History Characters / DCEUWonderWomansRoguesGallery

[[Characters/DCEUSupermansRoguesGallery Superman's Rogues Gallery]] | [[Characters/DCEUGothamUnderworld Gotham Underworld]] | [[Characters/DCEUTaskForceXTargets Task Force X - Targets]] | Wonder Woman's Rogues Gallery | [[Characters/DCEUApokolips Apokolips]] ([[Characters/DCEUDarkseid Darkseid]], [[Characters/DCEUSteppenwolf Steppenwolf]]) | [[Characters/DCEUShazamsRoguesGallery SHAZAM's Rogues Gallery]] ([[Characters/DCEUDoctorSivana Dr. Sivana]]) | [[Characters/DCEUOtherSupervillains Other Supervillains]] ([[Characters/DCEUOceanMaster Ocean Master]], [[Characters/DCEUBlackManta Black Manta]]) | [[Characters/DCEUMinorVillainsAndCriminals Minor Villains and Criminals]]-]]]]]

[[Characters/DCEUSupermansRoguesGallery Superman's Rogues Gallery]] ([[Characters/DCEUGeneralZod General Zod]], [[Characters/DCEULexLuthor Lex Luthor]]) | [[Characters/DCEUGothamUnderworld Gotham Underworld]] | [[Characters/DCEUTaskForceXTargets Task Force X - Targets]] | Wonder Woman's Rogues Gallery ([[Characters/DCEUAres Ares]]) | [[Characters/DCEUApokolips Apokolips]] ([[Characters/DCEUDarkseid Darkseid]], [[Characters/DCEUSteppenwolf Steppenwolf]]) | [[Characters/DCEUShazamsRoguesGallery SHAZAM's Rogues Gallery]] ([[Characters/DCEUDoctorSivana Dr. Sivana]]) | [[Characters/DCEUOtherSupervillains Other Supervillains]] ([[Characters/DCEUOceanMaster Ocean Master]], [[Characters/DCEUBlackManta Black Manta]]) | [[Characters/DCEUMinorVillainsAndCriminals Minor Villains and Criminals]]-]]]]]

[[folder:Ares]]
-> [[Characters/DCEUAres Has his own page]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:General Ludendorff]]
!!'''''General Erich Ludendorff'''''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ludendorff.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300: ''"Peace is only an armistice in an endless war."'']]
!!! '''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Citizenship:''' German
!!!'''Affiliation(s):''' German Army, German General Staff
!!! '''Portrayed By:''' Creator/DannyHuston
!!! '''Voiced By:''' Jochen Hägele (European French), Jacques Lavallée (Canadian French), Creator/JoseLuisOrozco (Latin-American Spanish)
!!! '''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}''

