The volcano on Lazarus island may not have exploded yet (that happens in December 20's Batman vs. Robin #4) but DC's event Lazarus Planet is already expanding.
The publisher has announced Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods, a bi-weekly four-issue limited series follow-up to the event in March and April teaming Wonder Woman and Shazam and also tying into Wonder Woman #797 and #798.
Lazarus Planet kicks off in January which leads directly into its year-long Dawn of DC publishing initiative "celebrating the classic characters while also embracing the next generation of new heroes."
Written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by Cian Tormey, Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the God pits the Gods of the DC Universe against Wonder Woman and the Shazam family.
"But for how long can they fight against the ones that gave them their powers in the first place?" reads DC's description.
The storyline takes place immediately after the core Lazarus Planet event. Due to whatever occurs, the DC gods of the Multiverse decide to take down the superheroes (some of whom like Shazam are their champions) and "the world they've sworn to protect," which presumably means Earth-Prime.
In a vibe that may remind some of Zeus's speech to Hercules during the mid-credits scene in Thor: God Thunder, it seems like the gods of the DCU have sat around for too long and let superheroes take their place as the idols of mankind, and decide it's "their time to remind the selfish mortals of their existence and take back the world with something more powerful than belief...fear."
Only Wonder Woman and Shazam stand in their way.
And if Revenge of the Gods sounds a little familiar and similar to the title of 2023's big-screen Shazam sequel 'Fury of the Gods' ... ding!
"I'm excited for readers to see what we've been cooking up - old favorite characters, new favorite characters, and team-ups you've never seen before are all coming your way, says Wilson in DC's announcement. "Diana will be tested in ways she's never been tested before, and find new allies in unexpected places. There are some twists and reveals that I guarantee will have you jumping out of your chair."
"I am incredibly excited to get to work with G. Willow Wilson. I have been a fan of her work for years now and I couldn’t have chosen a more exciting book to work together on than Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods,” says Tormey. "The story is going to feature things that I've never even thought about drawing before, so I hope everyone is ready for what we have planned!"
The 40-page Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #1 is on sale March 14 with a backup story written by the Wonder Woman team of Becky Cloonan and Michael W. Conrad and drawn by Alitha Martinez.
It also features a cover by Guillem March and variants by Simone Di Meo, Michael Cho, and Daniel Sampere (seen here along with a Lazarus Planet checklist).
"The gods have leveled up, and Shazam is no match for them!" reads DC's solicitation copy. "After Wonder Woman's changing of sides to save her Amazon sisters, Billy must use his quickly fading wisdom of Solomon to formulate a plan to stop his world’s destruction. Little does he know a secret ally awaits him in Olympus...but how will he make it there? Sounds like a job for Wonder Girl!"
March 29's Lazarus Planet: Revenge of the Gods #2 features the same main (including artist Emanuela Lupacchino) and backup creative teams, and covers by March, Di Meo, and Cho.
Then two separate times DC says Wonder Woman #797 and #798 will tie into Revenge of the Gods while also "setting up" the Princess of Themyscira and then later Diana Prince's story in Dawn of DC in 2023.
Interesting that DC refers to her as the Princess of Themyscira and Diana Prince instead of Wonder Woman in both of those two sentences. Hmmm...?
Our early read is don't be shocked to see another Wonder Woman (Nubia or Wonder Girl) in Wonder Woman #800 and beyond and Diana in another, different title in 2023, but that's just a pure hypothesis.
"After Diana's shocking choice to align herself with the gods, her world has changed. Could godhood be the answer to all her problems?"
March 21's Wonder Woman #797 is written by Cloonan and Conrad with art by Amancay Nahuelpan.
Both Wonder Woman #797 and April's Wonder Woman #798 feature Mary Marvel backup stories by The New Champion of Shazam writer Josie Campbell with art by Caitlin Yarsky.
Wonder Woman #797 features a main cover and variant by Yanick Paquette and variant covers by Babs Tarr, Joëlle Jones, and Zu Orzu, and a Shazam! Fury of the Gods movie variant cover by Pop Mhan.
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