Warning: contains spoilers for Wonder Woman #771!
Among the many changes in Wonder Woman's proclivity to use lethal force is also coming back with a vengeance. In the past, the famous Amazon princess and longtime Justice League member has chosen to kill her enemies in extreme circumstances, creating a huge amount of friction with her peers. But in Wonder Woman #771, Diana shows less restraint than ever, brutally slaughtering her enemies without hesitation or question.
Infinite Frontier #0 saw Wonder Woman reject a position with the godlike Quintessence, opting to return to protecting Earth alongside DC's other heroes. But rather than returning to Earth, she ended up in DC's version of Valhalla, where she battles alongside legendary Asgardian warriors - the memories of her previous life rendered cloudy. Thankfully, Diana is still a hero, and is currently on a quest to find out why Valhalla's warriors have suddenly stopped resurrecting after their daily battle.
In the story by Michael W. Conrad, Becky Cloonan and Travis Moore, Diana is disgruntled that DC's version of Thor is absolutely no help regarding her questions about the disappearing warriors, including her friend Siegfried. Accompanied by the talking squirrel Ratatosk, Diana travels to Nidavellir in search of a mythic forge. She is attacked by a battalion of Murk Elves, hateful beings who underestimate her lone, unarmed status. After recovering from being crushed by a boulder, Diana steals the Murk Elves' weapons to beat and even kill a number of them. This display of force is enough to send the surviving Murk Elves running, underlining that Diana could likely have scared off her attackers without taking a single life.
Diana was trained as both a warrior and a diplomat by the Amazons of Themyscira, but in recent years she's chosen the path of redemption and forgiveness, finding good even in the hearts of DC's most despicable villains. Despite this, the Infinite Frontier era is marked by all DC's past stories coming back into continuity, and it seems this may have awoken Diana's deadlier instincts. Diana has killed before when there's been no other recourse, with her most famous kill being that of villain Maxwell Lord, which was broadcast worldwide. She's also killed other villains, demons, and even a few gods or goddesses.
But in this case, her use of extreme violence seems truly out of character, especially given she's already been repeatedly resurrected from death, making the Murk Elves much less of a pronounced threat. The issue compounds the darkness of Diana's choice by later revealing that the Murk Elves were being mind-controlled by her old enemy Dr. Psycho. This truth makes her actions even worse, as she killed those who were not in control of their actions.
So far, Diana's place in the Infinite Frontier era is that of a true warrior, immediately prepared to execute her foes. But is this the result of consolidating Wonder Woman's continuity, or is some essential part of Diana missing in this mythological afterlife? Addressed as "Wonder Woman" by Doctor Psycho, Diana insists that name doesn't ring true. Now, fans are left waiting to see whether Diana will reclaim the title of Wonder Woman, or whether it's time for a new generation to fill that void, leaving behind an Amazon warrior princess happy to act as DC's lethal hero.
