History ComicBook / WonderWomanTheHiketeia

* UnexpectedRealisticOutcome: MemeticBadass that he is, you might expect Batman to hold his own against Wonder Woman, as he often does against Superman. Trouble is, Superman is usually mind-controlled in those encounters, and [[DependingOnTheWriter usually]] isn't that skilled a fighter to begin with. Wonder Woman, who knows exactly what she's doing and is as skilled in combat as Batman, trounces him in short order.

* ArcWords: "It was never this cold on Themyscira."

* ConflictingLoyalties: Batman tries to get at Diana through this by putting her loyalty to the law up against her ritual loyalty to defend Danny.

** [[spoiler:Batman, from his POV, even more so as he fails to bring Danielle to the authorities for her murders and only got two {{NoHoldsBarredBeatdown}}s from his friend to show for it.]]

''Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia'', first published in 2002, is a one-shot graphic novel by writer Creator/GregRucka[[note]]His first work on the character[[/note]] and artist J.G. Jones. When a young woman called Danielle "Danny" Wellys comes to ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman}}'s doorstep and invokes the ancient ritual of the Hiketeia, Diana finds herself honor-bound to eternally protect and care for her by the ancient tradition. Watched over and warned by The Erinyes[[note]]a.k.a. The Furies [[/note]] of Myth/ClassicalMythology should she fail to uphold the ritual, Diana soon finds herself in a no-win scenario as her oath and sense of compassion brings her into conflict with Franchise/{{Batman}}, who looks to bring Danielle to justice [[DarkAndTroubledPast over the events that brought her to Diana in the first place]].

Greg Rucka would soon go on to write the main [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Wonder Woman]] book in the following year.

Greg Rucka would soon go one to write the main [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 Wonder Woman]] book in the following year.

* LoopholeAbuse: Batman tries to create one by invoking the Hiketeia on himself -- the rules of Hiketeia, he assumes, do not prevent one of the protected people from hurting another (well, dragging them to jail in his case) but would prevent the protector from doing anything to prevent it [[LogicLoop because they are both under their protection]]. Diana points out the obvious problem with that BatmanGambit (namely, that she would accept placing Bruce under Hiketeia to begin with) and refuses.

* TakeThat: The short and quick affairs of Batman's "fights" with Wonder Woman are one to the segments of Bat fandom that say Batman could take on Wonder Woman in a physical contest.

* DisposableSexWorker: The reason Danielle was accepting of the Erinyes' manipulations that cause all of this tragedy: [[spoiler:her sister Melody was killed by some asshole pimps, and a dead OD'ed hooker [[WretchedHive in Gotham City?]] Not only do the cops not care, but for all of [[TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw Batman's relentless pursuit of Danielle for trying to get justice]], it's quite notable that it's never shown if ''he'' tried to investigate himself.]]

* DisproportionateRetribution: The fate of anyone who agrees to take in a supplicant as part of the Hiketeia ritual but either fails to protect their supplicant while still under oath or abuses their position of power. A flashback to Ancient Greece shows a man being torn and eaten apart by the Erinyes for killing his supplicant.

* BookEnds: The story begins and ends with Diana commenting on the harshness of Patriach's World in comparison to her chilhood growing up on Themyscira.

** [[spoiler:Batman, from his POV, even more so as he fails to bring Danielle to the authorities for her murders and only got two NoHoldsBarBeatdowns from his friend to show for it.]]

* AdultFear: [[spoiler:Melody's death in Gotham wasn't because of the latest scheme by the Joker or Riddler but rather a rapid descent of being [[{{Blackmail}} blackmailed]] into [[SexSlave forced prostitution]] and eventually dying via an OD on drugs her abusers got her addicted on in the first place.]]

-> '''Wonder Woman:''' ''"You '''can't''' go through me, Batman"''

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: Melody's death in Gotham wasn't because of the latest scheme by the Joker or Riddler but rather a rapid descent of being [[{{Blackmail}} blackmailed]] into [[SexSlave forced prostitution]] and eventually dying via an OD on drugs her abusers got her addicted on in the first place]].

--> ''"[[DeityOfHumanOrigin Princess-once-Goddess]], you forget yourself. We are the Erinyes, and [[OlderThanFeudalism we are far older than thou]]. Pay us the respect we are due, child of clay or suffer our torments."''

* BigSisterInstinct: Sadly deconstructed with Danielle as [[spoiler: as her anger over the death of her sister Melody, courtesy of pimps and drug-dealers, is what leads her on her path of committing several murders]]

** [[spoiler: Batman, from his POV, even more so as he fails to bring Danielle to the authorities for her murders and only got two NoHoldsBarBeatdowns from his friend to show for it.]]

