***Wonder Woman #27*** (*2025*)
Published November 19th, 2025.
Written by Tom King, Art by Daniel Sampere, & Colors by Tomeu Morey
Cover Art by Sampere and Morey

The latest issue of Tom King's ongoing Wonder Woman run continues as we follow Diana's journey into the heart of Mouse Man Island. In addition to this being the fifth chapter of "The Island of Mice and Men" arc, this also continues the overall narrative King has been penning since issue #1 of the current series. While this run as a whole has been viewed as divisive among fans of the Amazon Princess, this specific issue does, at the very least, seem to substantially push the overall story forward…albeit with a shocking moment that will likely be a subject of debate for the duration of the run and beyond.

(Writer’s Note: This issue will contain spoilers for Wonder Woman #27.)

The House of Mouse

Taken from ***Wonder Woman #22***, Mouse Man starts off as a goofy Silver-Age supervillain before undergoing a startling transformation.
(Interior art by Caitlin Yarsky and Alex Guimarães)

“The Island of Mice and Men” arc is, in a word, weird. It revolves around taking a virtually forgotten supervillain named - you guessed it - Mouse Man and reinventing him in a way that’s unexpected, eerily terrifying, and yes, weird. Those of you familiar with Tom King may recall he reimagined another absurd costumed villain some time ago in the pages of Batman, and that particular character has gone on to become popular in the Harley Quinn animated series (HELL YEAH). I certainly don’t think Mouse Man is going to capture the hearts and minds of fans like Kite-Man did, but I am a fan of writers who look to some of the sillier stuff that had been published decades ago and attempt to make something new out of it, especially when they lean into the original silly and camp nature of it.

Back in issue #22, we were given a prelude of things to come with Mouse Man in a fairly light hearted issue that serves to not just present an altogether off the wall and goofy villain, but also give us some connective tissue regarding Diana’s relationship with the now deceased Steve Trevor and also tie in Mouse Man’s initial arrival and subsequent unceremonious defeat with the Sovereign, the evil mastermind who is (for now) the Big Bad in the series. As we look to issue #27 in today’s review, the weirdness I mentioned gets slightly dialed back in favor of just straightforward action.

Mayhem on Moray Island

I’m never going to look at mice the same way again. Thanks, Tom King!

Our issue begins with us witnessing the trio of longtime Wonder Woman ally and close friend, Etta Candy; Amazonian fugitive and the mother of whom is being foreshadowed as Wonder Woman’s future nemesis, Emelie; and the young pink-haired girl whom we were introduced to back in issue #23. The three of them are enjoying a much-needed reprieve, given, well, everything. In their collective care are both Lizzie and Lyssa, the infant daughters of Diana and Emelie, respectively. As Etta fondly reminisces over her long-standing friendship with Diana, the group is suddenly beset upon by Mouse Man’s armed enforcers. The violence is brief but brutal, resulting in what will likely be a controversial death: Emelie, the Amazon fugitive who was the catalyst for this entire series to date, all the way back in King’s first issue of Wonder Woman, is shot in the head.

On one hand, I understand what King is trying to do here. Killing off Emelie works two-fold narratively: it establishes Mouse Man as yet another misogynistic force who doesn’t hesitate in having his men kill one of the “fat cats” that he blames for society’s woes and it gives Lyssa (or as she’s referred to in the not too distant future, the Matriarch) a presumably intense motivation to want to kill Diana and her family. It makes sense to that end. However, it feels abrupt and beneath Emelie as a character, even after factoring in how new of a character she is given how her first appearance ever is in the first book of this run. Plus, given the repeated themes of blatant misogyny and toxic masculinity that are everywhere in this arc, let alone the entire run to date, it just feels almost unnecessary and maybe even a little gratuitous to move the story along.

The murder of the Amazon, Emelie, which is sure to have dire repercussions for both Wonder Woman and the world.

Mouse Walked

And this is where Mouse Man realized he done f’d up.

The rest of the book is pretty direct, which can also be said about Diana herself in this issue. The previous issue had her confront Mouse Man himself, who was significantly more powerful than the last (and only other) time they fought. Gone was the totally absurd costumed gimmicked villain that screamed Silver-Age DC vibes (this, admittedly I loved). In his place now stood a disturbing fascist who controlled every facet of society on Moray Island, specifically only allowing the populace to communicate via saying “Mouse Man knows” and/or “Mice have ears” with only his most devoted and trusted officers being allowed a more expanded vocabulary. Oh, and he apparently got an insane power up by injecting the blood of thousands of rats, including super sized ones, into his body. As I said earlier, it’s weird. But despite him being significantly more powerful than before - as evidenced by him crushing Diana’s tiara with his bare hands and being strong enough to stagger and even bloody her in the prior issue - Diana manages to absolutely dog walk - or is it mouse walk? - this guy.

