When Wondy was Awesome Interlude--The Hiketeia

[jupiterrhode.insanejournal.com]

Basically the Hiketeia is a modern Greek tragedy with Diana as the youthful hero, Bats as the vengeful king, and a new character named Danielle as the one damned by fate. If that intrigues then...


So it turns out that the majority of the book is actually a flashback, and we begin with this scene of Diana once the events have already transpired.




What follows is Diana telling us what the Hiketeia actually is while a scene from Ancient Greece involving one instance it was invoked is playing out behind her words. Basically the supplicant gives up all personal honor and submits to the supplicated. The supplicated has total authority over the supplicant but cannot abuse it. For instance any question asked by the supplicated to the supplicant must be answered truthfully. If the supplicated chooses to call in the lifetime of service the supplicant has pledged to, the supplicant must obey. However, the supplicant gets perks too. All food and worldly comforts are provided and he/she can break the Hiketeia at any time. If the supplicated tries to break the ritual though, the Erinyes (Greek goddesses personifying vengeance, aka the Furies) will appear and tear the supplicated to shreds. Tough break. We shift into the actual story at this point.




The woman's name is Danny. Why she's killing these men we don't yet know. She jumps out the window and speeds away, but of course...



She tries to get way, but no mere mortal can escape the All Powerful Batgod (tm).



...or maybe she can. When next we see Danny she's in a crowd of people fawning over Diana as she lands on the steps of the Embassy. Diana remarks that she sees her, but doesn't notice her. Apparently young Danny has an unassuming presence. However the next time she sees Danny she falls to her knees and wraps herself around Diana's legs (and wouldn't you?). Well, you know what they say about assuming.

The page before this has Diana musing about whether or not she would have noticed the signs had she been paying more attention. Her last caption reads: But I am making excuses…



Diana, of course, accepts Danny's supplication and invites her into the embassy. She kneels in the place of servitude--beside the hearth--but Diana tells her there's no reason to take the Hiketeia quite that seriously. She also tells Danny to call her Diana, instead of princess. It’s kind of a running gag. Next we get a few more specifics of what the Hiketeia actually entails.




Notice that Diana leaves a fairly obvious opening for Danny to tell her what's up. But she never invokes her power over the woman and asks the question frankly. And of course she wouldn't, Wonder Woman would never ask someone what would bring them so low as to surrender all personal honor. At this point Diana notices the Erinyes are outside her window. She asks Danny how long they've been following her, but apparently Danny can't see them. Can you see where this is going?



In a ballsy display of badassery, Diana tells the Erinyes to shove off. Naturally, they don't take this well and reminds the "princess-once-goddess" that even beings such as she are subject to vengeance's laws. They also say that they aren't here for Danny at all, but Diana. If she breaks the sanctity of Hiketeia, they will personally feast on her flesh, or some such.

She's her usual chipper self the next day, however. Gods listing the various ways they plan to disembowel her is a fairly frequent occurrence in Diana’s life.

Anyway, Danny wakes up to Diana giving her new clothes and stuff. Although Diana has not invoked the right of tell-all, she has invoked the servitude. I can't blame her, if the woman's gonna be provided everything out of Diana's pockets she should do something to earn it. Diana informs Danny just what a day in the life is like. (United Nations, Amnesty International, consulting with some doctors, a lecture on non-violence at a school—which she expects to get interrupted by some kind of league emergency, and then an early dinner with the executive director of the International Labor Organization. This is, apparently, a “light day.”)

Danny asks Diana why she hasn't invoked her other rights. This is Diana's response: The Reason doesn’t Matter. Only the ritual. Diana expounds on the reason she gave Danny, albeit only in her mind. She also gives us the skinny on Greek tragedies, which usually involve conflicts between personal justice and society’s law. And then she notices the All Powerful Batgod (tm) at her window.



Diana can tell instantly something's up, notice her face and body language here.