->''"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 UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany who's still warmongering (with mass murder plans in mind) on the eve of the Armistice in 1918.
----
* AmazonChaser: The way he looks at and talks about Diana makes clear how ''impressed'' Ludendorff is with her.
* ArtisticLicenceHistory:
** The real life Ludendorff, like most men in Europe in the 1910s, [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Erich_Ludendorff.jpg had a moustache]], while Danny Huston doesn't sport any in the film.
** The real life Ludendorff also survived UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, [[FictionalizedDeathAccount eventually dying of liver cancer in 1937]].
** Ludendorff mentions his fascination and love for the [[Myth/ClassicalMythology 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 [[Myth/NorseMythology Proto-Germanic and Norse deities]], and his true devotion was for [[http://history.info/on-this-day/1865-german-general-believed-pagan-god-wotan/ Wotan]].
* BadBoss: His EstablishingCharacterMoment is shooting one of his own officers for complaining about low supplies. [[spoiler:He also [[BoardToDeath 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.
* BadassNormal: 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.
* BigBadWannabe: Played with, if not outright subverted once Ares' [[PlotIrrelevantVillain 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 BigBad for the conflict related to the war, with Ares being the FinalBoss for Diana's CharacterDevelopment.
* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: 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.
* CaptainErsatz: A very blatant one to the MCU version of the [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger 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.
* ChestOfMedals: He is seen wearing the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Cross Iron Cross]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pour_le_Mérite Pour le Mérite (aka "Blue Max")]], most notably. The Pour le Mérite was among the highest orders of merit in Imperial Germany.
* ClassicVillain: 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, [[spoiler: manages to undo Diana's act of heroism]] and has a dramatic showdown with Diana.
* CompositeCharacter: By virtue of being the sole named German antagonist in the movie, the leader of the German army, and the BigBad, as well as his HistoricalVillainUpgrade and the setting change, he's effectively a SettingUpdate composite of Wonder Woman's various German enemies when she was a CaptainPatriotic hero fighting in World War II. These included Red Panzer, Captain Nazi, Baron Blitzkrieg (who was also enhanced with SuperSerum to be able to fight Wonder Woman), and Armageddon (who, like Ludendorff, utilized a potent and fantastical chemical weapon).
* CulturedBadass: 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.
* DeathByAdaptation: His RealLife counterpart died in 1937.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: 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.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: 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.
* EqualOpportunityEvil: 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.
* EvilIsPetty:
** 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. [[KickTheDog Which won't work against that gas, anyway.]]
* EvilSoundsDeep: His voice has a low-pitched growl to it.
* FauxAffablyEvil: Conducts himself in a dignified manner as fitting his status, but in close-quarter combat it becomes clear that there's a BloodKnight 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.
* FictionalizedDeathAccount: [[spoiler:While the real Ludendorff died of liver cancer in 1937, this version of him is killed by Wonder Woman in 1918.]]
* FoeRomanticSubtext: With Diana.
* {{Foil}}: To Ares, as he is directly campaigns to keep the war going, [[spoiler: in contrast to Ares who uses subtle manipulations with politics and new weaponry.]]
** To Steve Trevor. [[spoiler: 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.]]
* ForTheEvulz:
** 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.
* GeneralRipper: He's a psychotic general who doesn't want the war to end. [[spoiler: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.]]
* HasAType: Strong, warrior ladies like Diana which, given his fixation with war, makes sense.
* TheHeavy: 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 [[spoiler:he's merely a pawn of the true villain, Ares]].
* HistoricalBeautyUpdate: Ludendorff was an old, portly man with a weak chin, unflattering mustache and a receding hairline, not a clean-shaven SilverFox like Danny Huston.
* HistoricalDomainCharacter: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Ludendorff Erich Ludendorff]], Quartermaster general (''Erster Generalquartiermeister''), basically the supreme leader of the German military during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI along with Paul von Hindenburg.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: 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 TheSocialDarwinist and participated in UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler'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 [[SarcasmMode 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 DeadlyGas 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.[[labelnote:*]]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.[[/labelnote]]
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: [[spoiler: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.]]
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Diana runs him through with the supposed-Godkiller sword.]]
* KickTheDog:
** His EstablishingCharacterMoment is murdering one of his own officers to prove his point about how soldiers must expect an attack from anywhere.
** When he later [[spoiler: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, [[HopeSpot he tells her that the men inside don't know that.]]]]
** After the gala [[spoiler:he gasses the town of Veld to show off his new weapon, even though it is entirely populated by civilians.]]
* KnowNothingKnowItAll: He tells Diana ''"You know nothing of the gods"'', which falls under this trope once it's made clear [[spoiler: Ludendorff isn't Ares in disguise]]. It becomes ironic when [[spoiler: the real Ares gives Diana further information revealing that she really doesn't know as much about the gods as she believed she did]].
* ObviouslyEvil: Ludendorff [[YouHaveFailedMe kills his men for slights]] and [[GeneralRipper is blasé towards news of them starving to death.]] He also has an ally named '''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Doctor Poison]]''', who herself has [[RedRightHand a facial disfigurement]] and enjoys [[MasterPoisoner gassing helpless people to death]].
* ObviousVillainSecretVillain: The Obvious to Ares' Secret.
* ThePhilosopher: 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.
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Diana comes to the conclusion that he must be Ares in human disguise. He is not, Sir Patrick Morgan is.]]
* RenegadeSplinterFaction: 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 [[spoiler:and kills the High Command during their meeting as they discuss the Armistice]].
** Also subverted, in that his goal is to [[spoiler: persuade the Kaiser and his fellow generals to continue the war. He's continually frustrated when his comrades refuse.]]
* SuperSerum: Dr. Poison provides him with a gas that gives him SuperStrength.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: 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.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler: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.]]
* VillainousCrush: Ends up developing one towards Diana, Ludendorff taken not only by her beauty but also [[AmazonChaser her fighting prowess]] too, outright calling her "magnificent."
* VillainousFriendship: He and Dr. Poison share a giggle [[spoiler:after his KickTheDog 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.
* WarIsGlorious: He glorifies war and says it elevates humanity, so much so that [[spoiler:Diana thinks he is Ares.]]
* WeakButSkilled: [[spoiler: 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.]]
* WhatTheHellAreYou: He asks "What are you?!" after Diana destroys his pistol with the very bullet he'd fired at her.
* WickedCultured: 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 Creator/{{Thucydides}}. As for wicked, well...
* WorthyOpponent: Views Diana as such.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Poison]]
!!'''''Dr. Isabel Maru / Dr. Poison'''''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drpoison_3.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I am loyal to General Ludendorff! Besides, I see your attention is... elsewhere."'']][[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see her without her mask]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/_13.png[[/labelnote]]]][[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see her before her disfigurement]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/drpoisonwonderwoman.jpg[[/labelnote]]]]
!!! '''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Citizenship:''' Spanish
!!!'''Affiliation(s):''' German Army
!!! '''Portrayed By:''' Creator/ElenaAnaya
!!! '''Voiced By''': Elisabeth Ventura (European French) | Aurélie Morgane (Canadian French) | Creator/MarianaOrtiz (Latin-American Spanish)
!!! '''Appearances:''' ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}''

