Wonder Woman 1984 fits its story into its 2.5-hour runtime. Its third act was action-packed where Diana (Gal Gadot) faced off against two villains; Barbara Minerva, also known as Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), and Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal). Fans are led to think that the film is a relative standalone on its own but there is so much in the sequel that goes back to the first film, especially with Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) on board.
One of the most pressing questions in the film was what happened to Barbara Minerva aka Cheetah. This is a legitimate question as director Patty Jenkins admitted that Minerva's end was supposed to be ambiguous.
WARNING! If you haven't watched Wonder Woman 1984, please be advised that the following content contains major SPOILERS.
Before diving into the fate of Cheetah, she came into being due to Maxwell Lord. Maxwell grants the wishes of people but in exchange, he will get something valuable back. The more he grants wishes, the more he became powerful. He uses the Dreamstone to make the people's wishes come true.
The plot point for the Dreamstone is that it will grant the wishes of the people when they touch the stone. In this case, Maxwell was the one holding the stone when they make their wish. The meaning of this plot point may show that screenwriters David Callaham, Geoff Johns, and Patty Jenkins were insinuating that the media has the power to "touch" people, as Maxwell uses it to communicate with the rest of the world.
As the people asked for their wishes to come true, the world erupted in chaos and was led to the verge of war. Diana has to stop Maxwell but she needs to get through her former friend, Barbara, who has transformed into Cheetah. Barbara wishes to be appreciated and recognized, thinking it is how Diana felt even though the Amazonian princess hopes to live in secrecy and never clamored for attention. Barbara wanted something more, to become an apex predator leading to her transformation as Cheetah.
Most people only got one wish from the Dreamstone, Barbara got two. She saved Maxwell which is why he wanted to grant her another wish. Cheetah was able to easily deal with a wish-weakened Diana at the White House. Diana uses Asteria's Golden Armor.
Asteria was played by Lynda Carter, who also played Wonder Woman on TV back in the 1970s. Asteria was the fiercest warrior among Amazonians. When the Amazons escaped to Themiscyra, someone had to stay behind and keep the attacking men from reaching the Amazonians. That person who stayed was Asteria who was wearing the armor forged from all of the Amazonian armor. Diana found the armor when she came to the World of Men, but never found Asteria. While wearing the armor, Diana was able to match Cheetah and overpower her. She uses a power line to electrocute Cheetah into submission and renounce her wishes. Diana leaves the weakened Barbara outside the satellite facility.
Diana used the Lasso of Truth to make Maxwell tell the world about the truth and let him realize his mistakes. Maxwell reunited with his son Alistair (Lucian Perez) who only wanted his father to come back to him. The world renounced their wishes, leading the world to go back to normal.
What Happened to Barbara Minerva at the end of Wonder Woman 1984?
The film's plot has established that every wish came at a cost. In return for Steve Trevor coming back, Diana lost her powers. Unfortunately, Steve only assumed the body of Diana's neighbor (Kristoffer Polaha). In exchange for her power, Barbara lost her humanity.
When Diana made humanity realized their wrongdoings, it led to a domino effect that affected Barbara. Barbara's transformation as Cheetah was not due to her second wish. It came from the loophole that Max has been exploiting. Maxwell was able to share some of those benefits with Barbara.
As the world succumbed to their desires, Max gave Barbara additional rage and ferocity. When the world renounced their wishes, the additional gifts that Barbara received were reversed. When Barbara was seen in the last part of the film, she was in her normal form, which can be presumed that she has also renounced her wish.
Theory on What Happened to Barbara Minerva
It was not explicitly shown that Barbara renounced her wish. In the end, she was looking forlornly at the side of the cliff. She didn't look too happy. Director Patty Jenkins said that Barbara's end in Wonder Woman 1984 was intentionally made to be ambiguous.
Based on Barbara's expression, it is possible that she ended the film with a grudge, as her status as an apex predator was taken away by Diana and mankind after renouncing their wishes. This particular outcome can set up for Barbara to be vengeful in the future.
Her Cheetah form might be taken away, but her initial powers and lack of humanity may have remained within her, especially if she didn't renounce her first wish. Barbara's initial powers before her Cheetah form were already a challenge to Diana.
If her forlorn expression at the end of the film is a signal of anything, it may mean that she disliked the outcome of Diana's actions. Wonder Woman 1984 can be an origin story for Cheetah, which is one of Wonder Woman's persistent antagonists in the comics.
Wonder Woman 1984 is streaming on HBO Max.
Also Read: Wonder Woman 3: Patty Jenkins Possibly Confirmed 4th Wonder Woman Film
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