DC Gives Wonder Woman Her Own Version Of The X-Men's Biggest Storyline Ever

James Gunn has sworn that DC Studios is hard at work on a new Wonder Woman movie, written by Ana Nogueira (writer of DC's out-next-year "Supergirl"). While we wait for more news, including who might be the next actress to play Wonder Woman, the Princess of the Amazons is up to plenty in the pages of DC Comics.

The current "Wonder Woman" run, written by Tom King and drawn primarily by Daniel Sampere, revealed a dark future in issue #25. Twenty years from now, a rogue Amazon named Emelie will have bent America to its knees; she rules the former United States as the Matriarch and has executed the nation's superheroes. Emelie seized control in an event called "The Wonder War," and, according to DC's previews for 2026, that's exactly what the next arc of King & Sampere's "Wonder Woman" is about.

The synopsis for "Wonder Woman" issue #31, arriving March 18, reads: "The Matriarch commences her crusade to rule over the DC Universe. As heroes and villains alike fall to her insurmountable power, Wonder Woman and her daughter Trinity must unite to save all that they hold dear. Time's up for the princesses of Themyscira, and the Queen of America will not rest until they bow to her will."

Superheroes trying to prevent dark futures where the villains rule is a common enough story arc; the NBC series "Heroes" even used such a story for its first season. The defining story in this vein is the 1981 "X-Men" arc "Days of Future Past" by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. King & Sampere's "Wonder Woman" began with a story arc of Amazons being banned from American soil under an "Amazon Safety Act" after Emelie killed men who were sexually harassing her. That sort of discrimination-against-superheroes allegory is very "X-Men."

For such an important story arc, "Days of Future Past" is surprisingly brief — it unfolds across only two issues, "X-Men" #141-142. In a dystopian future, the mutant-hunting robots the Sentinels rule the United States, keeping mutant citizens in concentration camps with collars that inhibit their powers. The surviving X-Men send Kitty Pryde back in time, possessing her younger self's body, to stop the Sentinel-dominated future before it ever happens by preventing the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly. (This probably sounds similar to "The Terminator," but "Days of Future Past" actually did it first.)

"Days of Future Past" remains one of the most influential "X-Men" stories. Both the 1992 "X-Men" cartoon and the short-lived "Wolverine and the X-Men" built their first seasons around the story. In 2014, it was adapted wholesale (though loosely) as the seventh "X-Men" movie. Even later "X-Men" comics often exist in the shadow of "Days of Future Past," including the 1995 storyline "The Age of Apocalypse," where the eponymous, all-powerful mutant rules over a dystopia.

Since "Wonder War" seems like it will focus on a single super-villain dictator, "Age of Apocalypse" might be the better comparison point. "Wonder Woman" #25 depicted several heroes, from Batman to Martian Manhunter, being hung by the Matriarch's regime; that evokes memories of the famous cover to "X-Men" #141, showing wanted posters branding the X-Men as either "Slain" or "Apprehended." And as for the positioning of that super-villain dictator, King talked about his ambitions for Matriarch at New York Comic-Con 2025: "We were trying to create a Lex Luthor or a Joker for Wonder Woman."

"The Wonder War" is not the only Wonder Woman storyline coming in 2026. There's also the excellent "Absolute Wonder Woman," written by Kelly Thompson and drawn primarily by Hayden Sherman. The "Absolute" Universe is a fresh start for DC's greatest heroes and flips many of them on their hand. This version of Diana is a witch, raised in the underworld by Circe apart from her Amazon sisters. But while she may look like she stepped out of "Berserk," "Absolute" Wonder Woman maintains classic Diana's optimism and compassion.

"Absolute Wonder Woman" #15, the last issue of 2025, is a crossover with "Absolute Batman," marking the first time two "Absolute" heroes meet face-to-face. (Diana is repaying the favor by appearing in "Absolute Batman" #16 in January.) After that, the third major arc of "Absolute Wonder Woman" kicks off with her facing down another witch: Zatanna, the backwards-talking magician, sent to destroy Diana by the U.S. National Security Advisor Veronica Cale (part of this world's evil Justice League). The cover for "Absolute Wonder Woman" #17 also indicates Diana will be facing a classic villain: the size-shifting Giganta.

Whether it's corrupt politicians, giantesses, witches, or dystopian futures, Wonder Woman will surely face the challenge with courage.