Patty Jenkins forgot to add the creator of Cheetah as we currently know him in DC comics to the Wonder Woman 1984 credits.
Wonder Woman 1984 featured actress Kristin Wiig as the insecure Barbara Ann Minerva, whose only wish was to look more like her friend Diana Prince, although this wish came with surprise included. Once her wish is granted, she wishes for even more strength and to be stripped of what makes her human by becoming Cheetah, the arch-nemesis in DC’s Wonder Woman comics. The Cheetah character was created in 1943 by William Moulton Marston.
Cheetah is one of Wonder Woman’s first and most iconic enemies. In the credits of Wonder Woman 1984, they thank Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott for their contribution to the character as it is currently known in the comics. But they left out the artist Liam Sharp, the artist who worked with Rucka and Scott on the 2017 Wonder Woman: Rebirth series that laid the foundation for the character as we know her today.
Sharp recently expressed his disappointment at not being included in the credits for Wonder Woman 1984, though he was also happy to see recognition from fellow contributors such as Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott.
Sharp illustrated the odd numbers in Wonder Woman: Rebirth, which told a story that focused heavily on Cheetah. Since then, his design for the character has been used throughout the DC Universe. Now, Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins has acknowledged the oversight and revealed that Sharp was supposed to be credited, but was somehow left out when the credits were made.
Regrettable oblivion
The failure to acknowledge Sharp in the credits was unfortunate, but it’s great that Jenkins publicly acknowledged the mistake on social media and thanked Sharp for his work on designing the most current comic book version of Cheetah. It’s important to properly acknowledge the artists who helped bring such a fascinating character as Cheetah to life in the comics, but it’s nice to know that Jenkins had been meaning to give Sharp credit from the beginning.
Cheetah’s debut was one of the most interesting parts of Wonder Woman 1984, and Patty Jenkins has stated that Wonder Woman 3 could feature the return of Kristin Wiig as Cheetah, although we do not know in what way as she is stripped of her desire by movie’s ending.
Wiig did a great job transitioning from the shy Barbara to the confident and powerful Cheetah smoothly. It would be interesting to see more of the dynamic in the comics between Wonder Woman and Cheetah explored further on the big screen. Hopefully, Sharp’s name can be added to the Wonder Woman 1984 credits now. There is a lot of potentials for Cheetah to return to the Wonder Woman movies in the future. A good story and compelling villains are all fans can wish for in Wonder Woman 3
