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DC FanDome: 'Wonder Woman 1984' introduces Cheetah, Maxwell Lord; here's all you need to know about the villains

Longtime comic book readers are already set to be mesmerised on screen as they are familiar with rogues like Maxwell Lord and Cheetah and are claws deep in DC graphic novel lore, but for the uninitiated, here is a guide to the DC comic book villains:

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The official trailer #2 for Warner Bros.' 'Wonder Woman 1984' has been finally unveiled. The film stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman who will be fighting not one but two foes -- Maxwell Lord, played by Pedro Pascal, and Kristen Wiig as Barbara Ann Minerva aka 'The Cheetah'. The epic trailer which was unveiled a while back also shows Chris Pine's character Steve Trevor reuniting with Diana much to her happiness.

Longtime comic book readers are already set to be mesmerised on screen as they are familiar with rogues like Maxwell Lord and Cheetah and are claws deep (see what I did there?) in DC graphic novel lore, but for the uninitiated, here is a guide to the DC comic book villains:

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'Wonder Woman 1984': Who is Cheetah?

The 'Cheetah' character was created by William Moulton for DC Comics and she commonly appears in the comic books as the archenemy of Wonder Woman. The character was created as an allegory of the folly of abnormal emotions such as jealousy, as well as to be another embodiment of what Moulton called "less actively developed women" (emotionally misaligned) who needed emotional reform by a loving leader (Wonder Woman).

There have been four different incarnations of the Cheetah since the character's debut: Priscilla Rich (the Golden and Silver Age Cheetah), Deborah Domaine (the Bronze Age Cheetah), Barbara Ann Minerva (the Post-Crisis and current Cheetah), and Sebastian Ballesteros (a male usurper who briefly assumed the role in 2001). In the Warner Bros.' film 'Wonder Woman 1984', we will be seeing the Barbara Ann Minerva version of the character making her live-action debut., played by Kristen Wiig.

In her original incarnation, Cheetah had no superpowers, just burning jealousy of Wonder Woman and a spotted cat costume. But in her modern incarnation, Barbara Ann Minerva, as Cheetah, is a woman endowed in with godlike powers (much like Wonder Woman) but is a complete contrast to the protagonist. Whereas Wonder Woman uses her powers for the moral good, Cheetah seeks it for selfish reasons and personal good. Now if that doesn't seem evil enough (surely, all of us seek personal good to some measure, right?) there is a certain tragic angle to the hero.

In the hands of talented writers like Greg Rucka and artists Liam Sharp and Nicola Scott, a tragic fate befell Barbara Anne Minerva which made her truly one of the most compelling of DC villains, a track which the 'Wonder Woman 1984' film ought to take. Trying to seek out Themyscira's ancient secrets, when Minerva was promised by the ancient god Urzkartaga of unimaginable divine powers, little did she know that it would come at a heavy price, great strength, razor claws, and teeth, predator's hunting senses and reflexes but also an uncontrollable bloodlust, cannibalistic urges, and a complete loss of personality and character. That was Urzkartaga's "blessing".

 


 

'Wonder Woman 1984': Who is Maxwell Lord?

The 'Maxwell Lord' character was created by Keith Giffen, J. M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire for DC Comics and he first appeared in the comic books in Justice League #1 (May 1987). Known originally as Maxwell Lord IV, he is your shrewd and powerful businessman antagonist, influential in the formation of the Justice League International in the DC Universe, really just wanting to bring superheroes and metahumans under his exclusive control.

The character is one of those well-known and properly established 'classic' characters in the DC Universe. Lord has even had his live-action debut in all the classic shows, having been played by Gil Bellows in an episode of the classic superhero TV show 'Smallville', centered around Superman. He was also in the first season of the television series Supergirl played by Peter Facinelli. In this version, he is the founder of Lord Technologies and distrusts many government agencies and superheroes. In the Warner Bros.' film 'Wonder Woman 1984', we will be seeing Maxwell Lord making his cinematic debut., played by Pedro Pascal.

The arrogant businessman, who thinks he is the good guy from his perspective, has been intertwined with the Justice League since the late '80s but he is mainly known for making Diana Prince, aka the Wonder Woman, cross a line that she had never crossed before, that is a line that the movie better pursues.

Now, the primary thing to note about Maxwell Lord is that he sees superheroes as a threat to humanity and hence believes, the twisted businessman that he is, that he will be the one to keep them in check via exclusive bureaucratic control. Originally non-powered, in later comic books Maxwell Lord developed a form of mind control power that could just "nudge" an individual to do his bidding.

Which brings us to Wonder Woman's last straw. During the universe-bending event in DC Comics' 'Infinite Crisis' (2005), Maxwell Lord had taken control of Superman's mind and made him believe that he was fighting his worst enemies when the Man of Steel was just attacking his friends and the general civilians. Seeing no other option, Wonder Woman was forced to bound the Lasso of Truth around the business and asked him to stop the rampaging Superman. However, Lord looks her in the eye and says "Kill me", following which Diana promptly snaps his neck, leading the entire world to lose their faith in superheroes, the final masterstroke from Lord.

 

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In the trailer, we see Barbara, who befriends Diana only to have an epic shutdown with her in the avatar of a human cheetah. The sequences that are shown in the two-minute 23-second long video are insane and will make you impatient to witness this much-awaited film which has been fast-forwarded to the 1980s. Wonder Woman 1984 also stars Robin Wright as Antiope and Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta in pivotal roles.

 

 

Wonder Woman 1984 is produced by Charles Roven, Deborah Snyder, Zack Snyder, Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot, and Stephen Jones. While Rebecca Steel Roven Oakley, Richard Suckle, Marianne Jenkins, Geoff Johns, Walter Hamada, Chantal Nong Vo, and Wesley Coller are the executive producers.

The trailer has announced that Gal Gadot-starrer will have a theatrical release. However, the final release date is yet to be announced. Moreover, it is likely to be witnessed by fans in October but can't be confirmed a release in India due to the pandemic. 

Wonder Woman 1984 has been pushed several times by the makers mainly due to coronavirus.

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