Question: who plays the evil doctor in wonder woman?
Answer: Elena Anaya, Spanish actress Elena Anaya

Doctor Poison appears in the DC Extended Universe film Wonder Woman ( 2017 ) , portrayed by Elena Anaya . In this adaptation , her identity is Isabel Maru , a Spanish chemist recruited by General Erich Ludendorff to create chemical weapons for the German army . Due to facial disfigurement , she wears a ceramic mask over the left side of her face . It marks the character 's first live action appearance , although the setting is World War I rather than the World War II setting of the comic books . When Steve Trevor steals a book of Doctor Maru 's notes on her new chemical weapons that would render the gas masks useless against them , he crash - lands on Themyscira during his escape , which alerts Diana to the current war . She initially believes that Ares is directly responsible for the war , but later learns that all he did was provide a few ideas for the weapons to the likes of Maru while the decision to use the weapons was still the choice of the humans themselves . Ares attempts to sway Diana to his point of view by offering her a chance to kill Maru for her sins and part in the war , but Diana rejects his offer upon realizing of Trevor 's sacrifice that inspires her to recognize that she must accept humanity for its flaws rather than condemn it for not being perfect . This leads Diana to spare Maru out of mercy , who then flees .