Little is known about Monolith Productions’Wonder Womangame besides it being a third-person, open-world action-adventure game with an original story. Its narrative is teased as Princess Diana having to unite the world of Themyscira and the world of modern humans, andWarner Bros.’ patented Nemesis Systemis also teased to play a part in uniting ally and enemy forces. Many details are still unknown and cast questions about the game’s open-world as well as which enemies players will be fighting as the Amazonian princess.
Still, one of the biggest questions it will likely answer has to clarify the point in Diana’s life that the game is set in. It is currently unclear if it is an origin story for the character becoming the lasso-wielding hero fans know and love, or if she is already a storied hero with an established history,such as Peter Parker is inMarvel’s Spider-Man. If it is the former, then it may truly shine as a standalone title for the character where obscure lore and other developments can be made. But if it is the latter, fans will likely hear mention, if not see direct cameos, of iconic characters affiliated with the Justice League.
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Monolith’s Wonder Woman Has an Open Continuity to Play In
One of the most exciting parts about the upcomingWonder Womangame is how much supposed creative freedom it has in its own continuity and canon. That is, nothing has previously been shared to infer that it belongs to another IP’s canon, and thus it seems like it belongs to its own.Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguebelongs to Rocksteady’sBatman: Arkhamcanonwhile it is still its own IP, for example, and thus it is must adhere to the canonical events established inBatman: Arkham Asylum,Batman: Arkham City, andBatman: Arkham Knight.
This is already a fairly tall order for Rocksteady since the Justice League was not present at all in any of theBatman: Arkhamgames, and Batman is purportedly deceased followingBatman: Arkham Knight’s Knightfall Protocol conclusion. Therefore, there are many narrative threadsSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leaguewill inevitably have to answer to.
Otherwise, if narrative events are retconned, Rocksteady will dash the expectations fans have and beg the question as to whySuicide Squad: Kill the Justice Leagueneeded to be part of theBatman: Arkhamcanon in the first place.Wonder Woman’s benefit, then, is that while she is a popular female character in DC mythology, her birth home on the island of Themyscira and her origins as a character are entirely iterative.
If Monolith chooses to portray Diana while she is on Themyscira, there is a wealth of creative freedom it has to illustrate what the island looks like, such as what architecture is there, and what other Amazon warriors look like and how they interact with the player. This would be the more interesting of the two narrative paths that Monolith could takeWonder Woman, with the other path leading inevitably and instantly to the Justice League.
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Monolith Already Has Experience with Freeflow Combat Similar to Batman: Arkham Games
Middle-earth: Shadow of MordorandMiddle-earth: Shadow of Warfrom Monolith seem to directly spell out what gameplay and combat may be like inWonder Woman. Of course,Wonder Womancould end up having completely unique gameplay that plays nothing likeMonolith’sMiddle-earthtitles, but it already lays out a blueprint that could work perfectly for the Amazonian.
Diana is known to fight using a sword, shield, and a magical lariat, which could all be used in combat similar to how Talion and Celebrimbor’s mechanics were introduced in theMiddle-earthgames. Moreover, linking Monolith’sMiddle-earthgames with DC further,Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordorwas originally developed as a Batman game.
This makes sense, asBatman: Arkham’s Freeflow combat was already rampantly sweeping the third-person action-adventure genre and is used in bothMiddle-earthgames. IfWonder Womanalso echoes this take on Freeflow combat with its own unique Amazonian abilities, it could be a great extension of what made theMiddle-earthtitles so popular.
Further,Wonder Womanis incorporatingMiddle-earth: Shadow of Mordor’s Nemesis Systemin some capacity after it has been patented, which makes the two even more alike in terms of gameplay mechanics.Wonder Womancould even feature a spin on a gladiatrix coliseum for sport and entertainment, where these combat mechanics could be tested.
Wonder Woman certainly deserves her own standalone title, and while she is commonly attached to the Justice League, Monolith will hopefully devise an interesting enough narrative and gameplay loop to justify her character having a franchise of standalone titles like what Batman had received from Rocksteady. That said, Batman is well-suited to a franchise due to the extensive rogues' gallery catalog he has. Meanwhile,Wonder Woman’s particular catalog of villainsis much shorter and much less iconic.
Monolith Could Establish Justice League Characters in Its Wonder Woman Game
Monolith’sWonder Womanis presumably its own canon apart from that ofGotham KnightsorSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which means that if it is going to be depicting the Justice League, it could be one of its own making. It may consist of the same batch of iconic superheroes, but the reason for them banding together or the events that call them into action could be different. However,Wonder Womanis billed as a standalone gamefeaturing the Amazonian, and thus it is fair to predict that it may not feature the Justice League at all.
Instead, it could simply reference characters or locations such as The Flash and Central City, and tease that Diana may meet them at some point. This does not necessarily mean that they will be playable characters alongside Diana, but Monolith may choose to make that game in the future if the reception to other Justice League characters is positive.
The fact that players will be uniting the forces of two worlds makes it seem like Themyscira will play as big of a role as the modern world, but which characters factor into that will be interesting to see, especially if characters affiliated later with the Justice League are around to witness Diana in action. More will hopefully be revealed soon beyond what few details have been shared sinceWonder Woman’s cinematic teaser reveal, whether the Justice League are involved or not.
Wonder Womanis currently in development.
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