Wonder Woman – Goodbye, Brother
We are, at this point, almost de-sensitized to the standard ‘big showdown’ that inevitably rolls around at the end of comic book movies. As with all stories about heroes battling villains, there has to be that final confrontation – and it has to be the spectacular denouement of the tale. Wonder Woman is no exception but, as it is in every aspect of its delivery, it takes a quite different approach.
The final showdown of the film occurs after Diana has experienced a crisis of confidence. She thought she had correctly identified a German General as Ares in disguise – and killed him – but she was wrong. The real Ares then reveals himself as someone she had regarded as an ally, and the man she loves flies off to make the ultimate sacrifice as his contribution to the effort to end the war. It’s safe to say that our hero has a lot to process in a very short space of time.
But, soon enough, all other considerations become secondary to the fact that Ares is standing in front of her on an airfield. He tries to persuade her to join him in his goal to dominate the world, so they can rule over it as brother and sister but – in an exchange to which most women can completely relate – he becomes angry when she rejects him. The fight is on.
As the two powerful Gods battle it out on the airfield, it often seems as though Diana is out of her depth. She’s inexperienced and unsure of herself, compared to the ancient power and knowledge of Ares. Then she sees the plane piloted by Steve Trevor explode in the sky, and she is utterly consumed with a rage the like of which she has never felt before. All of the frustrations and disillusionment she has felt since arriving in Man’s World – a place that has led to the man she loves having to give his life – rush to the surface, and she tears around the airfield, taking down Nazis, and destroying their resources.
She finds the female Nazi scientist whose work has been at the heart of Steve Trevor’s mission. This is the woman that purposefully created the gas that brutally killed all the villagers in Veld that Diana had previously liberated. Diana lifts a tank, and is about to throw it at her when she notes the physical damage the scientist has suffered at the hands of Man’s World. She remembers Steve Trevor’s last words to her before he sacrificed himself to save millions more. She allows herself to feel the love that she felt for him, and from him, and becomes immediately calm once more – telling Ares that he is wrong about mankind. They are capable of terrible things, but they are also capable of greatness and love – and she chooses to believe in the latter.
Her further rejection causes more rage in Ares, and he powers up to strike a fatal blow against Diana. He draws electricity from the area around himself, and the sky, and concentrates it into a giant, deadly blast – throwing it at Diana. Instead of being literally blown away by it – as she was earlier – Wonder Woman catches the energy with her cuffs and begins to calmly play with it between her hands. She finally has the strength of her convictions, and understands the role she was destined to play in the world. She tells Ares that she believes in love, rises high into air – taking all that energy with her – says, “Goodbye, brother,” and strikes her iconic wrist-crossing pose to fire Ares’ power right back at him.
Not only is this a fantastic visual moment, but in terms of story and character, it takes that standard comic book movie final act and adapts it to fit Wonder Woman – instead of the other way around. Instead of dominating her opponent with her own, considerable power, Diana looks inside herself, finds confidence, and uses that self-certainty to literally project Ares’ rage back at him, to destroy him. She has felt rage, but allowed it to dissipate – so she comes at her opponent from a place of justice and righteousness. Ares, on the other hand, remains steeped in anger and resentment – and it is this that kills him, while Diana is unscathed.
This movie moment is made perfect by the consistency between plot, character, performance, and effects. Everything in this scene is a logical progression from the story development and, because of this, we enter the final moments of Wonder Woman feeling as though our hero has finally, properly arrived on the big screen. And what a hero she is.