This issue marks the end of the Wonder Woman series that was relaunched by in February 1987 after the Crisis on Infinite Earths. With a reasonably successful 226 issue run that was blessed with contributions from talents such as George Pérez, Len Wein, William Messner-Loebs, Mike Deodato Jr, John Byrne, Phil Jimenez, Greg Rucka, Brian Bolland, and Adam Hughes, it is unfortunate that the series had to end as a result of Infinite Crisis and ultimately paving the way for a series relaunch by Allan Heinberg and Terry Dodson.

As a series ender, the story produced here by writer Greg Rucka serves as a recap of significant events chronicled over the past 225 issues, starting with Diana's first appearance in Boston nine years ago, where she was still learning about the world with the assistance of Julia and Vanessa Kapatelis. It's a welcome sight to see this innocent and slightly naÏve version of Wonder Woman as she struggles with the English language as well as the cultural differences between the United States and Themyscira.

Ever important milestone that has happened to Diana is briefly recapped here, with Diana becoming Themyscira's ambassador to the world preaching her mission of peace and acceptance, Artemis' brief tenure as Wonder Woman after Diana was stripped of the title, Queen Hippoolyta's heroic death saving Greece from an Imperiex probe during the Our Worlds At War event, the aftermath of Sue Dibny's death, and Diana's last peaceful moments with Superman six months ago before she was forced to kill Max Lord to free Superman of the latter's mental control.

The entire issue was framed by a magazine called World's Finest (a nice touch, acknowledging and paying homage to the old World's Finest series that featured monthly Superman and Batman) team-ups, accurately representing the tone of the Wonder Woman series as well as the DC Universe line proper throughout the almost two decade long run this Wonder Woman series had. I really appreciated the cover blurbs on the fictional World's Finest magazine, briefly touching on past continuity such as the media spotlight on the supposed relationship between Diana and Superman, the Martian Manhunter's addiction to Oreo cookies, Lex Luthor's presidency, and the coming of the OMACs.

Diana's relationship with Superman is also explored in this issue, starting their initial encounters in the Legends mini-series and the memorable adventure they shared in Action Comics # 600 that would define the dynamics between these two characters and firmly establishing why Diana and Superman would never be involved with each other romantically. It's worth noting that for every important event that happened in Diana's life, Superman was there to touch base with her, further punctuating the tragedy and sadness that came as a result of how Diana was forced to deal with Max Lord's mental control over Superman.

Unlike the popularity enjoyed by cultural icons Superman and Batman, Wonder Woman's relative low profile allowed the various writers involved the opportunity to truly evolve and grow Diana's personality and character over the years, and it is apparent that the Diana seen in the first issue of the series is a very different character from the Diana seen here.

This retrospective issue is a welcome change of pace from the doom and gloom that characterized Greg Rucka's run on the title, ending with Diana demonstrating that despite all the horrific events that have been happening around her and the world, she never stops being an example and role model to her fellow men. The only gripe I had was with Cliff Richard and Ray Snyder's artwork - it's ugly and is an unworthy successor to the many critically acclaimed artists that have contributed to this series.