WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Wonder Woman.
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With Wonder Woman's first origin film now in theaters, DCEU fans have one question: what connections are drawn between it and other Justice League heroes, storylines, or possible hints towards the next phase of DC's movie universe. Since Diana's first adventure is set a full century before the events of either Batman V Superman or Man of Steel, you might not think there would be more links than the usual Wonder Woman/DC Comic easter eggs - but you would be wrong.
Whether it's a brief appearance from Bruce Wayne's employees, an introduction to the gods set to appear in Justice League's opening battle scenes, or purely thematic explanations adding more meaning to Diana's later story, fans will want to take note. They may not be caught by every single viewer, but if you're charting the course taken by Wonder Woman from her first days among the Amazons of Themyscira up to Batman V Superman and beyond, Wonder Woman is guaranteed to reward the detail-oriented.
And needless to say, there will be SPOILERS in our breakdown of Wonder Woman DCEU Movie Connections Explained.
Bruce Doesn't Know Diana's Secret - Yet
While the bulk of Diana's origin story is set in the early 1900s, the film begins with Diana living what appears to be her day-to-day life in Paris, France (as was implied to be the case in the Batman V Superman surveillance video). But for those who thought that scenes, conversations, or shared agreements were filling in the gaps between Superman's death and his funeral, or between the film's conclusion and where Justice League begins - think again. It looks like Diana headed home after Clark Kent's burial, and more or less returned to the life she was living.
Diana isn't expecting the package delivered by Bruce Wayne's personal security detail, apparently not even caring enough to read the handwritten note accompanying the item. Tossing it aside, it's only when Diana discovers the original photograph of her WWI days that she inspects the note. In it, Bruce explains that he has done his best to keep her secret - but that he hopes to hear her story someday. We're hoping that means in the course of Justice League, and fans should be pleased that they haven't missed out on any early Bruce/Diana bonding so far.
Get Ready For More Zeus
After the first official trailer for Justice League showed glimpses of what looked to be the Amazons battling Apokoliptian Parademons, fans may have hoped to see some similar hints and teases of the Amazons' ancient origins in Wonder Woman's own origin story. The film doesn't deliver on that hope, but it does give some insight into the history of their people - particularly the... close relationship they shared with Zeus above all other Olympian Gods. It was Zeus who created Mankind, according to Hippolyta's bedtime story, and created the Amazons to protect them.
It's a good first story to help set the stage for the opening battle of Justice League, set thousands of years in the past when the forces of Mankind, Atlantis, and the Amazons united to resist the invasion of Darkseid's forces. We know that Zeus will be on hand to help Earth's forces, judging by the concept art and conversations we witnessed during our trip to Justice League's set. So if Zeus is now Wonder Woman's father, expect to see how his own superpowers in that sequence relate to Diana's. Not to mention some serious side-eye between him and Hippolyta.
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The Creation of Apokolips, The Gods & Metahumans
Fans may not get to actually see a live-action take on Zeus, the God of Gods (the version shown to Diana and the audience is a stylized one to fit the storybook sequence) in Wonder Woman, but that's not the case for Ares. Sure, the God of War stays hidden for most of the film, but when he arrives, he's in his full comic book armor and able to wield lightning, use telekinesis, and manipulate reality. They're powerful abilities, and implied to all be more or less accessible to Diana, too. Which sets the stage for what audiences can expect to see from Darkseid and Steppenwolf in Justice League - since they get their powers from the same source.
We mean a literal "Source," the name given to the 'higher power or energy' existing above the DC Universe. Most casual DC fans will know of Darkseid, ruler of the Hellish planet Apokolips, but his reign and race (the New Gods) are only the end result of far greater beings and civilizations. Before, there was the Old Gods, who saw their realm and existence completely destroyed in a massive war (known as 'Ragnarok'). The explosion of energy sent out by their destruction was dubbed 'The Godwave,' planting the potential for deities and cosmic energies throughout the DC Universe. That includes the Speed Force, the New Gods, the Olympian Gods of Earth - you name it.
When the wave reached the edge of the universe and bounced back, lesser beings - superhumans (perhaps the Atlanteans) - were similarly created. With Wonder Woman now confirmed to be carrying the powers and energy passed down from Zeus, we highly suspect that Steppenwolf or Darkseid are likely to mention it.
Why Diana "Turned Away" From Mankind
When she was introduced back in Batman V Superman, the mysterious heroine known only as 'Diana' didn't seem like your typical superhero. She eventually stopped resisting the call to action when things seemed completely out of hand, donning her armor and helping to kill Doomsday. But as we now know, it wasn't a permanent return to duty. As she told Bruce Wayne at Clark Kent's funeral, she had "turned away" from the world before suiting up again - implying that "a century of horror" (read: endless war) was largely to blame.
But in Wonder Woman, Diana actually succeeds in stopping The Great War, in some sense. She fulfills her mission of trying to kill Ares to cease hostilities, and it causes the men around her to drop their weapons, with a full armistice not far behind. Even so, the seeds have been planted to help explain Diana's later lines of dialogue. Sure, she killed Ares... but men had already seen how much more power could be gained through weaponry and warfare. The result was Diana seeing that one victory would never be enough, and in the end - in the words of Patty Jenkins - she decided the world might need to save itself for a while.
Explaining why Wonder Woman wasn't seen during every major conflict in the decades since.
Why Diana Turned Back
After seeing Diana's own journey to adulthood take the shape of a mission to vanquish a terrible foe, it's a bit easier to interpret her role in Batman V Superman (since she offers few lines of dialogue or exposition). What we know, thanks to Wonder Woman, is that her mission began with the belief that it was her sacred duty to defend humanity from terrible threats and forces looking to destroy it. That idea was eventually revealed as a juvenile illusion, but she ultimately felt compelled to protect humanity thanks to love. Love for Steve Trevor, a good man who showed the power of belief in the goodness of every person.
Somewhere along the line Diana clearly turned away from Steve's own claim that she would "save the world" even if it meant saving it from itself. And as she watched the carnage of the Superman/Batman/Lex Luthor/Doomsday plot unfold, she hesitated... perhaps seeing this as just one more example of man's self-destruction. She eventually jumped into action, finding a team and partnership with new heroes, and actually saving the day... but too late to save Superman. And as she lowered his broken body into the arms of the woman he loved, we're willing to bet that the moment of heartbreak and loss felt familiar (for the first time in a long time, perhaps).
Maybe it was seeing the love and life she could have saved if she hadn't hesitated, or maybe it was humanity's outpouring of genuine grief and appreciation for Superman's sacrifice that reminded her people could be saved. All we know is when she's through reading Bruce's note, and through recalling the values and mission that led her here, she's ready to don the armor and leap back into action.
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Those are the connections we can confirm so far, although repeat viewings are sure to offer up more examples in hard-to-miss places. We welcome readers to share their own theories, thoughts, and expectations of the larger web of DCEU links in the comments.
