"There’s nothing in this world someone doesn’t have. I’ll rebuild my health, wish by wish, organ by organ, if I have to. I’ll be invincible."
Despite going for a breezier tone than its predecessors, Wonder Woman 1984 still manages to get a few moments of terror in.
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- The thief at the mall in the beginning dangling the little girl over the second floor balcony while dozens of terrified patrons look on. What’s more is that the little girl appeared to just be by herself, and we don’t even see her parents coming out during the event or after.
- Diana tries rescuing some children from being hit by a series of trucks. She succeeds, but since her powers were on the decline it's an uncomfortably tense moment.
- Steve being resurrected becomes this since he's inadvertently possessing the body of a complete stranger. Neither Steve nor Diana ever discuss this or suggest that Diana ought to renounce her wish just for the sake of returning him to his life, and Steve regularly places the man's body into situations he did not consent to, such as Diana having sex with "Steve" while the man can do nothing about it. When the man is finally back to normal, he has no idea what happened to him (whether that makes the whole thing better or worse is very debatable).
- It must be pretty scary to wake up having lost a day or two from your memory, and (given the fighting Steve did while piloting his body) probably covered with aches, pains and bruises...and you have no idea where they came from.
- When Barbara's humanity first starts to slip away. One night she's working late and one of her co-workers assists her in the hopes of getting some one-on-one time. What's creepy is that Barbara is completely unresponsive throughout the whole thing, not even blinking. When she finishes, Barbara rejects the man in an emotionless tone. She's so mechanical in this scene, it could almost be seen as a relief when she starts acting animalistic.
- Diana discovers that the Dreamstone bears an inscription in the language of the gods. She jolts hard at the realization that an unscrupulous businessman now has a godly artifact at his disposal and warns Steve that anything imbued with god powers is very dangerous.
- Sure enough, the next we see of Maxwell Lord, he's conned an oil baron into making a wish. Maxwell then takes his security team so that said baron will be left exposed to his enemies. Once Max makes his claim, the guards all turn into puppets that follow him blindly.
- Diana finds out which god created the Dreamstone; Dechalafrea Ero. When said in Gal Gadot's accent, the name sounds almost Lovecraftian and the Mayan illustrations of a grotesque figure holding the Dreamstone can leave one wondering exactly what this god may look like.
- When Maxwell starts granting wishes worldwide, we see a trunculent British woman wish for the Irish to be kicked out of the country. Her Irish husband snaps back by wishing she would drop dead. Not only does she hit the floor seconds later, but the Irishman sees the police grabbing innocent people off the street and hauling them away. Most of the wishes granted were of the fantastic variety, but this one can hit harder because it's happened in real life far too many times.
- The drunken man that accosts Barbara. He's bigger than her and smart enough to know how to keep her cornered. Diana may have stopped him the first time, but the second time she was on her own.
- His eventual comeuppance at the hands of Barbara is no slouch either. When he tries to force himself on her, she has an unnerving Death Glare as she grabs his hands. And then she starts handling him like a ragdoll, throwing him around through shoves and kicks. Each hit is punctuated by an ominous, repetitive synth, which reaches its dramatic apex when the final blows are dealt.
- What does the President wish for? Enough military power to cow the rest of the world, forsaking the idea of America being part of the Free World and switching to tyranny just because it's a more attractive option. It's little wonder the writers were so reluctant to name the President despite his resemblance to Ronald Reagan.
- Maxwell overcomes this part quickly enough, but we see hints that prolonged use of the Dreamstone was causing his body to physically break apart, as he develops nosebleeds, bloodshot eyes and at one point Tainted Veins. This can easily be seen on this page image, with his Slasher Smile not helping matters. But how does he avoid turning into a rotting corpse? By draining the lifeforce of everyone whose wish he grants, not unlike a vampire.
- The climax. All the wishes that Max is granting worldwide are piling up into Armageddon. The Doomsday Clock strikes midnight and missiles start flying, nuclear apocalypse is nigh. This was the worst case nightmare scenario for all of humanity for decades, from the end of World War II all the way up to the end of the '80s, with entire generations growing up in the fear that the whole planet could be reduced to a radioactive cinder at any moment. And we see Max's young son in the middle of all of it, terrified and only wanting to know where his father is and for him to protect him. Thankfully, Max realizes what's really happening and renounces his wish at Diana's insistence, saving the world.
