Characters / DCEU: Wonder Woman's Rogues Gallery

DC Extended Universe Character Index
Antagonists
Superman's Rogues Gallery | Gotham Underworld | Task Force X - Targets | Wonder Woman's Rogues Gallery | Apokolips | Aquaman's Rogues Gallery | SHAZAM's Rogues Gallery | Other Supervillains | Minor Villains and Criminals

---

The major antagonists faced primarily by Diana of Themyscira / Wonder Woman.

---

1918

Ares (Spoilers)

Ares

"You will help me destroy them, Diana... or you will die!"

^{Click here to see him during the invasion of Apokolips.} "Only a god can kill another god."

^{Click here to see him as "Sir Patrick Morgan".} "My dear, I don't want to fight you. But, if I must..."

Species: Olympian god

Known Alias: Sir Patrick Morgan

Affiliation(s): Olympian Gods, The Defiance

Portrayed By: David Thewlis (Wonder Woman, Zack Snyder's Justice League ^note Digital Head Swap in the latter), Nick McKinless (Justice League ^note both versions, but as a body double in Snyder's version)

Voiced By: Martín Soto (Latin-American Spanish), Gabriel Le Doze (European French), Benoît Rousseau (Canadian French)

Appearances: Wonder Woman | Justice League | Zack Snyder's Justice League

"I am not the god of War, Diana. I am the god of Truth."

The Olympian God of War and a long-standing adversary to the Amazons. Millennia ago he stond along side his father Zeus, humanity and the Amazons against the invading forces of Apokolips, but over time he became disillusioned with his allies. Ares then fought against the gods, but was struck down by Zeus and hid in the shadows for the next several thousand years.Diana of Themyscira believes him to be responsible for the Great War and follows Steve Trevor in Europe in the hope of confronting him to put an end to the conflict.

