Gilbert Hernandez originally created ‘No Chains Can Hold Her’ for “Sensation Comics,” the digital-first anthology of Wonder Woman stories. The comic existed partly for DC to expand their online presence; partly to give cartoonists, creators, and artists a chance to tell a Wonder Woman story free of continuity worries; and partly to apologize for letting David and Meredith Finch take charge of the Mighty Amazon’s main series. Considering the amount of work he’s turned in for the company in the past (a stint on “Birds of Prey,” last year’s “Twilight Children”), it wasn’t all that surprising he was invited to play in the sandbox, but that doesn’t take away from the excitement at seeing him work on the character.
Hernandez used this space to not only tell an empowering and exciting Wonder Woman story, but also as a tribute to DC’s Silver Age.
Written by Gilbert Hernandez
Illustrated by Gilbert Hernandez and John Rauch
Wonder Woman allows an other-dimensional science-villain to capture her, but his android slaves throw a wrench in her plan to save the day! Things go haywire when the science-villain who captured Diana brainwashes her! Mary Marvel and Supergirl are counting on Wonder Woman. . . can she defeat mind-control, androids AND the villain in time?
Consider the story itself to start: Wonder Woman’s battling this sad little alien overlord who distracts her long enough to capture her. Turns out he’s been working with this other sad little alien overlord in an attempt to take over the galaxy by enslaving the strongest earthlings (since their technology only works for earthlings for some reason). Wonder Woman was targeted not only because she’s the strongest person on the planet, but also happens to be one of the few super-powerful Justice League members actually born on Earth. Supergirl happens to see them as they’re taking off and chooses to follow the alien spacecraft because it looks so suspicious.
Consider how much fun Hernandez allows himself to have with the material. This story is downright hysterical. The Silver Age mentality gives him ample room to set up ridiculous and over-the-top situations, following them through with bombastic direction. It’s not just in the action sequences (more on that in a second), but the character designs as well. Just take a look at his Wonder Woman, for instance, with her bulging biceps and pile driving upper torso. I mean, she doesn’t have Luba levels of proportions, but you get why these aliens would want to kidnap her. Also, the enormous Wonder Woman standing next to the far more waify Supergirl and, eventually, Mary Marvel makes for a great running gag. The aliens are bug-eyed and desperate: their bumbling around provides even more hijinks.
You’ve probably seen the story’s centerpiece around the internet: a battle between Wonder Woman, Supergirl, and Ms. Marvel, but trust me, it’s far more funny and far more effective in context. I honestly believe this may be the best fight scene ever published by DC, if not by a major superhero company altogether. There’s also this later scene where Wonder Woman hurls this monster into space and then sits down to reflect on her place in Earth. I found myself laughing at this sequence just from how she sat contemplating patiently on the rock. Hernandez’s control over the page appears effortless, practically invisible. Yet from set piece after set piece, it’s obvious he knows what to do to deliver the best reaction.
He also knows how to tell a story in a short amount of pages. All together, ‘No Chains Can Hold Her’ is 20 pages long maybe?
Although Hernandez approaches the page with a Silver Age flair, he doesn’t just let the work fall by the status quo. He raises a lot of questions. Obviously with a title like ‘No Chains Can Hold Her’, he’s going to tackle ideas of freedom vs. enslavement, but even with that I think Hernandez shows an interesting approach.
Every single character is caught up in the perception of who they should be or what they are versus how they consider themselves. They’re subject to their own strengths and weaknesses and the perception they’re beholden to. Part of the sad little alien overlords’ plan to capture Wonder Woman is try to appeal to her pride. (It doesn’t work by the way. It mostly confuses her.) “So I’m the most powerful Earth-born human on the planet?” Wonder Woman ponders to herself. “Never thought about it. Never had to.” The big battle kicks off with Wonder Woman calling Supergirl a “little girl” and Ms. Marvel smacking Wonder Woman while yelling, “Take that, Grandma!” Wonder Woman was taken hostage because she was born on Earth. Supergirl constantly lives within the shadow of her older cousin, but it’s strongly implied that she will one day be greater than. (You know, only another thing for Kara Zor-El to deal with.) Ms. Marvel is such a late addition to the narrative, she mostly serves to show off Wonder Woman and Supergirl.
By the end of this little adventure, both Supergirl and Wonder Woman come to terms with their perceptions, thereby managing to free themselves from them. “It wasn an honor to meet you, even though I’m not so crazy about our introduction,” Supergirl says before flying off to whatever it is Supergirl does.
‘No Chains Can Hold Her’ is a great, practical use of space. It explores its themes in novel ways and showcases some of the more zany talents of Gilbert Hernandez. There’s a lot of Wonder Woman stories I love, but there are few that I’ve ever had as much fun with.
