Wonder Woman, Vol. 1 – Issue 236

A distraught Wonder Woman, blaming men in general and the military in particular for the death of Steve Trevor, destroys the tank that shelled him and threatens to do the same to others. The Amazon does not regain control of herself until Charles McNider announces he has detected a faint heartbeat beneath the armor-like skin of the artificially mutated brute Steve has been turned into. General Blankenship, on the advice of Colonel Belushi, tells WW that she can no longer be trusted due to this outburst and is therefore no longer welcome on the Armageddon case. Privately revealing his Doctor Mid-Nite identity to Diana, McNider fills her in on his encounter with Armageddon, information he could not pass on to Blankenship without blowing his cover as a blind man. Following that lead, Wonder Woman finds the costumed traitor’s lair abandoned. Before she can investigate further, she hears a radio broadcast concerning a fire at the Treasury Building. Convinced Armageddon is responsible, she flies to the scene. Inside the burning building, Princess Diana battles Armageddon, who has a distinct advantage: his costume’s boots generate destructive vibrations. A well-placed kick destroys one of WW’s bracelets, triggering the enchantment that causes the Amazon to go berserk. The master saboteur sneaks away in the ensuing chaos. Though Wonder Woman overcomes the spell through sheer will power, Colonel Belushi orders her arrested. She disappears into the night before a hand can be lifted to stop her. A chance remark by Etta Candy about boating helps Diana Prince identify a brass object found in Armageddon’s hideout as a fishing rod brace from a yacht. Following the trail of this clue, Wonder Woman walks into a trap. Recovering consciousness later, she finds herself bound in her magic lasso by Armageddon. The Nazi sympathizer taunts her with the antidote to the mutation that is slowly killing Steve. He invites her to witness “my final act of sabotage in America… perhaps my greatest blow against international freedom!” His plan: to destroy an American test rocket with a larger version of the seismic generator that gives him his super-power and restore Germany’s lead in the nascent race for space. For a mastermind, Armageddon isn’t very bright. Although Wonder Woman would be compelled by the power of her enchanted lariat to obey any command, the traitor hasn’t given her any. She frees herself from the rope and destroys the vibration machine. Forced to choose between capturing Armageddon and saving Steve, WW allows the saboteur to escape. Trevor begins making a slow recovery thanks to the antidote. But more trouble is brewing on the horizon for the young intelligence officer and the Amazon princess he loves: the real Diana Prince ― the Army nurse whose identity and credentials Wonder Woman bought shortly after coming to America ― has returned, intent on exposing the woman using her name as an Axis agent.