->''"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.
----
* AdaptationalNameChange: 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, [[LegacyCharacter her granddaughter]], is named Marina Maru. Here, she's named Isabel.
* AdaptationalUgliness: Played with in a interesting way. While the original [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/9/94/Doctor_Poison_Earth-Two.png/revision/latest?cb=20110330210113 comic incarnation]] looked very [[{{Gonk}} unappealing]], its revealed that was merely a mask and make-up to disguise her identity and she is actually [[http://assets1.ignimgs.com/2016/11/03/dr-poison-revealedjpg-fe226e_1280w.jpg 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.
* AlasPoorVillain: Averted as [[spoiler: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.'']]
* AloofDarkHairedGirl: The only person she's willing to have a conversation with is Ludendorff. Even Steve struggled to charm her.
* BadassLongcoat: She wears one when she gasses the German High Command.
* ConspicuousGloves: 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.
* CoolMask: 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.
* DeadlyGas: One of the biochemical weapons she works on is an acidic gas capable of dissolving gas masks.
* TheDragon: To General Ludendorff.
* DragonTheirFeet: [[spoiler: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.]]
* EvilLaugh: 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).
* FacialHorror: [[spoiler:When her mask falls away its revealed her nose has been ground down and she has half a GlasgowGrin.]]
* IJustWantToBeLoved: 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.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:She's a MadScientist, 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.]]
* LoveHungry: 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.
* MadScientist: 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 SuperStrength.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: She's a villain who wears a mask to cover her facial disfigurement.
* MaskingTheDeformity: 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 [[TwoFaced the lower half of her face]] have dissolved away, implicitly from a chemical experiment gone wrong. She ain't nicknamed [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast 'Dr. Poison']] in the comics (where she, notably, [[AdaptationalUgliness isn't scarred under the mask]]) for nothing.
* MasterPoisoner: She gained the nickname "Doctor Poison" because of her profiency in developing lethal nerve agents for the German Imperial Army.
* MirrorCharacter: 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.
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: She's a MadScientist creating dangerous gases to serve a warmonger's ambitions, and she has a doctorate.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Her surname is mostly pronounced 'marrow', like bone marrow.
* NightmareFetishist: If Steve's attempt to compromise her is any indication.
* [[NonActionGuy Non-Action Girl]]: She's purely into science, she's not built to fight physically.
* PragmaticAdaptation: The character was created during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII 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.
* ProfessorGuineaPig: According to her actress, her scars were self-inflicted after testing her poisonous gas' effectiveness on herself.
* RaceLift: 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.
* RedBaron: Her nickname has been given to her by her enemies.
-->'''Steve Trevor:''' The boys in the trenches call her Dr. Poison.
* RedRightHand: She is very disfigured and wears a facial disfigurement mask to hide it.
* SettingUpdate: The Golden Age comics Dr. Poison she is based on was active during World War II. Here she is active during World War I.
* SoftSpokenSadist: Her voice is rather smooth and on the quiet side, but she clearly enjoys inflicting pain.
* StraightEdgeEvil: She rebuffs Steve's offer of a drink at Ludendorff's gala, stating that she does not consume alcohol.
* UndyingLoyalty: 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.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Of Ares; he was the one she had gotten her new gas from.]]
* VillainousBreakdown: When forced to face a ''very'' enraged and grieving Diana, Dr. Poison steels herself and tries to FaceDeathWithDignity... [[spoiler: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.]]
* VillainousFriendship: She and Ludendorff share a giggle [[spoiler:after his KickTheDog moment with the German high command.]]
* VillainsWantMercy: Late in the movie where she's at Diana's mercy, we see her groveling in fear. Yeah, she's an unapologetic, sadistic MadScientist, but seeing her in such pitiful state is simply heartbreaking.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: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.]]
[[/folder]]

!![[Film/WonderWoman1984 1984]]

[[folder:Max Lord]]
!!''Maxwell Lorenzano / "Max Lord"''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxwelllord.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I've never been one for rules."'']]
!!! '''Species:''' Empowered human
!!!'''Citizenship:''' American
!!!'''Affiliation(s):''' Black Gold Cooperative
!!! '''Portrayed By:''' Creator/PedroPascal
!!! '''Appearances:''' ''Film/WonderWoman1984''

->''"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.

* EightiesHair: That thing looks like it could save his life in a motorcycle accident.
* AdaptationalBadass: The comics version of Maxwell Lord had psychic abilities that allow him some degree of mind control. This movie version is essentially a RealityWarper 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.
* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: 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 ComicBook/MartianManhunter. 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.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: 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.
* AdaptationalHeroism: Lord in the comics is usually attempting world domination, and the finale seems to be a MythologyGag at his death at Diana's hands. Here, however, he's willing to relinquish power for his son.
* AdaptationalJerkass: 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.
* AdaptationalSuperpowerChange: 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.
* AdaptationNameChange: 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.
* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: 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.
* AlternateSelf: Maxwell Lord exists on [[Series/Supergirl2015 Earth-Prime]] and [[Series/{{Smallville}} Earth-167]].
* AmbitionIsEvil: 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.
* AntiVillain: 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.
* TheAssimilator: 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.
* BadSamaritan: 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.
* BecomingTheGenie: Maxwell Lord's wish is to ''be'' the Dreamstone, which grants him powers and the ability to choose wishes' cost.
* BigBad: His actions with the Dreamstone drive the majority of the plot of ''Wonder Woman 1984''.
* BigBadDuumvirate: 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.
* CadreOfForeignBodyguards: Max gets ahold of an Egyptian security team as payment for granting the wish of an oil baron.
* CastFromHitPoints: 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.
* CharacterCatchphrase: "Life is good, but it can be better!"
* CompositeCharacter: With Doctor Destiny (as portrayed in ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'') - 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.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist:
** In ''Film/WonderWoman2017'': 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 BloodKnight who savoured the chance to fight Wonder Woman while high on performance enhancers, while Maxwell hides behind armed guards and Cheetah.
** In ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'': 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.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: 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 [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes a good life for his son]]. [[spoiler: His [[FreudianExcuse 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.]]
* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: 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.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: [[spoiler: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 [[AbusiveParents 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.]]
* DestroyTheVillainsWeapon: A rare villainous take on the trope. Maxwell wishes to assimilate the Dreamstone into his being, [[spoiler: 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.]]
* DiplomaticImpunity: 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.
* DoNotAdjustYourSet: 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.
* DotingParent: 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.
* DrunkOnTheDarkSide: By the time Maxwell gets everyone in the world to make their wishes, he is utterly consumed by his power and is ChewingTheScenery like there's no tomorrow. It takes a KirkSummation from Diana for him to realize what he's doing and snap out of it.
* DrunkWithPower: He gradually becomes this, ''especially'' in the climax when he [[spoiler:starts draining the health and life force of countless people to keep himself alive]].
* DyeHard: 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.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: His son, one of the few people who likes Maxwell in spite of him being a lying and egotistical man. [[spoiler:It's his son's love that convinces Maxwell to give up his powers]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Rather, JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope 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.
* EvilVirtues: 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).
* FakeFaithHealer: 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.
* FakeNationality: 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 [[OohMeAccentsSlipping unless he gets upset]].
* FamilyValuesVillain: 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.
* FauxAffablyEvil: His smarminess leaks through whatever show of charm he tries to put on. Played with in that he genuinely ''does'' have [[HiddenHeartOfGold 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.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: 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 RealityWarper. 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.
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: 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 LifeEnergy of millions, if not billions, at once to not only restore his body, but to turn him into a metahuman.
* GoodParents: 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.[[spoiler: 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.]]
