Wonder Woman 1984’s Barbara (Kristen Wiig) had impressive abilities in her human form, but left her humanity behind to become a feline monster. As the Cheetah, one of Diana’s fiercest enemies in DC Comics going all the way back to the 1940s, Barbara is one of the two main villains that the Amazon princess will face in her second solo outing.
Scheduled for an October 2020 release, the Wonder Woman sequel will jump forward by a few decades to the 1980s, when Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) will mysteriously reunite with her previously deceased love interest from the first movie, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). At the center of the story is Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord, a wealthy businessman with dark ambitions. Lord, known for his ability to manipulate people in DC Comics, will weave a scheme that drags Diana’s best friend, Barbara, into the conflict. Trailers and other plot details reveal that Barbara will turn against Wonder Woman and transform into her feline comic book counterpart.
In the new trailer for Wonder Woman 1984, Barbara’s Cheetah form is on full display. Diana responds to witnessing her new look with the comment, “Barbara, what did you do?” Since the trailer suggests that Barbara already had access to super powers (presumably given to her by Maxwell Lord) prior to becoming a cat, viewers are left wondering what pushed her to this new level of self-transformation. It’s possible that though the trailers show a human Barbara putting up a tough fight against Diana, she still loses in the end, or Diana goes easy on her because of their friendship. Barbara may feel that the power she has isn’t enough to beat her enemy.
In many versions of her story in DC Comics, becoming the Cheetah is usually not her intention, but in this case, it may be exactly what she wants. In the beginning of the trailer, Barbara can be heard saying “I want to be an apex predator,” which is a line with strong animalistic implications. Barbara, who wears a leopard skin outfit in the movie, may even be inspired by jungle cats and their abilities as predators.
Another huge motivating factor is jealousy. Cheetah, who suffers from low self-esteem, feels that she can never be on Wonder Woman’s level. Her feelings were indicated in the trailer when she said, “you’ve always had everything, while people like me have nothing.” Clearly, her jealousy of her friend led to bitterness and a desire to be just as good (or better) than Wonder Woman. That may be what makes it possible for her lover, Maxwell Lord, to manipulate her into doing his bidding. Lord may give her powers, but Barbara may want more. If being a super-powered human proves to be ineffective against Diana in Wonder Woman 1984, Barbara may determine that going beyond the limitations of humanity is necessary for her to become a true “apex predator.”
