DETECTIVE COMICS #518

"THE MILLIONIARE CONTRACT"
Writers Gerry Conway & Paul Levitz | Artists: Don Newton & Bruce Patterson
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: In the Batcave, Robin, Alfred, and Father Green watch over Batman as he recovers from his vampiric condition. Father Green soon leaves, bringing Dala and the Monk, imprisoned, with him. Alfred and Robin (after changing to Dick Grayson) head up to Wayne Manor, where Dick is startled to find Bruce Wayne enjoying a cocktail with Vicki Vale. Bruce and Vicki leave for a date at Gotham's Crystal Ballroom, and Alfred reveals to Dick that he hired the Human Target to impersonate Bruce Wayne in order to throw off Vicki's suspicion that Bruce is Batman. Elsewhere, Rupert Thorne dispatches Deadshot to kill Bruce Wayne, who he believes to be Batman thanks to photos stolen from Vicki.

In the Batcave, Batman takes a call from a prison official who informs him that Deadshot has escaped. Despite his weakened condition, Batman heads out in the Batmobile to find the villain. He interrogtates Deadshot's weapon manufacturer, Augustino Coppola, and soon catches up with Deadshot outside the Crystal Ballroom. Batman and Deadshot fight, their battle taking them into the ballroom, where "Bruce" and Vicki are dining. Vicki is shocked to see Bruce and Batman in the same place and decides she was wrong about the Caped Crusader's true identity. With some help from "Bruce", Batman defeats and apprehends Deadshot, and departs.

Continuity Notes: When Doctor Loom-- I mean, Father Green leaves with the Vampiri siblings, he drops some very cryptic comments which lead Robin and Alfred to speculate as to how he know so much about them. This is quite intruguing, but so far as I can tell, none of these characters would ever appear again.

BATMAN #339

"A SWEET KISS OF POISON..."
Writer Gerry Conway | Artists: Irv Novick & Steve Mitchell
Letterer: Ben Oda | Colorist: Adrienne Roy | Editor: Dick Giordano

The Plot: An exhausted Batman returns from a night of crime-fighting, with only a few hours to sleep before attending a Wayne Foundation board meeting as Bruce Wayne. After that meeting, Lucius Fox encourages Bruce to take a vacation, but the philanthropist refuses. Later, Bruce meets with mayoral candidate Hamilton Hill for lunch, in the middle of which a mystery woman kisses him, mistaking him for someone else. The woman leaves in a taxi, revealing herself to be Poison Ivy. She crosses Bruce's name off a list and prepares for her next target.

That night, Batman is about to thwart some smugglers at the waterfront when a sudden urge seizes him and he leaves, making his way to the Ambassador Hotel. There, he spots all the other members of the Wayne Foundation board waiting at the hotel entrance. Batman changes back to Bruce Wayne and joins his fellow board members in entering the hotel. Inside, Poison Ivy appears and explains that she drugged each of them with her kiss, and they will now obey her every command. Ivy orders the men to sign over the full assets of the Wayne Foundation to her, and one by one, they do so. She then orders them never to divulge what has happened. Most of the board members leave, but Bruce sneaks into the shadows and becomes Batman once more. However Poison Ivy is ready, and traps him with a choking vine, then escapes.

Batman returns to the Batcave to call Commissioner Gordon, but finds himself choking as he struggles to spit out the story of Poison Ivy.

WONDER WOMAN #16

“BIRD OF PARADISE/BIRD OF PREY!”
Story & Layouts: George Pérez | Script: Len Wein | Finishes: Bob Smith
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Editor: Karen Berger

The Plot: Wonder Woman saves the ferris wheel that Silver Swan damaged, while Silver Swan flies into the sky and, at the order of Henry Armbruster, who is secretly feeding her orders from a hidden command center, lets loose a tremendous sonic scream which floors everyone in the area. The Swan then demands that all present at the Wonder Woman fair turn over their valuables as penance for worshiping a false icon of feminism.

After everything is turned in, Wonder Woman flies the valuable up to Silver Swan—but Maxine spots Solomon Buchman taking aim at the Swan with a crossbow and shouts a warning to her friend. Diana deflects the bolt, and when Silver Swan retaliates against Buchman, the princess strikes, pushing Silver Swan away from Boston. The Swan drops the two bags Diana had handed her, which—unbeknownst to all—actually contain computer chips that Armbruster was after.

Wonder Woman fights and defeats Silver Swan, but they’re separated. Diana returns to Boston, while Armbruster sends a chopper for Silver Swan. Later, Diana discusses her feelings toward Superman with Vanessa, who urges her to seek out the Man of the Steel. Myndi Mayer gets in touch with Clark Kent, who helps arrange a date between the would-be super-couple.