The All Powerful Batgod (tm) informs Diana of Danny's crimes, even calls Danny herself out on them. I have to say, I love Diana’s response.



Batman: *beats chest* Aside, woman!
Diana: Bitch, please.

Okay, so that’s not exactly what she says.

I have to admit, the following two page spread are some of my favorite pages from the whole book. I’m a man of simple needs.



She tells him to back off and they'll speak of this tomorrow. That done, she goes inside. Danny's all braced for a confrontation but it doesn't happen. Diana tells her that they are still bound by the Hiketeia, period. Unless Danny feels like releasing her there's only one course of action available to her. Distraught, Danny runs into the room where Diana keeps her equipment. It kills her that Diana thinks the All Powerful Batgod (tm) was right. She asks Diana if she thinks Danny tricked her.



And we finally learn why. Danny’s sister, Melody, went to Gotham to make it big, but fell into one of those scams where a man offers to pay her way and then insists she repay him by making porn. Danny tells us that when Melody refused, they got her addicted to drugs so she’d have no choice. Eventually, Melody overdosed and none of the cops cared enough to investigate because she was “just another junkie whore.” So, Danny killed the men responsible herself because justice demanded it.

Diana holds her as she sobs and puts her to bed. Danny says she’s sorry, and Diana replies to just get some sleep. I think at this point Diana realizes that she should turn Danny over. When Danny told her it was the law, Diana responds "Three thousand years ago." Despite that, she can't help thinking...



She decides to honor the Hiketeia. During the night Diana is awakened by the Furies. They say Diana has failed her duty and they've come to see her "ripped, ragged, raped, and ravaged.” The Furies, apparently, are into some hardcore shit.

Diana sees that Danny has fled from her room. She goes to her equipment room and dons her costume before demanding of the Furies where Danny is. They tell her and Diana thanks them (as is only smart when dealing with goddesses) but they say not to thank them yet. They know how it ends.

Turns out Danny is in the industrial part of town down by some huge-ass water pipes. She sticks out her thumb and the batmobile, sorry, the Goddamn Batmobile pulls up. Well, if it's that easy why isn't everyone doing it? The All Powerful Batgod (tm) chases her to the end of the dock thing they're on, all the while telling her not to get hurt. Nice logic, Bats.

Diana, arriving just in the nick of time, smacks him down. Again. I believe the sensation you’re all feeling is schadenfreude. What’s that? It’s just me? Okay, then, moving on.

Wondy tells him she has no choice, and Bats tries to claim the same.





For such a supposedly brilliant man, Batman really doesn’t have any kind of understanding of Diana. If she had accepted his supplication, he would have had to follow all of her orders—including leaving Danny alone. Bats would have ignored her command, and would have been devoured by the Furies. If she, then, allows Batman to harm Danny she gets her entrails roasted instead (though I personally believe this is her secondary reason for keeping Danny safe), not to mention she fails her charge. Neither of these options are particularly in keeping with Diana’s code of ethics.

It's during this little episode they notice that Danny has climbed up higher on the pipes' platform, and can now see the Furies. Too late, Diana realizes that this has all been an elaborate plan by the Furies to get Danny to kill herself.




Back in the present, Diana grieves.



I defy anyone, Heinberg, Picoult, Didio himself to read that and tell me Diana isn't human. She's more human than any hero DC has to offer. She bleeds, she laughs, she cries. She fights bad guys, and fights for world peace. She'll defend a poor, broken hearted murderess, not just because her law demands it, but out of her compassion.

She's Wonder Woman.

Comments

[amandeo.insanejournal.com]

Man, The Hiketeia is one of my favourite Wonder Woman stories. Absolutely beautiful story about a compassionate warrior, and Rucka told it so well.

[sailorlibra.insanejournal.com]

It's really annoying to have two Bruce-bashing, Wondy-loving stories in a row. The authors do a great job with Diana's character--which we all know is practically impossible--and then decide to write Bruce as the world's biggest ass. Bruce is better than that and it's annoying that these two writers are ostensibly good writers and yet they can't realize that Batman also has a nicer side. It's particularly annoying coming from Rucka, who can write a good Bruce.
Especially since at this point, the two had gotten along well during their last meeting in the Wondy title and were romantically involved in JLA.

This story would have been so much better if Rucka had tried to make it a good Wonder Woman story and a good Batman story. (Though it might have lacked the scene of Bats performing Hiketeia, which was damn sexy. Still not enough to make up for his crappy portrayal, however.)

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

I don't find League of One to be particularly Bruce-bashing. He's the only Leaguer who actually comes close to interfering with Diana's plan, his behavior is perfectly in keeping with his philosophies, and he totally smiles and forgives her and is actually, shockingly, not an asshole in the final scene, which is stunningly rare and most appreciated by this Bronze Age, DCAU loving fan.

Hiketeia, obviously, is less kind to him, but frankly strikes me as a hell of a lot more plausible for the two of them than the ridiculous JLA romance, and given their personalities, doesn't strike me as at all inconsistent with them behaving as close allies two days before or two days later. Diana doesn't hold grudges and Bruce understands the need to live by one's own code. There's no reason for them to carry this opposition into any kind of future animosity, or for any prior allegiance to have prevented it.

[surlytmpl.insanejournal.com]

I overlooked the Bruce-bashing in this story simply for the reason that he had to function in this story as classic antagonist to Diana's protagonist. Without him coming off as all Rawr!DarkJustice, there would have been less dramatic tension, and less of an overall good story, I think.

[colonel_green.insanejournal.com]

My two nits with this story (which, otherwise, is great):

1) Danielle doesn't really seem the sort of person who could track down and vengeance-kill a bunch of drug-dealing, murderous pimp/pornographers, and then elude Batman long enough to reach this sanctuary.

2) The climactic tragedy requires Diana to be, well, way slower than she should be (even Batman has made harder rescues than that).

[lieut_kettch.insanejournal.com]

No-Prize Answer to number 2: Diana had to move slower or risk killing Danny by barreling into her at maximum speed. Unlike Supes or the Flash, she doesn't have a protective field or Speed Force aura that extends to objects she comes in contact with.

[magus_69.insanejournal.com]

Also: the Erinyes actively barred Diana's way.

[bluefall.insanejournal.com]

Yaythankyou. ^_^

I like Rucka's Diana because he understands just how alien she is, and yet, how completely human she is as well. She has this culture that is not at all ours, with different laws, different priorities, and if she doesn't follow these rules, she's not *her.* It's not even about the Furies, who are barely more than metaphor, really; she could no more break Hiketeia than Bruce could kill someone with a gun (oh wait), and that is, in its own way, a limitation on her, something that, for all her power, she still can't overcome. It's a Marston throwback, almost; that obedience, that Lawfulness, that sense that there are weird and, from our perspective, perhaps even arbitrary rules that apply to her that don't to us, and while sometimes - usually - she draws strength from that order and sense of purpose, sometimes it's a shackle and a terrible hurt. It's like the intelligent evolution of the original bracelets concept. I love that.

Also awesome: Danny's inability to tell the truth without the Lasso. That is just such a brilliant, brilliant touch.

[perletwo.insanejournal.com]

Re the Lasso: Was she unable to tell the truth? I read it as, "Here, take this and use it on me and you will have a guarantee that I'm telling the truth, no doubts and no trust required."

[magus_69.insanejournal.com]

It's a Marston throwback, almost; that obedience, that Lawfulness, that sense that there are weird and, from our perspective, perhaps even arbitrary rules that apply to her that don't to us, and while sometimes - usually - she draws strength from that order and sense of purpose, sometimes it's a shackle and a terrible hurt.

I've said this below, but just to reiterate: this is what makes her a paladin. The gods are almost irrelevant; the Code is all.

