'Wonder Woman 1984': The truth behind Diana's golden armor, Artesia and Lynda Carter's post-credits scene
Spoilers for 'Wonder Woman 1984'
One of the biggest moments of the 'Wonder Woman 1984' trailer reveal is Wonder Woman's (Gal Gadot) glorious new golden armor, which has deep ties to Wonder Woman's legacy. With the release of the actual film on HBO Max and appearance by Lynda Carter, the film doubles down on this legacy, and they could not have done a better job.
In the comics, Wonder Woman learns that the golden armor once belonged to an Amazon named Asteria. When the Amazons were first taken to Themyscira by Zeus, it was Asteria who stayed behind to fight off the hordes of Amazons' enemies, so that they could have safe passage to freedom. Every year, the Amazon Games are held in Asteria's honor — and it is in these games that Diana first earned the right to be the Amazons' ambassador for peace to the rest of the world.
Wonder Woman taking that armor ties her legacy to one of the Amazons' most celebrated warriors. In the movie, when Diana dons the armor, we see a flash of someone's eyes, which are revealed to be Lynda Carter's in a post-credits scene. Lynda Carter is seen saving a group of civilians and she tells both Diana and the audience watching that, "I’ve been doing this all this time," winking at the camera as she does so, and revealing herself to be Asteria, the Golden Amazon.
In the film universe, it appears that Asteria did not perish while saving the Amazons from their enemies, and has stayed in "Man's World" all these years, being an Amazonian superhero for much longer than Diana has been.
It's a perfect nod to Gal Gadot's own legacy, as Lynda Carter was the very first live-action Wonder Woman to appear on-screen, starring in her own television show from the 70s. Lynda Carter has, indeed, been doing this for all this time — and by embodying the character who passes the superheroic torch on to Diana through the Golden Armor, charmingly cements Gadot's position as the modern era's new Wonder Woman.
Lynda Carter is no stranger to cameos celebrating her legacy — she appears as the President of the United States on 'Supergirl', providing inspiration to the younger hero, even after it's revealed that the President is secretly an alien. 'Wonder Woman 1984' is now available to stream on HBO Max.