WONDER WOMAN #14 & #15

“FOR THE GLORY OF GAEA” | "SWAN SONG"
Plotter/Layouts: George Pérez | Script: Len Wein | Inker: Bruce D. Patterson
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Editor: Karen Berger

The Plot: With the Millennium crisis at an end, Wonder Woman returns beneath Paradise Island to check on her mother, and finds Heracles bearing the entire island on his shoulders as Hippolyte lays beside him. Diana flies Hippolyte to the surface, then returns to Heracles. Zeus appears and declares the demigod’s punishment at an end, and the goddess Gaia takes over supporting the island.

In the days that follow, peace returns to Paradise Island. Hippolyte recovers from her injuries, and the Amazons destroy their weaponry, declaring they will practice peace from now on. Soon Heracles is accepted back onto Olympus by Zeus, while Hippolyte tells Diana to return to Man’s World as an ambassador and preach the ways of the Amazons.

Diana says her farewells and returns to Boston, where she reunites with Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis, and takes up residence in their home once more.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Heracles apologizes to the Amazons for his treatment of them, and they accept. Later, he shares a kiss with Hippolyte before returning to Olympus.

While going through the belongings of Steve’s late father, Steve and Etta declare their love for one another.

WONDER WOMAN #12 & #13

“ECHOES OF THE PAST” | “DEMONPLAGUE”
Plot & Layouts: George Pérez | Script: Len Wein | Finishes: Bruce D. Patterson
Letters: John Costanza | Colors: Carl Gafford | Editor: Karen Berger

The Plot: (Issue 12) As Hippolyte descends into the caverns beneath Paradise Island, her daughter comes face-to-face with the woman for whom she was named, a redheaded American called Diana. Diana begins to explain the strange, intertwined history she shares with the princess, while elsewhere, Pan plots against Hippolyte, setting multiple obstacles against her. But, led by the vulture which brought her into the caves, Hippolyte proceeds on her way.

Soon, after Diana finishes her story to her namesake and departs, Pan appears and sends Wonder Woman off to the home of the Green Lanterns to aid them against the extraterrestrial Manhunters. Still on Earth, Hippolyte continues her trek and finds herself in the company of a massive Heracles, apparently changed to stone by some unknown force.

(Issue 13) Hippolyte continues her trek and comes across the form of Heracles, trapped as a living statue. Soon after, she finds the horned skull of Pan. Zeus and the other gods, observing Hippolyte’s quest, realize the Pan who has recently counseled Zeus is an imposter. Hermes fetches Diana from the Green Lantern citadel in California, returning her beneath Paradise Island to team up with her mother. The two battle several monsters and free Heracles, but countless demons escape as well.

Diana follows and traps the creatures within the amulet of Harmonia, which is then pulled—along with Diana—to Ares, who takes the amulet and disappears. Immediately after, Hermes appears and tasks Diana with one final challenge: to return to Man’s World and avenge his son, Pan, by finding and killing the Manhunter who took the horned god’s life and impersonated him.

WONDER WOMAN #10 & #11

“PARADISE LOST!” | “FIRE AND TORMENT”
Plot & Pencils: George Pérez | Script: Len Wein | Inks: Bruce D. Patterson
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Carl Gafford | Editor: Karen Berger

The Plot: (Issue 10) Following Princess Diana’s defeat of Ares, Zeus has decided to reward the Amazons by making love to them, beginning with Diana. He summons her but she rebuffs him, and Hera pulls Zeus back to Olympus. Soon, Diana is summoned to appear before the gods, where she’s told by Zeus that she must complete a series of tasks beneath Paradise Island. Upon finishing the tasks, she will find Zeus’s “greatest treasure” and return it to him, earning the Amazons’ freedom—but if she fails, Zeus declares the Amazons will be lost.

Soon, Diana enters the vault beneath Paradise Island, which the Amazons have guarded for centuries. Immediately, she battles a demon called Cottus and kills it. But no sooner is Cottus defeated, than Diana finds herself confronted by a hydra.

(Issue 11) As Zeus and the gods watch, Diana battles and defeats the hydra, losing all her weapons, save her lasso, in the process. While Diana lays passed out from the ordeal, on Paradise Island a vulture appears to Hippolyte, sending her racing toward the vault. Meanwhile, Diana wakes up and continues her mission, coming face-to-face with a creature called Echidna, which uses her fear against her.

The Amazon warrior Philippus fights Hippolyte to keep her from interfering in Diana’s mission, but Hippolyte defeats her and proceeds into the vault. Below, Diana beats Echidna as well, and plummets into an illusory ocean which quickly drains. As she finds herself looking at a vintage American fighter jet, Diana is greeted by the a woman dressed in her armor who claims to be her namesake.