(Well, post-IC she's been much more of a warlord than a paladin, but still...)

[unknownscribler.insanejournal.com]

Diana doesn't have Bruce's ridiculous no-kill rule, something I'm quite sure factored into Danny's decision to request sanctuary with her.

This touches on one of my fundamental problems with Diana -- there's no feasible way what Danny did should of itself in any way, shape or form present a problem to her. As an Amazon, a woman, a warrior, preventing that sort of viscious exploitation from happening has to be one of Diana's major tick boxes. the people who are responsible for this as just as much monsters as someone like Medusa or anything else she's gone up against and why on a meta level it was ridiculously stupid to have given Circe Diana's abilities as Wonder Woman given what she immediately did with them completely and utterly demonstrated Diana's failings.

Oh, and let me count the sheer inferno of heart warming goodness I felt every time Bruce got the smackdown laid on him by Diana, not least because I hold him largely culpable in Danny's death. He was an utterly irredeemable cunt in this story and if he'd done this to anyone other friend except Diana I seriously think he would have destroyed whatever friendship existed between them. He tries to force his way into Diana's home (a step up from the usual B&E his friends have to put up with) but more than that he disrespects her. She's a hero, someone he allegedly looks up to and yet he doesn't talk to her he threatens her, doesn't trust her to take care of the matter in her own way (to the extent he abandons his own protectorate to stalk one young woman in Boston), and hounds someone under his friend's care to death after even further abusing Diana's herritage and her intelligence.

Perhaps worst of all was just how forced Danny's death felt. For it to be in anyway part of a natural narrative flow you have to accept Batman as an unrelenting psychotic egomanical dick psyically incapable of accepting anyone except him is right.

[sailorlibra.insanejournal.com]

Perhaps worst of all was just how forced Danny's death felt. For it to be in anyway part of a natural narrative flow you have to accept Batman as an unrelenting psychotic egomanical dick psyically incapable of accepting anyone except him is right.

Which he is not. He really isn't, when he is written well. However, there have been some arguments made that the characters' personas were exaggerated as to fit into traditional stereotypes better. Usually either Diana or Bruce would be more willing to compromise.

And like I commented on earlier on the page, this isn't good Bruce. This is batdickery.

[broblawsky.insanejournal.com]

Both Batman and Diana are smart enough to know that if you let people go around killing other people whenever they feel justified, even if it is just, it causes the complete breakdown of social order. Danny kills those guys sure; then maybe someone from their family kills Danny, and someone from Danny's family kills that guy, and it never ends. This is why an impartial justice system is necessary - and why, even if it fails, you can't just circumvent it and avoid the consequences because you thought it was just.

[colonel_green.insanejournal.com]

This touches on one of my fundamental problems with Diana -- there's no feasible way what Danny did should of itself in any way, shape or form present a problem to her.

Societies require laws; as she herself says in this story, the way of the Furies was the law "3000 years ago".

Heck, the whole idea of supernatural caprice and law and the development of human justice was addressed by Aeschylus in The Libation-Bearers and The Eumenides millennia ago.

[surlytmpl.insanejournal.com]

I loved this the first time it was posted over at The Other Place. Reworking of myths and legends into modern times has a lot of squee value for me.

There was something about the Erinyes just hanging out in front of the embassy in their winter coats that made me laugh, especially when Bruce was getting tossed off the balcony -- like they were all saying "Whoa, Batman just got pwned!"

And the aftermath when they were still hanging around after Danny's death. It looked like the lead one decided they were pretty much done there, shrugged and just wandered off to do some sightseeing while they were in town.

[neuhallidae.insanejournal.com]

So, it's apparently impossible for Wonder Woman and Batman to be in the same story and Wonder Woman to be awesome without the writers making Batman a complete tool to be smacked down in return. Or at least that's the point I'm getting from these posts.

[ashtoreth.insanejournal.com]

Batman has been a complete tool for years. When you have people arguing that he can't get hit by another hero, when you have people arguing that he must solve every riddle, you don't have a character anymore, you have a god.