For whatever unearthly reason that possessed him to do so, Mouse Man gloats that he has Etta captured, has captured the young girl whom Diana had served earlier in the arc, had killed Emelie and captured her daughter, and finally, smugly informs Diana that he has *her* child as well. As you might expect the Princess of the Amazons to do, she begins the satisfying process of dismantling this guy panel by panel, page by page. Once again, Tom King hits us with what has basically become Diana’s catchphrase this whole saga as she delivers a jaw shattering palm strike: “No thank you.” While some critics may believe the phrase has been overused through this whole arc, and I might be inclined to agree, it nevertheless is used to perfect effect in this very moment.

Of Mice and Men

Meanwhile, the spunky pink-haired young girl whom we’ve yet to be properly introduced to is being interrogated by Mouse Man’s higher-ranking officials. The man in question, sitting across from the girl, is notably allowed to speak more words and phrases than the simple “Mouse Man knows” and “Mice have ears” that we’ve been subjected to and have had drilled into our heads for the four previous issues. It’s a telling commentary on how fascism has levels to it and that a dictator’s trusted underlings (or useful idiots) are afforded privileges and concessions for going along with the big lie, regardless of how stupid, cruel, and ineffective it really is.

There are people in power who will say and do the most incomprehensible things imaginable, and they cultivate a following of yes-men who will gladly sell the snake oil and venom to the masses in exchange for their own personal gain or liberty. But the pink-haired girl resists. By simply speaking words other than what this society Mouse Man has created “allows” her, she’s fighting back.

Lessons Learned

The first of many walls Mouse Man would get rapidly and forcefully acquainted with.

Meanwhile, Diana is basically beating the utter crap out of Mouse Man, calmly and efficiently throwing him through literal walls as she speaks down to him like a child who doesn’t understand what he’s doing. And yes, that does make sense given the context of the book because Mouse Man clearly did not know what he was doing when he decided to openly brag about kidnapping Diana’s daughter. As she puts Mouse Man through wall after wall after wall, we return to the pink haired girl who is growing more bold in the face of this bizarre interrogation/reeducation attempt.

There is a solid scene that shows the juxtaposition between Mouse Man’s official screaming, shouting at the girl that Mouse Man knows what is best for everyone and that everyone should do as he says or suffers the consequence, and the girl simply and defiantly shouting “Wonder Woman!” in response. I do enjoy scenes like this because Wonder Woman is just as much of a symbol of inspiration and hope as Superman and Batman and if nothing else, Tom King leans into the weighty expectations the world has of the daughter of Themyscira.

The Wonder and the Wrath

I can’t imagine this is how Mouse Man imagined his day was going to go.

The interrogation room begins to crumble and shake as the ass beating of Mouse Man continues. Similar to how Mouse Man’s officer tried to reeducate the young girl earlier, so too does Diana attempt to instill some learnin’ into Mouse Man. Diana smoothly snatches a submachine gun from a nearby guard with her lasso, which can only spell trouble for basically anyone dumb enough to be in his presence, which, of course, Mouse Man is. She calmly informs him that she doubts he can even stand after going through Hera knows how many brick and mortal walls, but insists that he gets on his knees. Calmly at first, and then not so much.

She then offers him the gun and tells him what he does next is entirely up to him before turning her back and walking away. Whether it’s due to possibly a concussion or the combination of sheer blind rage and stupidity, Mouse Man decides it would be a good idea to pull the trigger and shoot the superpowered demigoddess, who is extremely well known for deflecting bullets regardless of the range. To no one’s surprise - well, alright, maybe Mouse Man’s - she deflects the single bullet which hits him in his chest as he collapses.

Diana allows her emotions to boil over as she shouts at him for endangering and threatening her child, for threatening Steven's child. She chides him, informing him that he understands the gravity of the situation. He didn’t summon the wrath of the gods of Olympus nor the wrath of the Amazons nor even the wrath of the people he oppressed. No, she whispers to him as she grasps his collar, this was the wrath of WONDER WOMAN. She’s suddenly joined by the girl from before, notably speaking more confidently and fluently, if not still in slightly broken English. Diana notes how the girl has changed and how, she too, has changed before dropping the somehow still conscious Mouse Man to the ground, bringing the issue to a close.