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: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 [[MoralityPet his beloved son]]. The last we see of Max, he's mending his relationship with said son, trying to become a better man.]]
* HeelRealization: [[spoiler: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.]]
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: 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.
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: 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.
* ItOnlyWorksOnce: 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.
* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: All Max wants (at first) is [[WellDoneDadGuy 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.
* JackassGenie: 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 [[spoiler: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.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Beneath that sleazy SnakeOilSalesman demeanor is a man who just wants to do right by his son.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: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.]]
* LargeHam: Add the smarmy snake oil salesman type with the fact that and Pedro Pascal downright noted he tried to channel Creator/NicolasCage, and you get a very hammy villain.
* LiteralMinded: Invoked. When the President mentions the satellite system can "broadcast to any device the radio waves touch". Max Lord uses ExactWords and LoopholeAbuse to be able to make physical contact with everyone on Earth at once and grant their wishes simultaneously.
* LoopholeAbuse:
** 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. [[spoiler: 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.
* MeaningfulName: 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.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: Goes hand-in-hand with Pedro Pascal's ChewingTheScenery. His gestures are downright operatic.
* MockMillionaire: 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.
* MrViceGuy: "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 [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom nearly dooming the world in the process]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: 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.
* NiceToTheWaiter: He appears to be very amiable and polite with his staff, not even demanding payment when he grants their wishes. [[spoiler: At least until continual use of the Dreamstone begins to corrupt him.]]
** [[spoiler: A mix of this and PragmaticVillainy is what drives him to empower Barbara into the Cheetah.]]
* NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: 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. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as physical contact is a requirement for him to grant a wish.
* NonActionBigBad: He never directly engages in combat. His power is more dangerous than him. He even invokes this trope at the climax - while ''he'' [[spoiler: takes the health and life force of all the people making their wishes, he shunts all their strength and physical prowess into his [[TheDragon ally, Barbara.]] This is what allows her to later fight nearly on a level with Wonder Woman.]]
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: 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.
* PapaWolf: Alistair's happiness and safety is the one thing Maxwell treasures more than his new power, and appealing to that love is [[spoiler:how Diana convinces him to renounce his wish]].
* ParentsAsPeople: 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.
* RaceLift: 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.
* RagsToRiches: 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.
* RealityWarper: 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 LoopholeAbuse he is able to grant Barbara a second wish after she had already made one).
* RoguesGalleryTransplant: In the comics Maxwell's turn to villainy pits him against Blue Beetle [[spoiler: (which leads to the latter's death)]], here he's an enemy of Wonder Woman.
* RuleOfSymbolism: [[https://i.insider.com/5fe43509edf89200180939f6?width=1100&format=jpeg&auto=web 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.
* SparedByTheAdaptation: 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.
* TaintedVeins: 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.
* TruerToTheText: This version of Max Lord hues a lot closer to the character's original portrayal in books like ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueInternational'', prior to being {{Retcon}}ned into a villain. He's greedy, arrogant, and never thinks things through, but is ultimately human and not intentionally evil... when not DrunkWithPower.
* {{Trumplica}}: His hairstyle, clothing style and unbridled entrepreneurship evoke 1980s UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump. 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.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: [[spoiler: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 [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes his son]], he doesn't seem to even slightly care who he hurts to make that happen.
* VillainousParentalInstinct: 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. [[spoiler: 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.]]
* VillainTeamUp: Maxwell teams up with Barbara for protection. In exchange he gives her a power boost.
* WellDoneDadGuy: 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.
* TheWholeWorldIsWatching: 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 TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt) 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.[[spoiler: 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.]]
* WishingForMoreWishes: 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.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility: Maxwell initially shows no concern for the consequences of his powers, until [[spoiler: 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.]]

