With each superhero film, a scene of final credits has come to be expected now – whether they act as provocations for a sequel, essential building blocks for a wider cinematic universe, or just fun meta-nods. The saving grace (or greater sin, depending on who you ask) of Patty Jenkins‘ Wonder Woman films is that they exist in their own corner of the DC Universe, with 2017 Wonder Woman even avoiding the post-credit scene altogether. But Jenkins reversed the course to deliver a Wonder Woman 1984 final credits scene, just not the one that fans could expect.
Spoilers for Wonder Woman 1984 Follow.
Who is Asteria? It is one of the unanswered questions left unanswered by Wonder Woman 1984, after a sequence set in remote times before the creation of Themyscira, when the Amazons were freed from slavery by humans. Diana describes the backstory of the golden armor she wears in the last act of the film, telling how Asteria, her greatest warrior, contained the army of men with the help of unbreakable golden armor while the other Amazons escaped safely. When Diana came into the world of men, she looked for Asteria, but never found her body, just the empty armor.
But, the final credits scene reveals, Asteria did not die as Diana assumed.
In the middle of the credits scene, we see a dark-haired woman walking through an open-air market when a large wooden pole begins to fall. The woman casually holds the heavy mast with one hand, to the relief of a family with a small child who was directly in the mast’s path. The mother thanks the woman, who turns and reveals herself Lynda Carter, the star of the iconic Wonder Woman 1970s TV show that presents itself as Asteria with a wink at the camera.
It is a sweet nod to fans of the ’70s icon, and a provocation that Diana may not be the only Amazon working quietly to save humanity in the world of men. Will this lead to anything in the sequences or in a larger DC universe? Probably not – this feels more like a cute fan service moment than anything else. But Asteria’s character exists in DC Comics, although in a much more secondary way than she is portrayed as in Wonder Woman 1984.
Who is Asteria?
As far as we know, Asteria only appeared once in the continuity of DC Comics, as a background character in 1998 Elseworlds: Supergirl and Batgirl. At the beginning of the story, several members of the Justice Society go to Gotham City for an awards gala, but some are left in the back seat to keep an eye on things at the Justice Society headquarters. One of them is Asteria, who perhaps gets a line of dialogue – talking to the alternate universe Tim Drake – and who never appears again.
Asteria has a little more presence in Greek mythology, like a Greek goddess who escapes Zeus’ advances by fleeing to Mount Olympus and ends up becoming the island of Delos. Later, she ended up giving birth to Hecate, goddess of magic and witchcraft.
Wonder Woman 1984 is broadcasting on HBO Max now.
Interesting posts from around the web: