WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.197 --> 00:00:01.577 - "Wonder Woman 1984" will see Diana of Themyscira 2 00:00:01.577 --> 00:00:06.080 facing off against one of her greatest rivals. 3 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:09.320 Barbara Ann Minerva, also known as Cheetah. 4 00:00:09.320 --> 00:00:10.980 - Have you ever been in love? 5 00:00:10.980 --> 00:00:12.760 - A long, long time ago. 6 00:00:12.760 --> 00:00:14.110 You? - So many times. 7 00:00:14.110 --> 00:00:15.753 Yeah, all the time. 8 00:00:15.753 --> 00:00:16.586 (Diana giggles) 9 00:00:16.586 --> 00:00:18.280 - Played by Kristen Wiig, this Barbara 10 00:00:18.280 --> 00:00:20.970 looks to be a friend of Gal Gadot's Diana. 11 00:00:20.970 --> 00:00:22.490 From what little we've seen of her, 12 00:00:22.490 --> 00:00:24.960 she's a bit on the shy, nerdy side. 13 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:27.170 And she certainly looks human. 14 00:00:27.170 --> 00:00:29.540 But, of course, that could very well change. 15 00:00:29.540 --> 00:00:31.590 The strange thing is, even though Cheetah 16 00:00:31.590 --> 00:00:34.177 is one of Diana's most-famous villains, 17 00:00:34.177 --> 00:00:37.040 "Wonder Woman 1984" is the first time 18 00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:39.670 we're gonna get to spend any quality time with her. 19 00:00:39.670 --> 00:00:41.990 Well, outside of the comics. 20 00:00:41.990 --> 00:00:44.510 So who even is this character? 21 00:00:44.510 --> 00:00:47.070 Well, time to curl up, kitty cats. 22 00:00:47.070 --> 00:00:49.965 It's about to get complicated. 23 00:00:49.965 --> 00:00:53.230 (upbeat music) 24 00:00:53.230 --> 00:00:56.040 Cheetah actually started back in 1943, 25 00:00:56.040 --> 00:00:59.610 as Priscilla Rich, a socialite with a split personality. 26 00:00:59.610 --> 00:01:01.670 She vowed vengeance against Wonder Woman 27 00:01:01.670 --> 00:01:04.400 for, and get this, stealing the spotlight 28 00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:05.360 at a charity event. 29 00:01:05.360 --> 00:01:07.710 We've often seen this version on TV. 30 00:01:07.710 --> 00:01:10.830 Like in "Super Friends" and "Challenge of the Super Friends", 31 00:01:10.830 --> 00:01:12.760 where she was a member of the League of Doom. 32 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:16.120 Over time, Priscilla's brainwashed niece took up the mantle. 33 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:17.560 Then, for a brief period, 34 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:19.860 a man named Sebastian took on the powers 35 00:01:19.860 --> 00:01:22.950 from the most famous incarnation, Barbara. 36 00:01:22.950 --> 00:01:26.946 Her origin story is where things get a bit more hairy. 37 00:01:26.946 --> 00:01:29.323 - How perfectly wonderful. 38 00:01:30.397 --> 00:01:33.320 - Barbara's been everything from an archeologist 39 00:01:33.320 --> 00:01:35.750 studying Diana's origins, to a member 40 00:01:35.750 --> 00:01:39.160 of a secret society that hunted humans for sport. 41 00:01:39.160 --> 00:01:41.340 In her latest comics incarnation, 42 00:01:41.340 --> 00:01:43.170 she was even Diana's best friend, 43 00:01:43.170 --> 00:01:45.530 teaching her English and the ways of the world. 44 00:01:45.530 --> 00:01:48.000 No matter where she started, Barbara's story 45 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.410 always ends the same, as a half-human, half-cheetah hybrid, 46 00:01:52.410 --> 00:01:54.580 imbued with extraordinary abilities, 47 00:01:54.580 --> 00:01:57.840 thanks to the powers of a plant god named Urzkartaga. 48 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.110 In some versions, she's basically a furry. 49 00:02:01.110 --> 00:02:04.210 In others, like 2019's "Wonder Woman: Bloodlines", 50 00:02:04.210 --> 00:02:05.820 she goes full feline. 51 00:02:05.820 --> 00:02:09.620 She's been spotted in "Injustice 2", "DC Super Hero Girls", 52 00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:11.740 and "Batman: The Brave and the Bold". 53 00:02:11.740 --> 00:02:14.670 Barbara also made an appearance in the "Justice League" series 54 00:02:14.670 --> 00:02:17.780 and the 2012 animated movie, "Justice League: Doom." 55 00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:20.530 In the series, she showed up like once or twice 56 00:02:20.530 --> 00:02:22.180 to make it with Batman. 57 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:23.842 Hmm, guess this kitty is following 58 00:02:23.842 --> 00:02:25.853 in another cat's paw prints. 59 00:02:27.010 --> 00:02:27.843 - Meow. 60 00:02:27.843 --> 00:02:30.190 - For the most part, Cheetah's only appearing 61 00:02:30.190 --> 00:02:31.910 in an episode or two of these shows, 62 00:02:31.910 --> 00:02:34.690 for a couple of scenes and maybe a fight sequence. 63 00:02:34.690 --> 00:02:38.210 In Lauren Montgomery's 2009 animated "Wonder Woman" film, 64 00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:40.140 like, Cheetah doesn't show up until the end, 65 00:02:40.140 --> 00:02:43.140 just in time for Wonder Woman to punch her in the face. 66 00:02:43.140 --> 00:02:46.420 Otherwise, she's just hanging out in the background. 67 00:02:46.420 --> 00:02:48.759 Most of these shows haven't bothered exploring 68 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:52.120 Cheetah's backstory, which is rife with intrigue. 69 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:53.640 I mean, come on, how many times 70 00:02:53.640 --> 00:02:56.130 do we have to hear why the Joker is the Joker? 71 00:02:56.130 --> 00:02:58.460 - Can you introduce me as Joker? 72 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:00.600 - But the story of a half-Cheetah deity 73 00:03:00.600 --> 00:03:02.330 who's either the goddess of the hunt 74 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:04.670 or the victim of a horrible curse, 75 00:03:04.670 --> 00:03:06.810 depending on what version you're looking at, 76 00:03:06.810 --> 00:03:08.570 that hasn't been worth delving into? 77 00:03:08.570 --> 00:03:10.940 It took way too long to get Wonder Woman 78 00:03:10.940 --> 00:03:13.170 her own movie on the big screen. 79 00:03:13.170 --> 00:03:15.460 But the decades-long absence of Cheetah, 80 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:19.010 her greatest enemy, also feels like a crime. 81 00:03:19.010 --> 00:03:20.450 Hopefully Kristen Wiig's debut 82 00:03:20.450 --> 00:03:24.300 as the powerful and obsessive feline warrior 83 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:25.763 finally does her justice.