A rogue Amazonian named Aresia (born in the mortal world, raised in Themyscira) gathers a small group of Lex Luthor's former Injustice Gang and sets out to kill the world's male population, who she holds responsible for the death of her family members in a war.
Tropes:
- All Abusers Are Male: Men caused Aresia pain in the past, so "all men must be evil." It is then revealed that the male captain of the destroyed ship she was on as a child saved her life, though she was not aware of this fact. Once she finds out, she merely switches her stance to "All men are evil except for him."
- Armor-Piercing Response: Hawkgirl argues that Aresia’s planned Gendercide is merely taking the Amazon Code to its logical extension, something Diana has no response to.
- Artistic License – Biology: Superman is felled by a cloud of airborne particles released at him by Aresia. It's assumed to be a fast-acting virus until J'onn's research shows that it is, in fact, an allergen which only affects men.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Aresia was upset that Hippolyta never said anything about the male captain who saved her life. When asked why, Hippolyta said she thought "it didn't matter, that he didn't matter." Hawkgirl calls her out on it.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The refugee ship captain is briefly seen reacting to the pirate attack in the first flashback. A second flashback reveals that he saved Aresia's life.
- Composite Character: Aresia bears similarities to both incarnations of the DC Comics character Fury: Hippolyta "Lyta" Trevor, an Amazon and daughter of the Golden Age Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor, and Helena Kosmatos, a young Greek girl whose parents were murdered by the Nazis when they occupied Greece, who eventually made her way to Themyscira and was made an honorary Amazon (and was created to replace the Golden Age Wonder Woman as Lyta's mother following the Earths being merged in Crisis on Infinite Earths).
- Continuity Nod: Shade considers Aresia an improvement over Lex Luthor when he was leading the Injustice Gang.
- Create Your Own Villain: Aresia, already bearing deep-seated trauma regarding men attacking her and causing her pain, was taken in by the Amazons, granted their power, and trained in their philosophies, especially in regard to their misandry. In the end, Hippolyta inadvertently created the monster Aresia became and gave her the power and tools she needed to enact a Gendercide.
- Deliberately Bad Example: Aresia is everything about the Amazons' misandrist beliefs taken to their most horrible extreme. It actually makes Hippolyta accept that she needs to tone it down.
- Does Not Like Men: Aresia is a standout example, as she not only hates men but also wants to kill every single male in the planet. Even by the Amazons' standards, Aresia's hatred of men is horrible.
- Dramatic Irony: Hawkgirl musing to Batman about what the trauma of becoming an orphan could do to a child. "Starcrossed" would later reveal, however, that Hawkgirl discovered at some point off-screen who Batman really was, so the irony might've actually been on him here instead of her.
- Due to the Dead: Zig-zagged with the sea captain who saved Aresia's life and got her to the nearest island (which happened to be Themyscira). Hippolyta was passing by when they made it to the beach and saw him die from the strain. She gave the captain the dignity of a proper burial (the only man to be buried on the island), but she never bothered to tell Aresia the truth because she didn't think the man was important.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Star Sapphire turns against Aresia once she learns the full extent of her plans. She is evil, not gendercidal. Except she is, and actively looks forward to a world without men. She was just luring Diana and Hawkgirl to Aresia so that they could be invited to join them.
- Everyone Has Standards: While the Amazons may not like men, they're still horrified at Aresia's plans at Gendercide. However, Hawkgirl rightfully points out Aresia is just taking their view to its logical extension, as if they see no good or worth in men then killing them is the only thing they could come to.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: As chaos fills the city at the end of Part I, one might notice all the firefighters and doctors are women. It's then revealed the chaos is caused by aftereffects of a disease only men are affected by.
- Freudian Excuse: Aresia was a child when male soldiers ravaged her home. She and her mother tried to escape the war on a boat, but male pirates robbed and then sank it, with Aresia the only one shown surviving. In other words, she had a lot of personal anger towards men when she was inducted into the Amazons and learned their teachings. The Amazons inadvertently left her anger to fester because their own misandry and peaceful lives on Themiscyra blinded them to how she was growing to actively despise men- something Hippolyta probably could have nipped in the bud by telling her how the male captain saved her life before she was too far gone for it to matter.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: A war orphan nearly kills all of the men on the planet.
- Gendercide: Aresia's ultimate goal by releasing a disease into the atmosphere that nearly kills off all of the men on the planet.