** The Erinyes mockingly make reference to Diana having "Hermes' speed, Athena's wisdom...". In addition to being the source of her powers in the Post-Crisis continuity, this is also a portion of Diana’s descriptor commonly used in the Golden Age.[[note]]''"Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules"''.[[/note]]

* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler: Danny has four murders to her name but giving what they did to her sister it's doubtful anyone would shed tears for them.]]

-->'''Wonder Woman:''' Don’t. Get. Up.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler: At the encouragement of the Erinyes, this what Danny does to the four men most directly responsible for her sister's death. She's first introduced in the story at the tail-end of it actually, killing off the last one.]]

** [[spoiler:Them pushing Danny into seeking out and killing the men responsible is what put her in the crosshairs of Batman and the Gotham P.D. and she didn't seek out Diana for protection, or if Diana refused the Hiketeia, she would have eventually been likely apprehended by Batman.]]
** [[spoiler:Diana accepting the Hiketeia ritual then put her into a immediate collision course with Batman, and potentially the Gotham and N.Y.P.D. Thus inciting the wrath of the Erinyes should she fail to protect Danny.]]

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: Melody's death in Gotham wasn't because of the latest scheme by the Joker or Riddler but rather a rapid descent of being [[{{Blackmail}} blackmailed]] into [[SexSlave forced prostitution]] and eventually dying via an OCD on drugs her abusers got her addicted on in the first place]].

* DisposableSexWorker: The reason Danielle was accepting of the Erinyes' manipulations that cause all of this tragedy: [[spoiler:her sister Melody was killed by some asshole pimps, and a dead OD'ed hooker [[WretchedHive in Gotham City?]] Not only cops do the cops not care, but for all of [[TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw Batman's relentless pursuit of Danielle for trying to get justice]], it's quite notable that it's never shown if ''he'' tried to investigate himself.]]

''Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia'', first published in 2002, is a one-shot graphic novel by writer Creator/GregRucka [[note]] His first work on the character[[/note]] and artist J.G. Jones. When a young woman called Danielle "Danny" Wellys comes to ComicBook/{{Wonder Woman}}'s doorstep and invokes the ancient ritual of the Hiketeia, Diana finds herself honor-bound to eternally protect and care for her by the ancient tradition. Watched over and warned by The Erinyes [[note]] a.k.a The Furies [[/note]] of Myth/ClassicalMythology should she fail to uphold the ritual, Diana soon finds herself in a no-win scenario as her oath and sense of compassion brings her into conflict with Franchise/{{Batman}}, who looks to bring Danielle to justice [[DarkAndTroubledPast over the events that brought her to Diana in the first place]].

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: Melody's death in Gotham wasn't because of the latest scheme by the Joker or Riddler but rather a rapid descent of being [[{{Blackmail}} blackmailed]] into [[SexSlave forced prostitution]] and eventually dying via an OCD on drugs her abusers got her addicted on in the first place]]

* ArcWords: "It was never this cold on Themyscira".

* BatmanGambit: The TropeNamer himself tries on Diana but it gets him a boot to the face. [[spoiler: More specifically, he tried to invoke the Hiketeia ritual and have Diana become his protector so she couldn't stop him from taking Danny. Diana then reminds him that she has the right to refuse and proceeds with said boot to the face]]
* BattleInTheRain: Bruce and Diana's second confrontation in the story is this.

** Implied to be partly the motivation of Diana for her still wanting to watch over Danielle once she learns why she needs protection. [[spoiler: Thinking how she would have acted had what happened to Melody happened to [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna or Cassie]] ]]
* BookEnds: The story begins and ends with Diana commenting on the harshness of Patriach's World in comparison to her chilhood growing up on Themyscira.
* BrokenAce: Diana is presented throughout the story as an incredibly moral and compassionate person, as well unbeatable in straight up fight but she is in tears by the end of the book [[spoiler: for her failing to protect Danny and her subsequent suicide.]].