---

• Adaptational Badass: Unlike most versions of Ares, this one does not require War in order to have his power. He was also able to kill Zeus and the rest of their Pantheon, presumably on his own which puts him leagues ahead of his own mythological counterpart, who was frequently subjected to asskicking from even mortals. His ability to use the Lasso of Truth against its wielder is also a new addition. In the Snyder Cut, he and Zeus are able to take down Darkseid.
• Adaptational Personality Change: Ares in most incarnations not only draws power from War but directly conspires to create and prolong wars being proud of being the God of War. Here he is polite to Diana even after revealing himself, not even seeing himself as the God of War but as the God of Truth wanting to create peace by destroying mankind. He also stated that while he put the idea of weapons in humans' minds, he did not make them use it.
• Adaptational Ugliness: In the early comics and the Justice League Unlimited cartoon, Ares is an attractive young man with blond hair. Even at his most demonic, he still looked quite virile. In Wonder Woman, he resembles a plain-looking man in his 50s. Could also be considered Adaptational Attractiveness in comparison to his New 52 look, who was so decrepit that his eyes had rotted away.
• Affably Evil: He remains polite to Diana even after getting rid of his Sir Patrick identity. By all accounts he doesn't even want to kill her despite having no qualms slaughtering anyone else, due to Diana almost reaching the same conclusion he did about humanity.
• All Myths Are True: Ares does exist; he isn't just the stuff of the stories Hippolyta told to Diana when she was young, nor is he a legend like Steve is led to believe until he sees him with his own eyes.
• Alternate Company Equivalent: Ares is a Well-Intentioned Extremist whose methods put him at odds with his fellow Olympians. He has the power to control metal with his thoughts, wears a helmet with narrow openings for his face and his embittered view of humanity comes from their actions during a World War. He's the DC equivalent to Magneto.
• Anti-Villain: Ares claims to be this in regards to annihilating humanity, and claims their inherent wickedness has to end in order to achieve peace. Keep in mind, he admits this while under the control of Diana's lasso, so he genuinely believes this.
• Armored Villains, Unarmored Heroes:
  • During the climatic confrontation in Wonder Woman, he dons a dark plate armor formed from military debris that fully covers his body against Diana, who wears much less armor.
  • The reverse happened when he defended the Earth against Steppenwolf's invasion in the theatrical version of Justice League. He leaped on Steppenwolf shirtless with his battleaxe, whereas the New God wore much more armor.
  • It's a bit more even when he attacks Uxas/Darkseid during that same invasion in Zack Snyder's Justice League, as the New God is shirtless too.
• Attack Backfire: He tries to kill Diana with a powerful stream of lightning, only for her gauntlets to absorb the entire attack. She then fires the lightning back at Ares in a concentrated blast, obliterating him.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Back when the Olympian pantheon was still united (and still around) during the first Apokoliptian war, Ares and Zeus gave Darkseid a serious asskicking and very nearly killed him with some creative teamwork. Zeus softened him up with some lightning blasts while Ares put down the hurt with his battleaxe.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Technically, the goal he set out to achieve happened exactly as he wanted. The armistice that ended the Great War did, in fact, only inflame tensions, leading to another more deadly war that threatened to consume all of humanity. While he failed to completely break Wonder Woman's faith in humanity, his words left an impact on her that led her to withdraw from human affairs as a superhero for nearly 100 years.
• Bald Head of Toughness: He had one in his younger years.
• Barbarian Hero: Back when he was on the side of humanity, Ares was an energetic macho man who relied on raw strength to fight. This provides a stark contrast to his turn to villainy, where he became more cunning and passive. It seems that much like war itself, Ares becomes more refined with every development.
• Bare-Handed Blade Block: Ares takes this up a notch by disintegrating Diana's sword when she thrusts it at him, then taunts her by casually blowing the ashes off his palm.
• Beard of Barbarism: Ares orignally had one before he turned to villainy. By the time he was ousted he'd trimmed his facial hair into a gentlemanly mustache.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Ares once fought alongside the gods and humanity against an impending invasion, using brutal methods to achieve victory. He has since turned on both gods and humans, using trickery to destroy the latter.
• Been There, Shaped History: Subverted. Diana thinks Ares is behind World War I. He tells her humans are cruel enough to generate war by themselves, he just lends them a hand to find new ways to annihilate each other. However, by his own admission he had a hand in how things developed and has done so for ages — it's just that humanity never fails to put his whispered advice to "good" use. He also seems to often have a hand in negotiating fragile peace agreements in his mortal guises.
• Believing Their Own Lies: While under the power of the Lasso of Hestia, Ares says that he killed the other gods because they refused to hate humans as much as he does. SHAZAM! Fury of the Gods established that the gods acted like abusive pet owners towards humans and were wiped out by humans who fought back. Apparently, Ares couldn't accept this.
• Big Bad: Of the first Wonder Woman film. He's set up as a major enemy to the Amazons and Diana suspects the Great War is of his doing. While Ares is shown to be active during this time, his role in the war is minimal until Diana confronts him.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: His human disguise is Sir Patrick Morgan, who seems to be both a Reasonable Authority Figure, supporting Steve and Wonder Woman going after Ludendorff, and the Big Good supporting the armistice. In reality he's only sincerely affable to his fellow god, Diana, and he desires the extinction of humans.
• Black Knight: This is the form he assumes when he decides to engage Diana in a sword fight after passively using magic does little to hold her off. Fittingly, his human guise has a title traditionally bestowed upon knights of the realm.
• Black Sheep: As the Olympians are all related to each other, Ares fits the bill, being a god whose idiom revolves around combat while others represent forces whose combat potential is secondary to their main usage. Even before his Heel–Face Turn his appearance was more intimidating than the other Olympians with his horned helmet, warpaint and armor.
• Bloodbath Villain Origin: Appropriate for a war god. His Heel–Face Turn was marked with the absolute genocide of the Olympians.
• Blow You Away: At the start of the Final Battle, Diana attacks Ares with the Lasso of Truth and he counter-attacks by summoning a wind that blows strong enough to keep the lasso at bay.
• Bookends: Ares was banished from Olympus with a bolt of lightning. He's vanquished by another bolt of lighting.
• Cain and Abel: He's Diana's main opponent during World War I, and her half-brother as both of them are children of Zeus.
• The Cameo: In both versions of Justice League, a pre-villain Ares appears as one of the leading forces who helped repel the first Apokoliptian invasion of Earth.
• Canon Character All Along: He is initially introduced as Sir Patrick Morgan before The Reveal toward the end of the film.
• Chain Pain: He snares Diana's arm with a chain and projects her away with it during the Final Battle.
• Climax Boss: With the defeat of Ares, World War I draws to a close. This doesn't stop humanity's violent urges however, as World War II and the Cold War happened regardless and World War III very nearly came to pass both in 1984 and right before Arthur assumed the throne of Atlantis.
• Composite Character: He is based on his comic book version as the God of War, but incorporates traits from his kids Eris (god of strife and chaos) and his aristocratic disguise from his three agents the Duke of Deception, the Earl of Greed and the Count of Conquest. And his spitefulness towards humanity is based on the First Born, a son of Zeus who was jealous of his father's creations and sought to kill them all; Ares was never so vindictive in the comics, seeking only to perform his job of spreading conflict and war.
• Cool Helmet:
  • During WWI: He uses metal debris to shape a whole suit of plate armor onto himself, and carves the eye-slits on his horned helmet by melting parts of it with his fingers.
  • During Ancient Times: Ares wore a helmet that resembled a ram's skull.
• The Corrupter: Subverted. Diana believes that Ares is the direct cause of the war by corrupting humans, and once he's dead and his influence is gone, the war will end. Her idealism takes a hit when Ares reveals he doesn't force mankind to go to war, he merely acts from the shadows, whispering in their ears new ways to fight and kill each other. Then he sits back and lets humans decide whether or not they'll use his suggestions. Mankind does not disappoint him, though in all fairness to the entire species, he does pick the very worst of humanity to influence and refuses to see any good in the rest of them.
  • Ares does play this trope straight when it comes to Diana. He waits until she's lost faith in humanity to reveal himself and reinforces this view. When Steve Trevor dies and Diana goes on a despair-induced rampage, Ares offers her Doctor Poison as an easy kill to fully cement her turn to villainy. Diana comes to her senses and rejects his temptation.
• Create Your Own Hero: Ares rebelling against his fellow Olympians spurred Zeus into conceiving a child with Hippolyta, setting up a final showdown between the last two children of Zeus millennia later.
• Dark Is Evil: Unlike comic Ares this one lacks necromancy and a shadowy face, but he more than makes up for it with his mortal disguise, which wears black, reveals to himself to Diana in the middle of the night and ultimately dons a dark metal armor.
• Despair Gambit: Ares tried to convince Diana that his way was right simply by letting her see the horrors of the Great War. He almost succeeded, but got cocky and started bragging in Diana's face about it, which convinced her not to resist.
• The Dog Was the Mastermind: Up until his reveal it was assumed that Ludendorff was Ares in disguise, seeing as his lust for violence was in-character for a war god. Diana couldn't have guessed the most violent of the gods would have actually been one of the most pacifistic members on the allie's side.
• Don't Make Me Destroy You: "My dear, I don't want to fight you. But if I must..." (zaps Diana)
• The Dreaded: Ares was able to slay all of the Olympians, which makes him the stuff of nightmares for the Amazons.
• Dual Wielding: He attacks Diana with two swords in the final battle of Wonder Woman.
• Duel Boss: He's the first enemy that Diana fights on her own, as well as the most powerful until her resurgence in the 21st century.
• Elemental Motifs: Fire. When Ares is hit with explosives he absorbs the flames and uses them to mold metal debris into a suit of armor. Back when he was still part of the Olympian pantheon he also had glowing red hands.
• Eternal Villain: As the god of war, Ares has been present throughout all of human history. Most notably, he was present during the Apokoliptian invasion and resurfaced during the Great War.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • He is legitimately disgusted at mankind and their actions, though he will enable them if it leads to their self-destruction.
  • Even he didn't want the New Gods to invade Earth.
• Evil Brit: He pretends to be a British nobleman to ensure a terrible peace that will provoke the next World War, evoking the Quintessential British Gentleman to complete the image. Even when we find out that he's actually an Olympian god, he still speaks with an English accent.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Ares is so convinced that humanity is inherently evil, he absolutely refuses to see the good in them, even twisting Steve's Heroic Sacrifice as him leaving Diana. It's so bad that he killed the other gods for not siding with him, and ultimately snaps and attempts to kill Diana as well when he fails to convince her.
• Evil Counterpart: To Diana, and the Amazons in general. Both originate from Greek mythology and are adept at combat. While Diana actively participated in the war, Ares stood back and pulled the strings. While Diana is an idealist, Ares is a bitter misanthrope who believes the best thing for the world is humanity's extinction. They both want peace, but Diana wants it through the end of the war, whereas Ares also wants it through the "end of war"... via the annihilation of mankind.
  • In Zack Snyder's Justice League we even see them using the same moves to take down two New Gods by leaping into the air and swinging their blades down on an enemy's neck. Ares did this to Darkseid but failed to kill him, while Diana successfully beheaded Steppenwolf.
• Evil Evolves: Implied. Ares at his most heroic never relied on any mystical powers in combat. When he appears before Diana his powers include telportation, levitation, electro-kinesis and telepathy.
• Evil Sounds Deep: The moment Ares began to fault his power, the deeper his voice became.
• Evil Virtues: Ambition (bring an end to humanity's recklessness), Honesty (he reveals his entire plan to Diana with no deceptions), Patience (was able to hide among humanity for millennia before making his move), Respect (he's very courteous to Diana despite the two being enemies) and Wisdom (it's implied Ares was able to overthrow his fellow Olympians by familiarizing himself with their powers and skills).
• Evil Wears Black: His armor is very dark due to being formed out of scorched debris. Even when masquerading as Patrick Morgan, Ares opts for dark clothing.
• Face–Heel Turn: At some point, Ares stopped caring about protecting humans (like he did during the Apokoliptian invasion) and started corrupting them into waging war with each other.
• Fallen Hero: In the novel, he mentions once having saved mankind, but later coming to realize they were not worthy of salvation. He's likely referring to the war against the Titans, which is also mentioned in the novel. The events of Justice League suggest this is actually referencing the war against Apokolips
• Final Solution: Ares is as genocidal as they come, having successfully killed all of the Olympians and plotting to do the same with humanity.
• The Final Temptation: When Steve Trevor's death breaks Diana, she unleashes her full wrath on any soldier unlucky enough to be in her path. Ares presents her with Doctor Poison, who despite being a cruel person is completely outmatched against even a regular combatant. Ares persuades Diana to kill his offering so she can cement her standing againt humanity. Diana refuses, being able to see that Maru and herself were both manipulated by Ares.
• Flying Brick: He's capable of flight, has strength on par or exceeding Diana's, and is durable enough to survive massive explosions at pointblank range.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Patrick Morgan goes out of his way to make sure Steve and Diana get to the front lines despite this being risky for their armistice. This is because he wants Diana to know the true horrors of war and lose faith in humanity.
  • When Doctor Maru laments her book of formulas falling into the hands of the enemy, a slight breeze causes a random piece of notepaper to drift into her hands, giving her a new formula that's far more dangerous than what she'd originally worked with. As Ludendorff was in her lab when this happened, it's a hint that Ares was hiding in the shadows.
• Genius Bruiser: Ares has the incredible strength you'd expect from a god, and can use the power of suggestion to instigate a war.
• God in Human Form: He's a Greek god, so this is a given. Back when he was still affiliated with the Olympians he was taller and had glowing hands.
• Hated by All: Ares has made enemies of his own kin, Apokolips and the Amazons. His death was motive enough for the German soldiers to lay down their arms and surrender.
• Heroic Build: To portray Ares in Justice League, Nick McKinless went through months of intense training to get to 6 per cent of body fat, and it shows given how jacked he is in his (brief) scene in the history lesson. He had a leaner but still muscular build upon being cast from Olympus.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Ares fought the malevolent Darkseid, only to become nearly as bad as Darkseid himself. While Ares does have motives that are more understandable than Darkseid's egomania, this only serves to show how easily the well-intentioned can be corrupted.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Diana's bracelets absorb and concentrate the lightning shot by Ares into a powerful beam that kills him.
• Hope Crusher: Ares tries to convince Diana that humanity should be abandoned by letting her witness the deaths of innocent people at the willing hands of Ludendorff and his soldiers.
• Horns of Barbarism: Ares originally wore a helmet with large curved horns. He switched it for a helmet with smaller horns when he started his coup on the other Olympians and fashioned a second helmet reminiscent of this one. Note that both of his "villain" helmets have smaller horns than his heroic one, which coincides with his more cunning and treacherous development.
• Horns of Villainy: Ares prefers helmets with horns on them. In his younger days he had a large pair that made him look bestial. After turning to villainy his horns become smaller.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: His essential belief. However, while there's truth to that, Diana counters that they are much more than just that. As she'd already befriended a group of mercenaries that were less than ideal, her view of humanity was already becoming more nuanced by this point.
• Hypocrite: Criticizes humans as warlike creatures who slaughter each other, while being a warlike creature who slaughtered the other Olympian gods. Also, while admittedly not directly responsible for their capacity towards conflict, it doesn't help that he conveniently found the worst among them and planted the idea into their heads, all just to justify his double standard actions.
• I Did What I Had to Do: He doesn't seem to regret his murder of his own family, claiming they couldn't see humanity the way he did, so he offed them.
• In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves: Since he sees mankind as inherently evil and destructive, he influences wars by merely giving people ideas on how to kill each other, then he watches as they act on his suggestions so mankind can end up destroying itself.
