The comic landscape is often defined by its titans, but rarely do we see them stripped as bare as they are in Jeph Loeb and Jim Cheung’s Batman – Wonder Woman: Truth #1. This isn’t just another punch-up in the rain; it’s a surgical examination of the walls we build and the mirrors we’re afraid to look into.
The issue opens with a simple, cinematic declaration: “It Happened One Night”. From the jump, Loeb frames this as a study in contrasts. On one side, we have Diana, raised in the sun-drenched paradise of Themyscira, an island untouched by the “sins of men”. On the other, Bruce, forged in the dark alleys of Gotham, a city where crime ran unchecked and his parents were stolen from him while he was “helpless and small”.
The visual storytelling here is masterfully assisted by Jay David Ramos’s colors, using gold-tinted narration boxes for Diana and grey-tinted ones for Bruce—a visual shorthand that allows us to live in two very different heads at once.
The Rooftop Revelation: Relationships and Riddles
As they leap across Gotham’s jagged skyline, the dialogue is tense. Diana pushes Bruce to talk, noting that while she has always been open despite her isolation, he remains “walled off” even from his friends. Bruce, in turn, finds her openness “challenging”.
The first major pivot of the issue happens on pages 5-6. Diana speaks and Bruce assumes she is judging his history with Selina Kyle.
This sets the stage for a discussion on the Lasso of Truth. Diana explains it was a gift from the gods, forged by Hephaestus from the girdle of Gaia. It doesn’t just tie people up; it compels them to reveal their truth. Bruce, ever the skeptic, asks if it’s the magic or Diana herself that gets to the truth, pointing out that he “lowered [his] cowl” for Catwoman. They are late, however, and the “engagement” requires a change of clothes.
The Wayne Foundation Gala: Suave Bruce and Princess Diana
Page 7 shifts the tone from gothic rooftops to glittering museum halls. Bruce Wayne, in a tuxedo, introduces “Wonder Woman” to Gotham’s elite. Diana, regal and sharp, corrects him with a smile:
“Pleasure, Mister Wayne. But it’s ‘Diana.’ Or ‘Princess Diana,’ if you insist.”
Bruce demonstrates his characteristic foresight, activating a state-of-the-art security system featuring sonic, motion, and thermal sensors. Even as he holds the Lasso, he admits he can feel it “pulsing,” which Diana finds interesting. Then, the lights go out with a heavy “FZZT”.
The Betrayal and the Bone-Crushing Chase
In the darkness, panic erupts. Diana commands the exits be sealed, but Batman appears from the shadows, stopping her. He knows the Lasso hasn’t been taken by a guest because he arranged the theft himself.
Batman had asked Catwoman to steal the Lasso as a test of the museum’s security. However, Selina has her own agenda. Perched on a spiral staircase, she taunts Bruce about his “trust issues”. She suggests that with a “golden leash,” even someone who knows his biggest secret could learn more about “someone else’s true feelings”.
The situation spirals when Diana arrives, unaware of the “test.” She grabs Catwoman, demanding the return of what is hers. Batman intervenes, and Selina quips about the “best laid plans of cats and bats“.
The chase that follows is kinetic and chaotic. Catwoman, enjoying the heist, lashes the Lasso around a dinosaur skeleton. As the bones come crashing down, Batman shouts for Diana to “Move!”. In a stunning display of power, Diana catches the massive skull with her bare hands, coolly stating, “I had this handled“.
Interlude in the Cave: “Men and Their Toys”
The action takes a breather in the Batcave, where we see the “ragged group” together: Bruce, Diana, a soaking wet Catwoman, a damp Harley Quinn (who ambushed Selina during the chase), Alfred, and Robin.
The character beats here are gold:
- Alfred is ever the gentleman, offering Princess Diana anything she might need.
- Robin is ordered by Bruce to continue his studies.
- Diana surveys the cave—filled with the Batmobile, gadgets, and a trophy T-Rex—and asks, “What is it about men and their toys?“.
- Catwoman agrees (“I know, right?”), before quickly snapping back into her “Mrrow” persona to deny any “female bonding”.
The Zoo: Hyenas and Gunslingers
Batman traces the Lasso’s unique energy signature (part of his “security protocol”) to the Gotham City Zoo. In the Batmobile, Diana asks the million-dollar question:
“So, you broke up with her and thought to ask her for a favor. What part of either of those things seemed like a good plan?”
Bruce’s only defense: “It is… complicated“.
At the zoo, they are met by Harley Quinn’s “fur babies”—two snarling hyenas. Diana handles them with a firm “Off!” and a push, prompting a mallet-wielding Harley to scream, “YOU HURT MY FUR BABIES!“. The chaos peaks when Catwoman arrives on a stolen Bat-cycle, crashing into Harley.
Then, the mood shifts. Harley reveals why she wanted the Lasso—she wanted to use it on the Joker to know, finally, if he really loves her.
Suddenly, the Joker himself enters, dressed like a deranged Western gunslinger. His pistols fire with a loud “PTOOM!”, which Diana deflects with her bracelets (“TANG!”). The Joker’s plan is even more pathetic than Harley’s; he wants to hog-tie Batman and force him to admit the Joker is his one true nemesis, ranking him above Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and Ra’s al Ghul.
The Climax: A Mask Within a Mask
The Joker attempts to use his toxin gas, but it fails on Diana. As Batman’s narration explains, her belief in the Lasso and its power to reveal the “true self” counteracts the gas.
Batman confronts the Joker face-to-face. When the Joker asks, “You love me, don’t you,” Batman delivers a crushing psychological blow:
“If I gave you any thought at all, I would probably despise you.“
After a brief scuffle involving a taser and a “KRAK” to the face, Diana binds the Joker in the Lasso. The “Clown Prince of Crime,” unable to lie, can only wail, “This isn’t funny!“.
The Ending: The Only Truth That Matters
As the police take the villains away, Diana offers to take them to Themyscira, but Bruce notes they’ll just escape from Arkham soon enough anyway.
The issue winds down on a quiet Gotham rooftop. Diana notes that the Lasso is perhaps too much of a temptation for public display. Then, she turns to Bruce. She mentions that Clark told her things had ended with Catwoman, and she was worried.
In a moment of profound vulnerability, Batman allows Diana to wrap the Lasso around his hands, saying, “I would only do this for you“. Diana responds, “Oh, this isn’t for me“.
She asks the final, devastating question:
“Bruce. Do you feel worthy of being loved?“
The page erupts in a burning red vision of Crime Alley. We see a young, shattered Bruce standing between the bodies of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Batman’s voice drops to a whisper as he says, “…Mother… Father.“.
He begins to apologize for his walls and his choices, but Diana cuts through the darkness with the one truth he has spent a lifetime denying himself:
“I want you to know… you ARE loved.“
The issue ends with Diana silhouetted against a lavender dawn, watching the Dark Knight disappear into the sky. Her final thoughts are a wish for the man who made a promise on a grave: that he someday achieves his goal, and finds a way to forgive himself.
