Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia

Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia is a graphic novel written by Greg Rucka with art by JG Jones. This was the first work on the character by Rucka before he became the writer on the Wonder Woman (Vol. 2) ongoing series one year later. It was first released on hardcover in 2002, and then was released in paperback just a year later.

Plot Synopsis
Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia is a modern Greek tragedy of duty and vengeance. When Wonder Woman partakes in an ancient ritual called the Hiketeia, she is honor bound to eternally protect and care for a young woman named Danielle Wellys. But when the Amazon Princess learns that Danielle has killed the drug dealers who murdered her sister, she suddenly finds herself in battle with Batman, who is searching for the female fugitive. Caught in a no-win situation, Wonder Woman must choose between breaking a sacred oath and turning her back on justice. In the climax, as Wonder Woman and Batman duel by the top of a cliff, Danielle finally decides to sacrifice herself and leaps. She dies in Wonder Woman's arms and tells her that she has released her of the Hiketeian ritual.

Behind the Scenes
Before he started his four-year run on Wonder Woman (Vol. 2), with #195 in 2003, Greg Rucka started his work on the character a year before that in the form of a one-shot graphic novel called Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia. Even as one of his favorite characters, Rucka made a point that getting inside Diana's head was "murderous", so for the graphic novel, he decided not to let it be about Wonder Woman, but rather be about how she was perceived, a method he would continue to employ in his run on the ongoing series.

Compared to his later ongoing work on the book, The Hiketeia only offered a very limited presentation of Wonder Woman while focusing on, what Rucka considered, only one facet of the character, and in very particular, and unique circumstance where she was trapped by a ritual and her own ethics. By having it be written as a tragedy, Diana ends up becoming both ineffectual and more somber than some people thought she normally was. This was different for Rucka once his work on the ongoing series started, for it gave him the luxury of putting the character of Diana in more varied circumstances, where instead of one, all facets of the character (compassion and her strength being examples) are shown and explored, in the end, making her more alive as seen by Rucka.

Reaction
Released in 2002, the graphic novel was well-received both by fans and critics. Comics Worth Reading considered it to be "the best Wonder Woman story" from the reviewer. Readers gave praise for Diana being treated as a realistic person -- not an idealized caricature of all womanhood -- as well as capturing her voice as an Amazon and a foreign princess who was not aloof or reserved. Instead, her depiction was praised for showing Diana as caring, thoughtful, capable of reflection (without self-absorption), and, even even occasionally funny. The artwork was also praised, with one reviewer using the panel where Batman is hurled from a second story balcony by Wonder Woman's punch as an example. The success of this graphic novel was likely the reason that Greg Rucka was given the job as the writer for Wonder Woman's ongoing book.