The Challenge of Artemis
Encyclopedia
The Challenge of Artemis is a comic book
story arc
that occurred in 1995 written by William Messner-Loebs
and drawn by Mike Deodato
. It compiled a segment of the second volume of the DC Comics
Wonder Woman
comic book from issues 94 through 100 into a collected book edition.
makes her debut to the public. Still upset and confused by the whole ordeal, the original Wonder Woman (Diana) dons a new black outfit and returns to her life in America. Although Artemis tried diligently to distinguish herself from her predecessor in both New York City
and Boston, this proved to be rather hard to do. Her approach to various situations were often seen as more violent than beneficial. Because of this, and due to Man's World's respect of Diana, Artemis often would receive the cold shoulder from those she tried to help, extending even to her brief time in the Justice League
. Superman once commented to Diana that Batman
refused to allow Artemis to sit in Diana's chair during Justice League meetings. Diana's twin sister Donna Troy
even showed resentment toward Artemis carrying the Wonder Woman title, which caused their first meeting to escalate into a heated argument. Because of this unwelcome reception, Artemis began to see Diana as a rival of sorts and would often harass and belittle Diana in public.
Diana continued to use her abilities to help the citizens of Boston. Because of this the White Magician still viewed Diana as a threat. He helped increase the rivalry between two of Boston's mafia
families, led by Paulie Longo and Antonio Sazia's widow Julianna Sazia respectively, in order to keep Diana preoccupied while he planned his next course of action to take over the city of Boston. Unfortunately for him Artemis continued Diana's investigation of him in her place. This caused Diana's involvement with the mafia rivalry to became unnecessary to him.
Artemis later met a representative from a public relations company who agreed to help Artemis with her public likeability. What Artemis wasn't aware of was that the company, with the help of the White Magician, had set up several battles for her with superhuman men. However, she ultimately helped downtrodden groups such as immigrant workers and abused women. Once she uncovered this truth she set about to prove herself by single-handedly taking down Boston's biggest mob boss: Julianna Sazia. Unable to capture Julianna, Artemis destroyed her army of robots and Sazia's booby-trapped mansion.
When the White Magician became aware that Artemis was going to battle him, he used the life force of two women: his lover, anchor woman Cassandra Arnold and that of The Cheetah
, to transform himself into a giant demon, capable of defeating the Amazon. In the process the remains of his two victims became super, savage demons with extraordinary power, and obeying only The White Magician's commands. Overwhelmed, Artemis kept up the fight valiantly until Diana was able to aid her, thanks to a disguised Circe
teleporting her to her side. During the fight Circe attempted to use her magics on the demon, but the sorcery failed, as she was tied to her false mortal identity of Donna Milton. Using the last of her power, Circe teleported the two lesser demons and herself away, leaving Diana and Artemis to battle The White Magician alone. Near death, Artemis gave the Gauntlet of Atlas (which gave its wearer 10 times their normal strength) to Diana to finish the battle. Diana beat the demonic White Magician to within an inch of his life with her tremendously enhanced strength. However, before she could finish him, he was consumed by his own demonic powers and incinerated, leaving only a pile of smoldering ashes behind. While Circe and the Cheetah eventually returned to their former selves, Cassandra Arnold has not been seen since and her whereabouts remain unknown. Once the battle was over Diana went to Artemis' side and told her she battled as a true Wonder Woman. Before dying Artemis told Diana to take back her title as Wonder Woman, which she did.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
that occurred in 1995 written by William Messner-Loebs
William Messner-Loebs
William Messner-Loebs is an American comic book writer and artist from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs...
and drawn by Mike Deodato
Mike Deodato
Mike Deodato , sometimes credited as Mike Deodato Jr., is the professional pseudonym of Brazilian comic book artist Deodato Taumaturgo Borges Filho.-Biography:...
. It compiled a segment of the second volume of the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
comic book from issues 94 through 100 into a collected book edition.