* CosmicPlayThing:[[spoiler: Danielle, Danny, is this to the Erinyes who informed her of what happened to her sister, Melody, and that she needed to avenge her. Knowing that her HeroWorship of Wonder Woman would drive her to seek out Diana out for sanctuary from Batman and the authorities. Thus bringing Diana into conflict with her friend/ally, Batman, as well as also becoming a potential target of the Erinyes should she fail to uphold the Hiketeia and protect Danny ]]

* DarkAndTroubledPast: This is what brought Danielle to Diana in the first place. [[spoiler: She murdered four people, all of whom were in one way related to the abuse and death of her sister, Melody]].
* DayInTheLife: A splash page in the story depicts all the events Diana goes through on an average day in her life. Diana even a little bit earlier makes a bit of dry humor that this incredibly taxing day for anyone else would be considered a light day for her.
* DeclarationOfProtection: Diana does this as per her requirement of the Hiketeia to show she accepts and believes Danielle's prostrations are genuine. The ritual requiring the person being supplicated towards to announce said supplicant is under their protection.
* {{Determinator}}: Both Diana and Bruce exhibit this in their separate missions to defend Danielle (in Diana's case) or turn her over to the authorities (in Bruce's case) and what brings them into conflict eventually.
* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: [[spoiler: Danny is the centerpiece of the story even though she commits suicide by the end the story. Also counts towards her sister who is already dead by the start of the story but we learn a bit about her in Melody's recounting.]]
* DisposableSexWorker: The reason Danielle was accepting of the Erinyes' manipulations that cause all of this tragedy: [[spoiler:her sister Melody was killed by some asshole pimps, and a dead OD'ed hooker [[WretchedHive in Gotham City]]? Not only cops do the cops not care, but for all of [[TheLopsidedArmOfTheLaw Batman's relentless pursuit of Danielle for trying to get justice]], it's quite notable that it's never shown if ''he'' tried to investigate himself.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: One has to wonder what Batman thought would happen when he tried to barge past [[FlyingBrick Wonder Woman]] after being warned she wouldn't let him take Danielle, all while sporting a rather abrasive attitude and mockingly calling Diana "Princess".
* DisproportionateRetribution: The fate of anyone who agrees to take in a supplicant as part of the Hiketeia ritual but either fails to protect their supplicant while still under oath or abuses their position of power. A flashback to Ancient Greece shows a man being torn and eaten apart by the Erinyes for killing his supplicant.
* DontMakeMeDestroyYou: Diana makes it clear in her altercations with Bruce she doesn't want to fight him and warns him not to push his luck.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Tired of living in fear and ashamed for the trouble she feels she brought Diana, Danielle commits suicide by jumping off a bridge but not before releasing Diana of her ritual obligation towards her so as she won't be punished by The Erinyes for failing to protect her. Bruce and Diana part ways with neither proud they had to come to fisticuffs with one another. Diana ends the story commenting on the coldness and harshness of Man's World compared to life growing up on Themyscira]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Feeling ashamed for not telling Diana the truth earlier and the trouble she feels she brought Diana, Danny jumps off a bridge at the climax of the story.]]

* FailureHero: [[spoiler: Diana is ultimately this as she fails to protect Danielle. [[WordOfGod According to Rucka]] this was intentional as he wanted to focus on the more somber and tragic side of Diana's character/world ]]
** [[spoiler: Batman, from his POV, even more so as he fails to bring Danielle to the authorities for her murders and only got two NoHoldsBarBeatdowns from his friend to show for it.]]
* {{Fangirl}}: Danny was this of Diana when she was younger. [[spoiler: It's also why the Erinyes singled her out and informed her of her sister's fate as they it would drive her to seek Diana for protection and thus bring her into conflict with the authorities going after her]]
* FirstNameBasis: Diana tells Danny to call her by her first name rather than "Princess".
* FlashBack: One of the early scenes in the story is a flashback to the time of Ancient Greece that serves as exposition for what the Hiketeia is and it entails, the religious importance of it, and the consequences of what should happen if someone fails to up hold it.
* GoThroughMe: Diana actually tells Batman he can't go through her but the message and idea is the same.
* HeroAntagonist: Batman is this in the context of the story. He does ultimately just want to bring in Danny for [[spoiler: her multiple counts of murder but is shown as largely unsympathetic/uncaring for the reasons that drove her to it in the fist place. He also is agitated that she's already gotten away from him twice.]]
* HeroWorship: Deconstructed with Danny, who has this for Wonder Woman. [[spoiler: The Erinyes preyed on her admiration and desire to be like Diana into killing the men responsible for what happened to her sister, thus getting in the crosshairs of Batman/Gotham PD and Danny seeking out Diana for sanctuary.]]
* HomeBase: The Themysciran Embassy based out of New York City, which would continue to appear when Rucka took over the [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1987 main book.]] Overlaps with CoolHouse as Diana lives there. It also has a massive room that functions as a [[CoolGate portal to Themyscira]] as well as containing weapons, a variety of costumes on display, and imposing statues of the Greek Gods.
* HomeSweetHome: Diana's narration states that there's days where she fantasizes about giving up her duties as a superhero and Themyscira's ambassador to go back to living on Themyscira.