[tsuki_the_geek.insanejournal.com]

I love, love, love The Hiketeia! I think this is the first Wondy comic that I have ever paid full price for actually. Just breaks my heart-- Gaiman himself couldn't/didn't handle the furies any better.

[gargoylekitty.insanejournal.com]

This was Rucka not Gaiman, though I am now wondering how Gaiman would be with Wonder Woman with his handle on mythology and such. *ponders*

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

What I liked about this story was that, not only did it show that Batman was not invincible, but it helped show each of the Big Three can take down one of the other Big Three.

This showed that Wonder Woman can clearly take Batman in a fight.

There are numerous examples of Batman being able to beat Superman.

Infinite Crisis showed that Superman can beat Wonder Woman in a fight.

I liked the idea that the three balanced each other out.

[unknownscribler.insanejournal.com]

The idea that Diana couldn't take Bruce and needed to demonstrate that she could is ludicrous.

The only reason Bruce gets to take down Clark is because Clark just isn't the brightest tool in the shed and insists on closing to melee when he could just casually pick Bruce off from a distance.

Diana vs Clark is always resolved in favour of narrative demands.

[magus_69.insanejournal.com]

Yay! It's here! Thanks for reposting!

It's a shame that pieces had to be cut, though. Reading Danny's story in text isn't the same as reading it as presented, especially because of the perfectly logical cameo appearance made within. One of the few cops who wouldn't have made jokes, and who would have helped Danny... which of course adds to the tragedy.

This story, even more than League of One, cements Diana's status as a paladin. The gods are almost irrelevant; the Code is everything, and I'm hard pressed to think of a comics character who embodies that better than Diana.

[jupiterrhode.insanejournal.com]

I totally agree about the cutting down. In fact, in my original post I mention that I was just going to summarize, and then couldn't because it was too moving. The story definitely looses something when you don't hear Danny's tale in her own words, but rules are rules.

[gargoylekitty.insanejournal.com]

I think this was the first Wonder Woman related book that I actually went out of the way to track down. Love it.

[mysteryfan.insanejournal.com]

Um, okay, what's the Bruce-bashing and/or batdickery part again?

The art is gorgeous.

[jupiterrhode.insanejournal.com]

Re: Bat-bashing. Batman has been a tremendous dick--in canon--to some of our favorite characters for years. Possibly decades, depending on who the favorite character is. Why are people constantly surprised that we don't like him?

And before you can say that it was an anomaly, no, it wasn't. It was his across the board characterization. When bad writing happens that often for that long, it no longer becomes bad writing it becomes part of the character. At that point in time, Bats was this dickish, according to those that read comics at the time. I freely admit I did not.

[tsuki_the_geek.insanejournal.com]

Er, and some of us liked him BECAUSE he was that dickish. *whistles innocently* What?

Batman v. Wonder Woman

[yonmei.insanejournal.com]

Bats: don't tangle with Diana.

That's a wonderful revisioning, literally, of a Greek tragedy.

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

This was great!!! Though I do feel like Batman's being roped into playing a role that doesn't completely suit him. Not because he's a dick--I have no trouble believing that Batman could come on relentlessly after his prey and refuse to be stopped even with Wonder Woman telling him to stand down. It's just a bit interesting that we've got a teenager here who's been abandoned by the law and Batman's not on her side in any way that we can see. Batman and Wonder Woman are both candidates to be this girl's advocate, and since she's from Gotham I'd almost expect Batman to be all the more protective of her. She's killing the people who murdered her sister when the law didn't care. I'd almost expect him to feel guilty for causing their murder himself for not taking them in himself.

But that said, I love the Diana story and her actions, especially when Batman tries to supplicate himself.

[unknownscribler.insanejournal.com]

Very much this.

[meatwhichdreams.insanejournal.com]

This art and these colors are RIGHTEOUS.