Plot
The story takes place in a world which diverged from ours in 1888, when a mysterious explosion killed Queen Victoria and her entire immediate family, with the exception of Duke "Eddy" of Clarence, who survived as a brain damaged cripple and was thus unable to succeed to the throne. A mysterious American named Jack Planters then appeared with a claim to be a distant royal cousin named "John Charles Plantagenet", and was crowned King John II, popularly known as King Jack. Little does anyone suspect that Planters himself murdered the Royal Family after having dispatched four Whitechapel prostitutes for practice (Mary Jane Kelly is spared in this timeline, and makes a cameo as an old woman). Under King Jack's rule the British Empire becomes steadily both more militaristic, unjustly making war on France and other countries, and misogynistic, suspending all women's rights and establishing a harsh patriarchy.
Diana the Amazon is snatched away from Paradise Island by a Royal Marines squadron captained by Steven Trevor, here a wicked villain in contrast to the selfless hero that he is in the mainstream DC Universe. Diana is forcibly married to Trevor and by 1928 has become the star of a London theatre show which acts out Bible stories. She eventually runs away and adopts the heroic persona of Wonder Woman, organizing resistance against King Jack's cruel regime. Along the way, Wonder Woman learns that the King's son, Prince Charles, is as kindhearted and just as his father is murderous and tyrannical. Charles becomes Diana's partner in both war and love, leading to the story ending in an inevitable pun.
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston, and artist Harry G. Peter in 1941 for DC Comics. Marston's wife, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byrne, are credited as being his inspiration for the character's appearance.
Elseworlds is the publication imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that took place outside the DC Universe canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realities that deviate from the established continuity of DC’s regular comics. The "Elseworlds" name was trademarked in 1989, the same year as the first Elseworlds publication.
Diana Prince is a fictional character appearing regularly in stories published by DC Comics, as the secret identity of the Amazonian superhero Wonder Woman, who bought the credentials and identity from a United States Army nurse named Diana Prince. The original Diana went to South America and married her fiancé to become Diana White. The character debuted in Sensation Comics #1 and was created by Charles Moulton and H. G. Peter.
General Steven Rockwell Trevor is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Wonder Woman. The character was created by William Moulton Marston and first appeared in All Star Comics #8. Steve Trevor is a trusted friend, love interest, and partner of Wonder Woman who introduced her to "Man's World", and has served as her United Nations liaison. He is the first foreigner to have ever set foot on Themyscira and the first ambassador to open diplomatic relations with the Amazons.
William Francis Messner-Loebs is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wife Nadine's unmarried surnames.
Themyscira is a fictional unitary sovereign city-state and archipelagic island nation appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Previously known as Paradise Island and the Amazon Isles, it first appeared in All Star Comics #8.
Gotham by Gaslight is a DC Comics one-shot by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola, with inks by P. Craig Russell. The story revolves around a 19th-century version of Bruce Wayne making his debut as Batman just as Jack the Ripper has arrived in Gotham City.
Queen Hippolyta is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC comics, based on the Amazon queen Hippolyta from Greek mythology. Introduced in 1941 during the Golden Age of Comic Books, she is the queen of the Amazons of Themyscira, the mother of Wonder Woman, and in some continuities, the adopted mother of Donna Troy.
Phil Winslade is a British comic book artist.
The Kingdom is a story arc consisting of a two-issue, self-titled comic book limited series and multiple one-shot comics published by DC Comics in 1999. The story arc was written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Ariel Olivetti and Mike Zeck. It is both a sequel and, in some ways, a prequel to Kingdom Come, which Waid co-wrote with Alex Ross. Both books form an Elseworlds saga, as they are abstracted from official DC Comics continuity. The storyline extended into one-shot books entitled New Year's Evil: Gog, The Kingdom: Kid Flash, The Kingdom: Nightstar, The Kingdom: Offspring, The Kingdom: Planet Krypton and The Kingdom: Son of the Bat. The entire storyline was later collected into a trade paperback.
Etta Candy is a fictional character appearing in DC Comics publications and related media, commonly as the best friend of the superhero Wonder Woman. Spirited and vivacious, with a devil-may-care attitude, Etta debuted as a young white woman with red hair in 1942's Sensation Comics #2, written by Wonder Woman's creator William Moulton Marston.
War of the Gods is an American four-issue comic book mini-series published by DC Comics in 1991.
Hercules is a fictional Olympian god in the DC Universe based on the Greek demigod and hero of the same name.
Wonder Woman of Earth-Two is a fictional DC Comics superheroine, from the original stories by Wonder Woman writer and creator, William Moulton Marston and his wife Elizabeth Holloway Marston. After DC Comics established a multiverse in their published stories, which explained how heroes could have been active before World War II, retain their youth, and (subsequent) origins during the 1960s, this version of Wonder Woman was retconned merging with the original Wonder Woman who first appeared in All Star Comics #8.
Wonder Woman: The Blue Amazon is a DC Comics comic book and a Wonder Woman Elseworlds publication. It is the third - and final - part of a trilogy based on German Expressionist cinema, preceded by Superman's Metropolis and Batman: Nosferatu. It was written by Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier and illustrated by Ted McKeever.
The fictional DC Comics character Wonder Woman was created by William Moulton Marston. She was introduced in All Star Comics #8, then appeared in Sensation Comics #1, Six months later, she appeared in her own comic book series. Since her debut, five regular series of Wonder Woman have been published, the fifth launched in June 2016 as part of DC Rebirth.
Wonder Woman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero Wonder Woman and occasionally other superheroes as its protagonist. The character first appeared in All Star Comics #8, later featured in Sensation Comics series until having her own solo title.
Since her debut in All Star Comics #8, Diana Prince/Wonder Woman has appeared in a number of formats besides comic books. Genres include animated television shows, direct-to-DVD animated films, video games, the 1970s live action television series, Wonder Woman, The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie, and the live-action DCEU films, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), Wonder Woman (2017), Justice League (2017), Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021), Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023), and The Flash (2023).
"Dark Nights: Death Metal" is a 2020–2021 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, and a number of tie-in books. The seven-issue miniseries was released from June 16, 2020, to January 5, 2021. The crossover was received with acclaim, with critics praising the unique plot, the art, the action, and the ending. It serves as the conclusion of the five-year Dark Multiverse Saga, taking place near the end of the New Justice era.