• Instant Armor: He summons an armor on himself instantly with his Mind over Matter powers, using nearby metal debris once his Sir Patrick Morgan clothes are of no use anymore and get burned.
• Irony:
  • First case in point was Dramatic Irony. Diana believed Ares's influence was ultimately causing the war, but he was just influencing people and letting human politics play out on its own in a bloody war. Despite being a patron deity of war, he hated the matter and preferred a peaceful state of affairs, and decided that the only way to bring permanent peace was to ensure that humanity wasn't around to be waging wars.
  • The God of War would rather have civil discourse with his enemies than fight or kill them. Of course, this version of Ares detests his name being synonymous with violence.
• Is That the Best You Can Do?: Says "Is that all you have to offer?" to Diana during the final fight as he overpowers her.
• Jerkass Gods: He planned several conflicts amongst humankind with the intention of having it all wiped out.
• Kick the Dog: The moment Steve sacrifices himself to prevent a genocide on London, Ares scoffs at his memory.
• Kill the God: Ares specialises in this. He once fought during the Apokoliptian invasion, being able to seriously injure the enemy's leader. Afterwards he killed all of the Olympians and left Zeus fatally wounded.
• Large Ham: He really goes all out on Diana when she refuses his We Can Rule Together offer. He also throws a crap ton of lightning at her.
• Laser-Guided Karma: After slaughtering his own family, Ares is vanquished by his youngest sister, who was conceived for the purpose of defeating him.
• Last of His Kind: By the time Diana meets him, Ares is the last full-blooded Olympian god.
• Late-Arrival Spoiler: Zack Snyder's Justice League makes it no secret that David Thewlis plays Ares, as his face is visible during Diana's recount of the battle against Apokolips. Even the theatrical release credits Thewlis as Ares despite being played by his body double Nick McKinless.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: Ares states that the Great War was humanity's idea and he's repulsed that they would do such a thing, yet he fans the flames so that they can suffer the consequences of their actions.
• The Man Behind the Man: General Ludendorff got his war plans from him and Dr. Poison got her new gas from him.
• Manipulative Bastard: The Amazons teach that Ares turned humanity against itself in war with his powers. And he did... kinda. He acts as a defacto patron to the most warlike and dangerous individuals like Ludendorff and Dr. Poison, providing them with inspiration and formulas to create greater weapons of war, and practices reverse psychology to make an armistice a tool for even more war and to get Steve and Diana to go where he wants them to.
  • There is also a noticeable shift in the demeanor and actions of soldiers after he is defeated, implying he was influencing them in a direct manner (though that could be a result of Power Incontinence).
• Manly Man: While he's unimpressive when Diana encounters him, Ares was insanely masculine in his younger days, being 8 feet tall with sculpted muscles and Manly Facial Hair as opposed to a gentleman's mustache. He also had a habit of snarling in the heat of battle.
• Mind over Matter: Hurls everything in the battlefield onto Diana (and at times, towards himself to create weaponry and armor) without even touching it.
• Misanthrope Supreme: Ares despises humanity (moreso than Zod ever did) but in a twist, he claims it's because mankind is warlike and destructive. He wants to purge the planet of mankind because he believes it's the best way to protect the world from them and ensure peace.
• Mole in Charge: Through his Sir Patrick Morgan disguise, he infiltrated the World War I Allies' high command.
• More than Mind Control: Diana thinks that humanity is Brainwashed and Crazy under his influence and this is why they are fighting; in reality, and as Ares argues himself, humans are more than capable of fighting and killing each other all by themselves. Ares gives them a "push" in the right direction in order to make wars happen in times and ways of his choosing and certainly influences events and people through the power of suggestion, but the world isn't automatically going to become a better place just because he isn't there to cause problems.
• Motive Rant: Ares explains his motivations throughout the Final Battle between Diana and himself.
  "I am not the God of War, Diana. I am the God of Truth. All I ever wanted was to show my father how evil his creation was. But he refused. Mankind stole the world from us. They ruined it, day-by-day. And I, the only one wise enough to see it, was left too weak to destroy them myself. All these years, I've struggled. Whispering into their ears...Ideas. Inspiration. For weapons. Formulas. But I don't make them use them. They start these wars on their own. All I do is orchestrate an armistice I know they will break, in the hope they will destroy themselves. But it's never been enough. When you first arrived I was going to end you, Diana. And I knew that if only you could see what the other gods couldn't...All the suffering. All the pain and destruction they create...You would join me. We could return the world to the paradise it was before them. And there would be absolute peace, Diana. Forever."
• Nature Lover: A villainous example. Ares' most consistent trait is that he'll fight tooth and nail against anyone that would threaten Earth's ecosystems. He was on the front lines during the Apokoliptian invasion and decided that humanity must be purged after witnessing their disregard for nature, which could only have been exacerbated by the rise of the Industrial Age.
• Near-Villain Victory: Ares would have successfully decimated humanity if he'd been able to prevent Zeus from conceiving Diana or at the very least allowed Diana to turn to his side on her own.
• Never My Fault:
  • While he has a point in humans choosing to act evil of their own free will, he conveniently ignores the fact that he is the one placing wicked ideas in decidedly evil individuals with the expressed purpose of manipulating them and the war to wipe humanity out. This doesn't seem to dawn on him as he explains this while under the influence of the lasso of Truth, meaning he is entirely convinced of his position.
  • He killed the rest of the Olympians because they refuse to accept his belief that humans are evil. So it's their fault he had to kill them.
• No Body Left Behind: Being blasted by his own lighting reduces Ares to dust.
• Not Me This Time: Ares takes full credit for slaughtering his fellow gods, but denies pushing humanity into violence as he belives they're inherently violent when left to their own devices.
• Not So Similar: Ares and Diana are both children of Zeus who have dual identities and become disillusioned with humanity, but the similarities end there. Ares continuously indulges humanity's worst impulses so he can prove himself right while Diana ultimately decided to encourage humanity's better side. Additionally when it comes to dealing with Apokoliptians, Ares was negligent enough to leave Darkseid wounded while Wonder Woman went straight for Steppenwolf's head.
• Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Although he wants to bring peace to the world by destroying humanity, he is causing more harm than actually benefiting Earth.
• Obvious Villain, Secret Villain: The Secret to Ludendorff's Obvious.
• Omnicidal Maniac: He is out to Kill All Humans and plans to do it by manipulating them into killing each other. He also killed the other Olympians.
• Out of the Inferno: During the Final Battle against Diana, he stands in the fire caused by an explosion, his Sir Patrick Morgan clothes burn off and he summons his armor on himself in said inferno, then attacks Diana from it.
• Outside-Context Villain: Up until his big reveal, Wonder Woman was simply just a war movie with a superhero in it. Once Ares unveils his scheme and goes on the offensive, he starts using magical abilities that he was assumed to have lost when he was cast down from Olympus.
• Patricide: He mortally wounded his father Zeus when he killed all the other gods of Olympus during the War of the Gods.
• Pelts of the Barbarian: Ares wore a Badass Cape made of animal hide during the Apokoliptian invasion, which combined with his skull helmet, giant axe and bare chest completes his ancient warrior image.
• Pet the Dog: He shows sincere respect toward Diana, even after he reveals himself, and doesn't think about killing her at first, even though he knows that she could destroy him.
• Physical God: As mentioned, he's the literal Greek God of War, with all that comes with it. The only thing capable of destroying him is his own divine power. He does however demonstrate a less tangible presence when he gives Doctor Poison ideas for new chemical weapons.
• Playing Both Sides: During World War I, he whispers new ways of waging war to Ludendorff's and Dr. Poison's ears and, as Sir Patrick Morgan, influences the British War Council.
• Plot-Irrelevant Villain: Played for Drama. By all objective metrics, the true Big Bad of the story is Ludendorff; Ares himself outright states that he didn't make Ludendorff do anything, and that he came up with the superweapon plan on his own and used his own resources to implement it. In fact, Ares claims he didn't do anything at all besides whisper suggestions for weapons in a few peoples' ears with telepathy, and besides his fight with Diana (and a flashback) he doesn't take any action or hurt a single person. This is played as part of the Aesop that humans don't need an overarching supernatural Big Bad to explain their flaws. He's around for less than ten minutes after The Reveal and only really relevant for Diana's Character Development, as her rejection of his philosophy and fending him off in the final battle represents her refusing to let go of her idealism. In the end, the only person he actually killed during the events of the film (either directly or indirectly) was himself.
• The Power of Hate: Ares fanned the flames of war among humanity, inspiring them to try killing each other through increasingly destructive means. He almost succeeded in corrupting Diana until she regained herself and gave him a Shut Up, Hannibal! line, at which point Ares lost his temper and tried to obliterate her. Diana deflects his attack back at Ares, killing him instantly.
• Powers Do the Fighting: Downplayed. While he does get physical with Diana (and throw a few lightning bolts) he shows a strong preference for simply using telekinesis to hurl things at her for most of the fight.
• Sadly Mythtaken: In classical Greek mythology, Ares is actually the father of Hippolyta, making him Diana's grandfather. Here, Zeus is the creator of the Amazons, with Ares being Diana's brother. He also refers to himself as the God of Truth rather than the God of War.
• Satanic Archetype: Ares tempts humans into warlike actions so as to bring about their destruction, bringing to mind Satan as a tempter, as does his role as being Driven by Envy of them. Ares also fights Diana while surrounded by flames, evoking hellfire. In ancient times, Ares opposed Zeus, who created and loved humanity, which is reminiscent of the rivalry between God and Satan in Christianity and Islam. Finally, a flashback shows a defeated Ares lying on the ground after falling from his heavenly battle with Zeus, bringing to mind Lucifer as a fallen angel.
• Screaming Warrior: He roars in Darkseid's face while driving his battle axe into the New God's shoulder.
• Shadow Dictator: Ares manipulated Ludendorff into keeping the war going for the thrill of it, which drove the latter to stage a coup against the German High Command and become the second highest authority in Germany.
• Shock and Awe: Like his own father, Ares can summon lightning. It ends up being his undoing when Diana redirects it onto him.
• Shockwave Stomp: At one point during the Final Battle, he hits the ground hard enough to send a shockwave at Diana, who dodges it. It's powerful enough to cut a truck in half.
• Sincerity Mode: He emphasizes that for all of his influence, humans never go to war and kill one another unless they choose to.
• Skeletons in the Coat Closet: Ares wore a helmet resembling the skull of a horned beast when he fought against the Apokoliptian invasion.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: Ares speaks with a gentle tone of voice as he talks about the evils of humanity and justifies their destruction. His voice gets more energized over the course of his fight with Diana, with the battle's end marked by him shouting his final words.
• Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Is capable of turning material around him into any weapon he desires in seconds.
• Story-Breaker Power: When Diana finally confronts Ares, she learns the hard way that the Godkiller sword is completely useless against him. Ares spends the entire fight with Diana taking hit after hit and not suffering any sign of injury or fatigue. It takes his own deflected lightning blast to be vanquished.
• Summon to Hand: Ares telekinetically draws shrapnel to him which forms into weapons.
• Superpower Lottery: A big winner of it. He has Super-Strength on par with or exceeding Diana, Super-Toughness sufficient enough to survive gigantic pointblank explosions unharmed, can move massive objects with ease via telekinesis, create weapons out of anything around him at will, send a Shockwave Stomp, teleport, manipulate the weather and generate cascades of devastating lightning. Justified, as he is literally a god.
• Super-Toughness: An explosion doesn't injure Ares one bit. While it does burn his clothes, he just fashions a suit of armor and leaps back into the fight, more energized than ever.
• Takes One to Kill One: As a god, he can only be killed by another god. That's why he was able to kill the other gods of Olympus, and why Diana, his half-sister and fellow god, is the only being in existence capable of killing him.
• They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: You wouldn't expect the God of War to look like an English gentleman. In his prime he looked more like a conventional Olympian.
• This Means Warpaint: During his battle against Darkseid, Ares was slathered in black paint
• Tin Tyrant: In the climax of Wonder Woman, he summons a dark-looking suit armor made of military hardware onto himself. It covers him entirely save for a vertical slit in the helmet.
• Token Evil Teammate: To his fellow Olympians, since they fought on Earth's side against the Apokoliptian invaders, with Ares dealing the most damaging blow while Zeus and Artemis focused on disrupting the takeover.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Ares tries to persuade Diana to join him in his genocide of humanity by showing her an illusion of Earth before it was ravaged by war. As he'd originally fought to prevent the New Gods from turning Earth into a hellscape, it can be assumed that Ares genuinely cares for nature.
• Villain Has a Point: The points he makes about Humans Are Flawed, Humans Are Bastards and In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves are quite accurate, even though they're not enough to describe humanity, as Diana (and, about a hundred years later, Bruce Wayne) proclaims. He merely left suggestions that would keep the war going (and they did); he even openly advocated a peace agreement, which was largely ignored. With tests like that, it's understandable that he'd see humanity as inherently violent, even without his influence. Even after his death that marked the end of World War I, Diana perfectly understood this as she witnessed World War II, the Cold War and the events of Wonder Woman 1984 that cost more millions of lives, realizing that some humans are just as inherently corrupt in nature, even without any of Ares' influence.
  • Additionally, Ares knows full well that humanity has a Motherbox in their possession, giving them the potential to attain godlike power.
• Villains Never Lie: While Ares did decieve everyone by disguising himself as Patrick Morgan, his expository speech is has nothing but truth to it. Zeus did conceive a child with Hippolyta in the hopes she would avenge the Olympians, humanity did start the Great War on their own and Steve Trevor's death was ultimately in vain since World War II happened some years later.
• Villainous Breakdown: When Diana refuses to kill Doctor Poison by crushing her with a tank, he completely loses his composure and decides to just kill her.
• Villain Teleportation: Being a god, Ares can move from place to place at a moment's notice. He can even assume an immaterial form while doing so, which he used while manipulating Doctor Posion and Ludendorff. Contrast this with the New Gods, who use Boom Tubes to move around at the expense of their stealth.
• Visionary Villain: Ares wants to exterminate humanity so that Earth can return to the paradise it once was.
• Walking Spoiler: For starters, he is the real Big Bad of Wonder Woman, not Ludendorff.
• War God: The Classical Mythology one. He thrives on violence and is capable enough to slaughter an entire pantheon on his own. However he sees himself not as God of War, but a God of Truth.
• The War to End All Wars: Cynical it may be, but if Ares had succeeded in his plans, the Great War really would have been humanity's last war. Not that this would have any bearings on the Kryptonians and Atlanteans, the former of whom were fighting each other until their dying days and the latter are just itching to wage wars with anything that moves.
• We Can Rule Together: He tries to get Diana on his side during the climax, believing they can restore the Earth to the paradise it was before Zeus created mankind.
• Worf Had the Flu: In the past, Ares not only took on Darkseid himself but also single-handedly destroyed the entire Olympian pantheon, but he lost to Diana whose power and combat experience are a step below his own. It's implied that Ares lost a considerable amount of his powers in his final battle with Zeus and he hadn't fully recovered even after a few thousand years had past. In fact, Wonder Woman has to redirect Ares' own lightning against him in order to defeat him.
• You Are What You Hate: Despises humans as warlike creatures who slaughter each other and destroy the world around them, deeming them unworthy of the powers and favors of the gods. He himself is also a warlike creature who slaughtered the other Olympian Gods and was cast down from Olympus by his own father.
• You Don't Look Like You: An action figure and LEGO set released in 2017 both show Ares sporting a helmet that resembles a ram's skull and a face that's blackened out except for his eyes. In the film itself, Ares wears a different kind of helmet and his face looks completely human. Also he's of average height, whereas the Lego set showed him being much bigger than a person. Both versions of Justice League use a similar design, though Ares doesn't have the red eyes and shadowy face.
• You Have Outlivedyour Usefulness: Ares goads Diana into killing Doctor Poison, whom he had used as a pawn throughout the war.