WONDER WOMAN #9

“BLOOD OF THE CHEETAH”
Plot & Layouts: George Pérez | Script: Len Wein | Finishes: Bruce D. Patterson
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Tatjana Wood | Editor: Karen Barger
Thanks to: Bob Smith

The Plot: Chuma performs a ceremony on Barbara Minerva. The next day, Diana and Myndi Mayer visit Doctor Minerva at her hotel, where the doctor unwittingly touches Diana’s lasso and reveals that she lied about possessing a second Girdle of Gaia. Diana leaves, horrified that a fellow woman would deceive her.

Later, Minerva transforms into the Cheetah. As Diana sleeps beneath a tree on Julia Kapatelis’s property, the Cheetah attacks. Cheetah seem to have the upper hand until Julia arrives with a hunting rifle and shoots her, knocking into the lake. Diana searches for her beneath the water, but there is no body to be found.

Diana decides the time has come to leave Man’s World and return to Paradise Island. She bids Julia and Vanessa farewell, and departs.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: We’re reminded again about the “Wonder Woman Tour” which has seen Diana traveling the world as a goodwill ambassador… which of course begs the question, if she’s making such highly publicized travels, why has Clark Kent had such a difficult time tracking her down? If Superman wants a date with Wonder Woman, all he has to do is turn on the TV to find out where she is, then fly there!

The Cheetah apparently gets her power from the tree she brought to the United States, which narration seems to imply is actually some ancient god in Earthly form. Also, Chuma refers to Cheetah as the last of her kind, but what that kind is goes unrevealed.

WONDER WOMAN #8

“TIME PASSAGES”
Plotter/Penciler: George Pérez | Scripters: George Pérez & Len Wein
Inker: Bruce Patterson | Letterers: John Costanza & L.S. MacIntosh
Colorist: Tatjana Wood | Editor: Karen Barger

The Plot: Princess Diana’s recent activities are recapped by Julia Kapatelis, Etta Candy, Vanessa Kapatelis, and Myndi Mayer via a journal entry, letter to Steve Trevor, diary entry, and letter to Julia, respectively.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: As recapped in the various letters and journals: Following the Ares Affair, Diana spoke at the United Nations, then retired to Julia’s summer home to mull over her recent actions in man’s world, but eventually went back into action against G. Gordon Godfrey. Afterward, she allowed the U.S. military to test her power levels, then went on a publicity tour arranged by Mindi, which included speaking at Vanessa’s school, meeting the president, and going on The Tonight Show.

I don’t recall it was made explicitly clear last issue (though it’s possible I’m remembering since I set Wonder Woman aside to read a dozen or so Superman issues), but we’re told here that Hippolyte has given Diana a limited amount of time in man’s world before she must return to Themyscira.

WONDER WOMAN #5, #6, AND #7

“THE ARES ASSAULT” | “POWER PLAY”
Pencils/Plotter: George Pérez | Scripter: Len Wein | Inker: Bruce D. Patterson
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Tatjana Wood | Editor: Karen Berger

The Plot: (Issue 5) As military tensions rise around the world, rogue American and Soviet troops seize control of missile bases in their respective countries. Meanwhile, Diana and her friends deduce that there is another half to Harmonia’s amulet, and Diana is able to use her half to transport them to the missing fragment in Ares’ realm. There, they battle Deimos and Phobos. While Deimos escapes, Diana decapitates Phobos and claims the other half of the amulet. When the pieces are joined together, the group is teleported once more, to the missile base, where they come face to face with Ares.

(Issue 6) Ares’ thrall, General Tolliver, prepares to launch the missiles as Diana and her allies engage his men. Diana is abruptly transported away from the missile base to Ares’ realm, while Steve catches up with Tolliver, gunning him down too late to prevent him entering his launch code. Tolliver and his men rise again as reanimated minions of Ares and renew their fight. Diana uses her lasso on Ares, showing him the truth of his plan: if he starts a nuclear war, humanity will be wiped out and no one will remain to worship him. Realizing this would mean his end as well, Ares calls off the attack, letting Tolliver die, and vanishes with a vow to never again interfere in human affairs.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Issue 4’s cliffhanger is resolved in a cop-out, as we learn that Colonel Michaelis (whose first name is revealed here as Matt) simply startled Etta when he appeared outside Julia’s house, causing her to slip and hit her own head. Michaelis is one of the good guys after all, having stalked Steve and Etta in order to help them.

WONDER WOMAN #3 & #4

“DEADLY ARRIVAL!” | “A LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO FIGHT!”
Pencils/Plotter: George Pérez | Scripter: Len Wein | Inker: Bruce D. Patterson
Letterer: John Costanza | Colorist: Tatjana Wood | Editor: Karen Berger

The Plot: (Issue 3) Hermes and Diana arrive in Boston, where they drop Steve Trevor at Hanscom Air Force Base Hospital, then head for Harvard. There, Hermes leaves Diana on her own. At the hospital, the base’s commanding officer, General Hillary, is prohibited from seeing Steve until the matter of General Kohler’s death is sorted out. At Harvard, Diana meets Professor Julia Kapatelis, who, upon touching Harmonia’s amulet, forms a rapport with Diana.