[[folder:Barbara Minerva / Cheetah]]
!!''[[ComicBook/{{Cheetah}} Barbara Ann Minerva / Cheetah]]''
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cheetah_2.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"You're not the only one with something to lose. Turns out wishing to be like you came with some surprises."'']]
[[quoteright:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see her Cheetah form]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screenshot_2020_12_27_cheetah_twitter_search_twitter.png ''"I don't want to be like anyone. I want to be an apex predator!"''[[/labelnote]]]]
!!! '''Species:''' Enhanced human

!!!'''Affiliation(s):''' Smithsonian Museum
!!! '''Portrayed By:''' Creator/KristenWiig

->''"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.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Not Barbara herself, who's already pretty attractive ([[invoked]][[HollywoodHomely however much the plot says otherwise]]), but her Cheetah form, at least in comparison to the way she looks in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth''. 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.
* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: 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.
* AdaptationalContextChange: 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.
* AdaptationalDyeJob: Redhead in the comics, blonde in the movie
* AdaptationalModesty: 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.
* AdaptationalNationality: Barbara is British in the comics but American in this universe.
* AdaptationalJobChange: She's an archaeologist in the comics but a geologist (gemologist, more specifically) here.
* AdaptationalSympathy: 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.
* AdaptationOriginConnection: In the comics Cheetah's powers come from making a pact with a god. Here she's an EvilKnockoff to Wonder Woman.
* AlternateSelf: She has one on [[Series/WonderWoman1975 Earth-76]].
* AmbiguouslyBi: 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.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Barbara's upgrade eventually corrupts her physical form into a human-cheetah hybrid.
* AntiVillain: 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.
* TheBaroness: Barbara acts as this for Maxwell, though her later transformation into Cheetah compromises the sex appeal.
* BeautyIsBad: 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.
* BetaTestBaddie: 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.
* BigBadDuumvirate: Forms an alliance with Lord, protecting him in order to keep her wish.
* BigBadSlippage: Barbara starts out the film as a friend to Diana. As her strength and beauty increase because of her wish, though, she becomes DrunkOnTheDarkSide and throws her lot in with Lord in order to keep her new power.
* BodyHorror: 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.
* BreakingOutTheBoss: Diana and Steve had Maxwell cornered for all of a minute before Barbara steps in and gives Maxwell an opening.
* CatGirl: Barbara's enhancements eventually turn her into a cheetah-human hybrid. She even starts moving on all fours when the transformation kicks into overdrive.
* CombatStilettos: 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.
* ComicBookMoviesDontUseCodenames: At no point does Barbara ever go by the name "Cheetah". Somewhat justified as she doesn't transform until very late in the movie.
* CompositeCharacter: 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 CatGirl from her Post-Crisis/DC Rebirth incarnation.

* WouldHitAGirl: Even before realizing that Wonder Woman was more than she seemed, he had no qualms about shooting her on sight.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Not Barbara herself, who's already pretty attractive ([[HollywoodHomely however much the plot says otherwise]]), but her Cheetah form, at least in comparison to the way she looks in ''ComicBook/WonderWomanRebirth''. 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.

* StrongButUnskilled: 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.

* WomanChild: Barbara seems to be mentally stuck as a bullied nerd with the world as her high school. It takes a turn for PsychopathicWomanChild once she starts taking advantage of her wish, becoming a bully as a result.

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''

* AdaptionalModesty: 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.

* AdaptationalDyeJob: Redhead in the comics, blonde in the movie.

* {{Catchphrase}}: "Life is good, but it can be better!"