In the DCEU thus far, only a few characters have had arcs spanning across multiple movies. Wonder Woman 1984 is set to carve out more of the titular character’s arc, although she’s already had a pretty deep backstory for fans to follow.
During her time on-screen, she’s been shown to make decisions that ultimately led to where she was at the end of Justice League, which is chronologically the last time she’s been active. There’s been more than enough material to judge where she was wrong and where she was right. While Diana Prince is hardly the best decisionmaker in the world, she has proven her superhero instincts on more than one occasion.
Worst: Holding Back When Fighting Superman
The strange interaction between Superman and Wonder Woman has led to several memes poking fun at her. The actual reason for her loss, though, had to do with Wonder Woman deciding to hold back rather than fighting Superman directly.
She came to regret this, as Superman was in no mood to do her the same favor and in his amnesiac state, laid a complete hammering to the entire Justice League. With his absence, they were forced to resort to desperate measures and it wouldn’t have been the case had Wonder Woman used her full power to restrain him.
Best: Joining Batman And Superman Against Doomsday
Wonder Woman initially had no plans to help either Batman or Superhero in their fight, and she could have easily decided not to assist the duo when Doomsday was born. Instead, she chose to do the right thing.
It was by partaking in this battle that she saw the good in both heroes, also revitalizing her own fighting spirit. Moved by Superman’s sacrifice, Wonder Woman was motivated into saving the world again, and it wouldn’t have been possible had she not decided to enter the Doomsday battle.
Worst: Attacking Batman Without Realizing What His Words Meant
One of the mistakes from the DCEU the next Wonder Woman film has to avoid is bringing characters together based on arguments and hostility. This was the case when Batman took a swipe at Wonder Woman putting herself in exile due to the death of Steve Trevor, for which she shoved him hard in anger.
She later realized that he was trying to get into the mindset of a leader and take charge of the Justice League instead of himself. Responding with violence wasn’t part of her personality and the one time she resorted to it didn’t represent the best of her.
Best: Becoming A Superhero Again
It’s important to be aware of the events of the series as recapping key plot points reveal more of Wonder Woman’s decisions. She wasn’t in the mindset of a superhero when she was introduced on-screen and it took some time for her to live up to her powers.
Her decision to come back to the public eye in her superhero persona turned out to be one of her best. Not only did it save the world, but it saved Wonder Woman herself since she regained her sense of purpose and remembered that she was driven by love not hate.
Worst: Not Returning To Themyscira
It’s not entirely clear if Wonder Woman did return to Themyscira. The evidence suggests she didn’t go back, though, and that turned out to be a pretty bad decision on her part.
While she claimed she stayed in the human world because of her sense of duty, it was at the cost of losing her happiness. She spent a century in solitude with nobody to call a friend. Had she returned, she would have at least had the company of her fellow Amazons.
Best: Not Giving In To Ares’ Manipulation
Due to her emotional state after the death of Steve Trevor, Wonder Woman was open to the manipulation of her brother. Ares, being among the evilest DCEU villains, appealed to her to subjugate humanity alongside him and give in to her dark side.
Rather than embrace this temptation, Wonder Woman chose to go with the memory that Steve left her with. Having made up her mind, she found the will to overcome Ares’ power and defeat him, thereby living up to the ideals that Steve Trevor held.
Worst: Assuming She Could Change The World Herself
While some might argue this was a belief than a decision, it’s clearly the latter since Steve had told Wonder Woman multiple times that her assumption that she could rid the world of evil by killing one person was wrong. It was her choice to ignore his words. Had she considered Steve’s point of view, she wouldn’t have been severely traumatized by the reality that all humans are capable of evil.
Best: Getting The League To Help Batman
Batman’s plan was a suicide mission to assault Steppenwolf’s forces in order to distract the villain and his army while the rest of the Justice League ambushed the main fortress. Wonder Woman didn’t agree with this strategy and directed the league to Batman’s position.
This led to Batman’s rescue and the team was able to fully form and fight Steppenwolf. Since Superman ended up joining the fold, it also meant that Wonder Woman’s decision to save Batman was the right one as he would have otherwise died for no reason.
Worst: Put Herself Into Exile
The death of Steve Trevor might have influenced her to defeat Ares, but it also made Wonder Woman decide to stay away from humanity altogether. This resulted in her going to exile for an entire century, during which time she stayed away even during World War II.
It became one of her biggest regrets when she did return to action, as she realized there were so many times where her involvement could have prevented many unfortunate deaths.
Best: Saving Steve Trevor
There’s no doubt that Steve and Diana are the best DCEU couple. This is because their love was more than just a romance, as it also helped save millions of lives. Diana could have let Steve perish since Themyscira was supposed to stay hidden, but decided to save his life instead.
This turned out to be the best decision she ever made, as it resulted in her becoming Wonder Woman and realizing that she was needed to be out in the real world rather than remain in her homeland. It was by saving Steve that ultimately led to Wonder Woman being one of the Justice League’s founders, thereby shaping the future of the world itself.
