What Was Wonder Woman Doing on The Corner of Ortigas Avenue and EDSA?
Holiday traffic? Nah, just a battle of the gods.
By Miguel Escobar | Jan 5, 2018
IMAGE DC Comics
Filipinos are always so thrilled to be recognized on a global stage, even in the smallest of ways. One such recognition came in a recent comic book issue of Wonder Woman, which saw the Princess of Themyscira against a familiar backdrop: Ortigas Avenue corner EDSA.
This particular scene from Wonder Woman vol. 5 #37 sees Wonder Woman's father, Zeus, battling Darkseid (who was teased in the "Knightmare" sequence of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). While fighting, they arrive in Manila via Boom Tube, an Einstein-Rosen bridge akin to the ones seen in Marvel's Thor: The Dark World—and probably an ideal way to get in and out of our beloved capital, considering the traffic.
Wonder Woman follows shortly after, but Darkseid then defeats Zeus and absorbs his power. She prepares to exact vengeance, but Darkseid flees when the Justice League shows up as surprise resbak. "I know why they showed up, Steve," says Wonder Woman, narrating the events. "To protect, and do right. How much, at that moment, Manila needed the Justice League." This cool little shoutout is less surprising when you consider that the issue was pencilled by Carlo Pagulayan and Stephen Segovia, colored by Romulo Fajardo Jr., and inked by Jason Paz—all Filipino comic book artists. But according to a GMA-7 interview with Fajardo, the idea to set their battle in Metro Manila came from the issue's writer, James Robinson. Fajardo says that Robinson left it up to them to litter the battle with references.
The battle is obviously situated near EDSA Shrine, as marked by the Our Lady of EDSA statue. There are a lot of jeepneys (including one made by "Lodi Motors"), familiar road signs, and what appears to be Robinsons Galleria being levelled by Omega Beams. But our favorite reference might still be the accurate depictions of Pinoy bystanders, who choose to snap photos instead of running for their lives. Usyoso as ever.
Erratum: This post has been revised to refer to Darkseid as having been referenced in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He was not the main villain of the film.
Miguel Escobar
Assistant Features Editor for Esquire Philippines
View Other Articles From Miguel
Netflix Dropped a Wildly Dark NSFW Trailer for Its Latest Series
2018 is Going to Be a Great Year in Cinema