The 12 Labors of Wonder Woman - Part 11

[jkcarrier]

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

TL;DR version: Amnesia and bad continuity have left Wonder Woman unsure of her abilities, so she asks the JLA to monitor her next 12 missions to make sure she's still fit for duty.

Last issue, the Atom reported on Wonder Woman's fight with Chronos in New York. But then Hawkman turned up, claiming that he witnessed WW on a totally different case upstate -- at the same time! What gives?

(Wonder Woman #221, 1975. Selected panels from an 18-page story.)

Hawkman uses a Thanagarian device called a "Persona-Tracker" to beam his observations directly into the minds of the other JLAers. He reports that Diana Prince was at a resort in the Catskill Mountains, attending a conference with Princess Elaa of the nation of Khimyo:




Diana has noticed a number of female celebrities are also at the resort. Marjorie points her to another conference going on, one run by famous cosmetician Dr. Gustav Renault. Among the "aging beauties" attending the doctor's lecture is guess who:



Later, Diana overhears one of the other guests being kidnapped. She springs into action:



Wonder Woman gives chase, but she falls through a trapdoor into a darkened room:



WW makes it through several booby-traps to get to Renault. But alas, the game is rigged:




But before Wonder Woman can reach the mysterious mastermind, a vacuum tube whisks her back upstairs to the resort. And who's behind this scheme?



Oh no, it's Marjorie! Or is it...? Marge invites Diana to dinner, and then reveals that she knows Di is really Wonder Woman:



Long presumed dead, it turns out the Doctor is alive...if not exactly well:



Seeing Cyber's ruthless nature caused her boyfriend to dump her, which she blames Diana for. She also blames Di for the explosion that disfigured her. AND for tossing that robot into the computer containing Renault's beauty formula.



Once they've peeled her face off, they plan to send Diana sledding down the mountain to get rid of the body. No, it doesn't really make any more sense in context. Anyway, the surgeon sees Wonder Woman starting to break free, and panics:



Cyber hops on the ski lift to go after her:




Seeing Cyber falling finally snaps Wonder Woman out of her psycho-chemical rage. But alas:



Hawkman concludes his report, convinced that the Wonder Woman he saw was the real one. The Atom is equally sure about the Diana he saw. Batman (who was the JLA's designated figuring-stuff-out guy, even back then) announces that BOTH Wonder Women are real...sort of. To be continued!

Comments

[q99]

-announces that BOTH Wonder Women are real...sort of. To be continued!
-

My guess is time travel?

Something involving the next labour of course!

[jcbaggee]

"I planned for this years ago, and created a Wonder Woman clone army! ...why is everyone looking at me like that?"

[joasakura]

oh, man, that panel of Dr. Cyber getting ready to cut off WW's face gave me nightmares when I was small. ^.^;;;

[zenbro]

Wonder Woman trying to fight her way out of a dry cleaning bag and playing tug-of-war with a ski pole made me laugh more than it should. Also, fembots!

[riddler13]

I am becoming more and more a cranky old man. I'd rather read an entire afternoon's content of Bronze Age and 1980's DC comics than read what the DCU is now. The reboot depresses me to no end.

And is Dr. Cyber Wonder Woman's own Two Face?

[don1138]

I remember the twelve labors series (and its incredibly sexist tone), but had forgotten it was from 1975. Thanks for reminding me how old I actually am! And Dr. Cyber smashing open her own face, flinging a ski pole at WW and plunging to the rocks below creeped the hell out of my pre-teen self. Still does. So thanks also for reviving a forgotten childhood trauma. ;-)

Now all I need is for someone to post the Frank Robbin's "Hitler vs. the Giant Butterfly" 2-pager from Weird War Tales, and I will finally achieve closure.

[don1138]

And was Dr. Cyber's hair under or over her plastic-covered face? It's hard to tell.