WONDER WOMAN #101 (1958)
by Robert Kanigher & Ross Andru
While I’ve already reviewed all the Metal Men stories by the Kanigher & Andru duo, the wonderful folks of Legion World have pointed me in the direction of this little-known connection to the Legion.
Which sounds weird: this has a cover date of October 1958 and the very first Legion story had a cover date of April 1958. So why didn’t I cover this sooner?
Trust me, it’s going to get weirder… it’s Kanigher.
The cover story has absolutely nothing to do with what I want to talk about, but it’s worth having a quick look. It’s about Steve Trevor tricking Wonder Woman into accepting to marry him if she has to save her life three times in the same day.
Just in case you thought this kind of plot only showed up in Superman and Lois Lane.
She probably won’t have to worry much, considering he’s grounded.
You, uhm, you okay Wondy? I can’t tell if you’re happy or if you’re having a stroke.
She does have to help Steve because SUDDEN ROCKET!!!
I’ve said it before, but I don’t normally buy the excuse of “superheroes shouldn’t use their powers too often or the people will completely depend on them”.
There are exemptions, though.
I honestly have no idea how the heck Steve Trevor managed to stay alive this long.
If this was a Superman comic I’d be 100% sure that either him or Lois Lane were faking all these accidents.
I don’t know Steve Trevor enough… I’ll give it a 70% chance.
Wonder Woman DOES fight a shark, so for once the cover isn’t lying…
…and the story surprised me because she’s 15 minutes too late for marrying Steve.
Surprised because it’s not by 1 minute, that is.
Well that was rather standard 50s Wonder Woman story. But for the main course, let’s move to the second and more important story: “The Fun House of Time”.
This one begins with Wonder Woman and Steve going on a date in Frolic Park (which I guess is between Prance Avenue and Romp Street) where they meet… Ty M. Master.
And here I though I’d never see a name stupider than Arma Getten.
Is it just me or Steve Trevor is very easily excited? If I was in a closed room with Wonder Woman the doors would probably be the least exciting thing around. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Little does he know that they’re about 30 years early for the grand opening of Jurassic Park.
The dinosaur kidnaps both of them, and when Steve tries to shoot him he can’t because guns have not been invented yet.
That’s not how ANYTHING works!!! They’re millions of years in the past: clothes haven’t been invented yet, so by that logic why are they wearing anything?
Oh. Right, that’s why.
Luckily for them Wonder Woman manages to save them by lassoing a meteorite (!!!!). And unlike the gun the lasso still works even though it’s not been invented yet either, because… I’ve got nothing.
They return to the funhouse, where they discover that Ty M. Master is actually… the Time Master!!!
As you might imagine, that comment bout a “time-trap” and his general appearance will lead to the claim that Ty M. Master is actually the very first appearance of the Time Trapper.
We’ll go into the details of HOW that could be possible next time. Right now we have to save the universe or something.
The first door leads them to a whirpool, which is the excuse to have a genuinely good action scene!
And that is why Columbus was able to reach America. (????)
The next door leads Wonder Woman into the future!
Sadly this is Generic Space Future #17 and not the 30th century, but at least we have Wonder Woman defeating an alien invasion by turning herself into a lightning rod!
So… remember how Ty M. Master said he would be hiding behind one of the doors?
Well obviously the solution is to vibrate through the doors by becoming intangible.
Hey no fair, that’s the Flash’s thing!!!
I guess the moral is that you should not underestimate how stupid a guy who chooses to call himself Ty M. Master could be.
He disappears and the funhouse crumbles. The end!
Or is it? Because next time:
Not weird enough? It’s going to be on the pages of… Super Friends.
Yes.
THOSE Super Friends.
Bonus: like most comics at the time, there are a couple of vignettes of “general interest”.
This time it’s about romantic dreams, which basically tells us that no matter what a woman dreams, it’s somehow about marriage.
Sometimes I marvel at how we survived the 50s.
Historical significance: 0/10
Despite a VERY weird callback we’ll examine next time, this is mostly forgotten.
Legion significance: ???/10
If you believe Ty M. Master is actually the Time Trapper this could have SOME significance… we’ll see next time if the evidence supports this or not. 
Silver Age-ness: 7/10
Wonder Woman scaring off a dinosaur with a meteor she randomly picked up is not even particularly insane for the Silver Age. Think about it.
Does it stand the test of time?
First story: 0/10
While not nearly as badly as many Superman stories I’ve covered… this didn’t age well.
Second story: 4/10
A fine romp provided you don’t think about it. Remember this is not a quality score: the basis of the story could still work today, but there’s a loooot of work to be done. 