Wonder Woman is dead - here's what you need to know

Wonder Woman RIP (Image credit: DC)

Wonder Woman is dead. RIP the Amazonian Princess-Warrior from Themyscira, 1941-2022.

If you thought Diana of the Amazons was immortal thanks to her connection to DC's Olympian gods, think again - and think fast, as Wonder Woman's death arrives in April 26's Justice League #75, 'Death of the Justice League.'

If that title sounds ominous, it ought to, as it's not just Wonder Woman, but Batman, Superman, and nearly all of the core Justice League members - with only one survivor (whose identity we won't spoil here) making it back to Earth to tell the tale.

Superheroes die and come back to life regularly in comic books, but while Wonder Woman and the League are dead, Justice League #75 will also mark the end of the ongoing Justice League title for what DC says will be the foreseeable future.

And the idea that Wonder Woman may return from death doesn't answer the substantial questions about when and how that could happen, let alone what's going to happen to Wonder Woman's own comic in the meantime.

Here's what you need to know about how it happened, why it happened, and what happens next in the wake of Wonder Woman's death.

How does Wonder Woman die?

Justice League #75 pits the core Justice League against a 'Dark Army' of some of the most infamous and powerful villains in the entire DC Universe, including Wonder Woman's arch-enemy Ares, Doomsday, Darkseid, and others, all guided by the destructive force known as the 'Great Darkness'.

That force, the Great Darkness, has been established as an evil presence whose machinations have been felt but not seen since all the way back in 1985's Multiverse-rewriting event Crisis on Infinite Earths. The original 'Crisis' has informed numerous DC reboots and retcons in the decades since - all the way up to and including the upcoming 'Dark Crisis' which takes place after the League's deaths.

Crisis on Infinite Earths is also where Pariah, the leader of the Dark Army and main servant of the Great Darkness originates, with his current schemes all part of a plan to restore his home reality which was destroyed all the way back in the original Crisis. Pariah's connection to the Great Darkness is what allows him to take the League by surprise, even taking down Wonder Woman, the greatest warrior in the DC Universe.

How will Wonder Woman's death affect the DC Universe?

In the wake of Wonder Woman and the Justice League's deaths, DC will end the current Justice League title, which the publisher says will be dormant for some time. But thanks to DC's 'Divine Continuum' concept, which states all DC stories take place somewhere at some point in the various worlds of the Omniverse to be referenced and drawn from only as much as an individual story requires, Wonder Woman's solo title will continue on even as she's dead during the events of 'Dark Crisis'.

The specific why's and how's of Wonder Woman being alive in her own title while she's simultaneously dead in another story require a whole explanation on their own (and we went more in-depth of the ins and outs while discussing the death of Wonder Woman's Justice League teammate Batman).

But the simplest version of the explanation is, that even though both stories are being published simultaneously, they technically take place at different points in the in-story chronology of the DC Universe.

The events of 'Death of the Justice League' and the subsequent Dark Crisis take place in the immediate future of the DC Universe, and although the exact chronology remains to be seen, whether its weeks or months, the important thing is, Wonder Woman's solo comic and 'Dark Crisis' are considered to take place at different points in the same timeline.

What happens next for Wonder Woman?

Wonder Woman's own death may be front-and-center in 'Death of the Justice League' and the subsequent 'Dark Crisis,' but on Diana's home of Themiscyra, she's currently dealing with the fallout from the murder of her mother Hippolyta, which has left an opening on the throne of the Amazon queen - and an assassin to apprehend.

That story, 'Trial of the Amazons', is currently unfolding in Wonder Woman's core title, as well as several spin-offs including a Trial of the Amazons limited series. But part of the ending - specifically the identity of Hippolyta's murder - may have already been leaked by DC.

Along with the continuation of Wonder Woman's core title, DC will publish a one-shot titled Artemis: Wanted #1 in July. As implied by the title, the one-shot focuses on Artemis of the Bana-Mighdall, one of the Amazon tribes who hail from outside Themiscyra. Artemis once filled in for Diana as Wonder Woman for a while, but now it seems she may have murdered Hippolyta, as she'll go on the run from the other Amazons. But there may be more to the story than meets the eye.

Wonder Woman has become one of DC's highest-profile heroes in recent years, with her comic line expanding and becoming the focus of crossover events such as the aforementioned 'Trial of the Amazons', and DC is a smart enough publisher to know a good thing when it's got it, so don't look for Wonder Woman to be canceled anytime soon, or for Diana to be completely absent from DC's line however her death in 'Dark Crisis' is resolved down the line.

And yeah, you can rest assured it will be - superheroes coming back from the dead is all part of the story.

Check out more Newsarama coverage of the 'Death of the Justice League'

TOPICS

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

With contributions from