Wonder Woman: Cold War

***Wonder Woman: Cold War*** is a 2008 superhero film, a sequel to *Wonder Woman* and *Justice League*. It is the seventh installment in the DC Cinematic Universe.

It was directed by Phyllida Lloyd and stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Joseph Mazzello as Sebastian Ballesteros, Jenna Dewan-Tatum as Stacey Miraka, Clea DuVall as Doris Zuel, Samuel L. Jackson as Patrick Waller, and Connie Nielson as Hippolyta. The third film in the series, *Wonder Woman: New Gods* was released in 2011.

## Plot

In 1989, Diana Prince continues to lurk in the shadows watching to see if anybody needs help. 70 years after she helped in the World War, she is found by Patrick Waller and Steve Trevor III, she learns that they are the grandsons of Jacob Waller and Steve Trevor. She is asked to join the secret government agency, A.R.G.U.S., to help in the Cold War. Diana agrees. There, she meets Hayden Gunn, Derek Peril, and Quentin Chang, all grandchildren of Diana's team in the World War. However, they are attacked by the Russian equivalent of A.R.G.U.S., Checkmate. Diana sees a woman resembling Doris Zuel, however her theories are brought down when Waller tells her Doris had no children or sibling when she died.

Diana bonds with Trevor, only to learn he is engaged with A.R.G.U.S. secretary Stacey Miraka. Diana takes Trevor, Gunn, Chang, and Peril to Europe where they cause the fall and revolutions of Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, and Czechoslovakia. However, as they get to Romania they are interrupted by Sebastian Ballesteros, a Checkmate agent. He has claws and the speed of a cheetah, with Checkmate calling him Cheetah. He also has strength, being able to break Diana's shield. She travels to Amazon to replace just as Checkmate follows her there and destroys it, killing everyone but Diana. She finds her mother's temple, where she was forbidden to go and discovers her mother was a Wonder Woman like Diana and uses her shield.

Diana reunites with A.R.G.U.S. and they learn that Romania has gained strength. On Christmas Day, Diana and her team arrive just as Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena are executed. They find Sebastian and the woman resembling Doris about ready to set a bomb that would kill the Romanian revolution's powers. They stop it just in time but at the sacrifice of Chang. Diana and her team stay in Romania for two more days to help the revolution and succeed.

Checkmate travels to America, where the woman is revealed to be Doris; having been rescued by the original Checkmate. However, the chemicals in her system caused her to not age and was given the powers to grow to an enormous height at will. She demonstrates and crushes a building under her foot, killing several hundred people. Diana struggles with whether she should kill Doris or not. However, she is attacked by Sebastian and the two fight. Checkmate reveals itself within A.R.G.U.S., with Chang being revealed to be alive and working with Checkmate and Stacey having alligned herself with the enemy agency when she realized they have more of a chance of winning the Cold War than America.

Diana and her team travel to Russia and finally convince it's citizens to rise up and stop the government. At the same time, Diana travels to the Soviet leaders and, showing them what she can do, convinces them to sign the Agreement to dissolve the USSR and create the Commonwealth of Independant States. Diana reveals to A.R.G.U.S. that Checkmate is still out there and will act as an ally to the A.R.G.U.S. while hunting it's remaining operatives, including Sebastian and Doris.

In a mid-credits scene, Checkmate realizes they can no longer go by that name and elects their leader, Lionel Luthor, to create LuthorCorp, a cover for Checkmate.

## Cast

* Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman
* Chris Pine as Steve Trevor III
* Joseph Mazzello as Sebastian Ballesteros/Cheetah
* Jenna Dewan-Tatum as Stacey Miraka
* Clea DuVall as Doris Zuel/Giganta
* Samuel L. Jackson as Patrick Waller
* Connie Nielson as Hippolyta
* Saïd Taghmaoui as Hayden Gunn
* Ewen Bremner as Derek Peril
* Eugene Brave Rock as Quentin Chang
* Lisa Loven Kongsli as Menalippe
* Mayling Ng as Orana
* Florence Kasumba as Acantha
* Madeleine Vall Beijner as Egeria
* Hayley Jane Warnes as Aella
* Ann Wolfe as Artemis

## Reception

### **Critical reception**

*Wonder Woman: Cold War* received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of critics gave the film positive reviews based upon a sample of 175 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10.