- Girl's Night Out Episode: With the male members of the Justice League incapacitated by Aresia's Gendercide allergen, it's up to Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl to save the day (of course, this includes fighting against an all-female alliance of villains).
- Impairment Shot: Batman realizes he's been infected when experiencing blurred vision, as Hawkgirl flies a sick child to the hospital.
- Irony:
- Aresia was shocked that a fellow woman left her on her own devices. Which is probably why in Justice League Adventures #17, Aresia chose more loyal like-minded women as her minions.
- Hippolyta notes that Aresia owes her life to a man, despite hating the entire gender.
- It Seemed Trivial: A dramatic example. Hippolyta never told Aresia of the fact that one man, the captain of the ship she was in, gave his life so she would make it to Themyscira and the Amazons even bothered to bury him on the island's shore acknowledging his sacrifice because she did not thought it was important (it was a dead man, after all). She sees the error of said beliefs when Aresia grew up to become a monster and takes that information when Hippolyta says it at the climax as "so one man did one good deed for me, what about it?".
- Karma Houdini: The pirates who rob and murder Aresia's fellow refugees get away clean.
- Men Are the Expendable Gender: Invoked by Aresia although she and about one other women, Tsukuri, are the only ones who actually think that's true. Even the other Amazons are shocked at her attempted Gendercide. Wonder Woman is shocked at the degree that Aresia is going to... but Hawkgirl points out that this is the logical conclusion to the Amazons' teachings. Diana notably has nothing to say about this.
- My God, What Have I Done?: The tone of Hippolyta's voice when she says she didn't think the captain was important shows that she regrets not honoring his brave deed back when it would have kept Aresia from developing such fanatical misandry.
- Mystical Plague: Aresia's male-killing sickness is implied to be partially magical in nature, since it even affects Superman & J’onn, who aren’t human, and Solomon Grundy, who is The Undead.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Aresia speaks with an American accent, despite having (judging by the clothes she wears in the flashbacks and her name) grown up in a European country.
- Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Aresia might actually believe the world will be better if it's all-female, as it is on Themyscira, though it's becoming evident she's taking her frustrations on innocent people because of what someone else did to her. Even learning one man saved her life isn't enough to convince her all men shouldn't die.
- Oblivious to His Own Description:
- At first, Wonder Woman claims it's ridiculous that the criminal Batman fought was an Amazon because, in her words, "Amazons don't steal,..and [they] never leave the island." She doesn't seem to realize until Batman subtly points it out that she herself is an exception to both rules*.
- Aresia claims the world of men is based on "violence, deception and cruelty", despite the fact that she herself demonstrates all three traits in abundance: she regularly uses violence against anyone who's in her way, deliberately lied to the Injustice Gang (especially its male members) about the nature of her plans and is planning to subject half the population of the planet to a horrible death.
- Poor Communication Kills: Aresia's hatred and attempted Gendercide could very well has been prevented had Hippolyta told her from the start that one of the men she so despises was the one who saved her life and brought her to Themyscira in the first place. By the time she reveals this, Aresia is beyond caring.
- Revenge Against Men: Aresia's self-appointed mission.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Aresia's plane is about to explode.Aresia: Wait! You can't leave!
Tsukuri: I like you, but not that much. - Sequel Episode: To the episode Injustice For All, where Lex Luthor forms the team, the Injustice Gang, and to the episode Paradise Lost, where Diana was banished by her mother, Queen Hippolyta for bringing Superman, Batman, the Flash, and J'onn J'onzz to Themyscira.
- Straw Feminist: Aresia is an exaggerated example. Diana and Polly are both horrified at how wrong their beliefs can be interpreted and Polly makes clear in the epilogue that she will do her damnedest to change this among the other Amazons.
- Tainted Veins: The primary visual indicator of Aresia's plague allergen.
- Token Evil Teammate: Wonder Woman admits that she always sensed a bitterness in Aresia that the other Amazons didn't have.
- Unwitting Pawn: The male Injustice Gang members to Aresia. Star Sapphire and Tsukuri didn't know what she was up to either, but Aresia didn't mean them any harm.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Inverted, Aresia thought Hippolyta would approve of her goal, but Hippolyta is appalled and tells Aresia she brought shame to the Amazon code. Aresia didn't take it well, so she took her hostage.