Wonderman, The Bravest Barbarian Issue 1: A Wonder Is Born
After being defeated countless times by Queen Hippolyta and her Amazons, Hercules asked his father Zeus for a boon. He requested his own paradise island with his own men he could lead, and teach the traditional ways of the gladiator. Zeus chose to grant his son's wish and called together the gods of Olympus to create a new kind of man, the Barbarians. Atlas shattered a mountain and launched the giant boulders into a volcano filled with raging lava created by Apollo. After the boulders melted down Aphrodite took the melted rock and sculpted them into the form of the finest men. After the bodies were formed the gods collected the souls of the soldiers who were slaughtered by the amazons out of acts of hate and oppression as well as Hercules previous army. When the souls entered their newly formed bodies, Athena chose the soul with the purest heart and granted him the same abilities as the amazons champion Wonder Woman so that he may be a champion to the Barbarians.
Despite his previous failures Hercules still craved revenge on the amazons. He began training his men to invade paradise island so that he may conquer Queen Hippolyta and her sisters. Hercules son Kallistratos the champion of the Barbarians was reluctant to initiate an attack unprovoked but decided to stay loyal to his father and joined his brothers on their assault.
It's only been a few weeks since Hercules and the Barbarians ambushed the Amazons on Themyscria. Kallistratos seeing the pointless violence of his brothers, betrayed them and helped the Amazons win the battle. Hercules, king of the Barbarians banished his son from their paradise island Ouranos therefore taking away his immortality. Grateful that Kallistratos' selfless act of betrayal gave the Amazons the edge they needed to win the war, Hippolyta offered to let him stay on Themyscria despite some discomfort expressed by a few of her amazon sisters.
Not to long after Kallistratos made Themyscria his new home Wonder Woman vanished without a trace as well as the rest of the miraculous seven. Before she disappeared Kallistratos expressed to her how much grief he suffered for his act against the Amazons and that he wanted to repent for his sins. To atone for his crimes and to prove his loyalty to the Amazons, Kallistratos indebted himself to Wonder Woman, swearing to come to her aid if she ever needed his assistance. As a gift and a tool Wonder Woman gave Kallistratos the Sword Of Night, a sword that compels anyone within a certain radius to speak the truth.
One night on Themyscria long after the Amazons went to bed, Hippolyta woke Kallistratos from his sleep and asked him to accompany her to her room. When they entered the queens chamber Kallistratos was shocked to see his Barbarian brother Damon on Hippolyta's All Seeing Mirror Of Hephaestus .
Damon is Kallistratos' closet friend who didn't always seem to fit into the Barbarian life style. His kind heart and passive aggressive attitude often made him an easy target for his Barbarian brothers, but Kallistratos always stood up for him and gave him confidence in himself. Damon was one of the few Barbarians who did not participate in the raid on Themyscria.
(Hippolyta) Your Barbarian brother contacted me through the All Seeing Mirror Of Hephaestus on his island. He said he had an urgent message for you.
Barbarian approached the mirror to get a clear view of the brother he missed so much. The mirror appeared as if you were looking into a clear lake with subtle ripples traveling through it. Kallistratos smiled at the brother he was formerly used to seeing on a daily basis.
(Kallistratos) Damon, my brother! I have missed you a great deal.
(Damon) And I you brother. Unfortunately this call isn't for pleasure and I'm afraid I don't have much time before the King comes back from the combat arena.
Kallistratos suddenly grew serious as did his brother. Damon peaked over his shoulder to make sure he was still alone.
(Kallistratos) What is wrong brother?
(Damon) It is... Abaddon.
Kallistratos felt his anxiety grow. Abaddon was second only to Kallistratos when it came to skill among the Barbarians. Although he was a gifted warrior, he lacked a sense of morality making him quite vicious and unpredictable. When Kallistratos was banished from the island Abaddon became the Barbarians new champion.
(Damon) Earlier today I witnessed Ares making a deal with Abaddon.
(Hippolyta) Ares?
(Damon) Correct Queen Hippolyta. In order to receive power by becoming Ares champion Abaddon has agreed to use the gods energy to spread chaos. Ares is trying to gain more power. I feel the god of war has a much more grand scheme at work. Immediately after receiving Ares power Abaddon snuck off the island, but I'm afraid that was all the information I could collect.
(Kallistratos) I understand, thank you for informing me. Is King Hercules aware of this matter?
(Damon) Not at the moment but he's bound to notice his new champion has gone missing anytime.
Suddenly a door creaking open could be heard behind Damon.
(Damon) That's King Hercules. I'm sorry but I must depart. Remember, you are my heart brother.
Before Kallistratos could respond, the mirror reverted back to it normal reflection state.
(Kallistratos) And you are my heart... brother.
Hippolyta stood in front of Kallistratos so he'd be forced to meet her gaze.
(Hippolyta) What will you do now that you know one of your Barbarian brothers has gone rogue?
Kallistratos meet her fierce stare with a confident spark in his eyes.
(Kallistratos) I will find my brother, and make him return to Ouranos were they will properly punish him for his crimes. I cannot let him damage the Barbarians reputation anymore. My father has already done enough.
