As an immortal superhero, Diana Prince spends her life encountering all sorts of friends
and foes. But whether she's facing a god of war or low-level mischief, Diana handles everyone
she meets with compassion, grace, and a golden lasso. Here are the characters in Wonder Woman
1984 with more meaning than viewers might realize.
Early in Wonder Woman 1984, audiences visit Diana's metropolitan DC apartment filled with
books on archaeology and cultural anthropology, plus some mementos nodding to the previous
film. One black-and-white photo looks like a wedding celebration that reunited the ragtag
commandos who helped her during World War I: Sameer, Charlie, and Chief.
But a separate photo shows Diana some years after the war, standing in front of a city
skyline alongside Etta Candy, a female friend from those early days. Etta wears glasses
and looks grayer compared to Diana, who as an immortal superhero looks unchanged. But
the actor credited as Etta in Wonder Woman 1984, even in this brief moment, is still
Lucy Davis, who played her in the 2017 film.
In the comics, Etta was Wonder Woman's closest friend, a career Air Force officer who later
becomes a government agent. The 2017 film made her Steve Trevor's secretary, who awkwardly
carried Diana's sword and shield and liked Diana's feistiness instantly. Etta preferred
using her principles to fight -- mostly, anyway.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Antiope, the military leader of the Amazons of Themyscira and considered their greatest
warrior, died in 2017's Wonder Woman, but a flashback in Wonder Woman 1984 brings her
to life again — once more portrayed by Robin Wright.
Wright loved playing Antiope the first time around, telling ScreenRant:
"What is the message [of Wonder Woman] that is so timely? We need to hear more of this
because it's just about love and equality and justice."
In Wonder Woman 1984, Antiope teaches Diana a lesson about honesty. The sister of Diana's
mother Queen Hippolyta, Antiope introduces a young Diana to an athletic contest featuring
gymnastics, swimming, equestrian skills, and archery. She also gives her a little bit of
advice, both for the competition, and life in general.
"Just do your best. Greatness is not what you think."
The scrappy Diana is ahead of the game for a while until a branch knocks her off her
horse. She scrambles down a hill, taking a shortcut to catch up with her mount, but Antiope
stops her short of the finish line. She then tells her niece, "You're not ready to win,
and there is no shame in that. No true hero is born from lies."
Her aunt's wise words stay with Diana years later, as does her tiara, which Hippolyta
gave to Diana before she left home in the 2017 film.
Barbara Ann Minerva, better known as Cheetah, is one of Wonder Woman's longtime foes.
In the comics, Barbara is an archaeologist and professor interested in the civilization
of the Amazons.
Diana and Barbara become friends, but their friendship turns sour after Barbara goes on
an expedition to investigate the ancient god Urzkartaga. Urzkartaga captures Barbara, who
agrees by the promise of immortality to be his tribe's new guardian. She drinks a potion
that turns her into a feline human complete with orange skin, black spots, claws, and
a tail.
Although Wonder Woman 1984 revamps this origin story to a considerable extent, it keeps certain
elements, notably the spark of friendship between the two. This time around, Barbara
is a gawky geologist, gemologist, and part-time crypto-zoologist who is in awe of Diana's
beauty, strength, and ability to walk in cheetah-print heels.
After the FBI asks the Smithsonian to identify certain relics, one of which turns out to
be a wish-granting stone, Barbara wishes she could be just like Diana, inadvertently gaining
super speed, strength, and agility. Like the short story "The Monkey's Paw," the wishes
involve some dire consequences -- but Barbara won't renounce her wish, determined never
to be an awkward doormat again.
Wealthy businessman and entrepreneur Maxwell Lord has been knocking around the DC Universe
since the 1980s, at one point in the comics playing a key role in organizing the superhero
team known as Justice League International. During the late 1980s crossover event "Invasion!,"
readers learned that Lord was actually a metahuman with mind control abilities. But this character's
extensive backstory also includes other affiliations, including the Black Lantern Corps, the Illuminati,
and the Extremists.
That said, Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins told People that their version of
Lord is more inspired by controversial, headline-grabbing business mavericks like Bernie Madoff and
Donald Trump.
Pedro Pascal, currently the "Dadalorian" to the famous baby Yoda on The Mandalorian Star
Wars series, plays Lord as a would-be oil tycoon with blond hair, big ambitions, and
the intense desperation of a guy out to prove he's not a loser. Meanwhile, the character
has a young son who loves him just fine the way he is.
Pascal, who memorably played the Viper Oberyn Martell on Game of Thrones, incidentally has
another tie to Wonder Woman. He appeared as the indelicately-named character Ed Indelicato
in the unreleased Wonder Woman TV pilot from 2011, which starred Adrianne Palicki as Diana.
U.S. Air Force pilot Steve Trevor has been Wonder Woman's love interest since the 1940s,
so it was natural to introduce the romance between Steve and Diana in the 2017 film.
As Steve, Chris Pine had such natural chemistry with Gal Gadot that even though his character
died, the filmmakers wanted to bring him back in some capacity.
Despite the death-defying return, Steve's comeback made sense for the characters and
the actors both. As Pine told Entertainment Weekly,
"There's parity in the relationship and they support one another. They bring out the best
parts of one another."
