outfit. The poor girl has a bit of a breakdown on the street, and starts taking off her costume. Superboy hurries her over to an alleyway to protect her identity, kindly lets Cassie rant for a bit, then very sweetly tells her she's not stupid and is beautiful. Superboy then kisses Cassie and flies away right in front of some of Cassie's friends. Cassie is the most popular kid at school the next day, and she is much more confident and happy with herself. However, she considers Superboy's kiss more as an act of friendship more than a romantic gesture. But this is good for her. She's no longer obsessed with her teammate and has now turned her attention toward another teen superhero, Captain Marvel Jr.


This was a nice, sweet little story. The art wasn't too great, but I did enjoy that one shot of Impulse. But much more than that, I loved taking a look at Wonder Girl at high school. It was a little sad but touching to see her struggle through all the normal teenage girl problems with the added weight of being a superhero. And I really liked seeing all the normal kids treat superheroes like celebrities. I'm always up for seeing more of the civilian life of the DC universe. And giving the spotlight to Wonder Girl was more than welcome. She has always felt genuine and human to me. Unfortunately, the large cast of Young Justice never gives her enough room to shine, nor would guest-starring in Wonder Woman's series. Sadly, Wonder Girl didn't get her own series until 2007, and it only lasted six issues.

Next time, Impulse and Young Justice will make a quick cameo in The Titans #12.