General Ludendorff

General Erich Ludendorff

"Peace is only an armistice in an endless war."

Species: Human

Citizenship: German

Affiliation(s): German Army, German General Staff

Portrayed By: Danny Huston

Voiced By: Jochen Hägele (European French), Jacques Lavallée (Canadian French), José Luis Orozco (Latin-American Spanish)

Appearances: Wonder Woman

"You know your ancient Greeks? They understood that war is a god. A god that requires human sacrifice. And in exchange, war gives man purpose. Meaning. A chance to rise above his petty mortal little self. And be courageous. Noble. Better."

A general from Imperial Germany who's still warmongering (with mass murder plans in mind) on the eve of the Armistice in 1918.

---

• Amazon Chaser: The way he looks at and talks about Diana makes clear how impressed Ludendorff is with her.
• Artistic Licence – History:
  • The real life Ludendorff, like most men in Europe in the 1910s, had a moustache◊, while Danny Huston doesn't sport any in the film.
  • The real life Ludendorff also survived World War I, eventually dying of liver cancer in 1937.
  • Ludendorff mentions his fascination and love for the Greek Gods to Diana during the party. The actual Ludendorff indulged in the weird and trendy pseudo-paganism that was all the rage at the time, but his preference was the Proto-Germanic and Norse deities, and his true devotion was for Wotan.
• Bad Boss: His Establishing Character Moment is shooting one of his own officers for complaining about low supplies. He also gasses the whole German High Command just for going about and wanting to sign the armistice. He doesn't mistreat Dr. Poison at all however, showing complete faith in her.
• Badass Normal: While still reliant on the strength-enhanching gas for his blows to have any effect, the fact he seems equally skilled in hand-to-hand combat to a warrior princess trained all her life is saying a lot.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Played with, if not outright subverted once Ares' true role in the film becomes apparent. On one hand, Ares is indeed far more powerful and dangerous than Ludendorff could ever hope to be, and he doesn't last long against Diana when she reaches him. But Ludendorff was already a warmongering madman and didn't need Ares' input to continue being one. By all metrics, Ludendorff is the film's Big Bad for the conflict related to the war, with Ares being the Final Boss for Diana's Character Development.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Ludendorff takes a shot at Wonder Woman, who deflects the bullet back into his pistol's barrel. The resulting explosion hurts his hand, but Ludendorff overcomes this by inhaling his strength-enhancing potion.
• Captain Ersatz: A very blatant one to the MCU version of the Red Skull, being a sadistic German general and rogue agent who enhances himself with a super serum to fight the hero, murders other officers that annoy him, has a mad scientist sidekick, and is planning to destroy entire cities in an attempt to usher in his domination of the world.
• Chest of Medals: He is seen wearing the Iron Cross and the Pour le Mérite (aka "Blue Max"), most notably. The Pour le Mérite was among the highest orders of merit in Imperial Germany.
• Classic Villain: Ludendorff embodies Wrath in that he wants to keep war going for no reason outside of enjoying the carnage. He also has a sinister German accent, manages to undo Diana's act of heroism and has a dramatic showdown with Diana.
• Composite Character: By virtue of being the sole named German antagonist in the movie, the leader of the German army, and the Big Bad, as well as his Historical Villain Upgrade and the setting change, he's effectively a Setting Update composite of Wonder Woman's various German enemies when she was a Captain Patriotic hero fighting in World War II. These included Red Panzer, Captain Nazi, Baron Blitzkrieg (who was also enhanced with Super Serum to be able to fight Wonder Woman), and Armageddon (who, like Ludendorff, utilized a potent and fantastical chemical weapon).
• Cultured Badass: He is obviously well-versed in the classics, since he immediately recognizes a quote from Thucydides; displays a darkly philosophical temperament in his conversation with Diana at the gala; and is not afraid to fight an obviously superhuman enemy hand to hand if need be.
• Death by Adaptation: His Real Life counterpart died in 1937.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Diana kills him believing him to be Ares but the War and the threat of the gas remain; it's not long after Sir Patrick Morgan reveals himself to Diana as Ares.
• Empowered Badass Normal: Since he's not Ares, he can only hold his own against Wonder Woman for so long because of a strength enhancing gas created by Dr. Poison.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: In contrast with the misogynist British Imperial War Cabinet officers who wouldn't even let Diana enter their offices, Ludendorff has no problem having a foreign woman (Dr. Maru) work for him in a pretty important position (chief chemist) and trusting her completely.
• Evil Is Petty:
  • In between his massacres and backstabbing, he forces Diana to dance with him at one point.
  • When gassing the German High Command, he tosses in a single gas mask for them to fight over. Which won't work against that gas, anyway.
• Evil Sounds Deep: His voice has a low-pitched growl to it.
• Faux Affably Evil: Conducts himself in a dignified manner as fitting his status, but in close-quarter combat it becomes clear that there's a Blood Knight under that civilised veneer. The way he forcefully grabs Diana and dances with her illustrates this pretty well; he'll take whatever and whomever he wants and play it off as harmless.
• Fictionalized Death Account: While the real Ludendorff died of liver cancer in 1937, this version of him is killed by Wonder Woman in 1918.
• Foe Romantic Subtext: With Diana.
• Foil: To Ares, as he is directly campaigns to keep the war going, in contrast to Ares who uses subtle manipulations with politics and new weaponry.
  • To Steve Trevor. Ludendorff boasts of the virtues of war, despite him being brutal and treating his soldiers as disposable agents. Ironically, Steve possesses the courage and nobility Ludendorff speaks of, and eventually sacrifices himself to stop a major superweapon.
• For the Evulz:
  • When gassing the German High Command, Ludendorff tosses a single gas mask in with them. Thing is, he and Dr. Poison know perfectly well that the mask won't work against the gas, and that the officers will desperately fight for it only for the winner to die anyway.
  • While he clearly views himself as a loyal German (if not the fanatic that he is), he's clearly supportive of Dr. Poison for personal reasons.
• General Ripper: He's a psychotic general who doesn't want the war to end. He's also not above murdering his fellow generals to prevent the armistice, gassing a whole town full of civilians to show off his new weapon and ultimately gassing London.
• Has a Type: Strong, warrior ladies like Diana which, given his fixation with war, makes sense.
• The Heavy: Responsible for the manufacturing of the new chemical weapon that the heroes are seeking to stop, Ludendorff is the face of evil going against Diana and her allies even though he's merely a pawn of the true villain, Ares.
• Historical Beauty Update: Ludendorff was an old, portly man with a weak chin, unflattering mustache and a receding hairline, not a clean-shaven Silver Fox like Danny Huston.
• Historical Domain Character: Erich Ludendorff, Quartermaster general (Erster Generalquartiermeister), basically the supreme leader of the German military during World War I along with Paul von Hindenburg.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: Downplayed. The real Ludendorff was most certainly a bad guy; a belligerent imperialist who wanted Germany to rule the world, he theorized total war — to him, "peace was merely an interval between wars" (paraphrased in the film), he was also quite The Social Darwinist and participated in Adolf Hitler's failed putsch in November 1923. He kept agitating for German rearmament and a new war, and also spread the infamous "Stab-in-the-back" myth/lie that would play a huge part in Nazi propaganda. Having said all that, nothing in this charming portfolio implies that he shot one of his staff officers for bringing bad news, nor that he had plans to bomb London with a Deadly Gas or tested said gas on a whole village. Nor was he disloyal and unprofessional/crazy enough to kill his fellow generals to prevent the Armistice.^*At the time, Ludendorff and Paul von Hindenburg actually agreed to the Armistice because they were losing badly to Marshal Ferdinand Foch's Hundred Days Offensive, Germany was about to be invaded and occupied and until then the war hadn't hit Germany as much as it did in France, Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary and even England (who were being bombed by Zeppelin raids) - although the country was on the verge of starving on the other hand. The 1918—1919 revolution attempts within Germany, the rise of Social Democrats and Communists and the Kaiser's abdication made him turn around and he spent the rest of his life spreading malicious lies, even though he personally despised Hitler.
• Humans Are the Real Monsters: Diana is convinced that Ludendorff is Ares, the God of War, and that he's using his power to cause the World War. The idea that Ludendorff is simply an evil human who committed atrocities of his own free will doesn't cross her mind until after she kills him and the real Ares reveals the truth. All things considered, Ludendorff actually seems worse than Ares simply because he glorifies war and its atrocities in the name of power and glory, while Ares hates mankind because of its warring tendencies and despises them something that needs to be eliminated to create peace. In essence, Ludendorff embodies everything Ares hates about mankind and war.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Diana runs him through with the supposed-Godkiller sword.
• Kick the Dog:
  • His Establishing Character Moment is murdering one of his own officers to prove his point about how soldiers must expect an attack from anywhere.
  • When he later murders the German High Command by gassing them, he throws one gas mask in with them before locking them in. When Dr. Poison points out the gas mask won't work because of her new formula, he tells her that the men inside don't know that.
  • After the gala he gasses the town of Veld to show off his new weapon, even though it is entirely populated by civilians.
• Know-Nothing Know-It-All: He tells Diana "You know nothing of the gods", which falls under this trope once it's made clear Ludendorff isn't Ares in disguise. It becomes ironic when the real Ares gives Diana further information revealing that she really doesn't know as much about the gods as she believed she did.
• Obviously Evil: Ludendorff kills his men for slights and is blasé towards news of them starving to death. He also has an ally named Doctor Poison, who herself has a facial disfigurement and enjoys gassing helpless people to death.
• Obvious Villain, Secret Villain: The Obvious to Ares' Secret.
• The Philosopher: A villainous version, but he has an elevated, philosophical perspective on the war, driven by ideas that sound a lot like social Darwinism and Nietzschean philosophy. To some extent, this mirrors the historical Ludendorff, though here his warlikeness is exaggerated to make him a more compelling villain.
• Red Herring: Diana comes to the conclusion that he must be Ares in human disguise. He is not, Sir Patrick Morgan is.
• Renegade Splinter Faction: While the Kaiser and all of the German military's high command bar him want to sign the Armistice to put an end to the war, he wants the war to continue and kills the High Command during their meeting as they discuss the Armistice.
  • Also subverted, in that his goal is to persuade the Kaiser and his fellow generals to continue the war. He's continually frustrated when his comrades refuse.
• Super Serum: Dr. Poison provides him with a gas that gives him Super-Strength.
• Underestimating Badassery: He tells Diana "As magnificent as you are, you are still no match for me!" during their fight and attacks her fearlessly, not knowing what she truly is.
• Unwitting Pawn: Similar to Dr. Poison, Ares served as the Devil on Ludendorff's shoulder, influencing him only by giving him new ideas on how to wage war, not by controlling him directly.
• Villainous Crush: Ends up developing one towards Diana, Ludendorff taken not only by her beauty but also her fighting prowess too, outright calling her "magnificent."
• Villainous Friendship: He and Dr. Poison share a giggle after his Kick the Dog moment with the German High Command. Also, when Poison expresses frustration and despair at being unable to master her formula, Ludendorff calmly and quietly assures her of his faith in her.
• War Is Glorious: He glorifies war and says it elevates humanity, so much so that Diana thinks he is Ares.
• Weak, but Skilled: Even with chemically-induced super-strength, the fact he's skilled enough to go toe-to-toe with an immortal warrior woman who's been trained from childhood to be her people's champion, and actually do reasonably well (even if it's only for a minute or so), at least shows that the dude has a decent amount of legitimate fighting skill from his lifetime in the military and isn't just an armchair general.
• What the Hell Are You?: He asks "What are you?!" after Diana destroys his pistol with the very bullet he'd fired at her.
• Wicked Cultured: Like other German officers at the gala, he knows how to dance. He is also well-versed in historical war writings, such as the works of Thucydides. As for wicked, well...
• Worthy Opponent: Views Diana as such.

Dr. Poison

Dr. Isabel Maru / Dr. Poison

"I am loyal to General Ludendorff! Besides, I see your attention is... elsewhere."

^{Click here to see her without her mask}

^{Click here to see her before her disfigurement}

Species: Human

Citizenship: Spanish

Affiliation(s): German Army

Portrayed By: Elena Anaya

Voiced By: Elisabeth Ventura (European French) | Aurélie Morgane (Canadian French) | Mariana Ortiz (Latin-American Spanish)

Appearances: Wonder Woman

"I've got it! And if it's what I think, it's going to be... TERRIBLE!"

A disfigured scientist who conceived biochemical weapons for General Ludendorff during World War I.

---

• Adaptational Name Change: In the Golden Age, the first Doctor Poison was named Princess Maru and during the Post-Crisis and New 52/Rebirth, the second Doctor Poison, her granddaughter, is named Marina Maru. Here, she's named Isabel.
• Adaptational Ugliness: Played with in a interesting way. While the original comic incarnation looked very unappealing, its revealed that was merely a mask and make-up to disguise her identity and she is actually conventionally attractive◊ underneath. The cinematic version on the other hand has actual facial disfigurement, which is quite the creepy new addition, but the mask she wears doesn't look nearly as off-putting as the original one.
• Alas, Poor Villain: Averted as Wonder Woman spares her, but it's hard not to feel sorry for Dr. Poison when she's staring death in the face. Seeing Wonder Woman about to kill her, she looks petrified.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: The only person she's willing to have a conversation with is Ludendorff. Even Steve struggled to charm her.
• Badass Longcoat: She wears one when she gasses the German High Command.
• Conspicuous Gloves: She wears bright red gloves, presumably to protect herself from her own chemicals. She's even shown wearing them at a gala, implying that they cover up further disfigurements on her hands.
• Cool Mask: It's not played as such in the movie but WWI period disfiguration masks like Maru's were hand crafted and painted to extensive detail to match the person's face and had a canny statuesque beauty to them.
• Deadly Gas: One of the biochemical weapons she works on is an acidic gas capable of dissolving gas masks.
• The Dragon: To General Ludendorff.
• Dragon Their Feet: Diana kills General Ludendorff while Dr. Poison is preparing the dispersal of her new gas. She still manages to get one plane filled with her weapon in the air before Diana's allies can stop her.
• Evil Laugh: She lets out a small one when she finds out a disguised Steve Trevor's attention is "elsewhere" (as Diana has just entered the ballroom in a lovely blue dress).
• Facial Horror: When her mask falls away its revealed her nose has been ground down and she has half a Glasgow Grin.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: Steve Trevor assumes this is the case with Maru, as he tries to play the part of a dashing suitor who sees past her deformity. There may be some truth to that, as Maru takes great offense when Steve's gaze wanders to Diana in a gorgeous blue dress as she just walks in.
• Karma Houdini: She's a Mad Scientist, but she seemingly gets away with everything since Diana refuses to kill her in retribution for causing so many deaths including Steve's, and the audience doesn't find out what happens to her after she runs off.
• Love Hungry: Is implied to be tempted to join Steve when he poses as a fake German aristocrat, but quickly realizes Steve's obvious affection for Diana.
• Mad Scientist: A scientist working on deadly biochemical weapons to be used in the war. She also invents a gas that enhances a person, allowing them to possess Super-Strength.
• Malevolent Masked Men: She's a villain who wears a mask to cover her facial disfigurement.
• Masking the Deformity: Dr. Isabel Maru wears a kind of "quarter mask" (covers the bottom right side of her face), cast in flesh-coloured plastic to replicate a mouth and nose much like the Boardwalk Empire example below; underneath, her nose and the lower half of her face have dissolved away, implicitly from a chemical experiment gone wrong. She ain't nicknamed 'Dr. Poison' in the comics (where she, notably, isn't scarred under the mask) for nothing.
• Master Poisoner: She gained the nickname "Doctor Poison" because of her profiency in developing lethal nerve agents for the German Imperial Army.
• Mirror Character: To Diana. Both were manipulated by Ares into being grave threats to humanity. When Diana is given the chance to kill Doctor Poison at the behest of the God of War, she realizes that Maru is as much a pawn as Diana herself was about to become.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: She's a Mad Scientist creating dangerous gases to serve a warmonger's ambitions, and she has a doctorate.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Her surname is mostly pronounced 'marrow', like bone marrow.
• Nightmare Fetishist: If Steve's attempt to compromise her is any indication.
• Non-Action Girl: She's purely into science, she's not built to fight physically.
• Pragmatic Adaptation: The character was created during World War II as a representative of Imperial Japan perceived as an antagonistic force. But since Wonder Woman had its setting taking place in World War I where Japan fought on the Allies' side, Dr. Poison is revamped to not feature any elements associated with the Japanese except by her surname.
• Professor Guinea Pig: According to her actress, her scars were self-inflicted after testing her poisonous gas' effectiveness on herself.
• Race Lift: From Japanese in the comics to Spaniard in the movies, as evidenced by her actress and the name "Isabel". Her surname remains distinctively Japanese-sounding, though.
• Red Baron: Her nickname has been given to her by her enemies.
  Steve Trevor: The boys in the trenches call her Dr. Poison.
• Red Right Hand: She is very disfigured and wears a facial disfigurement mask to hide it.
• Setting Update: The Golden Age comics Dr. Poison she is based on was active during World War II. Here she is active during World War I.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: Her voice is rather smooth and on the quiet side, but she clearly enjoys inflicting pain.
• Straight Edge Evil: She rebuffs Steve's offer of a drink at Ludendorff's gala, stating that she does not consume alcohol.
• Undying Loyalty: Despite Steve Trevor's flattery to try to lure her out of General Ludendorff's circle, she tells Steve she's loyal to her boss.
• Unwitting Pawn: Of Ares; he was the one she had gotten her new gas from.
• Villainous Breakdown: When forced to face a very enraged and grieving Diana, Dr. Poison steels herself and tries to Face Death with Dignity... only for Ares to telepathically tear off her mask and expose her disfigurement for Diana to see, leaving the doctor to start crying in fear.
• Villainous Friendship: She and Ludendorff share a giggle after his Kick the Dog moment with the German high command.
• Villains Want Mercy: Late in the movie where she's at Diana's mercy, we see her groveling in fear. Yeah, she's an unapologetic, sadistic Mad Scientist, but seeing her in such pitiful state is simply heartbreaking.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: The audience doesn't find out what happens to her after Diana spares her life. Given that Ares is killed off moments later, she won't be able to come up with any formulas as dangerous as before and assuming she isn't arrested for war crimes, in all likelihood she'll die in obscurity.

