Every DC Easter Egg & Reference In Wonder Woman 1984

Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Wonder Woman 1984.

Wonder Woman 1984 contains many nods to the comics that inspired it. This is unsurprising given that the film’s script was a collaboration between director Patty Jenkins and former DC Comics’ CCO Geoff Johns, both of whom have a well-known love of DC Comics’ lore and history.

After being delayed for the better part of a year, Wonder Woman 1984 has proven to be a hit for Warner Bros. The movie has made over $100 million dollars at the box office to date, despite rising COVID-19 infections in the United States and a simultaneous release in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service. It also managed to become the most-streamed film of 2020, despite being released one week before the end of the year and on the same day as Disney+’s animated feature Soul.

Though overall reactions to the movie have been mixed, Wonder Woman 1984 has drawn praise from comics fans for how well it honors the spirit of the character. While Diana is a warrior born and bred, she is meant to be an avatar of Truth and Love, who encourages peace rather than conflict and only turns to violence to defend others. Here is a breakdown of every DC Comics Easter Egg in Wonder Woman 1984.

The Amazon Games

The opening scene of Wonder Woman 1984 flashes back to Diana’s youth in the Amazon homeland of Themyscira and shows her taking part in an athletic competition, comparable to the modern Olympics. Beyond being an excellent excuse to bring back the Amazons from the first Wonder Woman (including Robin Wright as Diana’s beloved aunt Antiope) the sequence also shows Diana learning an important lesson on the value of Truth, establishing the central theme of the film. The games are also a nod to the original Wonder Woman comics and the contest Queen Hippolyta held to choose an Amazon worthy of the title Wonder Woman to act as their representative in Man’s World.

Washington DC

While the action of Wonder Woman 1984 spans the globe, most of the movie takes place in Washington DC, where Diana is employed as an expert in cultural anthropology and archaeology at the Smithsonian Institute. While this is a brilliant way for Diana to take advantage of her first-hand knowledge of history and ancient cultures while secretly searching for Amazon artifacts, it also seems likely that Diana might feel a little more at home in a city filled with classically inspired architecture. Diana has made her home in a number of cities in the comics, including London, New York City, Boston and Gateway City, but has most often operated out of Washington DC. She was also depicted as living in Washington DC in the Wonder Woman TV show starring Lynda Carter.

Absent Friends

There are a number of nods to Diana’s friends from the first Wonder Woman movie in her apartment, with several old photos shown as Diana changes clothes after thwarting the mall robbery. One photo seems to show a double wedding for Scottish sniper Charlie and Sameer (a.k.a. Sammy), the Moroccan soldier with a gift for acting. Another photo shows Diana and the Chief liberating the captives of a World War II era concentration camp. One final color photo shows Diana with an older Etta Candy.

The Dreamstone

The Dreamstone lies at the center of Wonder Woman 1984‘s plot, being a divine artifact that grants the fondest wish of whoever holds it. There is an artifact called the Dreamstone in DC Comics, but it was a weapon wielded by the Justice League villain Doctor Destiny, which allowed him to peer into the dreams of other people and make their dreams into reality. The Dreamstone was later retconned into being the creation of Dream of the Endless, the protagonist of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman. The Dreamstone was one of three artifacts in which Dream contained most of his power over imagination and creation, along with a bag of sleep-inducing sand and a magic helmet.

Barbara Minerva/The Cheetah

There have been four different villains called the Cheetah in DC Comics’ history, and all of them have numbered among Wonder Woman’s greatest enemies. The modern Cheetah, Dr. Barbara Minerva, is the most powerful of them all, being both blessed and cursed by an African god who gave those women offered to him as a bride the speed, strength and savagery of Earth’s fastest land predator. The modern Wonder Woman comics have modified this background somewhat, making Barbara and Diana friends before Wonder Woman failed to save Barbara from being promised to the corrupting influence of the evil god. Wonder Woman 1984 modified this backstory yet again, with Barbara’s transformation being fueled by a wish from the Dreamstone.

Maxwell Lord

First appearing in Justice League International, Maxwell Lord was depicted as a slick but well-meaning businessman who took over the financial management of the Justice League in a bid to boost his personal fortunes and public image by being the money manager for the World’s Finest heroes. He later acquired a weak telepathic ability to nudge people towards his way of thinking, but using it gave him migraines and nosebleeds. While the Maxwell Lord of the DCEU isn’t a telepath, Wonder Woman 1984 referenced Lord’s famous physical frailty in the comics, as the Dreamstone drained Lord’s vitality with every wish he granted, leaving him visibly shaken, clutching his forehead, and holding a handkerchief to his nose. Lord was also ultimately revealed to be a decent man, whose greed stemmed from his fear of being like his abusive father and his desire to be a loving provider for his own son.

The Duke Of Deception

The power of the Dreamstone was ultimately revealed to have come from a being the Mayans identified as Dechalafrea Ero – a god of deceit and trickery whom Diana said was more simply known as the Duke of Deception, but also known as Dolos to the Ancient Greeks and Mendacius to the Ancient Romans. The Duke of Deception is one of Wonder Woman’s oldest enemies in the comics, first appearing in Wonder Woman #2 as a servant of Ares, God of War. He acted as Ares’ propaganda officer, spreading misinformation to turn friend against friend and encourage conflict.