* ItsPersonal: While Batman is just looking to bring Danielle in [[spoiler: for her murders]], that he mentions she already got away from him, twice, and she doesn't get a third chance suggests he's suffering a bit of a bruised ego over this regular person with no powers or training getting away from him.

* LetsYouAndHimFight Thanks in part due the manipulations of the Erinyes, their conflicting morals in regards to the situation and Diana's obligations as part of the Hiketeia; Wonder Woman and Batman end up coming into physical confrontation twice in the story. [[CurbStompBattle Although calling it a "fight" is rather generous]].
* LooseCanon: This was Rucka's first gig at writing Wonder Woman and so while this story wouldn't be referenced again, it introduced some stuff that would be later picked up on when he took over writing the main book in the following year (mainly Diana acting out of the Themysciran Embassy). Making it debatable over whether this is in continuity or not with the then-current Wonder Woman book.

* MamaBear: Diana displays this attitude when thinking over what Danielle finally tells her the reasons for what got her Batman and the police's attention in the first place. Thinking how she would would have reacted had it been [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna or Cassie]] [[spoiler: in Melody's situation.]]

** A panel shows Batman swinging across the night sky in shadows with lighting striking behind him that evokes the iconic cover of ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''
** The Erinyes mockingly make reference to Diana having “Hermes' speed, Athena's wisdom...”. In addition to being the source of her powers in the Post-Crisis continuity, this is also a portion of Diana’s descriptor commonly used in the Golden Age.[[note]] ''"Beautiful as Aphrodite, wise as Athena, swifter than Hermes, and stronger than Hercules"'' [[/note]]
** The {{Dominatrix}}-imagery of the cover with Diana's boot on Bruce's head is one to her creator, Creator/WilliamMoultonMarston. UsefulNotes/{{BDSM}} being something Marston practiced in his private life and which heavily influenced his psychological theories and his Wonder Woman comics.

* PayEvilUntoEvil: [[spoiler: Danny has four murders to her name but giving what they did to her sister it's doubtful anyone would shed tears for them]].

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: [[spoiler: At the encouragement of the Erinyes, this what Danny does to the four men most directly responsible for her sister's death. She's first introduced in the story at the tail-end of it actually, killing off the last one]]

** Notably, while stated to rare or unthinkable, a person can refuse to accept Hiketeia if they so chose.[[spoiler: Batman himself tries to invoke the Hiketeia so that Diana wouldn't be able to stop him from taking Danielle without breaking her oath, but she informs of this fact and gets a kick in the head for his troubles. It only applies once she accepts it in the first place, as she did with Danny]].

* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham: Averted. Batman goes rather out of his way to chase down Danielle, a rather low level criminal in comparison to who he's usually up against. [[CurbStompBattle Given how it ended up for him, it might also explain why he keeps to Gotham]].
* SympatheticMurderer: [[spoiler: Danny murders the men who raped and abused her sister Melody.]]
* TakeAThirdOption: Danny's solution to the no-win scenario she's found she's placed Diana in [[spoiler: is to commit suicide but releasing Diana from her obligation so as she won't be killed by the Erinyes.]]
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: The main conflict Diana faces in this story, with having to pick between continuing to protect Danny (good) or handing over to Batman to give to the authorities in Gotham (lawful).

* TraumaCongaLine: What happens to [[spoiler: Melody, Danielle's sister. She originally went to Gotham looking to become an actress that almost immediately turned into taking risque photos for the man who originally put out the Wanted ad she answered as she had no money, following that she she was drugged and raped in her sleep. Using the photos as blackmail, this quickly led to her being forced into becoming a porn star and getting physically abused often to keep her in-line. [[SexSlave When her value there was deemed dried up, she was sold off into prostitution where all her earnings went to her pimp.]] All throughout this becoming addicted to drugs that ultimately kills her]].

** [[spoiler: Them pushing Danny into seeking out and killing the men responsible is what put her in the crosshairs of Batman and the Gotham P.D. and she didn't seek out Diana for protection, or if Diana refused the Hiketeia, she would have eventually been likely apprehended by Batman.]]
** [[spoiler: Diana accepting the Hiketeia ritual then put her into a immediate collision course with Batman, and potentially the Gotham and N.Y.P.D. Thus inciting the wrath of the Erinyes should she fail to protect Danny.]]
** [[spoiler: The end result also coming at their benefit as ultimately Batman and Wonder Woman come to blows only for neither of it to matter in the end as Danny commits suicide out of of a combination of fear and shame.]]

-> ''It was never this cold on Themyscira''

* CoversAlwaysLie: Defied. Batman and Wonder Woman's second and final confrontation at the climax of the book sees Bats on the losing end and finding himself in the situation depicted on the cover.