1984

Max Lord

Maxwell Lorenzano / "Max Lord"

"I've never been one for rules."

Species: Empowered human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Black Gold Cooperative

Portrayed By: Pedro Pascal

Appearances: Wonder Woman 1984

"Welcome to the future. Life is good! But it can be better. And why shouldn't it be? All you need is to want it. Think about finally having everything you always wanted."

The founder of Black Gold Cooperative. A powerful, shrewd and deceptive 1980s businessman who behind closed doors is struggling to live up to his successful facade. After hearing of the Dreamstone, Maxwell plots to acquire its power and achieve world domination.

---

• '80s Hair: That thing looks like it could save his life in a motorcycle accident.
• Adaptational Badass: The comics version of Maxwell Lord had psychic abilities that allow him some degree of mind control. This movie version is essentially a Reality Warper which makes him potentially far more dangerous. And at least two instances show that he can use mind control depending on what he wants to take from his victims.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: In the comics, Max had a very good home life, and became a businessman after his father committed suicide and his mother convinced him that he needs to be careful of powerful people. This helps convince Max to back the Justice League International, where he ends up befriending most of the members, mainly the Martian Manhunter. Here, Max had an abusive father, and he set out to be a businessman and to be as successful as possible so he can make his own son proud.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: Maxwell Lord appears here chronologically before the Justice League is formed, while there are no superheroes active other than Wonder Woman on occasion. Max originally debuted in the first issue of Justice League International, 27 years publication time after the Justice League had been formed.
• Adaptational Heroism: Lord in the comics is usually attempting world domination, and the finale seems to be a Mythology Gag at his death at Diana's hands. Here, however, he's willing to relinquish power for his son.
• Adaptational Jerkass: While by no means an upstanding citizen, Max Lord is a good person and a friend to the Justice League in the comics, especially to the members of the JLI, who he later helps form again as the Super Buddies. Max had been controlled by an evil computer for a while, but managed to break free of it because of how much he cared for the League — though he still became a villain in the end. Maxwell in this movie only has his son as the one person he truly cares about, everyone else being a means to an end.
• Adaptational Superpower Change: In the comics Max was exposed to the Gene Bomb during Invasion!, which granted him the ability to control minds, resulting in frequent nose bleeds whenever he uses his powers. In the movie, Max uses the Dreamstone to grant wishes, and loses his general health by using his powers.
• Adaptation Name Change: In the comics, his full name is Maxwell Lord IV. Here, his name is actually Maxwell Lorenzano, but he chooses to go by Max Lord.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: The only time that Max and Diana really interacted in the comics was a full 18 years after his debut, and it was when she killed him. In the movie Max and Diana know each other throughout the whole movie, and he is even the main antagonist.
• Alternate Self: Maxwell Lord exists on Earth-Prime and Earth-167.
• Ambition Is Evil: Maxwell is hellbent on achieving success. Unlike most villains of his archetype, Maxwell isn't motivated by greed or jealousy, but simply because he wants to look good to his son.
• Anti-Villain: All Lord wants is to make his son proud and be a successful man. However, he is also a liar and a cheat who forces others (such as Simon Stagg) out of his way to get what power and prestige he feels he needs or deserves.
• The Assimilator: Maxwell takes on the power of the Dreamstone and exploits it to take what he wants from anyone whose wish he grants. When granting wishes proves to take a physical toll on him, Maxwell starts taking people's lifeforce.
• Bad Samaritan: Maxwell approaches his victims telling them that he can give them exactly what they want, but he waits until they say their wish out loud before telling them what it will cost. And it's usually something they can't afford to part with.
• Becoming the Genie: Maxwell Lord's wish is to be the Dreamstone, which grants him powers and the ability to choose wishes' cost.
• Big Bad: His actions with the Dreamstone drive the majority of the plot of Wonder Woman 1984.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Lord is powerful, but he can't fight on his own. He forms an alliance with Barbara for protection from Diana, giving her a more powerful form in return.
• Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards: Max gets ahold of an Egyptian security team as payment for granting the wish of an oil baron.
• Cast from Hit Points: His wish-granting abilities weren't made to be handled by a human vessel, which means every time he grants a wish, Maxwell experiences increasing bouts of pain. He gets around this by having everyone whose wish is granted give him their health and stamina as payment. By taking enough life energy, Maxwell is able to generate a godly aura without breaking a sweat.
• Character Catchphrase: "Life is good, but it can be better!"
• Composite Character: With Doctor Destiny (as portrayed in The Sandman (1989)) - in overall plot, if not necessarily appearance or personality. The comics' version of Max had absolutely nothing to do with reality-warping in general or the Dreamstone in particular.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
  • In Wonder Woman (2017): To Ludendorff. Both are megalomaniacs who've been empowered through godly means and will undermine even their own allies to get ahead. Ludendorff wanted to make the world fear his destructive power, while Max wants to con everyone and puts on a friendly mask when he does so. Ludendorff was a Blood Knight who savoured the chance to fight Wonder Woman while high on performance enhancers, while Maxwell hides behind armed guards and Cheetah.
  • In Birds of Prey (2020): To Roman Sionis. Both are flamboyant entrepreneurs with daddy issues, but Roman is excessively cruel, came from a privileged background and is publicly viewed as a joke while being feared by those who know him best. Meanwhile Maxwell isn't deliberately malicious except to the people who antagonize him, he came from an impoverished background with an abusive father and is publicly adored while being seen as a fraud by his business partners.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Played with. This is invoked with being an 80's CEO who's obsessed with appearances and not as successful as he likes to project; his oil wells ran dry, most of his staff have been laid off, and his company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the office building maintains an impressive foyer despite being practically empty. Early in the movie, his chief investor blatantly accuses him to his face of being a fraudster who's running a Ponzi scheme. While Black Gold's investor practices by this time aren't explored, it's clear that Lord's company had humble origins, initially operating out of a tiny office as seen in a flashback, and he legitimately built it up to a successful company, but it had fallen on hard times by 1984. It's established early that his driving goal is the superficial successes, mostly because he wants the funds that come along with it to build a good life for his son. His Freudian "Excuse" is that he doesn't want his son to be raised in the crippling poverty he himself was raised in, and he didn't want to be the angry failure of a father that his own father was.
• Dark Lord on Life Support: Granting wishes one after the other proves to have a negative effect on Maxwell's health. He's already bleeding internally when he decides to stop taking resources and power from his victims and instead takes their health.
• Dark and Troubled Past: When Diana tied the Lasso of Truth to him and force him to accept the truth of what he is, his past was shown to him. He has a rather troubled childhood, with his parents constantly arguing violently, he’s verbally berated by his father, and getting bullied and belittled at school. His horrible childhood turned him into the man he is now, self-destructively obsessed with not being an abusive failure like his own father was and instead being someone his own son could be proud of.
• Destroy the Villain's Weapon: A rare villainous take on the trope. Maxwell wishes to assimilate the Dreamstone into his being, then renounces his wish, either erasing the stone from existence or leaving it to sleep once again, this time in the hands of someone who knows better than to use it.
• Diplomatic Impunity: When Maxwell grants the President's wish, he demands that the government absolve him of any responsibilities his future actions will incur. Being a tycoon, he also demands to never be taxed or regulated.
• Do Not Adjust Your Set: Through a secret network of satellites and the help of the US Presidency, Maxwell Lord hijacks television channels and delivers a Make a Wish message worldwide.
• Doting Parent: Maxwell is very attached to his son Alistair. It's a clear indication that the Dreamstone is corrupting him when he expresses annoyance that his son is visiting him.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: By the time Maxwell gets everyone in the world to make their wishes, he is utterly consumed by his power and is Chewing the Scenery like there's no tomorrow. It takes a Kirk Summation from Diana for him to realize what he's doing and snap out of it.
• Drunk with Power: He gradually becomes this, especially in the climax when he starts draining the health and life force of countless people to keep himself alive.
• Dye Hard: An in-universe case; flashbacks depict a young Lord with black hair. He seems to have bleached it as part his "wealthy white businessman" façade.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His son, one of the few people who likes Maxwell in spite of him being a lying and egotistical man. It's his son's love that convinces Maxwell to give up his powers.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Rather, Jumping Off the Slippery Slope has standards, but Maxwell looks disgusted when the emir says he wants to shoo "heathens" off his ancestral lands, regardless of the legal or ethical issues. He grants the wish, but takes the man's security team when he has to face the consequences.
• Evil Virtues: Cooperation and Generosity (he makes sure to upgrade Barbara as well as himself), Creativity (wishing to acquire the power of the Dreamstone and exploit other's wishes for his own gain) and Love (for his son).
• Fake Faith Healer: Maxwell's modus operandi is reminiscent of one. He tells people that he's been blessed with a divine power and he'll fulfill their greatest desires just by laying his hands on them.
• Fake Nationality: Invoked. Max isn't the WASPy guy he makes himself out to be, but a childhood spent as the target of racial bullying and a desire to succeed at all costs have led him to conceal his Latino identity, one of the uncomfortable reminders of his past, under an anglicized surname and a coif of bleached, tightly styled hair; if he isn't in private with people he trusts, he won't drop his affected game-show-host accent unless he gets upset.
• Family-Values Villain: Maxwell was traumatised by his own abusive father, so he's desperate to make sure his own son won't view him in a similar light.
• Faux Affably Evil: His smarminess leaks through whatever show of charm he tries to put on. Played with in that he genuinely does have a good side; it's just buried under the sleazy, arrogant demeanor that he, ironically, puts up to try and make people like him.
• Foil: Both Maxwell and Lex Luthor are amoral tycoons whose immigrant fathers physically abused them, but beyond that there's nothing but contrasts. Lex has no redeeming traits whatsoever, has terrible social skills, is obsessed with Superman and relies on alien technology. Maxwell has got a kinder side, is quite charming, has no real animosity or even interest in Wonder Woman and relies on supernatural artefacts.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: He's a failing businessman, and charisma and drive are his chief talents. Once he obtained the power of the Dreamstone, he is essentially a Reality Warper. While he is neither particularly scary nor monstrous on the surface, he is very capable of and indeed came close to destroying the world with the misuse of his powers.
• Gods Need Prayer Badly: Once Maxwell gets the wish-fulfilling powers, his body starts to falter the more requests he makes. He ultimately decides to use a satellite network to connect with everyone on Earth, allowing him to gather the Life Energy of millions, if not billions, at once to not only restore his body, but to turn him into a metahuman.