(Hippolyta) I figured you might see things that way.
Hippolyta touched the center of her mirror, making ripples that distorted the reflection. After the ripples dispersed the mirror revealed Abaddon violently raping a man who was pleading for the Barbarian to stop. Abaddon just muffled the mans cries by choking down on his neck and continued to ravage him. Both Hippolyta and Kallistratos felt natious when they laid their eyes on the image.
(Hippolyta) I've located him. Abaddon is in Gateway City. The Barbarian cannot be allowed to continue rampaging like this. Now, come with me child.
Hippolyta lead Kallistratos across the island until they reached a chamber leading down to the lower level. The chamber revealed a dark narrow spiral staircase that seemed to be endless. As the two walked down beneath Themyscria, torches lit along the wall to light their path. When the two reached the bottom, Hippolyta removed her tiara from her luminous golden locks and placed it on the head of an amazonian statue posing in front of a steel door. She removed her gauntlets as well as her earrings and set them on the statue. Last she placed her royal staff in the amazon statues hand, causing the steel door to slowly rise up and open, revealing an armory completely filled with different amazon armor.
Kallistratos was stunned by Queen Hippolyta's arsenal. Clearly this was private for her own use but Kallistratos was a little confused as to why she brought him there. Hippolyta led him to a golden chest hidden in the back of her weaponry.
(Hippolyta) You know my daughter and I went through a great deal of trouble to have Hephaestus forge this for you, so I hope you appreciate it.
(Kallistratos) Forge what for me?
Hippolyta opened the chest and pulled out battle armor with a crimson red torso piece, golden shoulder pads, and a blue gladiator skirt. A long scarlet red cape attached with two gold pieces by the shoulders elegantly flowed down to the floor. The armor came with a pair of sandles with golden plates covering the shins.
(Kallistratos) These are Wonder Woman's colors.
(Hippolyta) Yes. We the amazons, as a family we train together, eat together, fight together, and take care of our own. Since you are now family Kallistratos, Diana and I took the liberty of getting you your own mystical battle armor like myself and my daughters. The cape will protect you from mystical harm and the armor will shield you from beings with boundless amounts of strength.
Hippolyta gave Kallistratos his armor, then reached back into the chest and pulled out a pair of gunmetal gauntlets, a silver gladiator helm, and a bright glowing gold sash.
(Hippolyta) These gauntlets were forged from Thanagarian Nth Metal that Diana received from one of her Thanagarian comrades. They're highly resilient and will significantly enhance your natural god given talents. This sash was weaved from the same Golden Girdle that was used to thread together my daughters lasso of truth. When wrapped around a wound the sashes connection to the fires of Hestia will cause the injury to heal instantaneously.
When Hippolyta was done explaining the rest of the armors abilities, she handed them to him as well.
(Hippolyta) Wearing these colors makes you a symbol. The Wonder name is a powerful thing in man's world. You may want to be known as Kallistratos, but the world will come to know you as Wonderman. Use it to your advantage.
(Kallistratos) I am very thankful for this gift Queen Hippolyta. Thank you your majesty.
(Hippolyta) Don't thank me just yet, I have a favor to ask of you.
(Kallistratos) Anything my queen.
Hippolyta face grew slightly distraught.
(Hippolyta) Please... do what ever you can to find my daughter.
(Kallistratos) I give you my word on my honor, that I will not give up until I find Diana. You can count on me my queen.
(Hippolyta) I hope so Kallistratos.
I will be praying to the gods for you and my daughters safe return. Now go set out on your journey young warrior and may the gods be with you.
Without another word Kallistratos bowed to the queen then sped back to his room where he quickly changed into his new armor. He wrapped his golden sash firmly around his waist, and when he put on his Nth Metal gauntlets, immediately he felt his body become incredibly light. It was unusual at first but Kallistratos quickly adapted to it, getting slightly excited about testing how much stronger it made his abilities.
Before his departure Kallistratos went into his closet and retrieved the Sword Of Night that Wonder Woman gave to him. The golden glow from the swords blade was bright enough to illuminate his entire closet.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, Kallistratos tightly wrapped the Sword Of Night in his golden sash, then jumped out of his window and flew off Themyscria for the first time as Wonderman with blinding speed on his way to Gateway City to confront his Barbarian brother.
AUTHOR NOTES: Right away I would like to clarify that Wonderman is not connected to my other OC Wonderboy in anyway other then that they both belong to the Wonder Family. I like to give my characters and places names that have significant meaning to their personality. Kallistratos means beautiful army. Damon means loyalty. Ouranos is another way to pronounce Olympus meaning paradise. I decided to make Hippolyta blonde because she was turned blonde after the flashpoint revamp and it reminds me of her from the Justice League cartoon. The Sword Of Night is a weapon that was wielded by the DC character Nightmaster. The sword compels people within the swords glowing aura to tell the truth. It also give him a danger sense and while he's wielding the blade he stops aging. For pictures of Wonderman as well as all characters to appear in Earth-69 visit my profile for a link to the Earth-69 wiki created by MadrinGenesis and myself. Thank you and look forward to the next issue.