A new Wonder Woman
After winning a contest to see who will become the new Wonder Woman in "Man's World", the Amazon ArtemisArtemis of Bana-Mighdall
Artemis of Bana-Mighdall is a fictional Amazon superheroine, a comic book character published by DC Comics. She debuted in Wonder Woman Artemis of Bana-Mighdall is a fictional Amazon superheroine, a comic book character published by DC Comics. She debuted in Wonder Woman Artemis of Bana-Mighdall is...
makes her debut to the public. Still upset and confused by the whole ordeal, the original Wonder Woman (Diana) dons a new black outfit and returns to her life in America. Although Artemis tried diligently to distinguish herself from her predecessor in both New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Boston, this proved to be rather hard to do. Her approach to various situations were often seen as more violent than beneficial. Because of this, and due to Man's World's respect of Diana, Artemis often would receive the cold shoulder from those she tried to help, extending even to her brief time in the Justice League
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
. Superman once commented to Diana that Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
refused to allow Artemis to sit in Diana's chair during Justice League meetings. Diana's twin sister Donna Troy
Donna Troy
Donna Troy is a comic book superheroine published by DC Comics. She first appeared in The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #60 , and was created by Bob Haney and Bruno Premiani...
even showed resentment toward Artemis carrying the Wonder Woman title, which caused their first meeting to escalate into a heated argument. Because of this unwelcome reception, Artemis began to see Diana as a rival of sorts and would often harass and belittle Diana in public.
Diana continued to use her abilities to help the citizens of Boston. Because of this the White Magician still viewed Diana as a threat. He helped increase the rivalry between two of Boston's mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
families, led by Paulie Longo and Antonio Sazia's widow Julianna Sazia respectively, in order to keep Diana preoccupied while he planned his next course of action to take over the city of Boston. Unfortunately for him Artemis continued Diana's investigation of him in her place. This caused Diana's involvement with the mafia rivalry to became unnecessary to him.
Artemis later met a representative from a public relations company who agreed to help Artemis with her public likeability. What Artemis wasn't aware of was that the company, with the help of the White Magician, had set up several battles for her with superhuman men. However, she ultimately helped downtrodden groups such as immigrant workers and abused women. Once she uncovered this truth she set about to prove herself by single-handedly taking down Boston's biggest mob boss: Julianna Sazia. Unable to capture Julianna, Artemis destroyed her army of robots and Sazia's booby-trapped mansion.
When the White Magician became aware that Artemis was going to battle him, he used the life force of two women: his lover, anchor woman Cassandra Arnold and that of The Cheetah
Cheetah (comics)
The Cheetah is a fictional character, a super-villainess appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Popularly regarded as the archenemy of Wonder Woman, the Cheetah first appeared in 1943 in Wonder Woman #6 , written by Wonder Woman creator William Moulton Marston...
, to transform himself into a giant demon, capable of defeating the Amazon. In the process the remains of his two victims became super, savage demons with extraordinary power, and obeying only The White Magician's commands. Overwhelmed, Artemis kept up the fight valiantly until Diana was able to aid her, thanks to a disguised Circe
Circe (comics)
Circe is a fictional character, a villainous sorceress and a major adversary of Wonder Woman appearing in DC Comics publications and related media. Based upon the Greek mythological character of the same name who imprisoned Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey, the comic book incarnation of Circe first...
teleporting her to her side. During the fight Circe attempted to use her magics on the demon, but the sorcery failed, as she was tied to her false mortal identity of Donna Milton. Using the last of her power, Circe teleported the two lesser demons and herself away, leaving Diana and Artemis to battle The White Magician alone. Near death, Artemis gave the Gauntlet of Atlas (which gave its wearer 10 times their normal strength) to Diana to finish the battle. Diana beat the demonic White Magician to within an inch of his life with her tremendously enhanced strength. However, before she could finish him, he was consumed by his own demonic powers and incinerated, leaving only a pile of smoldering ashes behind. While Circe and the Cheetah eventually returned to their former selves, Cassandra Arnold has not been seen since and her whereabouts remain unknown. Once the battle was over Diana went to Artemis' side and told her she battled as a true Wonder Woman. Before dying Artemis told Diana to take back her title as Wonder Woman, which she did.