Zeb Larson reviews The Wicked + The Divine #18…
An ideal jumping-on point. Persephone, live. The question is, will it be for more than one night? Don’t call it a comeback, as JAMIE McKELVIE and MATT WILSON return to THE WICKED + THE DIVINE for the most rock-androll everything-explodes arc of the hit series.
The Wicked + The Divine is finally back, after what felt like an excruciating hiatus. And it’s not just back, but it quite literally blasts its way back. In contrast to the previous arc which tended to be a little bit more meditative, the opening issue of this arc is fundamentally about action. It also drops a big mystery right into our laps, one that it does not bother to explain but instead simply presents. Is it a trick, or is it genuine? I’m afraid I don’t have any more answers for you, but all of the action and questions makes for engrossing reading. Warning: I will be discussing spoilers from here on out. They will be big ones. Consider yourself warned.
Laura Wilson/Persephone is back, or at the very least someone pretending to be her is around. She also seems to have some of Laura’s memories, including her death. She’s performing at a club in London, and naturally when word gets out, Ananke and a few of the other gods go to stop her, setting off a godly duel. Back at Valhalla, Morrigan escapes with the help of Minerva, while Baphomet simultaneously breaks in; Persephone’s show was a clever diversion. Ultimately, they all manage to escape underground, and promise to bring a war to Ananke.
There’s a part of me that doesn’t want Persephone back, if only because her death was such a well-done moment for this series. That said, the evidence for it being her is pretty compelling: she remembers her death, for one thing. More than that, Persephone’s story in Greek mythology is that she was supposed to go to the underworld first, and that’s pretty much exactly what happened here: she died, went to the underworld, and found Baphomet. There’s the possibility this is a trick of some kind, but at this point I’m not sure who would be playing it.
Apart from that, there are a few other mysteries here. Ananke has had Woden build some kind of enormous machine for her, the purpose of which is only described as a “birthday present for Minerva.” Hmm, that doesn’t sound scary at all. Ananke also keeps referring to Persephone as the Destroyer, which again is an ominous sort of thing. It would be easy to dismiss Ananke as a liar, except that Persephone does appear to be playing with all the powers of a god, and she and the others are promising a war. Truth be told though, kinda sounds like both sides are bringing destruction. No good can come of what they’re planning.
Wicked + Divine is promising a lot of action in the coming issues. Also, hopefully, no more delays! I won’t lie and say I don’t miss the musing on art and gender, but I do like a good fight scene too. I’d like some answers in the next couple of issues, but this was a hell of a way to come back.
Rating: 8.8/10
Zeb Larson
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