The Wonder Woman of the prime DC Universe has often acted as the champion of the Greek gods. While some gods, such as Ares, Hecate, and Apollo have been enemies of Diana, for the most part, the Greek pantheon has been Diana’s greatest of strength. However, the Absolute Universe, Zeus and several other major male members of the pantheon are Diana’s adversaries. Among other things, they imprisoned Diana’s sisters for eternity, leaving her as “The Last Amazon.” Yet, while the male gods are depicted as cruel, the female gods are working behind the scenes to help Diana defeat them and tip the scales of the universe towards justice. So far, only four Greek gods and goddesses have made appearances in this critically acclaimed series but more have already been teased and are bound to appear soon. With Diana at the epicenter, the conflict between the male and female members of the Greek pantheon is just getting started.
Whether as allies or enemies, the Greek gods and goddesses in Absolute Wonder Woman are already proving to be incredibly creative and unique takes on Greek mythology.
1) Apollo
While the God of the Sun has only appeared in flashbacks so far, he serves as the reader’s introduction to the Greek pantheon of the Absolute Universe and their role in Wonder Woman’s story. As decreed by Zeus, Apollo banished Diana to Hell when she was an infant as “punishment” for the Amazons’ crimes against the gods. What these crimes were hasn’t been revealed yet, but because of them, Diana ended up being raised on the Island of Hell by the witch Circe. And to make sure that Diana never discovered her Amazon origins, Apollo placed a curse on Circe, preventing her from ever saying the word “Amazon.” Nonetheless, Diana discovers her Amazonian heritage by accessing her subconscious and, soon after, manages to escape to the mortal world. She quickly established herself as a protector of humanity while also searching for her lost sisters. Apollo has not appeared again yet in the Absolute Wonder Woman comics, but his introduction quickly established the Greek gods as Wonder Woman’s enemies.
2) Hecate
In the Absolute Universe, many characters who are enemies in the prime universe are instead close allies. In the prime universe, Hecate is a cruel and malevolent goddess who has attempted to kill Diana on several occasions. However, since in this version of Diana, she studied sorcery under the tutelage of her adoptive mother Circe, it’s no surprise that she saw the Goddess of Witchcraft, Hecate, as a source of strength. It was Hecate who revealed to Circe the conspiracy concocted by the Greek goddesses to use Diana to overpower the male gods. In modern day, Diana fought a horde of monsters and was left severely weakened and injured. Her situation was especially perilous because a bigger, deadlier beast known as the Tetracide was on its way, intending to kill thousands. To restore herself to full power, Diana prayed to her patron goddess, Hecate, for strength. Hecate obliged and replenished Diana’s strength and her mystical prosthetic arm, so she was ready for battle once again. In the prime universe, they may be enemies, but in the Absolute Universe, Diana is Hecate’s chosen warrior.
3) Hades
Because Wonder Woman had been condemned to live in the Underworld by Apollo, Hades is the very first deity Diana must confront in her quest to be humanity’s defender in the mortal world and to return to her Amazon family. When Diana escaped from Hell to the mortal realm, the King of the Underworld took great offence, for no one is allowed to leave the Underworld once they have entered. As one of the big three in the Greek pantheon, alongside his brothers Poseidon and Zeus, Hades is a cruel and arrogant deity who exudes raw and unrelenting power. The God of the Underworld imprisoned Diana’s mother, Circe, putting her in chains, and told Diana that, if she wanted to free her mother, she would have to entertain him by fighting the monstrous Chimera. Diana took on the challenge, and Hades dropped Diana in his arena and forced her to fight the Chimera to the death. After a heated battle, Diana defeats the Chimera, but Hades being Hades, breaks his promise to free her mother and instead imposes on her another seemingly impossible challenge. This challenge is one he hopes will force her to choose between staying in the Underworld forever, or returning to the mortal world, but never seeing her mother again. However, as Hecate had done, another female goddess, Hades’ wife Persephone, helps to save Diana from Hades’ cruelty and torment.
4) Persephone
The Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld, Persephone is a kind and gentle soul who is willing to oppose her husband, the Greek god Hades, if she believes it’s the right thing to do. Growing up, Diana often met Persephone in her dreams. The goddess would recount to Diana how she was forced to become Hades’ bride and spend half of the year in the Underworld because she was tricked into eating six pomegranate seeds. She then gave the young Diana a single pomegranate seed and told her to hold on to it so that she’d always be able to return to the Underworld for one month out of the year. This gift from Persephone turns out to be the critical factor for Diana when Hades presents her with the second challenge she needs to take on after she has met the first challenge of defeating the Chimera.
In this challenge, Hades attempts to force Diana to choose between one of two doors: one leading to certain death, the other leading to the mortal world. The catch was, though, that if Diana chose the second door and left the Underworld, she would never again be able to see her mother, Circe, because she would not be allowed to return to the Underworld. Thankfully, the pomegranate seed Persephone had earlier bestowed on Diana gave her a third option. Consequently, she was able to return to the mortal world, while still being able to see her mother for one month each year. Livid that Diana had prevailed over him, nonetheless with his wife’s help, Hades swears that he will have his revenge against her. While Hades might be the first god Diana has defeated, he certainly won’t be the last.
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