Is Kristen Wiig's Cheetah really the main villain of Wonder Woman 1984? Sure, Cheetah is a classic Wonder Woman villain and will play a villainous role, she doesn't seem like main villain material. It seems Wiig is actually playing an adaptation of the third incarnation of Cheetah from the comics, Dr. Barbara Ann Minerva. The character was created by Len Wein and George Perez back in 1987, but the movie seems to be basing the Cheetah on a more recent, retconned history.

An expert in the study of mythology, Minerva discovered proof of the Amazons, and actually launched several attempts to discover the island of Themyscira. It was only when Wonder Woman arrived in the world of men that Minerva's theories were proven correct; she and Diana became firm friends. Unfortunately, Minerva's continued obsession with the ancient gods left her under the influence of the fictional African deity Urzkartaga. She was cursed with the powers, and the cannibalistic appetite, of the Cheetah; although Diana had promised to come to her friend's aid, she failed to do so in time, and the twisted Minerva blamed Diana for her misfortune.

It's easy to see how Minerva's story could be adapted to the DCEU in a very similar fashion. She's an archaeologist renowned for the study of mythology, perhaps even attempting to find Themyscira. After so many decades in the world of men, no doubt Wonder Woman would be keen to revisit her home, and would find Minerva's theories deeply exciting. The two could easily become friends - and then, of course, tragedy would follow, as Minerva is transformed into Cheetah. But that doesn't really make Cheetah the main villain of Wonder Woman 1984. So who will be the one ultimately pulling the strings?

The Real Villain Could Have Created Cheetah

We already know that the DCEU's version of Cheetah will be heavily influenced by the popular run of comic book writer Greg Rucka. As part of DC's popular "Rebirth" initiative, Rucka subtly retconned the origin of Cheetah. He revealed that Dr. Minerva's African expedition had actually been funded by the wealthy Veronica Cale, who was being forced to work for the twin sons of Ares, Phobos and Deimos. Knowing that Minerva's expedition was doomed to tragedy, Cale ensured a high-tech communicator Diana had given her friend was turned off. Cale was actually the one who was responsible for creating Cheetah; she was the one who had encouraged Cale on her trip, and whose money had made it possible. She was also the one who ensured Wonder Woman would arrive too late to help.

This is the perfect way to use Cheetah. She works best as a secondary character, one who wavers between the light and the dark, with Diana desperately attempting to redeem her friend. Cheetah is most effective when she's a "shades of gray" character, straddling the worlds of heroes and villainy, and could potentially even become an ally in Wonder Woman's battle against the real villain. In the case of Rucka's "Rebirth" run, Cale was the real villain. In just the same way, Wonder Woman 1984 could use Cheetah as a part of the story, rather than its main focus. Minerva could be as much a victim as an adversary, one who has been cursed as part of a sinister plot against Wonder Woman and against the world.

Does the Title Tease the Real Villain?

WW84 Wonder Woman logo

There's actually some evidence to support this idea. The reality is that, so far, the marketing approach for the Wonder Woman sequel has simply seemed rather odd. Even the film's title - Wonder Woman 1984 - just doesn't quite make sense. While we've known for a year that Wonder Woman 2 would be set in the Cold War Era, there's nothing particularly significant about the year 1984 - certainly nothing that explains why that year is so important as to be part of the movie's title.

But it's possible the title is important for another reason. 1984 was a dystopian novel published by George Orwell in 1949. It imagines a world in which Great Britain ("Airstrip One") had fallen under the sway of a fascist regime, led by "Big Brother." Big Brother used surveillance techniques to monitor everything a person did, and the book constantly repeated the paranoid stanza: "Big Brother is watching you." Many scholars consider 1984 to be one of the most influential books ever written, and it's very much shaped how we perceive the ideas of fascism and the surveillance state. Could the title of the Wonder Woman sequel actually be evoking Orwell's novel?

Supporting this idea, notice the graphic Warner Bros. used to tease the title. The text is fizzing and popping, as though showing on an old TV screen. The "snow" effect is pretty distinctive and certainly points to the idea that this film is somehow connected to surveillance, to being watched upon a monitor. If the title of Wonder Woman 1984 is intended to point to an Orwellian dystopia, then Cheetah is indeed a secondary character - most likely manipulated by the main villain. But who could that villain be?

Page 2 of 2: Who Could Be The True Villain of Wonder Woman 2?

Veronica Cale, and the Children of Ares

The first possibility is Veronica Cale herself. A beautiful blonde-haired industrialist, Cale was created by Greg Rucka and Drew Johnson as a "Lex Luthor" figure to take on Wonder Woman. As Rucka explained in an interview with Newsarama, Cale's problem with Wonder Woman is primarily philosophical.

