Like Netflix’s Blood of Zeus, the New 52 Wonder Woman eschewed more mainstream takes on Greek myth to showcase their horrifying reality.
Greek mythology has always been a part of the Western cultural consciousness, but many times, it’s been through a sanitized, arguably Disney-esque veneer. This can be seen not only in Disney’s own incredibly inaccurate Hercules, but also works such as the original Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson. One show that definitely didn’t follow this path was Netflix’s Blood of Zeus.
Violent, dark and anything but family friendly, the series presented the often grim realities of the Greek myths much more than most other adaptations. A similar approach was once taken with a certain Amazing Amazon from DC Comics. Though she’s very much a fantasy adventure character with ties to Greek mythology, Wonder Woman has typically been portrayed as a fairly traditional superhero like Superman. That changed with the New 52, which placed the star-spangled Amazon in a gritty world of gods and monsters. Faithfully displaying the brutality of Greek myth and the nonchalance of the gods, New 52 Wonder Woman and Blood of Zeus share a similar bloodline.
New 52 Wonder Woman
More than even George Perez’s landmark post-Crisis run, Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang’s New 52 Wonder Woman run grounded the character in Greek mythology more than anything else. There’s nary a supervillain to be seen, with even stalwarts such as Cheetah and Giganta absent. Even Steve Trevor is only mentioned once in the run. In these characters’ place is a cast full of Greek pantheon members, many of whom have their own agendas and ambitions. Chiang’s art also heavily resemble Greek pottery art at times, evoking the sense of a modern Greek tragedy. Wonder Woman herself is shown as being an outcast on Themyscira, in contrast to her usually revered status.
This chain of events is launched when Hera begins scorching the Earth over the birth of Zeus’ newest bastard child. It’s eventually revealed that Wonder Woman herself is the daughter of Zeus, and that her classic “made from clay” origin was simply a ruse to protect her and Hippolyta from Hera. In a quest to reunite the pantheon and protect the throne of Olympus, Wonder Woman faces a brand new villain. Known only as the First Born, this hulking savage was the first child of Zeus and Hera who was blotted out from history. Now seeking his birthright, the First Born wages war against all of his father’s other children.