Diana doesn't mean to bring Steve back from the dead in Wonder Woman 1984 — she just
wishes around that magical stone that she could see him again. But she hasn't been in
love since their time together during World War I and still misses him dearly.
We won't spoil how things turn out for this timeless couple, except to say that Steve
once again makes Diana's heart soar.
When Steve Trevor comes back from the dead, his spirit actually inhabits the body of another
guy, billed only in the credits as "Handsome Man," something we'll bet amuses actor Kristoffer
Polaha to no end.
When Steve and Diana first reunite, the Handsome Man at a gala gives her a watch and repeats
his parting words from the 2017 film.
"I wish we had more time."
The bewildering moment for Diana develops into something magical, as the man transforms
in Diana's eyes to the Steve she loves. But the cinematography and an occasional mirror
make clear that while she and the audience see Pine as Steve, the other characters see
the unnamed man.
Wonder Woman 1984 doesn't provide any backstory for the mysterious guy. But Polaha is a familiar
face in his own right. The veteran actor has made appearances on TV shows like Mad Men,
Castle, and Ballers. He's also set to appear in the third entry in the Jurassic World series,
Jurassic World: Dominion.
In one action sequence, Diana and Steve chase after a military convoy protecting Maxwell
Lord, who through the power of the wishing stone has acquired both the oil and the bodyguards
of Emir Said Bin Abydos, played by Amr Waked.
Lord had been jealous of the Emir, who was featured on a magazine cover around the same
time that Lord's less-than-effective wells seemed to be little more than a Ponzi scheme.
The Emir at first scoffs at the idea that Lord could offer him anything he might want,
then looks over the city of Cairo in Egypt and wishes that his ancestral lands could
be returned. The film doesn't explain the politics behind the Emir's wish, but it's
granted in a snap, causing chaos for people in the region.
Although his role is brief, viewers might recognize Waked, a native of Cairo, as comedian
Ramy Youssef's father on the Hulu comedy series Ramy. Waked has also appeared in Syriana,
Lucy, Geostorm, and Netflix's Marco Polo series.
Diana has several co-workers at the Smithsonian Institution, but one in particular stands
out for having a link to Kristen Wiig's past. Natasha Rothwell plays Carol, who looks right
past the clumsy Barbara Minerva, even though Barbara reminds her that Carol hired her in
the first place. Carol appears briefly, introducing Barbara and Diana and giving them a heads-up
about the FBI wanting the Smithsonian's assistance in identifying several recovered artifacts,
including the mysterious stone.
Rothwell is a veteran both in front of and behind the camera. She has appeared in TV
and films such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and the current iteration of DuckTales.
She's the voice of Zan Owlson , an owl businesswoman and mayor of St. Canard.
She's also an executive story editor on the HBO comedy Insecure and was a writer on Saturday
Night Live from 2014 to 2015 during Wiig's heyday. Carol might not recognize Barbara
Minerva at first sight, but it's likely that Rothwell and Wiig shared some SNL stories
between takes.
Wonder Woman 1984 includes several character actors, some of whom have other pop culture
appearances. One of those is Stuart Milligan, who plays the President of the United States.
The real president in 1984 was Ronald Reagan, at the time the oldest person ever to be nominated
by a major party for the office. Milligan doesn't try to imitate Reagan, but plays his
role straight. His president finds his appointment calendar suddenly cleared for a meeting with
Maxwell Lord, thanks to Lord wishing his way to the top of the list.
Diana tries to intercept Lord at the White House, leading to a fight sequence against
both an empowered Barbara in animal prints and the Secret Service, with Steve providing
backup.
If Milligan looks familiar, perhaps it's because he previously played President Richard Nixon
during a 2011 story arc on Doctor Who. He also voiced Colonel Stark in the 2009 animated
miniseries Doctor Who: Dreamland and appeared in other sci-fi films such as Sky Captain
and the World of Tomorrow and Outland.
Wonder Woman 1984 gives Diana both her iconic costume and gold armor with wings, a reference
to the ceremonial battle armor that Amazon artisan Pallas created for her as extra protection
whenever facing an extremely powerful villain.
In the film, the armor has a different origin story. Queen Hippolyta tells a young Diana
about a brave Amazon named Asteria, who wore the golden armor to protect her sisters' retreat
to Themyscira when they left the regular world.
Diana later relates this legend to Steve, explaining how she's recovered the golden
armor of Asteria over her years of working with antiquities. Diana later wears the armor
as extra protection during the film's climax.
Yet a post-credits scene reveals that Asteria didn't die while protecting that ancient retreat.
She's been living among us, too, played by Lynda Carter, TV's original live-action Wonder
Woman from the 1970s. The cameo is an obvious tribute to the beloved Carter, who at DC Fandome
in 2020 thanked Jenkins and Gadot for their treatment of the iconic character. According
to Carter, seeing Jenkins and Gadot's interpretation of Wonder Woman made her own daughter finally
understand what the character was all about.
"She said, 'Mom, I finally get it.' I finally get what Wonder Woman means to everyone."
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