Since Wonder Woman is better known for being part of the Justice League rather than her independent stories, I think Ares as the villain probably caught a lot of people by surprise. His role as the main antagonist of the Wonder Woman film was kept pretty secret until the movie was released, and he’s directly based on the Greek God of War just like the comics.

For most of the movie, though, we think he’s just some English guy named Sir Patrick Morgan. David Thewlis, who played Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter film franchise, portrays him here, and it was nice seeing his charming face again even though he turned out to be the secret villain of the entire film.

He eventually reveals himself to Diana, and since they’re both children of Zeus, that technically makes them half-siblings. He tells Wonder Woman that he wants mankind to destroy itself so he can restore Earth to the paradise it once was. I can’t remember all the details, but he was also responsible for the disappearance of most of the Olympic gods, including his father.

His goals and power scaling kind of remind me of Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though he’s definitely not as memorable or enjoyable. Still, I’d say he was one of the better-developed main antagonists in the DC Extended Universe.

The fight could have been better, but it was still pretty fun to watch. Apparently Wonder Woman’s sword was crafted by Zeus to take down Ares if he ever rose against humanity again. And somehow he ends up being defeated by lightning bolts instead… which, sure, I guess that makes sense.