WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Injustice, now available on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray and Digital.
In DC's animated adaptation of Injustice, Superman forms a brutal regime, looking to police the world with an iron fist after Joker tricked him into killing Lois and destroying Metropolis. But even after murdering the clown, he decided he needed reinforcements, including Ra's al Ghul, to keep world leaders and Batman's rebels in check. However, by the time the movie wraps, it squanders its biggest villain -- and no, it isn't the Man of Steel.
Injustice's biggest villain is actually Diana of Themyscira, who initially sympathizes with Superman and berated the Dark Knight for getting in the way of vengeance. She eggs Kal-El on to become a tyrant because she secretly loves him, plunging the world she once loved into darkness.
The issue with that, though, is that fans don't get to learn about her motivations before her eventual heel turn. Had they seen more of her bonding with Kal, it would've made her attempted kiss resonate more. Instead, Superman just shuts her down because it's too soon for him, and just they go on trying to secure the planet. Sure, it's easy to connect with Superman's vision, but it's hard to see why Wonder Woman agrees with him, especially because Paradise Island is left out of the plot. As it stands, Diana's just a devil on the shoulder and prop to vindicate Kal's merciless perspective and antagonize Batman. And that's unfortunate because she's such a powerhouse, which was played up in the game and comics, where she felt like a right-hand woman.
And without her motivations being clear, her turn at the end of the film feels out of left field. When Batman's crew helps her and Superman kill Amazo, Diana wants them freed and forgiven, but Superman disagrees, which causes her to lecture him. She mentions how he's far gone, including when he burned the Joker gang alive, but her feelings towards this depraved act don't add up because she pushed him to act that way.
Wonder Woman simply comes off as inconsistent, with the argument with Superman rushing her back into heroic form for no reason other than drama. And to make matters worse, Superman uses his heat vision moments later and knocks her out of the way before Batman has a pregnant Lois from another Earth get him to step down and accept his punishment. And at that point, Wonder Woman drops out of the story entirely. She doesn't appear at the end to answer for her actions or help Superman from another Earth battle the tyrant she helped create. These things would have helped redeem her, but the film just leaves her out, with not even Batman addressing her during the film's happy ending.
To see how inconsistent Wonder Woman is, Injustice releases on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray and Digital on Oct. 19.
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