The Wonder of Art in Wonder Woman #27

But is the change for the better or worse?

The issue, thankfully, was a straight shot beginning to end, which was something I believe this arc needed after previous issues having flashbacks from Mouse Man’s perspective - beginning with his arrival to Moray Island and his gradual and systematic take over - as well as flashing forward twenty years from now as the “Wonder War” rages on, resulting in the grown up Lyssa aka the Monarch systematically murdering Diana’s closest friends and allies. It was easy to follow and digest most certainly. That said, the narrative choice in the beginning of the issue is still something I’m not entirely sold on in spite of understanding why it was done. I feel it’s too convenient to have this future supervillain and harbinger of death in the making blame Diana for her mother’s death, assuming that’s the direction King is going. But tropes are tropes for a reason. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Still, I think while this issue is mostly an okay step in the right direction, “The Island of Mice and Men” arc as a whole feels as if it has gone on forever. And when a good chunk of dialogue is just repeated speech bubbles of “Mouse Man knows” and “Mice have ears” in various inflections and punctuation, it can be somewhat of an uphill battle to stay interested to see how things pan out.

The art here, courtesy of Daniel Sampere on pencils and ink with Tomeu Morey on colors, elevates the story and the book as a whole. I love their work on the series as a whole and this issue follows in the tradition of somehow being able to capture multiple facets of Diana in any given moment. We see Diana calm, cool and collected. We see Diana defiant to the last. We see Diana’s fury. We even see Diana’s genuine happiness, which is rare given the wringer she’s been through lately. Wonder Woman in combat should, in my humble opinion, be a mix of grace and power, dancing along the edge of both and being more than capable of going full tilt in either direction. This issue captures that and then some. As mentioned earlier, Diana gives a pretty decisive and one sided beatdown to Mouse Man and the art captures the growing futility from the latter as the former calmly tosses his body through walls so she can eventually get some fresh air. Is it bullying on her part? Yes. Is it well deserved, and more importantly, beautifully drawn? Also yes.

Conclusion and Verdict

Will we see the rise of the Matriarch in coming issues? And yes, she apparently has both a Green Lantern Corp and Legion of Superheroes ring.

I feel that if you’ve been following Tom King’s Wonder Woman saga, you’ve probably already made up your mind over it. Issue #27 more or less just reaffirms the overall themes of the ongoing series as a whole, with the “Island of Mice and Men” arc dragging on just a little bit longer than I would have liked. We apparently have one more issue to go before it gets wrapped up, and we (hopefully) start getting into the Matriarch after that. That said, this issue is a quick read and certainly somewhat cathartic as we see a ridiculous tyrant of a man be made small like the rodents he commands. His punishment at the hands of our heroine seems pretty tame, all things considered and his life would be considered forfeit if Wonder Woman was almost anyone else. And given that she’s still mourning Steve Trevor’s death and her daughter was kidnapped, I can certainly understand that’s how most people in her shoes would react. Diana Prince isn’t most people, however. While she’s very raw emotionally speaking and in pain, King again portrays this great heroine as being maybe a few steps away from becoming a brooding vigilante rather than the ambassador of peace who wants to help everyone, her enemies included.

Yes, she is a warrior princess, but even as I’m admittedly getting a good chuckle out of seeing Mouse Man get the smackdown laid upon him, I get the sense that Diana should be better than that, that she would want me to be better than that. I also can’t help but recall Emelie’s sudden execution, and I still can’t get over Wonder Woman taking her literal infant to an island that the Justice League explicitly told her was off limits. I presume taking a child along on a dangerous mission or quest, or warzone is something that Amazons are wont to do, not unlike how real-world women from early cultures took their children, including infants, along with them. I can suspend my disbelief to that end, but even so…it feels irresponsible for Diana, who is aware she’s grieving and not entirely herself, to bring her infant daughter along to such a volatile place. All this said, it is an eye-pleasing comic book from cover to cover. Enough so that I feel it salvages the issue.

Rating: 5/10

This issue doesn’t waste any time in advancing the plot, doing so about as quickly as Diana is hurling this rodent-themed supervillain through walls. That said, I think it is safe to say we’re about finished with “Mouse Man knows!” and “Mice have ears!” because I don’t know how much more of that the series can handle. I’m hoping we’ll finally get to see the story veer towards baby Lyssa’s transformation into the Matriarch and all that entails for not just Wonder Woman but her entire cast of characters.