• Good Parents: Maxwell is very flawed and sleazy, but he commits to being a good father for Alistair. He makes custody weekends a priority and demands that his assistant spoil his son rotten with a pony or motorcar when he feels guilty about an outburst about Alistair coming too soon in the middle of his success. Diana finds out through the lasso that Maxwell had an abusive father, and he refused to hurt Alistair the same way. It pays off in the end when Maxwell apologizes to his son and said he only wanted to make him proud and worthy of love. Alistair says "Daddy" doesn't need to make him proud, Alistair already loves him. Maxwell is stunned that he is actually a good parent.
• Heel–Face Turn: He ultimately revokes his own wish to become the Dreamstone and sets the world back to normal once Diana makes him realize that his actions are not only hurting the people around him, but will cost him his beloved son. The last we see of Max, he's mending his relationship with said son, trying to become a better man.
• Heel Realization: He only realizes what kind of damage he's doing to the world by granting wishes willy-nilly when he sees his son in danger as a direct result of his actions.
• I Just Want to Be Special: He wanted to be someone rich and famous so his son can love him. Not realizing his son already loves him, he just wanted them to spend time together.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: A big-talking hotshot who behind closed doors is stressed out of his mind trying to avoid bankruptcy while desperately convincing his son and partners that he's not a failure.
• It Only Works Once: Maxwell was already aware that the Dreamstone would only grant one wish per person, which is why he wished to have its power so he could capitalize on the costs each wish would inflict. At one point Maxwell starts running out of people to trick into making wishes in his favour, seen when he tries to get an employee to make a wish for him only to find out he'd already granted said employee's wish earlier.
• It Was with You All Along: All Max wants (at first) is to make his son proud. In his desperation to do so, he fails to realize that he already has his son's love and respect.
• Jackass Genie: Once he gets wish-fulfillment powers, Maxwell uses this to fulfill the requests in a way that is sure to backfire, while getting a great reward for himself. Zig-zagged, as he isn't trying to cause harm and is genuinely giving people what they want; he's just too impulsive and short-sighted to consider the consequences of doing so, such as almost causing the Cold War to go hot by granting the President's request for more nukes. It's also revealed at the midpoint that the Dreamstone is this by design. While Lord's impulsiveness certainly plays a part in the more jerkass qualities of the stone, the implication is that even if he tried to give people what they wanted with no strings, things would still go poorly for the person making the wish. The only time he intentionally tries to screw someone over with a wish is after the oil baron slighted him and laughed in his face.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Beneath that sleazy Snake Oil Salesman demeanor is a man who just wants to do right by his son.
• Karma Houdini: Despite causing massive amounts of harm and nearly a nuclear war, the worst that happens to Lord in the end is that he loses his powers (which were slowly killing him anyway) and his fame and fortune. He runs away from Diana and escapes the broadcast center, reuniting with his beloved son who takes him back, none the wiser.
• Large Ham: Add the smarmy snake oil salesman type with the fact that and Pedro Pascal downright noted he tried to channel Nicolas Cage, and you get a very hammy villain.
• Literal-Minded: Invoked. When the President mentions the satellite system can "broadcast to any device the radio waves touch". Max Lord uses Exact Words and Loophole Abuse to be able to make physical contact with everyone on Earth at once and grant their wishes simultaneously.
• Loophole Abuse:
  • Maxwell is well aware of the potential downsides of the Dreamstone, which is why he wishes to become the stone. This allows him to subvert the consequences of his wish by simply taking back what he lost from the other people he grants wishes to. It's implied, however, that the Dreamstone foresaw this, and that the real cost of his wish was going to be his son, had Diana not convinced him to renounce his wish in time.
  • Both Maxwell and Barbara had already made wishes upon the original Dreamstone, so Maxwell gives them both a boost in power by siphoning off the life force of anyone whose wishes were granted. This turns Barbara into Cheetah and gives Maxwell the power to control wind.
• Meaningful Name: Maxwell changes his surname to "Lord", as in "God" or "Messiah". He then gains the power of a god and advertises himself as a saving grace to all who hear him.
• Milking the Giant Cow: Goes hand-in-hand with Pedro Pascal's Chewing the Scenery. His gestures are downright operatic.
• Mock Millionaire: Appears to be a successful businessman, TV ads and all, but it's all for show, as all his prospect oil fields are dry. That is, until he gets powers.
• Motif: TV screens and TV lines, which fit with his high-publicity profile.
• Mr. Vice Guy: "I've never been one for rules... the answer is always more." Max isn't a villain intentionally; he's just greedy, impulsive, and vain. Unfortunately, he tries to use the Dreamstone to fulfill his vices and winds up nearly dooming the world in the process.
• My God, What Have I Done?: When Maxwell's abuse of the Dreamstone's power leads to Russia launching nukes at the U.S., Wonder Woman ensnares Maxwell with her lasso and shows him images of Alistair being chased out into the open by an angry mob, where he can see the missles bearing down on him. Maxwell panics, then realises the only way to stop this is to renounce his own wish.
• Nice to the Waiter: He appears to be very amiable and polite with his staff, not even demanding payment when he grants their wishes. At least until continual use of the Dreamstone begins to corrupt him.
  • A mix of this and Pragmatic Villainy is what drives him to empower Barbara into the Cheetah.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Whenever he tries to get someone to make a wish, he typically gets right into their face while tightly grasping them by the hand or shoulder. Justified as physical contact is a requirement for him to grant a wish.
• Non-Action Big Bad: He never directly engages in combat. His power is more dangerous than him. He even invokes this trope at the climax - while he takes the health and life force of all the people making their wishes, he shunts all their strength and physical prowess into his ally, Barbara. This is what allows her to later fight nearly on a level with Wonder Woman.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: It's one of Maxwell Lord's character traits. He generally speaks with a generic American accent and smarmy business manner. Get him angry, however, and he reverts to a Latino brogue. Justified as he is a businessman in the 1980s at a time when few minorities were in such a position of power.
• Papa Wolf: Alistair's happiness and safety is the one thing Maxwell treasures more than his new power, and appealing to that love is how Diana convinces him to renounce his wish.
• Parents as People: He loves his son, that is completely and without exception true, and wants to do everything he can to make Alistair proud of him. How he goes about it causes him to neglect his son however, and nearly destroys the planet.
• Race Lift: He is Latino, like his actor. Simon Stagg notes his birth name was Maxwell Lorenzano before he anglicized it into Maxwell Lord. A flashback even shows him being teased by bullies who claim he doesn't speak English.
• Rags to Riches: As a child, he lived in what appears to be a small, low-income house or apartment, and the only footwear he could wear to school were a pair of worn sandals. His career as an adult, however, downplays this as while he has the outward appearance of a successful businessman, his Ponzi scheming has left him in terrible debt.
• Reality Warper: Basically that is what the Dreamstone's powers are. The movie never explored the limits of Maxwell Lord's abilities, and the only onscreen restriction to the reality altering is that he can only use it when someone who has yet to make a wish from the Dreamstone asks him to (though via Loophole Abuse he is able to grant Barbara a second wish after she had already made one).
• Rogues' Gallery Transplant: In the comics Maxwell's turn to villainy pits him against Blue Beetle (which leads to the latter's death), here he's an enemy of Wonder Woman.
• Rule of Symbolism: Check out the colours in the scene where Maxwell assimilates the Dreamstone. The stone, his office and his suit are all contrasting shades of green and gold, hinting at a unity.
• Spared by the Adaptation: In the comics, Maxwell Lord fights Wonder Woman a grand total of one time, in which she infamously snaps his neck. He lives to the end of this movie.
• Tainted Veins: When Maxwell grants the President's wish, the capillaries in his face turn black as his body wears out from granting wishes. This only happens once as Maxwell decides to just take people's health and stamina as payment for future wishes.
• Telepathy: A bonus power that Maxwell gained from assimilating the Dreamstone was the ability to read the minds of anyone that had used it previously. He's able to get a read on what Wonder Woman wants most and even figures out that Steve Trevor is a soul trapped in someone else's body.
• Truer to the Text: This version of Max Lord hues a lot closer to the character's original portrayal in books like Justice League International, prior to being Retconned into a villain. He's greedy, arrogant, and never thinks things through, but is ultimately human and not intentionally evil... when not Drunk with Power.
• Trumplica: His hairstyle, clothing style and unbridled entrepreneurship evoke 1980s Donald Trump. Zigzagged as he's a Latino with a humble background, but his deliberate attempts to evoke the image of a blonde, All-American businessman during the 1980s leaves open the possibility that Donald Trump exists in this universe and Maxwell is riding his coattails.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He very nearly causes a Third World War with his attempts to continue surviving with his power. However, the "unwitting" part is mitigated by the fact that it is rather clear that outside of his son, he doesn’t seem to even slightly care who he hurts to make that happen.
• Villainous Parental Instinct: Maxwell Lord has gained the power to grant wishes but at a great cost. He uses this power with very little discretion, granting them wishes in exchange for their wealth and power. However, he tries to prevent his own son from making a wish while touching him, knowing it could cost him greatly. At the end of the film, he recants his powers, but only after he sees his own son in danger because of everything he has done, and immediately goes to rescue him.
• Villain Team-Up: Maxwell teams up with Barbara for protection. In exchange he gives her a power boost.
• "Well Done, Dad!" Guy: After having to deal with an abusive father and a rough childhood, Max yearns to ensure he is not hated by Alistair and is clearly angered by any instance of showing weakness in front of his son.
• The Whole World Is Watching: Maxwell Lord's plan to grant the wish of every person in the world (thereby causing society to fall into complete chaos and bringing about The End of the World as We Know It) involves taking over a top-secret experimental satellite network being developed by the U.S. Government and simultaneously broadcasting himself on every television and radio across the planet. Though fortunately, this plan is foiled when Wonder Woman uses the same system and the Lasso of Truth to communicate to the world, convincing everyone to renounce their wishes and restoring everything to normal.
• Wishing for More Wishes: Maxwell Lord gets around the one-wish limit by wishing to become the Dreamstone, thereby ensuring his supply of wishes is only limited by the number of people he can get to wish on his behalf. Furthermore, it also allows him to choose what costs are paid by the wishers, so he profits on both ends of the scale.
• With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: Maxwell initially shows no concern for the consequences of his powers, until Wonder Woman uses the lasso of Hestia to project an image of Alistair running scared from a riot just as nuclear missiles target his location. It's at this moment Maxwell renounces his wish - unwinding reality in the process - so that Alistair could be spared.

Barbara Minerva / Cheetah

Barbara Ann Minerva / Cheetah

"You’re not the only one with something to lose. Turns out wishing to be like you came with some surprises."

^{Click here to see her Cheetah form} "I don't want to be like anyone. I want to be an apex predator!"

Species: Enhanced human

Citizenship: American

Affiliation(s): Smithsonian Museum

Portrayed By: Kristen Wiig

Appearances: Wonder Woman 1984

"You've always had everything, while people like me have had nothing! Well now it's my turn. And you are not taking it from me. Ever!"

A friend of Diana who worked at the Smithsonian Museum in 1984. Jealous of Diana's perfection, Barbara makes a wish upon the Dreamstone to be Diana's equal. The wish comes at the cost of Barbara's humanity, which causes her to become Wonder Woman's enemy once she hears of the latter's plan to undo the Dreamstone's power. Barbara eventually sides with Maxwell Lord, who uses the power of the Dreamstone to transform her into a human/feline hybrid.

