Friday Night Fights: You're a Wonder, Wonder Woman

Note:  Hey, just because Bahlactus decided to take an impromptu day off doesn't mean I have to, so I'm presenting my already-prepared Friday Night Fights: Ladies Night entry anyway. So...let's get to it! 

Not familiar with how comic book publishing schedules worked, my boyhood friends and I were continually surprised by what we found on the bookstore shelves and 7-Eleven spinner racks of the late 1970's. One of the biggest surprises (literally) were the so-called treasury editions that would just sort of appear out of the blue with little to no publicity.  The whopping 10" x 13" format made them almost irresistible to buy, regardless of their subject matter.  Typically the vehicle for reprints of older stories, treasury editions would occasionally feature original stories that took full advantage of their "widescreen" proportions. 

One of these original productions was DC Collectors' Edition C-24 (1978), which featured Superman vs. Wonder Woman. Although boys like us constantly debated "Who Would Win" when it came to various intramural superhero battles, we tended to shy away from male vs. female match-ups. Whether it was a latent sense of gallantry (highly doubtful) or the whole awkward mystery of girls, Superman vs. Wonder Woman was greeted with guarded interest and more than a little discomfort. 

As it turned out, it was a spectacularly entertaining story.  Written by the great Gerry Conway and dynamically illustrated by the sublime Jose Garcia Lopez, this clash of DC's Golden Age royalty was set during the Golden Age itself in the midst of World War II. Wisely ignoring the usual "Earth-1 / Earth-2" fiddle-faddle, Superman and Wonder Woman individually uncover an Axis plot to disrupt something called "The Manhattan Project" (yes, that Manhattan Project). However, unlike Superman's wary approval of the project, an outraged Wonder Woman refused to let mankind create an atomic bomb and began sabotaging a Chicago research site! Naturally, Superman arrives to stop Wonder Woman's rampage, leading to a brief but bruising fight that eventually took them to the moon! Let me give you just a taste of the wonderfully choreographed fight, courtesy of Jose Garcia Lopez (click on the image for a super-sized view)...

OUCH! Happily, the fighting didn't last too long, as Superman and Wonder Woman set their differences aside and joined forces to defeat the twin Axis threats of Baron Blitzkrieg and Sumo the Samurai...though not before setting off the world's first atomic explosion!

Just an all-around great story....especially now that I finally own it!  I recently nabbed a copy on eBay and it arrived in yesterday's mail...so I couldn't wait to share some of the spectacular imagery. Hope you enjoyed it!

Comments

[Lauren]

For me this was the first clear example of Wonder Woman's HtH combat skills that set her apart from here colleagues. Thanks to Jose Garcia Lopez.

[Andrew Wales]

Spectacular images!

I remember these editions, although I've never seen this one. I remember having Shazam and Wonder Woman in these big editions.

It is a real treat to find the lost treasures of our childhood. The memories come flooding back.

[Mark Engblom]

Lauren-

You're right...they should incorporate more of that acrobatic grace into Wonder Woman's fighting style.

Andrew-

You got that right! I'd been keeping tabs on auctions for this book for quite awhile, and one finally came along at the right price...so I was happy to snap it up for the collection.

[Agent Orange]

Wonder Woman is a trained warrior - so she would have an edge on Supes.