Later, Steve escapes an assassination attempt by General Tolliver, the man holding him prisoner, and flees the hospital. Meanwhile, a strange statuette is delivered to Julia’s home and is opened by her daughter, Vanessa. That night, Steve makes contact with Etta Candy while Julia brings Diana home with her. Around midnight, the statuette comes to life, transforming into a creature called Decay, the daughter of the Medusa, and robbing Vanessa of her youth.

(Issue 4) The Kapatelis house collapses as Decay attacks, then escapes. Diana gives chase. Meanwhile, Etta finds files on something called the Ares Project at the Air Force Base. Elsewhere, Diana uses her magical lasso to defeat Decay, making the TV news in the process. She is quickly named Wonder Woman by reported Carole Bennett of the Boston Globe-Leader newspaper. When Steve, hiding out in an isolated cabin, sees Diana on television, he leaves with Etta to go find her.

As Vanessa recovers from Decay’s magic, Diana speaks with Julia, who vows to aid her in her mission against Ares. Later, as Julia and Diana attempt to learn about Harmonia’s charm inside Julia’s winter home, Steve shows up — but before he and Diana can speak, they respond to a nearby shout to find Steve’s best friend, Colonel Michaelis, standing over Etta’s body.

WONDER WOMAN #1 & #2

“THE PRINCESS AND THE POWER!” | “A FIRE IN THE SKY!”
Pencils/Plotter: George Pérez | Script/Co-Plotter: Greg Potter
Inks: Bruce Patterson | Letters: John Costanza | Colors: Tatjana Wood
Editor: Karen Berger

The Plot: (Issue 1) The history of the Amazons is recapped as they are created on Earth by a group of Greek goddesses collectively calling themselves the Midwives. Some time later, Heracles is tricked by Ares into raiding the Amazons’ city of Themyscira, where he brutalizes and pillages them before moving on. Later, the Amazons are relocated to an island paradise, where their princess, Diana, is born. When the time comes for the Amazons to send an envoy into the world of man to save it from Ares, a tournament is held. Diana enters and wins, against the wishes of her mother, Hippolyte.

(Issue 2) Air Force pilot Steve Trevor is assigned a midnight mission to fly a stealth jet to an isolated location above the sea. Meanwhile, Diana is armed with a golden lasso forged by Hephaestus and then is taken by Hermes on a quest for clues to Ares’ location. She returns just as Trevor arrives at Paradise Island, where his co-pilot, Captain Slade, drops a bomb. Diana saves the island and the jet crashes into the ocean. Diana pulls Steve from the wreckage and, at the order of Athena, returns to man’s world with him. Meanwhile, Trevor’s commanding officer, General Kohler, is found dead in his office — both he and the deceased Slade having been agents of Ares.

Sub-Plots & Continuity Notes: Obviously these issues feature the post-CRISIS debut of Wonder Woman, though she hasn’t acquired that moniker yet. Also making their post-CRISIS debuts are a bunch of gods and goddesses, plus Colonel Steve Trevor and his adjutant, Lieutenant Etta Candy. We meet a few other characters on Steve’s Air Force base, though I’m unsure if they had pre-CRISIS versions.

PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #49

"ENTER: THE SMUGGLER!"
Writer: Roger Stern | Penciler: Jim Mooney | Inker: Bruce Patterson
Letterer: Rick Parker | Colorist: Ken Feduniewicz | Editor: Denny O'Neil
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The Plot: Saturday afternoon at Empire State Univerisity, Peter Parker has trouble concentrating on grading papers. When fellow teaching assistant Phil Chang spots him in the office, Phil takes Peter out for a day on the town. But Phil soon spots Tommy Li, a member of the White Dragon gang, which Spider-Man had supposedly shut down some time before. Suspecting Tommy is up to something, Peter and Phil pursue him. But when Tommy hops into a van and drives away, Peter ditches Phil, changes to Spider-Man, and gives chase.

The wall-crawler loses Tommy in the Holland Tunnel, but later that evening tracks him down at the White Dragons' old hideout, where he has gone to ground. Spider-Man forces Tommy to lead him to his new gang, a group headed by "The Smuggler", a super-strong, super-durable criminal. Spider-Man takes out the Smuggler's gang and then battles the villain himself, eventually winning. But as our hero attempts to web up the Smuggler, his web-shooters run dry and he is left holding his foe by one strand of webbing, unable to reload one-handed.