"Veronica Cale looks at Diana and sees her as a fraud. Diana is a liar. She thinks that Diana is selling the world a bill of goods. She looks at Wonder Woman and sees a six foot-tow, drop dead gorgeous woman – who flies and bounces bullets off of her bracelets – and her answer is that everyone should just be nice to each other. For Veronica, that’s total bull****. It all comes easy for Diana, but what about the people who have to scratch and tear and bleed and fight and work for everything that they get? What about the people who weren’t molded out of clay and blessed by gods? What about the people who have to work sucky, nine-to-five jobs, workout twice a day, and still can’t get rid of fifteen pounds? People can be just like Diana if they just want to be? For Veronica, that’s just bull****."

The first Wonder Woman movie was actually a battle of competing philosophies. The final battle between Diana and Ares was as much a philosophical conflict as a physical one. Ares believed that humanity was corrupt to the core, but Wonder Woman insisted that people are neither intrinsically good nor bad, but rather are a bit of both. It would hardly be a surprise to see Wonder Woman 1984 continue this philosophical trend, with Cale as a new philosophical counterpoint to Wonder Woman.

One further point makes Veronica Cale quite attractive to the DCEU. In the comics, she was manipulated by Phobos and Deimos, twin children of Ares. And Wonder Woman deliberately stressed that Ares's children, demigods like Phobos and Deimos, are out there in the world.

It's important to note that Veronica Cale has ties to advanced technology - including a sinister virtual intelligence who calls herself Cyber. This intelligence is envisioned as decades ahead of our time, able to tap into countless electrical systems at a whim. In Rucka's "Rebirth" narrative, it was Cyber who ensured Wonder Woman didn't learn her friend Dr. Minerva was in trouble until it was too late. It wouldn't take much to adapt Cyber into the digital and surveillance threat teased by the first Wonder Woman 1984 title card.

Maxwell Lord and Brother Eye

Another possibility, though, is industrialist Maxwell Lord. A classic Justice League villain, for decades Maxwell Lord was actually believed to be a friend of the League - even working alongside the Justice League International team. In reality, though, Lord's motives were very different. He possessed the ability to manipulate minds, and realized that if he could manipulate superheroes - so could other people. To Lord, beings like Superman and Wonder Woman were a terrifying threat, and over the course of years he collected every superhero's greatest secrets, and identified their weaknesses.

Related: The DCEU is Finally Generating Good Post-Justice League Buzz

Lord worked alongside a computer system called "Brother Eye," actually created by Batman. Brother Eye was the most sophisticated monitoring system ever, able to tap into every computer system in the world. It was even able to take control of some cybernetic heroes, overriding their own wills. With Lord's help, Brother Eye developed tools known as the OMACs - the One Man Army Corps. Nanobots transform innocent men and women into cybernetic OMACs, powerful warriors who can actually take on even the likes of Superman and Green Lantern.

Maxwell Lord ultimately used his powers to gain control of Superman, and manipulated the Man of Steel into attempting to kill Wonder Woman, believing he was fighting Doomsday. Diana captured Lord in her lasso of truth, and asked if there was any way to break his control; Lord's reply was breathtakingly simple. "Kill me." That was what Diana did in order to free Superman, but footage of this murder was broadcast across the world by Brother Eye. In retaliation for the killing of its master, Brother Eye actually launched its OMACs in an attack upon Themyscira.

While an adaptation of this story for Wonder Woman 1984 would need to take some clear liberties, it's still easy to see how this concept could be applied. Maxwell Lord could have recognized Diana as the first of a new age of heroes, predicting that where there are one or two metahumans, there will be others. As such, he could have created Brother Eye in order to seek them out, like a sort of Cerebro. Substitute Cheetah for Superman, and you can even get the classic scene where Diana kills Lord at the end of the film. Meanwhile, Brother Eye was explicitly inspired by 1984's "Big Brother," so would fit well with the marketing to date.

Whoever it is, Wonder Woman 1984 seems to have a major villain that has yet to be announced. One that poses a larger threat than Cheetah and ties into the 1984 theme of the title. There have been a number of villains that fit that theme, so it could be Veronica Cale and the Children of Ares, Maxwell Lord and Brother Eye, both or neither, but there's still a lot to learn about the movie's true plot, and maybe some high profile casting news is also on the way.

Production has only recently begun on Wonder Woman 1984, and it's far too soon to say for certain what twists director Patty Jenkins has in store. The film's marketing has already hinted that Cheetah isn't actually the main villain - and has potentially set up some terrifying new threats for poor Diana.

MORE: It's a Great Idea to Have Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman 2

Key Release Dates