Wonder Woman is known for many things, including her unique weaponry, her unmistakable costume, her place alongside her male peers as a founder of the Justice League and of course for being a feminist pop culture icon. One thing she might not be as well known for is her Rogues Gallery. I mean sure there’s Ares and The Cheetah and Circe and… uh…
It’s nothing new for the makers of big budget tentpole movies to attempt to keep things under wraps, sometimes going so far as to outright lie. *cough* J.J. *cough* Abrams *cough* And in the case of comic book movies, it’s not uncommon to try and conceal the identities of the films’ villains, although the truth usually emerges within a few months. But perhaps because of the relative obscurity of many of Wonder Woman’s foes, director Patty Jenkins and the other creators behind the Amazing Amazon’s first big screen solo outing have managed to keep the identities of her cinematic foes a secret for an extended period.
Danny Huston is portraying General Erich Ludendorff of the Central Powers of World War I. But from most information about the movie that has been revealed, it would SEEM that General Ludendorff is just a disguise for Ares, the Greek god of war.
Meanwhile, Elena Anaya’s character’s name has been kept under wraps… until now.
It turns out that Anaya is playing Doctor Maru. Though she may not be as famous as say The Joker or Lex Luthor, a Golden Age foe of Wonder Woman’s Princess Maru operated under the alias Doctor Poison. And considering that it has been known for some time that Ares would take a particular interest in the deadly mustard gas the Central Powers used to kill thousands during the Great Conflict, it makes total sense to also draw in this WW rogue.
Jenkins briefly discussed Doctor Maru’s role in the film.
“[Dr. Maru is] an interesting character because, you know, we don’t get super into her backstory, but we know her backstory, which is that she’s a woman who has had all kinds of damage in her life, and now she delights in bringing – and I’ve known people like this – delights in bringing that to other people’s lives… There is that way of being a damaged and dark person where you’re waiting for other people to face that wrath too.”
I GUESSED that that was the villain being used when the first ‘Wonder Woman’ trailer was released, with Anaya’s character wearing a face-distorting mask plus lingering images of mustard or other toxic gases. As you can guess by her name, Doctor Poison utilizes various deadly gases and toxins in her evil pursuits.
As for her menacing visage, in the original Golden Age comics, Doctor Poison, like a remarkable number of WW villains was attempting to conceal not just her identity, but her gender under a bulky lab coat and mask combo.
Though Doctor Poison isn’t very well-known, even among comic book readers, the character has proven memorable enough to be revived several times throughout the years, including during DC’s most recent reboot ‘Rebirth’. (Then again, maybe the powers-that-be knew the villain was going to be part of the movie and decided to boost her profile?) The newer versions eschewed the cross-dressing but the more feminized depictions (seen above) have been even more frightening.
So… guess we’ll have to wait until ‘Wonder Woman 2’ to see the Amazon battle a female werecat.
To learn more about Ares and Doctor Poison’s master plan, we’ll have to wait until the movie hits in June.
‘Wonder Woman’ was directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright, Ewen Bremner, David Thewlis, Elena Anaya, Lucy Davis, Danny Huston, Florence Kasumba, Doutzen Kroes, Eleanor Matsuura, Saïd Taghmaoui, Lisa Loven Kongsli, Samantha Jo and Eugene Brave Rock. The script was written by Allan Heinberg and Geoff Johns, based on a story by Heinberg and Zack Snyder. It will be released on June 2, 2017.
Source: Screen Rant
