Warning! Spoilers ahead for Future State: Immortal Wonder Woman #2 by Michael Conrad, Becky Cloonan and Jen Bartel!
Readers might have thought - and rightly so - that Wonder Woman had a rough go of it in DC's Death Metal series. Conversely, many must have also perceived her ascension with The Hands as a positive thing, especially since Diana didn't die and returned as an immortal goddess. But the events that transpire in Immortal Wonder Woman prove that the doom and gloom she faced in Death Metal doesn't come close to the suffering she later endures and that it would have been a blessing in disguise if she had never descended back into the realm of the living.
Immortal Wonder Woman details the pivotal events leading up to the cataclysmic invasion of the so-called Undoing and the nothingness these mysterious creatures leave in their wake. In the latest issue, written by Michael Conrad and Becky Cloonan with art by Jen Bartel, Diana is haunted by memories of Superman's final moments before he perished in the sun with Darkseid. While painful, her memories are also what propel her forward in this existential future where she will soon be the last hero in existence. It's his final words, his telling her to live, that keep her going through the desolate emptiness.
Whether on purpose or not, Diana describes hope in the same manner as she does Superman's words that have been driving her forward: as a force that, "keeps you going." This is appropriate, as Superman has always been the personification of hope and steadfastness. But while this force, or, as she simply refers to it as, "what I do," might fuel her now in this distant future, Wonder Woman remains the symbol for what she always has been: the pursuit of truth.
In fact, the truth is her last parting gift to Spectre that allows him to fade away. Wonder Woman also fully embraces yet another one of her most defining characteristics to help her overcome an insurmountable obstacle at one of her lowest moments: the willpower to never give up and to keep on fighting.
But this story isn't just about how she becomes the best version of herself. What makes this moment so profound is that Diana's act of fully espousing what she has always represented leads to what appears to be a massive transformation. She becomes a constellation, a symbol that will not only provide truth to those who look upon it, but hope. In short, she doesn't just transform into yet another symbol that represents truth, but Superman's symbol of hope; Wonder Woman has become another version of herself and Superman.