---

• Adaptational Attractiveness: Not Barbara herself, who's already pretty attractive (invokedhowever much the plot says otherwise), but her Cheetah form, at least in comparison to the way she looks in Wonder Woman (Rebirth). There, she's at her most animalistic yet. She doesn't have her distinctive long hair, she has pointed ears, and basically her face is pure cheetah, with nothing human about it. In this film, Barbara still has long human hair, and a basically still human face.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: Barbara Minerva has had multiple revisions to her backstory, but her transformations into the Cheetah typically involve some sort of terrible blood sacrifice to an ancient god that not only imbue her with power, but also curse her with an unquenchable thirst for blood. In this movie, her transformation is due to the Dreamstone and she has no bloodlust, only a lack of humanity.
• Adaptational Context Change: In most versions, Barbara gets her powers when she stumbles upon a ritual while working in the field and she becomes the avatar of a Cat/Plant god. She gets her powers from the Dreamstone in the movie.
• Adaptational Dye-Job: Redhead in the comics, blonde in the movie
• Adaptational Modesty: In the comics Barbara was naked while in her cheetah form, here she still has her clothes on when she reverts back to her human form.
• Adaptational Nationality: Barbara is British in the comics but American in this universe.
• Adaptational Job Change: She's an archaeologist in the comics but a geologist (gemologist, more specifically) here.
• Adaptational Sympathy: Barbara-Ann Minerva is the third iteration of The Cheetah in the comics, having served as Wonder Woman's archenemy for years. Her original characterization depicted her as selfish and conniving, having been turned into the Cheetah for coveting immortality, only for her more promiscuous life to make her transformations very painful. Her first encounter with Wonder Woman sees her try to trick the Amazon out of her lasso, which ends rather poorly for her. In Wonder Woman 84 Barbara's a shrinking violet with a kindly disposition that's been pushed around one too many times. She also didn't turn on Diana until the latter said she'd have to give up her wish for power.
• Adaptation Origin Connection: In the comics Cheetah's powers come from making a pact with a god. Here she's an Evil Knockoff to Wonder Woman.
• Alternate Self: She has one on Earth-76.
• Ambiguously Bi: She is charmed by Maxwell Lord and makes out with him at one point. She also comes off as attracted to Diana in many of their interactions. When asked, she states that she has fallen in love "so many times," without specifying a gender.
• Animal-Themed Superbeing: Barbara's upgrade eventually corrupts her physical form into a human-cheetah hybrid.
• Anti-Villain: Barbara's wish comes out of a well-meaning desire to emulate Diana and have her confidence (she didn't even know Diana was Wonder Woman and had actual powers) with no idea that it would work. The ending is ambiguous if she will renounce her wish or give up her resentment of Diana.
• The Baroness: Barbara acts as this for Maxwell, though her later transformation into Cheetah compromises the sex appeal.
• Beauty Is Bad: As she begins to embrace her beauty more and more, the side-effect of the Dream Stone begins to kick in and she becomes cruel and bloodthirsty. Maxwell's influence subverts this, as Barbara's Cheetah form looks quite jarring.
• Beta Test Baddie: Barbara's admiration of Diana quickly mutates into jealousy. She refuses to renounce her wish in spite of Diana's pleading purely because Barbara has too much to lose.
• Big Bad Duumvirate: Forms an alliance with Lord, protecting him in order to keep her wish.
• Big Bad Slippage: Barbara starts out the film as a friend to Diana. As her strength and beauty increase because of her wish, though, she becomes Drunk on the Dark Side and throws her lot in with Lord in order to keep her new power.
• Body Horror: Barbara's upgrade seemingly resulted from her cheetah-print dress being merged with her skin. Note that when Maxwell renounces his wish and reverses all the damage it caused - including the upgrade that Barbara gained from it - she goes back to being fully clothed.
• Breaking Out the Boss: Diana and Steve had Maxwell cornered for all of a minute before Barbara steps in and gives Maxwell an opening.
• Cat Girl: Barbara's enhancements eventually turn her into a cheetah-human hybrid. She even starts moving on all fours when the transformation kicks into overdrive.
• Combat Stilettos: At first, Barbara struggles with heels. Once she gets to be like Diana, who walks on them like it's nothing, she's seen kicking butts in the White House with these shoes.
• Comic-Book Movies Don't Use Codenames: At no point does Barbara ever go by the name "Cheetah". Somewhat justified as she doesn't transform until very late in the movie.
• Composite Character: This Cheetah is motivated by an inferiority complex toward Diana like Priscilla Rich, the comic continuity's original Cheetah but takes her name Barbara Minerva and being a Cat Girl from her Post-Crisis/DC Rebirth incarnation.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist:
  • For Wonder Woman (2017): Barbara takes over from Doctor Poison as the intellectual Dragon-in-Chief who in empowered by a malicious god.
  • For Birds of Prey (2020): Barbara is a blonde who lacks empathy, envies a heroic character and is implied to harbor a same-sex attraction, much like Victor Zsasz. The difference being that Barbara was pushed into villainy without realising it while Zsasz willingly became a villain.
• Cute Bookworm: Chats with Diana about how many times she's been in love like a schoolgirl. Her nerdy attire adds to this.
• Dark Action Girl: After she wishes to be like Diana, she hits the Superpower Lottery with Super-Strength, Super-Speed, and extreme agility, at the cost of her morality and good-nature. She fights Diana twice. Barbara wins the first one, when Diana is still suffering a power drain. The second fight is when she adopts her iconic Cheetah form, and Diana is back to full power with Asteria's armor. Diana wins the second fight.
• Demoted to Extra: Traditionally Cheetah is one of Wonder Woman's most recognisable enemies. Here she's quickly upstaged by Maxwell Lord, though her ambiguous fate and the confirmation of a third Wonder Woman film could expand on her character.
• Discard and Draw: It isn't entirely clear, but if Barbara wished to be like Diana, her powers likely included the latter's affinity to lightning. Her powers as Cheetah do not seem to, as demonstrated by a case of Exploited Immunity during their final battle.
• Disc-One Final Boss: Barbara thwarts Wonder Woman the moment the latter gets ahold of Maxwell Lord and stays close to him for the rest of the film. It's at this moment Barbara establishes herself as an unavoidable threat Diana must deal with before she can get to Maxwell.
• Does Not Know Her Own Strength: When she first discovers she has Super-Strength, she accidentally ripped her fridge door off its hinges.
• Dragon-in-Chief: While less dangerous, Barbara as the Cheetah is a far greater challenge to Diana than Lord. Though by the time she's beaten Barbara, Lord has become powerful enough to actually pose a threat to Diana.
• Driven to Villainy: Barbara was fed up with being overlooked and overpowered. Her wish to be like Diana proved to be so fulfilling she turned on her new friend out of fear of going back to being a powerless nobody. It's implied to be permanent, since Barbara is never shown renouncing her wish.
• Drunk on the Dark Side: After Barbara acquires Diana's super-strength, she severely beats up the man who harassed her earlier and would most likely have killed him if she hadn't been interrupted. When her wish is put at risk of being undone, Barbara violently turns on Diana and becomes a Blood Knight.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: When Diana explains the Dreamstone grants wishes at the cost of the wisher's dearest possession, Barbara scoffs, "What matters most is what you wish for." Justified since by then Barbara's mind was being corrupted.
• Evil Former Friend: Barbara latched onto Diana as soon as they met. After Diana tells Barbara that she needs to renounce her wish, Barbara turns on her. Barbara also starts expressing how much of Diana's superiority and moralizing rubs her the wrong way.
• Evil Knockoff: Initially. Barbara's first wish was to emulate Diana. She later has second thoughts about this wish and mentions wanting to be even stronger. Maxwell then uses a loophole in his own wish to direct the physical strength of many people towards Barbara, turning her into Cheetah.
• Evil Sounds Deep: After Barbara gets her powers and turns to the dark side in her final form, her voice becomes much deeper than before, complete with an animalistic growl behind her vocal register.
• Evil Virtues: Cooperation (she helps Maxwell Lord get away and assists in his master plan despite not really needing him) and Valor (choosing death in combat over surrendering her powers).
• Evil Wears Black: Barbara is introduced wearing bright colors, but once she gains Diana's powers her wardrobe gets much darker.
• Face–Heel Turn: She starts off as Diana's closest friend and loyal ally before she gradually becomes The Dragon to Maxwell.
• Fangs Are Evil: Naturally, her Cheetah form has these.
• Fur and Loathing: Barbara's fashion sense gets a lot bolder after her empowerment. When she decides to side with Maxwell over Diana, she's wearing a snakeskin jacket with a skirt that resembles a cheetah's pelt. Said skirt later merges with her skin.
• The Glasses Gotta Go: Barbara's eyesight improves after her wish is granted, negating the need for her Nerd Glasses. This extends to her choice of wardrobe, as she starts wearing clothes that show off her figure and it's left ambiguous if her curvaceous build was a result of the wish or if Barbara was always in good shape and only covered up out of modesty.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Barbara's defining trait. She's in awe of Diana from the moment they met. First Barbara was envious of minor things like Diana's ability to glide around in high heels, then after almost getting attacked she wished she could defend herself the way Diana could. When Diana tells Barbara she that has to give up her wish - effectively going back to being a vulnerable nobody - Barbara gets defensive and fully turns on Diana. Ironically, her eyes turn red when she becomes Cheetah.
  "You've always had everything, while people like me have had nothing!"
  • Barbara also shows a slight envy of Steve when she meets him. Diana introduces Steve as an old friend who happens to be a pilot, which she'd previously told Barbara was her old boyfriend's occupation. As soon as Barbara connects the dots she tenses up around Steve.
• High-Heel Power: Barbara's admiration for Diana is emphasized by how she has difficulty walking and working in heels, while the confident warrior Diana can. After her Dreamstone-induced personality change, she is seen buying a pair of tall, sparkly heels as part of a full makeover.
• I Just Want to Be Special: At first, Barbara was just an overlooked Nice Girl whose powers come from wanting to be like Diana. And then, "I don't want to be like anyone. I want to be an apex predator!"
• Informed Attractiveness: Once Barbara gets her wish granted, everyone starts checking her out. While she's now confident enough to wear clothes that show off her womanly figure, her hair is still stringy and unkempt.
• Ironic Name: Her surname "Minerva" comes from the Roman Goddess who embodies traits such as heroism, strategy, science and technology. Barbara turns to villainy, relies on brute force in combat and her powers came from an enchanted artifact instead of human developments.
• Jerkass Gods: The Dreamstone effectively turns Barbara into a jerkass demigoddess by giving her the physical capabilities of the daughter of Zeus and corrupting her personality.
• Karma Houdini: Barbara escaped justice at the end of Wonder Woman 84 and is potentially even worse off than Max, since at least Max seems to have genuinely repented from his misguided actions, but Barbara ends the film still vengeful towards Diana and still looking out for herself. Even though she lost much of her powers, she's still a very dangerous individual who's still on the loose and never clearly repented for her actions. One can hope Diana sparing her in their battle will have an impact, since she had a thoughtful look upon hearing Diana's speech.
• Leitmotif: "Cheetah", which chronicles Barbara's transition from an affable side-character into a cold and furious villain.
• Meaningful Name: "Minerva" was a Roman Goddess whose tales often showed that she was consumed by jealousy.
• Nerd Glasses: Barbara sports these at first, until the wish starts to enhance her vision.
• Nice Girl: Before the effects of the Dream Stone and her wish, while socially awkward, she was a kind person at heart, seen particularly where she leaves her take home leftovers from her dinner with Diana and a small wad of cash with a homeless friend of hers.
• No-Sell: Barbara effortlessly pushes through Diana's shockwave ability, though this was also in part because Diana's powers were failing at the time.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After beating up a would-be rapist, Barbara notices the homeless man she regularly hangs out with staring at her with concern. Barbara coldly tells him to stay out of it. It's too big a leap in personality for someone that kindly to suddenly snap at her friends like that, which hints that her personality is being corrupted by the Dreamstone's power.
• One-Winged Angel: She was already quite powerful from her initial wish, but becoming "the apex predator" as the Cheetah made her even more so, to the point where she can keep up with Diana at full strength and wearing Asteria's golden armor.
• Plot-Irrelevant Villain: Ultimately Barbara's involvement in the main plot doesn't go much farther than giving Maxwell Lord an opportunity to escape and pull off his latest scheme.
• Punctuated Pounding: "I can do this all... night... LONG!"
• Recurring Riff: After her wish is granted, Barbara starts getting a four-note trill as she becomes more aggressive and angry, particularly the first time she confronts the heckler on the street. They are the same four intervals as the Wonder Woman theme, if in a faster tempo. Apparently, Power Copying Diana includes getting her theme music!
• Redemption Rejection: Barbara isn't shown renouncing her wish at the end, though she does lose her feline form. Given she was willing to die rather than go back to being a nobody, it's implied she's still empowered.
• Sensible Heroes, Skimpy Villains: When Cheetah and Wonder Woman have their climactic battle, the former is naked while the latter wears a suit of armor.
• Sequel Adaptation Iconic Villain: Cheetah is Wonder Woman's arch-enemy in the comics, but was saved for the Amazon's sequel.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: She starts out frumpy and ignored by her colleagues. After she wishes to be more like Diana, she starts wearing more eye-catching outfits and receives many compliments and much attention from her coworkers.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: Wonder Woman's attempts to reason with Barbara fall on deaf ears, and not without reason. If Wonder Woman renounces her wish, she gets her powers back, if Barbara renounces her wish, she goes back to being a vulnerable nobody.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Barbara starts out as a warm and friendly person in bright, bold colors. As part of the makeover following her wish, she wears dark, muted colors, ultimately leading to Cheetah's light fur against the dark of night, signifying the loss of her humanity.
• Spikes of Villainy: The first time she decides to confront Diana, Barbara is wearing a spiked jacket.
• Superheromovie Villains Die: Averted. Diana begs Barbara to surrender so she won't have to use lethal force, which is ignored. Diana electrocutes Barbara, but rather than kill her it just weakens her.
• Super-Strength: As Cheetah, Barbara can display huge amounts of physical power, enough to go toe to toe with Wonder Woman. Even in her human form, she can lift up a man like he has the weight of a feather and slam him into a car.
• Super-Speed: As shown by the White House scenes, she can rush to strike Diana almost instantly, and when confronted with the White House guards, Barbara's borderline "faster than a speeding bullet" given how she runs and avoids their shooting.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Her biggest quality, a funny and kind personality, is what the Dreamstone takes when fulfilling her wish to be like Diana. Barbara becomes ruthless, giving a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to a drunk that bothered her, and selfish, confronting Diana lest she loses what makes people finally notice her.
• The Unfettered: Wonder Woman's pleading with Cheetah to renounce her wish is hopeless. Cheetah pushes her to the point where she can only be stopped by being electrocuted half to death.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Barbara gains strength and reflexes similar to Wonder Woman, but she doesn't get a chance to fully explore or understand her power, so her fight scenes are little more than brawls. This wasn't an issue when Wonder Woman's own power was fading, but by the time she regains it Barbara is at a disadvantage.
• Villain Has a Point: While Wonder Woman tries to reason with her, Barbara responds with "What's your wish costing you?". Diana can only respond with silence, since she refused to renounce her own wish (thus losing Steve Trevor again) in order to restore her powers. Keep in mind Barbara's wish was made so she could defend herself from a sexual predator.
• Villainous Underdog: An unremarkable woman who came upon a quick and easy way to become as powerful as the hero.
• Villain Team-Up: Barbara protects Maxwell so she can preserve her power.
• We Used to Be Friends: Diana and Barbara start the film as friends, and then when the latter discovers Diana's intent to reverse the wish that made her special she decides to fight her.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Barbara is last seen at the site of her battle with Diana. She's back to normal physically, but we never learn if she gets back to the museum, or how the experience has affected her.
• With Great Power Comes Great Hotness: Before she gained her powers, she was just a dorky average-looking woman. Since she wished to be just like Diana, let's just say her wish was really granted!
• Womanchild: Barbara seems to be mentally stuck as a bullied nerd with the world as her high school. It takes a turn for Psychopathic Womanchild once she starts taking advantage of her wish, becoming a bully as a result.