Simon Stagg

Another DC Comics villain makes an appearance in Wonder Woman 1984, though he’s set up as an antagonist of Maxwell Lord instead of Wonder Woman. Simon Stagg is an investor in Maxwell Lord’s Black Gold Cooperative who, dissatisfied with Lord’s empty promises, threatens to report Lord to the authorities if he doesn’t get his investment refunded. After gaining the power of the Dreamstone, Lord turns the tables on Stagg, tricking him into wishing for the success of Black Gold Cooperative and claiming his shares of the company as payment for the wish – along with Stagg’s freedom, as the FTC show up to arrest Stagg for tax fraud. The Simon Stagg of the comics is an equally shady scientist and businessman, best known as the archenemy of the hero Metamorpho, though Stagg’s scheming has also brought him into conflict with Batman, Superman and the Justice League.

The Other Steve Trevor

Wonder Woman 1984 paid tribute to actor Lyle Waggoner, who played Steve Trevor in the Wonder Woman television series and passed away in March 2020. Following his apparent resurrection in another man’s body, Chris Pine’s Steve Trevor looked in the mirror and was stunned to see the face of another man, played by actor Kristoffer Polaha. Many commented that there was a strong resemblance between Polaha and Waggoner and wondered if this was an intentional nod. Wonder Woman 1984 Director Patty Jenkins confirmed that it was.

The Invisible Jet

Originally presented as the apogee of Amazon technology, Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet was an indispensable part of her arsenal for the first forty-five years of her existence. The vehicle was still associated with her even after she gained the power to fly on her own. In the modern DC Comics universe, where the Amazons don’t have airplanes, the Invisible Jet was given a new background as a piece of semi-sentient alien crystal that could transform into whatever object Wonder Woman needed, eventually transforming itself into a flying fortress which she dubbed the Wonderdome. Wonder Woman 1984 pays homage to the classic Invisible Jet with a sequence where Diana uses the same divine power that hid Themyscira from the world to make the plane carrying herself and Steve Trevor invisible.

Bialya

Maxwell Lord travels to Cairo to meet with Emir Said Bin Abydos, a wealthy oil magnate whose land he wishes to claim as his own. When Lord asks the Emir what he wishes for most in all the world, the Emir makaes a reference to the Bialyian Dynasty, which was the ancestral realm of his family. Bialya is a fictional Middle Eastern nation in the world of DC Comics which, perhaps not coincidentally, first appeared in the same Justice League International storyline that introduced Maxwell Lord’s character. Long presumed to be based on the nation of Libya (as Bialya is almost an anagram for Libya) its name was actually taken from a traditional Jewish bread, the bialy, according to its co-creator JM DeMatteis. It is also worth noting that Bialya is typically depicted as being between Turkey and Syria on most maps of the DC Universe, suggesting that the Bialyian Dynasty may have ruled most of the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea at one time in the DCEU.

The Golden Eagle Armor

To confront Cheetah and Maxwell Lord, Diana dons the golden armor of Asteria, the legendary Amazon hero who stayed behind in Man’s World to single-handedly fight the armies of Man as Zeus used the last of his power to hide the Amazon homeland of Themyscira. While the legend of Asteria is unique to the DCEU, her Golden Eagle armor is a familiar sight to comic readers. Designed by artist Alex Ross, the distinctive armor first appeared in the 1996 mini-series Kingdom Come, worn by a future version of Wonder Woman while quelling a riot at a supervillain prison. It would later be introduced into the modern DC Comics timeline three years later in Wonder Woman #144, where the ceremonial suit of armor was revealed to be a gift for Diana from the Amazon blacksmith Pallas.

Wonder Woman Flies

When she was first introduced into the world of comics in 1941, Wonder Woman could only fly using her Invisible Jet. Stories in the 1950s gave her the ability to manipulate air currents and glide short distances, but she didn’t gain the power of true flight until 1987 when, in a reboot origin written by George Perez and Len Wein, the Greek god Hermes blessed an infant Diana with a measure of his own legendary speed and the ability to fly. In the reality of the DCEU, Diana doesn’t seem to have the ability to fly independently, though her great strength allows her to high-jump and long-jump far better than any mortal. This, coupled with a conversation with Steve Trevor about why he loved flying planes, inspired her to try to “catch air and ride the wind.” It’s also possible that Diana’s flight is part of the power inherited from her father, Zeus, whose divine domain was the sky and the heavens.

Superman II Tributes

Patty Jenkins claimed to have been heavily inspired by the Superman movies of director Richard Donner and to have made several stylistic choices based on his films. The story of Wonder Woman 1984 does share some notable plot beats with Superman II. Both films see the superhero protagonist lose their powers as a result of their desire to pursue a romantic relationship, though Kal-El willingly gave up his powers to live a mortal life with Lois Lane while Diana’s power loss and resurrection of Steve Trevor were entirely accidental. Both movies feature a scene in which a supervillain enters the White House and attempts to bully the American President before being confronted by the hero. Both films also contain some unfortunate implications regarding the issue of consent, with Superman erasing Lois Lane’s memory of their time together with a kiss and Diana dismissing Steve’s concerns that he’s taken over another man’s life so they can be together.

Asteria

Wonder Woman 1984 contains a mid-credits scene which reveals the fate of Asteria, the legendary Amazon warrior who originally wore the Golden Eagle armor. Asteria is shown to be alive and well in the modern world, as she effortless catches a falling pole and stops it from crushing a baby carriage. Asteria is played by Lynda Carter, who was the first actor to play Wonder Woman in a live action production, in the Wonder Woman television series.

About The Author

Matt Morrison
(1836 Articles Published)

Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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