Dechalafrea Ero

Dechalafrea Ero/The Duke of Deception

"Place upon the object held but one great wish."

Species: God

Appearances: Wonder Woman 1984 (mentioned)

"The God of Lies. Dolos, Mendacious, Duke of Deception, he’s been called by many names. But if he’s the one who empowered that stone, there has to be a trick."

— Diana

A heathen god who created the Dreamstone coveted by Maxwell Lord.

---

• Adaptational Backstory Change: The Duke of Deception is The Dragon to Ares in the comics. Here, he's a god in his own right.
• Composite Character: With Urzkartaga, the god that turned Barbara into Cheetah in the comics. As the creator of the Dreamstone, he is also composited with Dream of the Endless.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Ares, another god who gives humanity the means to destroy themselves. While Ares hid in plain sight, saw humanity as deserving of punishment and wanted to destroy them by force, and claimed to be the "god of truth", Dechalafrea Ero is completely out of the picture, antagonises humanity For the Evulz and allows them to meet their end through indulgence, and is called the "god of lies" by others.
• The Corrupter: Almost everyone who has a wish granted by his Dreamstone becomes morally corrupt.
  • Maxwell Lord becomes a megalomaniac.
  • Barbara Minerva loses her empathy.
  • The President wholeheartedly goes to war with the Soviets.
  • Even Diana Prince isn't immune, as many people have pointed out, she may have sexually assaulted the Handsome Man whom Steve Trevor was possessing.
  • The only person who apparently got away with wishing on the dreamstone was the man who innocently wished for coffee, but then again, we don’t know how things turned out for him.
• The Dreaded: Just like with Darkseid, Diana breaks into a cold sweat at the mere hint of his existence.
• Elemental Motifs: Wind. When the Dreamstone grants a wish it causes a breeze to emanate from either the Dreamstone or Maxwell. When Maxwell goes on the defensive, he uses a large gust to repel Wonder Woman.
• Foil: His status as the God of Lies makes him a direct contrast to Diana, who stands for truth. He also stays out of the picture letting people fall for his manipulations while Diana steps in whenever necessary and either helps people or encourages them to be better.
• The Ghost: He doesn't make a physical appearance and it's left unclear if he's even alive, but his power lives on in the Dreamstone.
• God of Evil: The God of Lies. And not white lies or spare-their-feelings lies, but life-destroying lies.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Maxwell and Barbara owe their powers to him.
• Historical Rap Sheet: He's responsible for the downfall of various civilisations.
• Jackass Genie: The Dreamstone he created will always find a way to corrupt a wish while taking away something from the user at the same time. For example, it could have created a new body for Steve Trevor's soul to inhabit but instead chooses an existing man to be the host just to screw with Diana and it's not even the price of the wish, which is her superpowers.
• Jerkass Gods: From how Diana speaks of him, he was not a kind god. Considering the Dreamstone caused the collapse of several civilizations throughout ancient history and nearly causes World War III in the movie, that's probably something of an understatement.
• Pet the Dog: It's implied that he's got a merciful streak, albeit a very slim one. The Dreamstone was created with a failsafe for people to renounce their wishes after seeing what it cost them, though very few were willing to renounce or even imagined that was ever an option.
• Trickster God: His domain is lies, and the Dreamstone is powered by the universal concept of lies. Hence, every wish it grants is, in its own way, a lie — whether through granting whatever the wisher wants at the cost of what they already have or need, or by giving them what they want in a way that isn't really what they want at all.

The Dreamstone

Dreamstone

"Beware what you wish for. It grants your wish, but takes your most valued possession."

Species: Mystical Artifact

Appearances: Wonder Woman 1984

"Citizens of the world, I’m here to change your life! Anything you want. Anything you dream of, you can have it!"

— Maxwell Lord under the influence of the Dreamstone

An ancient stone crafted by Dechalafrea Ero, the god of lies. It was meant to plague the world by preying on the holder's desires, giving people what they ask for but not what they want and usually taking from them what they need as a price.

---

• Abstract Apotheosis: The Dreamstone is initially believed to be powered by love or hope since it brought Steve back to Diana. Only later on is it revealed to be powered by lies and deception. Hence why all the wishes have a bent to them: Steve not truly being alive, just possessing another man's body; Barbara having Diana's strength, speed, and beauty, but not her godhood or her personality; Maxwell becoming the Dreamstone, but not having the durability of the stone or the direct ability to negate its side-effects without copious Loophole Abuse, etc. In the end, these wishes are just lies that the wishers want to be real but truly aren't.
• Adaptational Backstory Change: In the comics, the Dreamstone was created by DreamOfTheEndless. Here, it was created by the Duke of Deception.
• Ancient Evil: The downfall of numerous populations over thousands of years.
• Artifact of Doom: Has appeared all over the world and whenever it turns up, the civilization it last appeared in ends up being destroyed.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: The stone gives you what you ask for NOT what you want and usually takes from you what you need. It gave Barbara Minerva a magnetic charm that got people to like her but it was a shallow and superficial liking that wasn't due to Barbara's personality or character. It also took from Barabara her compassion and good-natured spirit which, when exercised with confidence, would have been able to get Barbara what she really wanted: people who liked and accepted her for who she was.
• The Corruption: It turns the meek and cheerful Barbara into a power-crazed brawler.
• Deal with the Devil: The Dreamstone's modus operandi. For all of its blessings, it leaves its subjects corrupted or weakened so it will face minimal resistance.
• Dramatic Wind: All granted wishes are accompanied by this. By the climax where Maxwell is granting wishes by the thousands, there is a whirlwind in the broadcast studio that pushes even Diana back.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Diana says as much once she realises the Dreamstone is powered by Deception itself.
• Evil Weapon: A trinket whose sole purpose for being is to ruin people's lives by indulging their impulses.
• Grail in the Garbage: Upon first encountering the Dreamstone both Diana and Barbara seem skeptical of its value, even suggesting it was a forged item hidden among more interesting contraband. It becomes evident something is amiss with the stone, but it's not until Diana sees the writing of the gods on the inside of the ring that she realizes the sheer power it has, and even she looks scared.
• It Only Works Once: The Dreamstone's rule is one wish per customer. 
• Jackass Genie: The whole point of the stone is to plague the world and torment people by giving them what they THINK they want/need but only giving them what they ask for and taking what it is they actually needed.
• Sentient Phlebotinum: Possibly. There's an unsettling air whenever the stone is used that implies a dark intelligence at work. The stone seems to know exactly what to take from someone as payment (it takes what they needed to be in the first place while only giving them what they ask for/think they need). When Maxwell Lord wishes to be the dreamstone, he refers to it as "you".
• Weapon of Mass Destruction: Designed by the God of Lies to trick humanity into destroying their civilizations by giving them whatever they want regardless of the consequences.

Present Day

Doctor Cyber

Doctor Cyber

"Crime prevention before it even happens. I thought you heroes would be big fans."

Species: Enhanced Human

Appearances: Serving up Justice

"Wonder Woman, I didn't expect to see you on this Earth...and Wondrous Serena, I though I'd gotten rid of you. I see you've found some little friends."

A tech-based supervillain who developed an army of robots for subjugating the human populace. She appears in the DirectTV tie-in Serving up Justice.

---

• Big Bad Wannabe: Doctor Cyber aspires to conquer the human race. She came close to succeeding in a parallel universe, but was thwarted before any lasting damage could be done.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Doctor Cyber is beaten ridiculously fast when Wonder Woman teams up with Serena Williams and their multiversal doppelgangers.
• Despotism Justifies the Means: Doctor Cyber intentionally designed the Retrobots to not discern between innocent people and criminals so that she could enslave humanity.
• Faux Affably Evil: Doctor Cyber has a polite demeanour that barely hides her lust for total control.
• Noodle Incident: Wonder Woman has apparently dealt with her before.
• Self-Duplication: Doctor Cyber can create copies of herself for dealing with multiple opponents.
• Squishy Wizard: In spite of her skills in science and technology, Doctor Cyber is still ill-equipped when it comes to a head-on fight with Amazons and athletes.
• Terminator Impersonator: She's essentially the DC equivalent to SkyNet, wanting to overthrow humanity and replace it with machines.

---